Almost since the day I had the idea to start this podcast, I’ve wanted to talk to someone who has been struck by lightning.

I mean, the thought that you could just be going about your day, maybe walking through a parking lot to go get some groceries, or even at home, maybe in your kitchen – and suddenly you could be hit by 300 million volts. And you never saw it coming. You might wake up a few minutes later – or maybe several hours later – and still not know what exactly happened, until someone tells you.

But the reality is, a human being getting struck by lightning overall is pretty rare. I live in Florida, which is considered the lightning capital of the country. We average around 40 lightning injuries each year, which is still not many. And then there’s the fact that some lightning strike victims don’t survive, so they aren’t around to tell that story. So I’ve been looking around for a while, for someone with this experience to come on the podcast. 

And then, I connected with Josh. He lives not far from me, here in the Tampa Bay area. In the summer of 2022, just a few months ago, he was struck by lightning. A few people were with him at the time, and they saw it happen. 

But getting help was kind of difficult, because when Josh was struck by a bolt of lightning, he was on a boat – 100 miles offshore, in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico.

Josh’s video:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UEltkDTBmrs

Coast Guard rescue video:

https://youtu.be/BDwMojzvJoE

Josh’s website:

https://www.thenautiviking.com/

Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/124

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp – professional online therapy. Get 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/WHATWAS.

This episode is also sponsored by StoryWorth – the easiest way for someone to write their life story! Save $10 on your first purchase at StoryWorth.com/WHAT.

Check out the Compelled podcast – inspiring stories of people who have overcome – at CompelledPodcast.com.

Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well) 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices