NEWSJason Momoa Quit Smoking After Nearly Drowning and Dying in Terrifying Surfing Incident
Jason Momoa quit smoking after a terrifying surfing incident in which he almost drowned.
Aug. 13 2025, Published 11:35 a.m. ET
After enduring a near-death surfing experience, Jason Momoa revealed he abandoned smoking for good.
On the August 11 episode of the “SmartLess” podcast, the actor shared he and a group of friends were once surfing in Maui when he had trouble with severe waves.
Waves Struck Jason Momoa on the Head
Jason Momoa detailed he 'couldn't see anymore' during his terrifying surfing experience.
“It’s so windy on Maui, so the board just went… I couldn’t see it anymore,” Momoa shared, detailing the leash on his paddle snapped and he was beginning to drown.
“I took quite a few [waves] on the head,” he continued sharing regarding the terrifying ordeal. “They were pretty big, like 10-foot Hawaiian waves. The waves were so big they basically took my shorts off. I reached down, put my shorts back on.”
Jason Momoa Thought of His Children During the Terrifying Moment
Jason Momoa shared his 'arms and legs gave up' during a surfing experience in which he almost drowned.
Momoa, who was continuing to struggle, said his family flashed before his eyes at that point.
“I looked in… my daughter at that time was three months old, and I just lost my s---,” he revealed. “I couldn’t move anymore. My arms and my legs gave up … I was out there for a while.”
Momoa shares two children — daughter Lola Iolani and son Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo — with ex-wife Lisa Bonet.
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Jason Momoa Quit Smoking After Almost Drowning
Jason Momoa quit smoking after almost drowning.
He then used his strength to dig his feet into the coral as another wave struck him.
“I’m in the middle of the ocean,” he shared. “I could barely put my lips above it just to breathe and get a break, but I had already given up. So it’s like, you’ve already given up and died and have a second chance at it. I still stayed up for 10 minutes and I was hanging on the side of this reef.”
The Minecraft star ended up surviving the ordeal and shared it made him quit smoking.
“I used to smoke,” he noted. “I used to smoke two, three packs a day. I couldn’t stop for my kids, couldn’t stop for my ex. I couldn’t stop smoking. The moment I came out, I never smoked again. I just died. I just died. I tried and tried, but I couldn’t do it again because I just, I gave up. Like, I gave up my life.”
Jason Momoa Endured Another Emergency
Jason Momoa was on a plane that had to make an emergency landing in 2019.
This isn’t the first scary experience the Aquaman actor endured, as OK! previously shared he was on a plane that had to make an emergency landing at Palm Springs International Airport in 2019.
According to the Palm Springs Professional Firefighters Local 3601 union, an engine fire occurred inside the aircraft.
"Good old fire department,” Momoa said of the responders at the time. "Gotta love 'em."
