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A portrait session with Andy Irons in my studio in Bali. I had no idea this would be the last time I'd ever see him. Photo: Jason Reposar
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I love this shot of Andy at Keramas before the new Kommine resort was built. He is simply getting his gear ready for a surf, but it says a lot about where he was at the time as a person. Confident, content, happy and secure in his own space. Photo: Jason Reposar
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On set during the filming of I Surf Because. Andy was trying to think of something good to day and kept second guessing himself. He shot me this look after I suggested something to him. Photo: Jason Reposar
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Andy takes a second to regain his composure in one of his most candid interviews. Photo: Jason Reposar
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A nice moment captured at Ketawell, in Bali. Andy was just checking the surf. Photo: Jason Reposar
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Andy and Lindy, celebrating after the comp in France. Photo: Jason Reposar
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An outtake from a Billabong photo session in Bali. Photo: Jason Reposar
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Andy and Mickey Avalon. Backstage after a concert in Australia. Photo: Jason Reposar
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Andy Irons. Photo: Jason Reposar
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Andy loved Bali, and Bali loved Andy. Here he is at Ketawell after an early morning surf. Photo: Jason Reposar
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Andy and Bruce hanging out with Mickey Avalon before a show in Australia. Photo: Jason Reposar
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Joel Parkinson and Andy Irons. Surf check at Brawa Beach, Bali. Photo: Jason Reposar
Today is the Andy Irons was born. It’s been a few years now since he died in that hotel room in Texas. A few years since surfing lost one if its prodigal sons; a few years since a wife lost a husband and a son lost a father before he had the chance to meet him. Andy’s passion for surfing – and for life in general – burned a little hotter than most. For better or for worse, in life and in death, AI started conversations in surfing that needed (and still need) to be talked about.
Andy was the man. Unapologetic. Passionate. He was surfing’s James Dean. “I am a professional athlete,” he said. “That means it’s part of the deal for people to watch me and watch what I do in and out of the water, but I am not some bubbly fucking angel who is going to go out and try to be your best friend.”
And, like all of us, he had his demons. Andy’s life was one that touched almost every surfer’s life in some way or another. His surfing bordered on sublime. His raw talent was almost unequaled. Today is his birthday. Someone blow out a candle for the guy. Happy Birthday, Andy.
We’ve got a lot of Andy kicking around on the site:
Kelly Slater’s How I Remember Andy
Tetsuhiko Endo’s Demystifying the Life and Death of Andy Irons
and his lovely wife Lyndie talked candidly about her late husband in an installment of our Headspace series.
