Today, November 2nd, is going to always be remembered as a sad day. Last year in Puerto Rico, the world was shocked of Andy’s death. I was actually in Dallas airport, where he died, when they announced his death. I had seen him the day before, talked with him, and concluded we would see each other in Hawaii for the upcoming winter. Then, we shook hands and he got in the car and left. Forever. I couldn’t believe it when I heard. His family, his friends, his surfing, and his one of a kind personality were all I could think about. He was a rockstar. He will never be forgotten in my mind. A true legend. I’m in Hawaii right now with my family for the Sunset contest. I surfed my first heat out there the other day and Andy’s old coach, Dave Riddle, was helping me out before my heat. It was really special to have him there with me. The whole time he was telling me where to sit and what board to ride, I was just imagining him saying this same stuff to Andy before he was going out to win a world title. It’s still just unreal. I can’t wait until the first good Pipeline swell so we can all “mindsurf” waves with Andy getting the wave of the day. RIP Andy.
