Andy Irons
Andy Irons
Philip Andrew Irons was an American professional surfer who was born on July 24, 1978 and died on November 2, 2010. Irons began surfing from an early age on the ferocious and shallow reefs of the North Shore in Kauai, Hawaii. During the course of his surfing career, he won the world titles three times in the row (from 2002 to 2004), three Quiksilver Pro France titles (2003, 2004, 2005), and won four of the twenty surf tours from 2002 to 2006 including the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing. On 3rd September 2010, he won the Billabong Pro in Tahiti. He also used to host the surfing contests for kids called Annual Irons Brothers Pinetrees Classic along with his family. Moreover, he is the only surfer who has won the every title named on the ASP calendar. He died at a very young age of 32 in 2010. Since his death 13th February has been declared ‘Andy Irons Day’ in his honor by the Governor of Hawaii.
Life, Career and Death
Andy Irons used to surf along with his younger brother, Bruce Irons, who used to be a former contestant on the World Championship 
Tour of Surfing (WCT). From 2001 to 2006, Andy won numerous contests and tours including three Word Championship Tours. In 2008, he was formally introduced into the Surfing Walk of Fame in Huntington Beach, California. Over the course of his surfing career, he was widely compared with his presumed rival, Kelly Slater. However, both of them stated to be good surf buddies. He pulled back from a full ASP World Tour due to personal reasons. In 2010 ASO, he was inducted as a wildcard entry. He won the Billabong Pro Tahiti contest in 2010. Billabong has designed an “Andy Irons” line of board shorts in his memory. He was married to Lyndie Dupuis who was seven months pregnant with their first kid at the time of his death. Lyndie continues to live with their son, Andy Axel Irons, in their home on island of Kauai. Irons has been the subject of quite a few movies including Blue Horizon, a 2005 surfing movie, depicted his WCT tour and his rivalry with Kelly Slater.
Irons died on 2nd November 2010 when he was only 32 years old. He was discovered dead in bed by the hotel staff who decided to investigate when he did not open up the door on several knocks. The official medical report stated that he died of a heart attack, however the second cause of death ‘acute mixed drug ingestion’ was also listed. His memorial service was held on 14th November 2010 in Hanalei Bay, Kauai. He requested to be cremated and his ashes was scattered outside Hanalei Bay by his wife and brother. Thousands of people came to wish him goodbye. Andy Irons may have lived a short life but he made his mark in the surfing world. He is regarded as one of the world’s greatest competitive surfers and big-wave riders.
