Hideaki Akaiwa is the Badass of the Week. On Friday, March 11, when an 8.9 mega-earthquake caused a raging tsunami that flooded his entire town, this insane badass strapped on scuba gear and dove into the goddamn tsunami -- multiple times -- to rescue his wife, his mom, and other survivors:
Now, while most people would have been content in the knowledge that their family was safe, Hideaki Akaiwa isn't the sort of badass who's going to hang up his flippers and quit just because he'd taken care of his own personal shit – this guy made an oath to keep going back into the wreckage on his own to find people and help them to safety. Today this 43 year-old Japanese badass rides out every single day, multiple times a day, riding around on a bicycle with his legs wrapped in plastic to keep himself dry. His only equipment – a pocketknife, a canteen, a flashlight, a change of clothes, and a badass set of aviator sunglasses – packed into a trusty trio of backpacks, he rides out in search of people needing rescue, a modern-day, real-life action hero.Somebody should make a movie about this guy and his incredible real-life action saga. Though there's no living actor who could properly depict Hideaki Akaiwa's badassness. Read the entire story, as explained with dramatic flourish by Badass of the Week, here.
