Jesse Billauer

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Jesse Billauer (born February 24, 1979) is a well known surfer from Malibu, California.

Billauer suffered an accident at the age of 17 on March 25, 1996, hitting his head on a shallow sandbar after being knocked off his surfboard by a wave. The force broke his neck, damaging his spinal cord and instantly rendered him a quadriplegic.

Billauer was told by doctors that he would never surf again. However, Billauer eventually did return to surfing, adapting his surfing technique and equipment to the situation of his current condition. He has become an inspirational guide to many other surfers, both professional and amateur.^{[citation needed]} Through these efforts Jesse has gained sponsorships from companies including Honda, Channel Islands Surfboards (who developed a "Jesse Billauer" model) and Boost Mobile.

Billauer eventually enrolled at San Diego State University, with an emphasis in communications. He graduated in 2002. He is also a motivational speaker, and is involved with a non profit foundation, "Life Rolls On." [1] Through this foundation, Jesse is taking a leading role in awareness and activism for spinal cord injury research, picking up where Christopher Reeve left off.

The 2003 Docu-Film Step Into Liquid was partly based on his life and his friendship with Rob Machado. Jesse was also featured on Dateline NBC, Good Morning America, While You Were Out, and E! True American Story.

Recently, Jesse became the first quadriplegic surfer to surf the dangerous waves of Cloudbreak in Fiji.