Andy Irons: Kissed by God

I'll admit I had no idea this documentary was about more than Andy's surfing prowess before watching it... and that made my viewing of this documentary all the more poignant! The amount of detail and the number of testimonies helped paint the whole picture of this man's life and struggles... a beautifuly-crafted doc!

I was lucky enough to see this film early at the World Premier in NYC. I am a surfer and followed surfing from an early age but up until this film I have never seen a film go into such intimate detail to effectively tell a story about surfing and give an inside look at one of the best surfers in the world and the struggle that he went through behind the scenes. His brother, Bruce Irons, and his wife, Lyndie, do not hold back at all in describing the details of not only Andy's life, but also the life of a professional surfer. This is more than a surf film. It transcends surfing and is a story that everyone should see, as we have all know or have known someone who has dealt with mental illness and addiction.

My brother was diagnosed with bipolar disorder a few years ago and I myself feel I also suffer from bipolar disorder, though I was never told that by a physician. I know what it's like to go from having a great day to wanting to just end it all in a matter of minutes. I like Andy, turned to self medication (no opioids) to relieve the constant feeling of depression, anger and basically no self esteem.

Anyway enough about me, it's just utterly amazing how someone bipolar that is constantly self medicating with hard drugs can be a 3X world champion. It's an astonishing feat, I just wish he could have fought off the demons and lived a somewhat normal life.

RIP Andy, the pain is now gone.

As a lifelong lover of all things water and decades long SoCal surfer - who saw Andy surf@Sunset - this was a very powerful and brutally honest documentary. Portraying the yin & yang of someone as gifted, handsome and humble - while also innerly tormented - as Andy. He grew up on Kauai, in a small surf town with a supportive family and a younger brother. The brothers helped push each other to become successful world-class pro surfers. On the surface Andy was LIVIN' da DREAM most anyone would dream of. Getting paid to travel the world and surf the best breaks. While his home base was always there waiting for him - back in da Islands.

My only interaction with him was on the North Shore during his 3rd in a row world title run. He was with his small posse of surfers and patiently held the door open for my wife. As someone who has empathy for famous/well known people I did not bother him and we all went on our way.

His intense focus and drive, along with Kissed by God given talent made him the best competitive surfer in the world for years. Competing and beating the GOAT surfer Kelly Slater more than anyone else ever has. Slater says Irons reinvigorated his drive to compete and win again after years of totally dominating competitive surfing. Irons was an artistic genius in big barreling waves - to this day I have never seen anyone look so comfortable and at ease inside massive barrels such as Pipe/Teahupoo/Hanalei, that would easily kill 99% of us normal surfers.

While on land he had trouble controlling his emotional ups & downs - dealing with life away from the calming of our Mother Ocean. Any lifelong surfer can relate to the calming effect of communing with Mother Nature. In the end, the most talented humans often have trouble dealing with life away from their gift. Andy was an amazing human being and surfer - it is too bad he is gone so young.

I saw Andy Irons place his feet in cement at the Huntington Beach Surfing Walk of Fame and found his somewhat bashful manner endearing. I knew nothing of his struggles and was surprised when I learned of his death. This movie reveals his struggles along with his triumphs intelligently and interestingly. It's a well done documentary by any measure. And has some fantastic surfing sequences!