Four Seasons condom heir tells how he was in the right place at the right time when his neighbour was mauled by a shark in Sydney Harbour

• Michael Porter was unsuspecting shark attack first responder 
• Lauren O’Neill almost lost her leg but miraculously survived

The first responder to a shark attack on Sydney Harbour is the heir to one of Australia’s leading condom businesses.

Michael Porter – whose family owns popular condom and lubricant business, Four Seasons – played a key role in the rescue of swimmer and kayaker Lauren O’Neill in Elizabeth Bay on Monday evening.

Ms O’Neill was taking an evening dip at a private wharf – outside the netting – in Sydney’s east when a bull shark mauled her soon after 7.40pm.

Ms O’Neill lost litres of blood in the water as she desperately paddled to the safety of a jetty ladder and cried out for help. 

‘I heard a soft yell from outside, I saw Lauren sort of propped up on the ladder and with her leg trailing behind her,’ Michael told Daily Mail Australia.

‘There was a big dark red pool of blood. Automatically I knew it was an emergency situation, I grabbed my phone and ran outside whilst calling Triple Zero.’

Michael was quickly joined by several other neighbours, including ‘hero’ vet Fiona Crago who applied tourniquets to stem the bleeding.

Quick-thinking Ms Crago, a former lawyer and TV producer who retrained as a vet around a decade ago, grabbed two compression bandages her wife had only just bought that day for another purpose. 

‘I’m in no way heroic. I just did my job and what I was trained to do,’ Dr Crago later told Channel 10.

‘I think it is a good reminder to people that they do need to be careful, especially at dawn and dusk,’ she added.

According to Mr Porter, Ms Crago was responsible for saving Lauren’s life.

‘Fiona is an absolute hero, I believe she saved Lauren’s life.’

He added despite being in a ‘complete state of shock’ from the trauma of the attack, Ms O’Neill was ‘very lucid’.

‘People were holding her hand and helping her and she was extremely brave the whole time,’ he said.

‘Lauren’s family should be so proud of how calmly she conducted herself in that moment.’ 

‘She was so polite and lovely and brave she was saying, ‘thank you for calling the ambulance.’ he added.

Ms O’Neill is recovering in intensive care after marathon surgery to save her right leg. 

Ms O’Neill studied science at the University of Sydney and works for the NSW government in the Department of Climate Change.

She has volunteered for a range of charities and organisations from 2012, when she was 15.

According to her LinkedIn profile, Ms O’Neill has given her time to the SES, the Fred Hollows Foundation, Pink Ribbon Day, Daffodil Day, and Spinal Cord Injury Australia.

She has served meals for the homeless, helped create a map of wheelchair-accessible public toilets, and walked foster dogs.

Meanwhile, Mr Porter, 33, is a regular fixture amongst Sydney’s social set.

Last July he and his husband, Billy Mitchell tied the knot in a star-studded Italian wedding in Lake Como that was almost derailed by an electrical storm.

Porter’s background in marketing & PR led to him establishing his own brand outside of the family business.

He co-founded Skin Control in July 2019 whilst helping grow the Four Seasons condom brand.