The Life of Andy Irons
Cover image: © WSL / Karen
Andy Irons is immortalized in the surf world as one of the only surfers to beat Kelly Slater during his prime, winning three consecutive world titles from 2002 – 2004 and the Triple Crown in 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2006. The Hawaiian surfer was also known for his roller-coaster career and struggle with addiction and mental illness. His death in 2010 from a drug-related heart attack sent a shock through the international surf world. His superhuman surfing and human struggles left their mark in surf history and keep his legacy alive today.
Early Life
Bruce Irons (left) and Andy Irons (Right)
Andy was born in Lihue, Kauai in 1978. His father, Phil Irons, was a California surfer and introduced him and his brother, Bruce, to the art of riding waves. At age eight, Andy began surfing, and along with Bruce, made a name for themselves in the competitive surf scene. They were top amateurs in the 1992 and 1993 US Championships. In 1996, Andy won the junior division in the US Championships and the National Scholastic Surfing Association Championships. Later that year, and still a senior in high school, he won the HIC Pipeline Pro debuting his professional career. In 1997, he continued his winning streak taking first place in the Tahiti Pro at Teahupo’o and solidifying his reputation as the new hotshot on the block.
Reputation, Good and Bad
Andy Irons took the surf world by storm. He came known for his incredible versatility in the water from big wave charging to tearing up the small surf. He could fling his 6’0” 170 lb frame into the air for impossible-seeming aerial maneuvers and draw defined, clean lines in large messy waves.
Bruce was never far behind and entered the surf scene with the same quick skill progression and gusto as Andy. Their sibling relationship was volatile and sometimes led to rivalries and amusing confrontations for the surf world. Matt Warshaw, in the Encyclopedia of Surfing, accounts how “Bruce once tried to blow up Andy with a Firework and Andy once knocked Bruce unconscious with a karate kick to the head".
Andy also had a reputation for high highs and low lows. After seeing early success and qualifying for the Championship Tour in 1998, winning the Worlds Junior Championship, Huntington Beach, US Open, and OP Pro, he finished the year ranked #21. At this time, he also solidified his reputation as a counter-culture rebel type who wasn't shy of the party and drug scene. In 1999, he dropped down in the rankings to #34, and many believed his party habits were going to see him leave surf fame as quickly as he entered. In 2000, Andy turned himself around and finished the year ranked #16. This trend continued into 2002 when he won his first World Title and Triple Crown Competition.
Andy Irons and Kelly Slater Rivalry
It's hard to talk about Andy without mentioning the rivalry between him and Slater. We first saw these two face off in 2002, when Slater, then a six-time World Champion, lost to Andy and gave up the World Title. In 2003, the two-faced off all season, and it wasn't until the end of year Pipeline Masters, that Andy surfed a perfect heat, besting the GOAT and winning his second World Title. Andy again won the 2004 tour and Slater finished in third to Joel Parkinson.
The 2005 season ended Andy's winning streak. Slater somehow, by the Grace of God, found a new gear of competitiveness and bested Irons to take the World Title in 2005 and 2006. Andy won the Triple Crown both those years, and after a close call in 2006, where Slater barely won the year-ending heat with a 10 point ride, Andy was never quite the same. In 2007, his ranking fell to 6th, and the trend continued as he fell to 13th in 2008 and sat out the 2009 season.
Beyond the waves, the two surfers could be compared to the devil and angel sitting on opposite shoulders. Kelly Slater was the exemplary, drug-free, white wetsuit-wearing, stoic athlete, and Andy was the rock and roll loving party animal who was famously pictured dressed in black in front of the band Metallica with a flame surfboard. Despite their rivalry, the two surfers respected each other's drive and pushed the other to the best of their surfing limits.
The Final Years
In 2009 Andy’s struggle with drug and alcohol abuse came back into play. He sat out the 2009 season and did two stints in rehab for his struggles with OxyContin use. His long-time sponsor Billabong reportedly cut his pay.
In 2010 he came back to the World Tour. After losing the first four events, he again showed signs of drug use. Briefly, he seemed to rein himself in and won the Billabong Pro Tahiti Contest. However, he pulled out of a contest in Puerto Rico, and two days later, he was found dead in a hotel in Dallas, Texas. He was 32 and reportedly was traveling home to see his pregnant wife, Lyndie Irons.
His death sent a shock of tragedy through the international surf community. Originally, there were conflicting stories as to how he died, but it was finally released that Andy's cause of death was a heart attack and a lethal level of cocaine, methadone, methamphetamine, and Xanax in his bloodstream.
The Andy Irons Legacy
Andy Irons has been named “Top 16 Surfers of all Time” in 2004 by Surfing Magazine, named #9 in Surfers Magazine's list of “50 Greatest Surfers of all Time” in 2009, and was inducted into the Huntington Beach Surfer’s hall of fame in 2003, the Surfing Walk of fame in 2008, and the Hawaii Sports Hall of fame in 2012.
Not only was Andy one of the best surfers the world has ever seen, but he brought a human perspective to the hero pedestal of a World Champion. His struggle with addiction and mental illness raised awareness of these issues among the surf community. His legacy lives on through his son Axel Irons, wife Lyndie Irons, brother Bruce, and all his peers and fans who came to love him throughout his life.
Bonus
Andy Irons: Kissed by God (2018), is a documentary directed by Steve and Todd Jones with Josh Taft and features Bruce Irons, Lyndie Irons, and Kelly Slater. It takes you through the three-time World Champion's ups, downs, wins, and loses as he took the surf world by storm.
Information from this post was sourced from Matt Warshaw’s, Encyclopedia of Surfing.
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