Meet 17-Year-Old Shark Attack Survivor Lulu Gribbin
Mountain Brook student Lulu Gribbin turned tragedy into triumph by pushing water safety legislation and launching a nonprofit to help advance technology for amputees. Image: Sprouthouse Agency
Seventeen-year-old shark attack survivor, advocate, and nonprofit founder Lulu Gribbin has turned unimaginable tragedy into purpose. After losing her left hand and right leg in a bull shark attack in June 2024, the Mountain Brook High School student pushed for the Lulu Gribbin Shark Alert System Act, which creates a real-time cell phone alert for shark sightings and attacks in Alabama.
Lulu also launched the Lulu Strong Foundation to expand access to advanced prosthetic technologies and cutting-edge therapies for amputees. And did we mention she’s Southern Living‘s Southerner of the Year for 2025? Get to know this inspiring young FACE of Birmingham!
First, can you tell us more about how you founded Lulu’s Law?
When I was attacked by the shark, only 90 minutes before and a few miles down the coast, there was another shark attack. If I had known this, I would not have been in the water at all. I would have just been on the beach hanging out with my friends. This could have been prevented. We decided to create Lulu’s Law so that if there’s been a shark attack in the water near you, it will send an alert to your phone.
I hope it will make the beaches safer and make the people at the beach feel safer. I’m very excited to have a law in my name, and it passed in the state of Alabama. It’s currently being worked on at the federal level with Senator Katie Britt. She’s very supportive. It passed unanimously in the Senate, and it’s currently in the House of Representatives.
What inspired you to focus on helping others?
I could have chosen to just get better myself and then go on with my life, but my story is so different compared to other people’s. My doctors have always called my story an anomaly because I received my prosthetics two months after my accident. It normally takes up to a whole year. And when I received them, I knew how to work them because I had virtual reality that helped me to control them.
I had therapists who knew how to teach me. Normally, it’s a very long and rigorous process. I want everyone to have the experience that I have, and it all points back to research. Also, on social media, I’ve gained a lot of people who were supporting me, and I wanted to be able to use that platform for a greater purpose.
What are you hoping to accomplish through the Lulu Strong Foundation?
Our goal is to fund research for higher prosthetic care. The technology is there, but the research isn’t. When I was in the hospital, I had a virtual reality headset that helped me learn how to control my phantom limbs, how to control my muscles, and eventually learn how to control my prosthetic arm. And it brought my pain from a 10 in the beginning, all the way down to a zero eventually.
There needs to be more research to be able to get this technology to every amputee.
You’re an accomplished adaptive golfer and water skier. Can you tell us more about that?
I loved to golf and water ski before the accident, but my main sport was volleyball, so I didn’t put my full attention into them until after the accident. With water skiing, I slalom ski, which is just water skiing on one leg. I just love being pulled by the boat and getting to feel the wind blow through my hair.
In golf, I have a golf hand attachment that is different from the one I wear every single day. It’s adapted just for me, and it functions like a wrist and hand — it can hold on to the golf club. The adaptive technology is very awesome.
It has been so much fun getting to play sports as an amputee, and I have had so many cool opportunities. I got to play in the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Arizona, and that was an experience of a lifetime. I got to meet golfers who are huge celebrities to me. I got to golf with Justin Thomas and Ricky Fowler.
What advice would you give to someone who is facing something that seems impossibly hard?
Never give up. It might feel like you’re at the bottom of the mountain right now, but once you get through this, you’ll come out on top of the mountain. And where there’s a storm, there’s always a rainbow. You just have to keep on fighting.
What are some of your favorite places in Birmingham?
We have a lot of good food places in Birmingham. I love to go to Taco Mama. I love Crestline Bagel. I love going to my church, St. Luke’s Episcopal. It’s such a special community. I love driving around Mountain Brook and seeing all the beautiful scenery. In Downtown Birmingham, I love going to TopGolf. And I love going down to the Coca-Cola Amphitheater or the BJCC for concerts.
What’s the best advice you’ve been given?
The best advice has been from my mom. In the hospital, she told me that what I look like does not define me, and that has stuck with me since the accident. She told me that having one arm and one leg does not define who I am on the inside. So, I try to be my natural self and have a positive attitude, no matter what the situation looks like.
LIGHTNING ROUND!
Three things you can’t live without: My portable fan, Summer Fridays lip balm, and Fresca.
Favorite local boutiques: Minette, Julia B. Collection, and M. Cory.
What’s on your bedside table? My alarm clock, my water bottle, tissues, and Scripture cards by Anne Nielsen.
Last great book you read: Live by Sadie Robertson.
Favorite podcasts: The Overflow Creative Podcast by two of my friends, the WHOA That’s Good Podcast by Sadie Robertson, and the podcast by Bethany Hamilton — All Things Possible.
What’s on your travel bucket list? Rome, Italy. I would love to go to Cappadocia, Turkey, and get to be in a hot air balloon. I also want to go on a Norwegian Cruise and see all those countries. And I want to go to Africa.
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Southern women are doing remarkable things. Meet more of them in our FACES archives!
Javacia Harris Bowser
Javacia Harris Bowser is a Birmingham-based freelance writer and the founder of See Jane Write, an online community and coaching service for women who write. With over 20 years of journalism experience, Javacia has received awards from the National Federation of Press Women, Alabama Media Professionals, Alabama Press Association, and the Alabama State Council on the Arts. When she’s not writing, she’s usually practicing Pilates, getting her 10K steps a day, or watching crime shows. Follow Javacia on Instagram @seejavaciawrite.