Bruce is loose again.

After five years of leashed surfing on the elite World Championship Tour, Kaua'i's Bruce Irons is giving it up to return to the form of surfing that made him famous — and happy — in the first place.

Freestyle.

"My style of surfing when I started was way more radical," Irons, 29, said. "Then when I went on tour, I had to slow it down and fit the (judging) criteria, and I hated the way my surfing had become. I finally realized that I'd be better off just going back to that radical surfing — doing my own thing."

Irons' final contest as a member of the World Championship Tour will be the Billabong Pipeline Masters. The event is scheduled to run when waves are favorable between tomorrow and Dec. 20 at the Banzai Pipeline.

"It's not like that's going to be my last time ever surfing Pipe," Irons said. "But I'd definitely like to leave the tour by winning it. That would be the best way to walk away."

When he was in his early 20s, Irons became one of the world's most popular surfers, even though he was not on the World Championship Tour.

Instead of winning contests, he rose to prominence with an innovative style that made highlight reels around the world. He was surfing's version of a YouTube sensation.

But at the time, he also had a successful older brother, Andy, who was winning the world championship in 2002, '03 and '04.

"Yeah, I figured if he could do it, I could do it, too," Irons said.

Irons qualified for the WCT in 2004. In his five years on the elite tour, including this year, his best year-end ranking was No. 9 in 2005.

He is currently ranked No. 22, and is in position to requalify for the 2009 WCT. But he said he is retiring from world tour competition, regardless of how he does in the Pipeline Masters.

"I'm totally unfulfilled," Irons said. "But I tried it, and it's not for me. In order to win contests, you need a certain style of surfing, and that's not what I like to do."

What he likes to do is take chances, and surf fearlessly.

In big, barreling waves, he'll try to get in as deep as possible. In medium-sized waves, he'll go for aerial maneuvers or 360-degree turns. In small waves, he'll just stay home.

"On the tour, you go to all these same spots every year and surf when they tell you to surf, if it's good or not," Irons said. "When the waves were (small), I didn't even care if I won or lost. I just wasn't happy to be there."

Starting in 2009, Irons will return to the kind of schedule he had before joining the tour. He'll stay mostly on Kaua'i and O'ahu's North Shore, surfing whenever he wants to.

He'll also chase quality waves around the world at exotic locations — away from the crowds, and where he can rebuild his popular video status.

"I'll be making more (surf) movies, going on surf trips," he said.

Although he will lose his income from prize money, Irons has been assured a regular paycheck from his primary sponsor, Volcom.

"They're full-on supporting my decision, which is cool," Irons said. "Volcom bought a house right at Pipeline, so I'll be spending a lot of time there, surfing the swells."

He's also planning to spend more time with his family. Irons and his wife, Mia, were married two months ago on Kaua'i. They are expecting a baby daughter in March.

"It's not just about surfing," Irons said. "I'm moving on and starting a new chapter in life."

It is a lifestyle that even has his older brother contemplating options for 2009.

Andy said he was not entirely happy on the 2008 WCT as well, and is still deciding what he wants to do next year.

"Seeing (Bruce) free surf and get paid for it sounds like fun," Andy said. "But I don't know what I'm going to do yet. Just play it by ear for now."

In any case, the Irons brothers are considered among the surfers to beat at the Pipeline Masters. Andy has won it four times; Bruce won it once.

They are also among the 28 invited surfers for the prestigious Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational. That contest could run at Waimea Bay this winter if wave-face heights reach the 40-foot range.

Bruce's reputation reached legendary status when he won the Eddie Aikau contest in December 2004.

"It's still the single greatest moment of my life," he said.

Because the contest has not run since, Bruce is still considered the defending champion.

"That's what a contest should be like," he said. "You wait for when the waves hit their potential, and not just try to fit it into a schedule."

Now it's his turn to do just that.