Surfing's sibling rivalry
Photo illustration by Stephen Downes • The Honolulu Advertiser
Bruce Irons, left, and Andy Irons love each other like brothers. In the world of competitive surfing, this makes for a rather complicated relationship.
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
Out of sibling rivalry, Andy and Bruce Irons have found sibling success in the world of surfing.
Born and raised in the quiet town of Hanalei, Kaua'i, the Irons brothers are now making a lot of noise on the professional surfing circuit.
Andy, 23, is the No. 1-ranked surfer in the world after a victory in the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia, earlier this month. Bruce, 22, is one of the world's most popular surfers, even though he has never qualified for the elite World Championship Tour.
"The impact the Irons brothers have had on surfing over the last few years has been tremendous," said Jack Shipley, who has been judging surf contests for nearly 40 years. "They've done things that have changed the whole criteria of how surfing is viewed."
Theirs is a complicated relationship. They are supportive, but intensely competitive.
Andy summed it up best after Bruce's victory at the Pipeline Masters last December. In the semifinals of that contest, Bruce eliminated Andy, costing Andy a shot at the Triple Crown championship.
"I wanted to punch him in the face and hug him at the same time," Andy said. "At first, I was mad because he beat me. But after I calmed down and watched him win the whole thing, I was happy for him."
Andy is the all-around all-star — equally sensational at carving across a two-foot wave or charging through a 12-foot barrel.
Bruce is the enigmatic innovator, one day trying to see how long he can stay within a barreling wave, the next attempting to see how high he can complete an aerial maneuver.
"You take them one at a time, and they'd be special," Shipley said. "When you consider them together as brothers, they are absolutely spectacular."
Last winter, they combined to win two of the three jewels in the prestigious Vans Triple Crown of Surfing: Andy took the G-Shock Hawaiian Pro at Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach, and Bruce claimed the Xbox Pipeline Masters.
They each have six-figure incomes. Their father is their manager. Their mother is their accountant.
"Andy and Bruce have redefined surfing for their generation," said Randy Rarick, the executive director of the Triple Crown of Surfing. "And with their (young) age and natural talent, they can continue to do so for a while."
Each inspired the other
Some of the Irons' talent came through genetics. Their father, Phil Irons, is a former competitive longboard surfer; their mother, Danielle Tache, is an avid skier. Several uncles — Phil's brothers — were also successful competitive surfers.
Still, Phil recalls watching in awe at how fearless his only two sons were in the Kaua'i surf 15 years ago.
"They started out on boogie boards when they were like 7 or 8, but even then, they were both so reckless," Phil said. "I could tell right away that they loved being in the waves."
At age 9, Andy got his photograph in The Garden Island newspaper after he helped save a tourist from drowning. A few years later, Andy and Bruce started appearing regularly in surfing magazines.
"You could see that they were special even when they were that young," said Nelson Togioka, director of Kaua'i's Hawaiian Surfing Federation. "What was even more impressive was that they kept progressing every year."
It helped that they learned to surf at Pine Trees, a secluded area near their home in Hanalei.
"There were never any crowds," Andy said. "We pretty much could catch as many waves as we wanted. I know it wouldn't be the same if we grew up on O'ahu and we had to battle with 10 guys just to catch one wave."
From the start, they provided each other's inspiration.
"There was never a dull moment," Phil said. "If Andy did something and we all went, 'Wow,' Bruce had to try it. If Bruce did something and we all went, 'Wow,' Andy had to try it."
By the time they were teenagers, that meant trying to outsurf each other in treacherous 15-foot waves on O'ahu's North Shore.
"I pray a lot," Danielle said. "I realize it's part of the sport for them to put their lives at risk, but I still worry every time they go out."
At times, rivalry got ugly
Because Andy and Bruce were born 16 months apart, they often had to compete in the same age bracket in youth surf meets.
Back then, Andy had established himself as not just the best surfer in the family, but the best surfer of his age in the nation. At 11, he was already a national champion.
"It was hard enough for the other competitors to deal with Andy," said Dave Riddle, who was a mentor and chaperone for the Irons brothers on O'ahu. "Imagine being his younger brother and having to deal with it.
"Nobody in the state of Hawai'i could beat Andy back then. Bruce, actually, came the closest."
Perhaps because of that, a rivalry was born. Their surfing battles became the stuff of legend — some truthful, some unfounded.
There were stories of heated arguments between the brothers, even fist fights, and that they each deliberately used "dirty" tactics in the water to foil the other.
"Even though some of it was true, the media went way overboard with it," Danielle said. "As a mother, it made me sad to have to read that about my own sons."
In truth, Andy and Bruce were competitive rivals during their teen years because they were often the two best surfers in their age bracket. As the older brother, Andy never relented on Bruce. As the younger brother, Bruce never backed down from Andy.
"There was a little bit of pressure," Bruce said. "I always wanted to beat (Andy), I know that."
