Is it too late and too much to ask that some good might come from this whole sorry and sordid saga of lies, delays and cover-ups?

Maybe a statement from Billabong? A legacy or foundation in Andy's honour to educate and raise awareness of the total ill of getting involved with hard drugs?
Some transparency, honesty and having a good hard look in the mirror about what kind of culture was created whereby a World Champion athlete could die alone in his prime and then have his legacy smeared and belittled by rumour, straight out lies and corporate obfuscation would be worth it's weight in gold right about now.

Journalists who knowingly refrained from publishing the truth about AI's death, or even worse, blatantly published outright lies in some kind of complicit attempt to whitewash reality away should be having a good hard look at their consciences right now.

Andy's addictions don't tarnish his legacy. He was human and all humans suffer.
It's the disgraceful mountain of bullshit which "journos" and other enablers piled upon his corpse which has defamed the AI legacy.

RIP Andy. May your progeny prosper and live a long and healthy life.

Now what? Can we continue on our merry way or have the moralists got some more to say about it?

RIP AI

Amen Freeride

I have nothing but even more respect for AI now as they have confirmed the truth in and around Andys death.As a recovering addict myself & also a surfer i too have had addiction issues over the years,to use hard drugs is fulltime job & to surf on the world tour & win World titles is an absolutely amazing achievement & even more than a fulltime job,these guys are elite to say the least!the come backs he made after beating n succombing to his issues is truely amazing,as a recovering addict myself he has shown me that i can acheive just about any thing i put my mind too,as He did !!! RIP mate & God Bless his family,NOTHINGH BUT RESPECT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So many surfers are in the same boat as Andy was. Good luck sorting out your demons.
RIP AI -
Grew up around Irons family in Torrance Beach, CA. - great surfers all. Keep your heads up and move on. Best wishes to the entire family.

It is our choice what we do....simple, RIP

It is our choice what we do....simple, RIP

Could have Occy helped? Did he try? Fuck. What a waste. ASP needs drug counselling not testing, all they've done is bust Neco for having sundried tomatoes for plums. Fuck. Black ban Billabong.

"Trotsky's Ice-Pick"? I don't know about Andy Irons, I don't really care but such a username as that suggests you are an utter idiot!

In the Soviet Union the only thing anyone inherits by right of birth is congenital idiocy. J. V. Stalin

Maybe I just don't have the blinkers on, but can anyone else see a selfish, spoilt professional surfer leaving his family and child behind. To me it is utterly disgusting and immoral to somehow place this man on a pedestal, talk about 'legacy' and just forget the fact that he was self-serving at a time when the only responsibility should have been to his wife and child. I know that a lot of people will still stay blindly by his side, but of all the people in the world who could have got help, he was in the best position to get it. If you were to read in the paper about a homeless man dying of a drug overdose while his wife was 7 months pregnant, I am sure there would be no talk of 'but he was a great man, he won the local 8 ball comp a few years back, so we can excuse him from his selfishness, and remember his legacy'. We would be outraged.

In saying this, I do send out my compassion to Mrs Irons and Andy Junior, who has a tough road ahead to eventually deal with what has happened.

Hey Freeride, ur such a tough-guy now, well maybe you have been handy during the Irons family grieving period telling the media to F* the hell off. A few white lies are all they had so get over your bad self 'b4 I sick Mr T on your fool ass.
Having made that call, cambobooq is right, AI let the team down. Do you think his missus cares about his legacy? All he left was a family. Drugs are for mugs. No quarter.

What do you mean pattiecannon? The media didn't need telling, they were already conspicuously absent in their reporting.

A few white lies? Dying of a mosquito born infection and slipping into a drug induced coma resulting in a fatal heart attack are two totally different things.

Hi there guys, thought id make a comment.

First of all, I have nothing but respect for AI and his family, and it makes me very sad to think of his family in there current situation.

However, I think it is wrong to glorify recreational drug use. And if we are to get the message across to the groms. I think we need to uncover the truth and reveal what happened.

According to the coroners report, Andy died of a 70-80% Left Anterior Decending Artery Lesion. A conditions that occurs Naturally in people who have a long history of smoking, elivated cholesterol, diabetes, and a family history of heart disease or hardening of the arteries(Atherosclerosis).

This specific condition reduced the artery's ability to constrict and dilate as increased demand for oxygen is experienced by the heart muscle.

However, if 70-80% blood flow is obstructed a further 20-30% blood flow will continue to reach the myocardium(Heart Muscle) successfully.

