‘I understand that loss means so much’: How fatherhood changed Bondi Rescue lifeguard

Sunkissed and blessed with the shiniest teeth in Bondi, Anthony Carroll has one of Australia’s most recognisable faces.as well as countless backpackers’ beach selfies.James Alcock

"It's not always good news," he said. "You can't always bring someone back to life. I've been extremely fortunate that I've brought back to life 40 or 50 people."Credit:Carroll, who is also a pilates instructor, has left exercise classes he teaches at Bronte Surf Life Saving Club to rescue swimmers in trouble.

"You're not going to spend money on learning to swim when you're fighting to survive," he says. "It costs a lot of money to get lessons to learn how to swim."Forty-nine lives were lost on the NSW coastline in 2019-20 - a 14 per cent increase on the previous year and well above the long-term annual average of 42 fatalities, said Surf Life Saving NSW chief executive Steven Pearce. A further 19 people have drowned along the NSW coast since July 2020.

Bondi’s volunteer lifesavers conducted 164 rescues in 2019-20, followed by 114 at Tamarama, 112 at North Bondi and 105 at South Maroubra. A lifesaver for 31 years and lifeguard for 25 years, Carroll said he loves the camaraderie, friendship and team spirit of beach volunteers: "Lifesaving has given me a gateway to this opportunity of doing what I love and what I'm passionate about - saving people."The 45-year-old Carroll grew up in Clovelly, within sight of the surf beaches that have shaped his life. Both Carroll and his twin brother Sean were hyperactive kids who had "heavy dyslexia".

Carroll said he thinks about death a lot more since becoming a father to two sons - Billy, aged 7, and four-year-old Leo."I didn't feel the stress and strain when I was younger,” he said. "But now that I'm older I really feel for the family, I understand that to lose a loved one, that loss means so much."

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