Andy countered: "It was like I couldn't let (Bruce) beat me because if he did, people would talk about how he's finally passed me and all that."
They admit that it sometimes led to friction. There were, indeed, public arguments on the beach. A few times, they needed to be physically separated.
"It was a rivalry like two famous boxers," Riddle said. "They'd want to beat each other so bad, yet they respected each other after it was all said and done."
Still, most of the surfing media has maintained focus on the heated rivalry. "It was like there were all these stories going around that we hated each other," Andy said. "A lot of people assumed it was true, but it wasn't. A lot of guys wrote stories about it without even talking to us. Sometimes, I'd read that stuff and just laugh."
Ultimately, they would laugh all the way to the bank. To this day, the brothers still hang out with their parents and surf together at Pine Trees.
Sheer talent pays off
Andy was 17 and a senior at Kapa'a High in 1996 when he won his first professional contest at the Banzai Pipeline. By 1997, he was a full-time professional surfer; in 1998, he was ranked among the top 25 surfers in the world.
"I think things came too fast for him," Riddle said. "Talent-wise, he was ready for it. Maturity-wise, he wasn't."
Andy admits getting by "on talent alone" for his first two years on the World Championship Tour.
"The whole travel thing and partying with the other surfers was exciting for me," he said. "It was more like vacation trips for me. I would actually be hung over surfing in my heats sometimes."
It nearly cost him his spot on the world tour in 1999, when he did not perform well enough to requalify for the 2000 tour. Only the retirement of Australian Damien Hardman allowed Andy to return in 2000.
"That was his wake-up call and he answered it," Riddle said.
Indeed, Andy finished 2000 ranked No. 16 in the world. That same year, he bought his own house in Princeville, Kaua'i, and started training with world champion Sunny Garcia. Equally important, the "partying" on the road was curbed.
"I just got a little more mature and a little more serious about it," he said. "It was something I had to figure out myself."
The improvement continued through last year, when he finished the season ranked No. 10 — the highest of his career. There are still 10 contests remaining this year, so Andy isn't even thinking about his current No. 1 ranking.
"There's a long year left to go," he said. "But I feel a lot better about my chances now than a couple of years ago."
Billabong, one the largest surf-apparel companies in the world, capitalized on it last November, signing Andy to a six-year contract worth more than $2 million.
"Very few surfers have such all-around abilities as Andy," said Graham Stapelberg, a marketing director for Billabong. "He is one of the most talented surfers to come out of the USA in a long, long time."
Surfing is its own pleasure
Bruce was born two months premature and "came out fighting from the start," according to Phil.
Perhaps overshadowed by Andy as an amateur, Bruce has now found his own spotlight as a professional. Unlike Andy, Bruce has never qualified for the world tour.
"I've always wanted to do my own thing," Bruce said. "He has his thing and I have mine. I didn't want to follow him (on tour) just to follow him."
Instead, Bruce has carved his own niche by traveling around the world as the main subject of various surf videos and photo shoots. On any given wave, he is both fearless and acrobatic, a rare combination that has made him one of the most popular surfers in the world.
In a study conducted by Transworld Surf magazine two years ago, Bruce was found to be the most photographed surfer in the world. In a Surfer Magazine readers' poll last month, he was voted the third most popular surfer in the world, three spots ahead of Andy.
"I still get a lot of things done if I'm not on the tour," he said. "That's why it's so hard for me decide if it'll be good or bad to try and get on (the tour)."
The catch is, Bruce is also a very good competitive surfer, especially in big, barreling waves. As proof, he has won the last three professional contests held at the Banzai Pipeline, including the prestigious Pipeline Masters last December.
"The way he performs at that particular break is astounding," Shipley said. "He has solidified himself as the man to beat at Pipeline now, and that's a lofty title to hold because of the way that place is respected."
Bruce is ranked No. 12 on the World Qualifying Series, which is the tour that helps surfers earn a place on the elite World Championship Tour. He needs to finish in the top 16 of the Qualifying Series at the end of this year to join Andy on next year's Championship Tour.
"I want to get there, but if I don't, it's not a big thing," Bruce said. "All I want to do is surf when the waves are good."
Beyond Hanalei, the world
The Irons brothers each spend around eight months of every year traveling around the world. Still, Hanalei remains their home base.
"I don't ever want to live anywhere but Kaua'i," Andy said. "It's my heaven on earth. This is where I grew up, this is where I want to grow old."
They admit that a sibling rivalry still exists, but it is not as strong as their family bond.
When Andy won the Rip Curl Pro two weeks ago, Bruce watched and cheered for his older brother via the Internet.
"He's such a solid surfer," Bruce said. "When he's on his game, he can beat anybody."
Andy is hoping his younger brother qualifies for the 2003 Championship Tour because "nobody can surf with the kind of flair that Bruce has."
It's a game of one-upsmanship they hope never stops.
"The thing to remember is that these guys are still young," Riddle said. "Who knows how far they can go with this? It's almost scary to think about."