It is extremely unusual for a person to experience a fatal Heart attack from this particular obstruction, Classically people experience fatal heart attacks if they have a 99-100% Narrowing/obstruction. Meaning minimal or zero blood flow to the heart muscle.

It has been well Documented that cocaine use causes Coronary Artery Vasospasm. Meaning that a already diseased artery of 70-80% narrowing during spasm will narrow further causing a possible 99-100% blockage, inducing a fatal heart attack.

People take drugs to deal with the pressure of everyday life, stress, fun, and a whole range of other reasons. And it is extremely sad to see someone as talented as andy pass away as a result of this behaviour. People must realise that these drugs are dangerous. And none of us are invincible. Please if your friends are taking them, warn them of these dangers.

A high profile death is a way of establishing awareness. Rest in Peace, Andy.

We Will All Miss You.

good post swelllllllllllllnetsurfer;

The Irons family could use the platform they have to initiate a conversation.
AI sponsors should be held accountable, as well as the Irons family.

As always I post the respectful - RIP AI - but something positive should come out of all this.

morning all , well what can one say? one has been banging on about this "poor" fella and got nothing but , "your a slack bastard bigwayne cause you pick on drug addicts" , mr cambob you said it bigfella "spoilt little surfer who could not see past his own nose"

now awaiting the usual , but he was a good bloke bigwayne! how do any of you know that for sure? yeah but he was a world champ bigwayne! one is a world champion shadow boxer , does that make onesself a god in your collective minds? ( one hopes so but thinks not) .

this was bought to you by a still not understanding the outpouring of greif for this spoilt brat HRH bigwayne

Coke and meth in his system, confirmed.

So we learned nothing about his drug habits, but we did learn he had a heart condition.

Lots of heat, precious little light, which was entirely predictable beforehand.

I'm not sure how you can get much out of it, or get particularly heated about the fact that rumours about drug use before his death were not immediately reported as the fact of cause of death.

So what did you want freeride, and what is resolved?

Your a smart guy Batfink.

This is about far more than Andy.

Go to Inertia and read the article there.

Done!

There are valuable lessons to be learnt. Such as;

If you have a genetic pre-disposition to heart problems, suffer bipolar disorder, use drugs to excess as part of a self-medication program because the bi-polar drugs, while helpful, also change the nature of your being, and you are suffering from a dreadful flu, your run down, have travelled extensively in recent days..............

Don't check out of a hospital so that you can get home quicker.

Is that it?

I mustn't be as smart as you think I am. Honestly, I've got a good nose for a moral dilemma, and I don't really see one here.

The biggest issue for you, I sense, is that there was a statement released about them being 'concerned about the brand', a statement which I have read the family later regretted putting out.

Man, you do some funny stuff under the influence of grief. Sure as hell know I did. Must be much worse when the deceased's child is 8 months in his partner's belly. I can cut the Irons family some slack for that one. There is probably a PR guy out there who advised them to do that, and he probably needs a good kick in the nuts, but so what.

The non-reporting of drugs being the cause of death. Well the coroner's report pretty clearly states that the cause of death was a heart attack!

The whole drug thing, the whole 'say no to drugs' message!!!!!!?????

It ain't gonna have any effect. No moral absolutism has ever had any effect on the level of drug taking in broader society. Nor should it, drugs aren't a moral issue.

You take drugs, and that includes tobacco, alcohol, over the counter, prescription, 'recreational' and harder drugs, all the same, there is a risk and a reward. That's the way we were made.

Hmmm, B&K, mebbe I can see (but not necessarily concede to) your point about an individual's right and choice to use drugs not being a moral issue but I doubt that that was the issue to which Freeride was alluding. It certainly is not the issue that I am livid about.

I cannot stomach let alone condone the surf media and the surf corporations' complicity in hushing up, covering for and covering for someone who was patently in need of serious and sustained professional help. No doubt each individual who participated felt , for what were no doubt seemingly rational and well considered reasons at the time, that enabling AI was the right thing to do.

It wasn't. Lies never are.

If we could ask him, I think AI would tell us that he needed us all to know the truth about his demons, so he himself could live into that truth. He was denied that right.

There's blood on many hands in this. There's also the sickly stench of coverup, cant and spin.

The truth about drugs. Dangerous, stuff up lives even when they don't kill, all that. And, to the gambler, risk-taker, they are a free ride to bliss, good as surf and sex, so why ignore that fact? That's a cover-up, pretending it's not any good AS AN EXPERIENCE. It's not good for personal relationships, social interaction, health EVERYTHING EXCEPT SELF, EGO, SELFISHNESS call it that, but don't say being that high isn't par with morphing into a dolphin and not being just thinking man, which is to most a lot of hard effort, work.

