If the paddle from small-town Hanalei, Kaua'i, to the grandest stages in professional surfing seems impossible to some, for three-time world champion Andy Irons it was almost inevitable.
The currents were on his side, to be sure. His father's side of the family was filled with competitive surfers. His mother is an avid skier.
The secluded Pine Trees surfing spot near his home provided Irons an ocean playground on which to build his skills without the thick crowds of O'ahu spots. His younger brother, Bruce, also a top professional surfer, gave him a fiercely competitive rival to push his development.
Irons won his first professional contest while he was still a senior at Kapa'a High School. Within two years, he was already ranked among the top 25 surfers in the world. Training with world champion Sunny Garcia, the sometimes-tempestuous Irons found the focus he needed to make a run at the top.
In 2002, Irons won three World Championship Tour contests en route to his first World Championship. Within weeks of clinching the title, Irons won the Xbox Gerry Lopez Pipeline Masters, which gave him an overall victory in the prestigious Vans Triple Crown of Surfing.
Irons successfully defended his championship in 2003 and 2004 before falling to seven-time champion Kelly Slater at a competition in Brazil.
