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.