Ryan Mann spent many summer holidays as a child jumping off the Henley Jetty in South Australia but a cliff diving accident two years ago in Perth changed the course of his life.
The pressure of hitting the water caused an undiagnosed bone spur to compress Mr Mann's spinal cord, leaving him with incomplete quadriplegia.
"Never do you think that something will go wrong, especially when peer pressure's involved and you then don't think about the consequences and you don't look for the possible risks," the Adelaide man said.
"I actually knew the depth of the water so I knew there wasn't an issue with hitting anything but you can plan, you can look at the risks ... but you can't always be prepared."
After the accident, Mr Mann had to give up his electrical job and started looking for other ways to stay engaged.
He noticed a shortage in education programs and started working with the Neil Sachse Foundation which has created online videos for school children warning about the risks and the impact of spinal cord injuries.
PHOTO: Jetty jumpers try to escape the heat by cooling off at Henley Beach (AAP: Ben Macmahon)
Sandbars can shift, Mann warns
But he fears not enough schools use the resource and hopes to roll out the program and use his story in Australian classrooms this year.
"The real hidden danger is that sandbars move and the water may be up but you may not be able to see that one particular sandbar and that sandbar could change your life," he said.
"If they're going to ignore the warnings and take part in this sort of activity, I can only just say jump feet first."
"But I don't encourage it; I would hate to see more people have to go through what I've been through."
Surf Life Saving South Australia also runs hundreds of beach safety school education programs each year but lifesavers are still responding to one jetty jumping injury each week during summer.
The service's community, education and training manager, Lee Patterson, said she thought the message was getting through to those people engaged in the programs.
"Jumping straight off a jetty if you're not aware of that environment that's where your risk is and from a commonsense point of view, not ideal," she said.
"It is very much about education and people knowing what can happen if things go wrong."
"You just like to hope that the message is being reinforced as children are growing older ... but it is important that the adults of children also get to know this message."
Jetty jumping is not illegal in South Australia but some councils have tried to ban the activity with those ignoring the warning signs at risk of being fined.
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