An experienced paddle boarder suddenly found himself in some unfamiliar territory this week when a pod of orcas began circling him in the middle of the water.

Rick German described it as his dream to see orcas, and he had his camera on hand to record the experience and share it on YouTube, according to a Los Angeles Times report.

German, who is from Laguna Beach, called it a once-in-a-lifetime experience. He’s seen all sorts of marine wildlife such as dolphins and blue whales first hand, but never killer whales — until now.

German caught wind that a pod of killer whales was swimming off Long Beach and headed out to see if he could spot them. He hopped on his board and poddled to the pod, which numbered about five whales, as several other boats surrounded him and the whales.

At one point, German feared that a whale might knock him off his board, but instead it swam directly underneath him in a moment caught on camera.

He said he was “too excited to be scared,” according to the Times report.

German wants to raise more awareness about orcas, as some populations of the species are considered endangered or threatened.

Killer whales are often perceived as dangerous to humans, and have been known to aggressive, but surprisingly the only known fatal attacks by orcas have been in captivity. There have been very few confirmed attacks on humans by wild killer whales, and none of them have been fatal. Captive killer whales, meanwhile, have attacked humans many times since the 1970s.