Powers of Three

The grass seemed to crunch under my feet as I ran out to my truck for a pre-work surf this morning. The public shower in the parking lot felt like a much needed hot spring. When I drove home, my hands were so numb I could barely grip the wheel hard enough to make the tight turn into my spot. Southern California is not supposed to get this cold!

As I hovered over my morning cup of coffee like a gold miner holding his treasure, I started to wonder if the meager two foot surf was worth the two hour recovery, until I found this. Another Mickey Smith video called "Powers of Three." Leave it to the Irish to make you feel like a light weight for complaining about cold weather and water. This was a reminder to surf every chance you get, because there will be days you wish you could but you can't. Here's some inspiration to help us all get our hearts pumping and heads in the game for winter swells.

The lose of Any Irons was a complete shock, not only for how sudden and unforeseen it was, but also because Andy always seemed a bit invincible. His competitive drive and pure talent are what gave him the reputation as being Kelly Slater's rival in and out of the water. Without Andy, who can say that Kelly would have reach the level he has? Every great athlete needs a challenger to push them to excel and be the target of their energy. While there is no doubt Kelly and Andy had some bad blood between them at some point, no one ever wanted the rivalry to end like this. Here is a short clip from VAS about the relationship between two of surfing's greatest competitors.

Andy Irons Died At Age 32

3 time ASP World Champion Andy Irons died yesterday in his Dallas hotel room. He contracted dengue fever at the previous surfing contest held in Portugal, and became so ill that he pulled out of the Rip Curl Search Pro in Puerto Rico. Andy won the ASP World Surfing Tour Title 3 years in a row and he was the only ASP surfer to win at every ASP tour stop.

Andy leaves behind his wife Lyndie who is due to give birth to their first child in December.