The 16-year-old California rookie lifeguard whose daring ocean rescue captured national attention is revealing what was racing through his mind as he fought towering waves to save a drowning 10-year-old boy.
Ryder Williams became an overnight hero after pulling Nathaniel Rai from the pounding surf at Seabright State Beach in Santa Cruz on July 25 — a dramatic rescue that later earned praise from President Trump, who announced the teen will receive a high civilian honor.
Now, Williams is opening up about the terrifying moments when he realized the child’s life was slipping away.
“As I grab the child, he goes limp, so I’m thinking about if he’s unconscious or not, that I really need to go in,” Williams said.
The rookie lifeguard had been scanning the water from Tower 2 when he spotted the boy after a powerful wave swept him off his feet in ankle-deep water. Williams dropped his gear and sprinted into the rough 8-to-10-foot surf.
“The challenges for this rescue was that it was so close in, fins were ineffective,” he said.
The closer he got, the more desperate the situation became.
“I was unable to pull him out because he was limp and the waves were pushing so hard,” Williams said.
“The whole time I was thinking, I just need to hold my position until my partner can get here because I’m not going to be able to get him out on my own.”
Williams said he focused on keeping both himself and the boy from being dragged farther into the Pacific.
“Doing the best I can to get a good grip on the child and not get sucked out any further.”
As beachgoers rushed into the surf to help, Williams ordered them back to shore.
“There were bystanders who jumped in to try to help, and I yelled at them all to get back to shore,” he said.
Another lifeguard soon reached the pair.
“My partner mostly takes over holding the child because at this point, my arms were very exhausted from holding on,” Williams recalled. “I still support him as much as I can as we drag him out of the water.”
Nathaniel’s father, Sumit Rai, has credited Williams’ quick actions with saving his son’s life.
“Gratefully, he’s alive. It’s a miracle,” Rai told The California Post. “I’m so grateful to that lifeguard, Ryder.”
“Two more seconds he gets thrown another 15-20 feet,” Rai added. “You can’t see him, let alone rescue him.”
After reaching shore, Nathaniel coughed up sand and remained in shock.
“My son told me that he drowned and my son told me that he went unconscious,” Rai said. “He was very subdued, still in a state of shock.”
For Williams, though, the dramatic rescue was simply part of the job.
“That is just a part of our daily task to do. We can keep the public safe. That’s the reason we were on the beach,” he said.
Rather than calling it a day after the high-stakes rescue, Williams climbed back into his tower.
“I returned to my tower after the rescue and continued to make safety contacts and ended up making more rescues later that day.”
Williams also emphasized that saving lives is a team effort.
“Together that day, we had many units on and all the tower staff. All the towers are making constant safety contacts with the units driving through to support us. Without working together, we would not be able to make many of the rescues we do.”
The teen hopes the attention surrounding his rescue encourages more beachgoers to learn about the dangers of the ocean before heading into the water.
“I wish more people knew about ocean conditions and rip currents,” he said. “A way that people can find out about those is talking to the lifeguards or doing some research before they head to the beach.”
