One year after being bitten by a horrific shark, Donkey Acrobatic Sean McInerney, better known as the Poopies, is back in the water to confront his fears. During the Sunday special kick off Shark WeekThe acrobatic man opened up about the terrifying experience.

“I thought I was going to die in front of my friends,” McInerney said, while fighting back tears. “Mn, that’s too heavy.”

While performing a stunt for Shark Week last year, McInerney was bitten on the hand and wrist, severing multiple tendons, ligaments and muscles. He underwent several surgeries and attended physical therapy twice a week. However, he still did not fully use his injured hand.

In order to overcome his new understandable phobia of sharks, he decides to dive with them again.

“It’s really important for me to get over that fear, ’cause I don’t want this accident to stop me from doing what I love,'” McInerney said, ‘I love the ocean, I love surfing. I will never stop. “

McInerney with his friends and snorkelers swam alongside him with sharks in the open waters. While he admitted that the experience was “a bit scary” and “nervous,” he seemed comfortable sharing a bite-free moment with the two impressive fishermen.

“Holy moly, I did it,” McInerney said, as he resurfaced from the snorkel. “You definitely have to respect those sharks. I feel so much better, I don’t have a fear of dying when I’m next to the sharks anymore…Now I can surf and surf with big waves!”

Shark Week It works all week. For more information visit Discovery.com.

Watch as Allison Janney learns she has a connection to Mayflower ‘in a huge way’:

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:

Tell us what you think! Connect with us TwitterAnd the Facebook or Instagram. And check out our hostess, Kylie Marr, at TwitterAnd the Facebook or Instagram.