A Kiwi lifeguard who saved the life of a Danish prince in Australia is a "laid-back", quiet guy.
The quick thinking lifeguard Nick Malcolm, from Mairangi Bay, saved the life of the heir to the Danish throne, following a swift rescue on Australia's Gold Coast on Thursday.
Malcolm quickly paddled out to save 10-year-old Prince Christian after he was swept out to sea by a rip at Mermaid Beach.
Malcolm's quick thinking has been credited for saving the young Count of Monpezat's life.
Mairangi Bay Surf Lifesaving Club head of surf sports Danny Morrison and one of Malcolm's coaches, said the lifeguard was a laid-back guy who had kept a low-profile since the event.
Morrison said the guys back home had given Malcolm heaps on Facebook after the news came out of the royal rescue.
It was a credit to Malcolm that he picked up on the problem before it became too serious but this was a standard rescue, he said, adding that Malcolm probably didn't want to make a big deal about about the day-to-day rescue.
"What you'll find is what he did happens on a daily basis...
"People are pulled out of rips all the time and nobody says a word.
They just get back on the beach and do it again."
Malcolm joined the Mairangi Bay club as a junior surf lifesaver or 'nipper' about 20 years ago and was now trying to become the best board paddler in the world.
Everybody had different motivations for staying in the the lifeguard game, Morrison said.
"To be honest, I don't really care what their motivation is as long as they stay on the beach, we're in a good space."
Surf Lifesaving New Zealand chairman Geoff Hamilton said Malcolm's rescue was "absolutely fantastic".
"Rescuing the prince is an outstanding achievement but I'm sure that our guys would have rescued anyone who needed their help."
High-profile rescues like this one were great for surf lifesaving, Hamilton said.
They helped to get across key water safety messages to the public and encouraged more people to get involved with lifesaving, he said.
According to Australia's 7 News Danish Crown Prince Frederick personally thanked Malcolm for the swift rescue and the prince returned to the surf the next day.
Christian was in Australia on holiday with his family when the dangerous tide grabbed him.
Malcolm is based on the Gold Coast while he trained full-time in surf lifesaving sports and worked as a lifeguard.
He returned to New Zealand about once a year to compete in surf lifesaving events.
This was not the first time Malcolm had saved someone's life at Mermaid Beach.
In January 2014 he was patrolling the beach when he spotted English tourist John Sherlock in trouble in the water.
By the time Malcolm got to the 68-year-old he had gone under water but he managed to flip him over and get him back to shore.
Sherlock went into cardiac arrest and Malcolm, along with fellow lifeguard Stuart Keay, spent half an hour working on the patient until paramedics arrived.
The tourist was rushed to hospital but recovered and was able to say meet his rescuers to say thanks.