Agree with your basic premise.

As far as disseminating mis-information (and lets be honest outright lies) goes?

Grief excuses the family.

Corporations and the media: not so much.

That's the moral issue here.

didnt we work out that freeride new Andy and works in the surf media.

Why didnt you tell us how bad it was for Andy.You were one of the first to condemn his family for their early statement.freeride you play a part in the medias bullshit check yourself before you wreck yourself

Freeride, I am gobsmacked by what you are saying:

What are the sorry and sordid lies and coverups you talk of?

The coroner has found that Andy Irons died of a heart attack related to chronic artery disease. People die young from chronic artery disease who have never touched a drug in their life. It is possible that the drugs had nothing to do with this guys death. Perhaps you know more than the coroner? Perhaps the truth stopped you making up a good story?

"Maybe a statement from Billabong?" Don't you read the net Freeride? Billabong have released a statement! Read it here: http://www.billabong.com.au/blog-post/2656/andy-irons-family-statement
Perhaps it doesn't state what you want to hear?

Freeride, it would appear that it is you, who through your obsession with this guy's death is bending the truth. Thank goodness coroners release autopsy reports instead of journalists. Coroners state facts, it is your ilk want to read and write between the lines.

Get over it man! There is nothing more to be told or learnt.

RIP Andy

People, get better informed.

http://www.theinertia.com/business-media/demystifying-the-life-and-death...

Or perhaps it doesn't state what you want to hear?

This thread has inspired me to join the ranks of the opinionated ones.

I'm not going to hide behind any alias, I'm just going to come straight out and say what I think as the person I am.

Basically, after reading months of conflicting stories about Andy and firsthand accounts of the in's and outs of pro surfing etc I was clearly confused. I normally am one to act first and think later but in this case I hung back, as I knew the more time that passed, the more light would be shed on the situation. After taking Whaaaat's advice, I read the article in "the Inertia". It shed some insight on the going's on within the industry from a lot of different perspectives. At the end of the article I was left with the feeling that industry as a whole is basically a f#ckin circus revolving around $'s, ego's and corporations sprinkled with a few good souled people trying to help those where they can. Seems to me like its lost its way. Isnt it supposed to be about surfing? If you believe your going to be a better surfer because you buy a quicky wetsuit over a Ripcurl wetsuit your a frickin moron and need a reality check!

After still being slightly hazed about how this could happen to a pro athlete put on a pedestal by many, I thought back to my initial reaction when I first heard of this tragedy. My initial reaction was "why was he by himself?". whether it was "dengue fever" or a combo of heart disease & a cocktail of drugs and alcohol, it makes no sense that if this guy was struggling with addictions or seriously ill that he had no support network! Either way Billabong needed to strap its nuts on and enforce upon Andy that he had that support, whether he liked it or not. This goes further than product protection as after years of continuous sponsorship I can only imagine they were more like family. He had a wife with an unborn child. He was someones brother, someones friend and someones mentor as well as a human being. The same people who made $ off him also have a morale obligation for his wellbeing! Someone needed to step in, as his wife and others around him obviously couldnt put their foot down and give some tough love to this guy. Like so many other sponsors of pro athletes around the world, if they hear rumors of their athletes partaking in drugs, they get them the best help available. If that fails or they wont accept help, they cut them. Partially as damage control, partially to bring them down a notch and make the extent of the situation a reality.

Now, I'm not just picking on Billabong, but the ASP needs to take a long hard look at themselves too. As a sport originally noted as party animals that surf, They have somehow managed to "clean up their act" without cleaning up their act. How is it that the ASP doesnt have to follow the same rules as other professional codes? If you ride a bike at the olympics and take a antihistamine or some sh!t and get caught, you cop a two year ban! Why is there no drug testing for the ASP but codes like the NRL etc do? Why has taken the death of legend surfer to bring this into the light? Especially if they know about whats going on in the industry and may have people partaking in it. Who regulates the regulators?

At the end of the day its still very saddening to me that this has happened, especially as it could have easily taken a different course.

What were Billabong trying to achieve by saying nothing? Did they have their fingers crossed that the tox report would come up clean and that this would all go away? They should have acted sooner and cut him and been transparent about the reasons why, not to shame but to help.

My 2 c

Billabong's family statement does say it all, if you want to listen to an expert and believe what you want, what a normal guy RIP AI

His life was a testament to talent and a reminder of how close we remain at all times to death.