Andy Irons, with Shane Dorian’s twigs barely visible, is unquestionable one of the sport’s all-time greats. Photo: Tom Servais
Surfing is undeniably dangerous. Crushing waves, razor-sharp reefs, aggressive wildlife – they’re all out there. But it’s a sort of contract surfers make upon entering the water: you accept these risks in exchange for what could be the ride of a lifetime.
Which makes it all the more heartbreaking when we lose surfers to something other than the surf itself. Of course, it is undoubtedly a tragedy when surfers are claimed by the waves – but there is at least the small comfort that they died doing something they loved. The same can not be said for the men and women who risked it all and made it out the other side, only to be cut down by fate nonetheless.
With that, here are five surfers who tragically met their fates outside of the lineup.
Emery Kauanui
Emery Kauanui was an up-and-coming aspiring pro and a beloved part of the San Diego surf community. In 2007, he was at a bar with his girlfriend when he spilled beer on local surfer Eric House. At the time, the mishap led to a short altercation, which was broken up by the bouncers.
However, it didn’t end there. House was a member of a small group of five local surfers who called themselves the Bird Rock Bandits. Soon after the bar run-in, the Bandits went to Kauanui’s house to confront him. House and Kauanui got into a fight, but it was another Bird Rock Bandit, Seth Cravens, who threw a punch that knocked Kauanui out. Kauanui’s head hit the pavement and five days later he was dead from a blunt-force head injury.
Ricardo Dos Santos
Known as “Ricardinho,” Ricardo Dos Santos was a Brazilian surfer beloved as much for his good nature as his considerable talent in the water. His initial claim to fame was winning the 2012 Billabong Pro Tahiti Trials before beating Jordy Smith, Taj Burrow, and Kelly Slater in the main event. That effort earned him the Andy Irons Award for Most Committed Performance in the process.
In 2015, Dos Santos was shot dead at the age of 24 by an off-duty policeman outside his home near Florianopolis, Brazil. Witnesses said that Dos Santos and the officer, Paulo Mota Brentano, got into an argument after Dos Santos asked him to move his car in order to work on a pipe. As Ricardo was walking away, the policeman opened fire from inside the car, hitting him once in the back and twice in the side. Dos Santos was airlifted to a hospital, where he underwent four operations before dying from his wounds the following day.
Chris Brown was known for his wraparound and his giant smile. Image: Screenshot
Chris Brown
Chris Brown was a world-class competitive surfer, despite having an on-again, off-again relationship with the sport. He became a world tour rookie in 1988, but left by the end of the following year. In 1992, he returned, only to leave again in 1995. Soon after, he turned his interest to big waves and became one of the best surfers at Maverick’s. All throughout, he was a fixture in surf videos and widely considered to be among the world’s best surfers.
In 2019, when Brown was 48 years old, his body was recovered near Hendry’s Beach in Santa Barbara. A month later, the Santa Barbara Police Department determined that he was high on methamphetamines when he fell from a cliff and subsequently drowned. Brown’s death prompted an outpouring of love from the surf community, including a heartfelt tribute from Kelly Slater himself.
The shot heard around the world. Jay Moriarity’s wave at Maverick’s landed him on the cover of SURFER magazine.
Jay Moriarity
On December 19, 1994, Jay Moriarity endured a wipeout so bad that it etched his name into the history of the sport. Dubbed the “Iron Cross,” it’s not only one of the most harrowing moments in Maverick’s history, but surfing as a whole. It was a cruel irony for a surfer as daring and talented as Moriarity to become famous from an error, but history was written none the less. Later on, Jay would become known to the general public as the subject of the film Chasing Mavericks.
Jay’s untimely death would take place in the ocean, but not as a result of the monsters he chased. Nobody knows what happened exactly, but two days before his 23rd birthday, Moriarity went freediving in the Maldives and never returned.
Photo: Eddie Aikau Invitational
Eddie Aikau
The North Shore is the epicenter of surf culture, and Eddie Aikau is a key part of its story. Eddie was the first official lifeguard hired by the City & County of Honolulu to work at Waimea Bay. He was a consummate waterman and adept big wave surfer. His willingness to take on any challenge even led to the oft-repeated catchphrase “Eddie would go,” and his legacy lives on in the form of the Eddie Aikau Invitational big wave surfing competition.
In 1978, Aikau joined the crew of the Hokule’a, a performance-accurate Polynesian double-hulled deep-sea voyaging canoe that set sail from Hawaii, bound for Tahiti. However, hours after leaving the Hawaiian Islands, the craft capsized. With the crew adrift in rough seas, Aikau paddled out on a surfboard to go find help. The rest of the crew was rescued soon after, but Aikau was never seen again.
Andy Irons at Lance’s Right. Photo: Jeff Divine
Andy Irons
The word legend gets thrown around a lot in the world of surfing, but Andy Irons truly lives up to the title. He was a force to be reckoned with in the water, with powerful, stylish surfing that earned him three world titles. On land, he had the magnetism of a rock star and the lifestyle to match.
However, his shining talent came with a dark side. Throughout his life, Irons battled bipolar disorder and opioid addiction. In 2010, Irons was found dead at the age of 32 in a Dallas airport hotel room. An autopsy eventually determined the causes were heart disease and drug use.
