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The Biggest Stories In 2015

The headlines, people and stories that made surfing in 2015.

R.I.P Ricardo dos Santos

The very sad news about the death of Brazilian surfer, Ricardo Dos Santos reverberated throughout the surfing world in January. Shot three times in the chest and stomach following an incident in his hometown of Guarda do Embaú, Santa Catarina State, dos Santos passed away in hospital.

At the time Adriano De Souza commented, “What to say when u lose a great friend? What to say when u lose a so cheerful person, good hearted and good about life as Ricardinho? I have so many good memories of him it is hard to choose one. But I want to keep forever in my mind these qualities and his courage to move on. Once I heard that the ones we love never die, depart before us. May you stay with God, my friend, and from up there you can protect us.”

Click here for a tribute gallery from Peter ‘Joli’ Wilson.

Kolohe Andino’s Australian SMS scandal on live TV

Kolohe Andino had a very big week in Australia. As well as winning the Australian Open in Manly he was also on the receiving end of a spray from Channel V presenter, Danny Clayton. The media personality alleged that Kolohe had been making his girlfriend, 18 year-old, Zoe Cross feel “uncomfortable” after she received a series of text messages from the San Clemente shredder. Clayton fired a warning shot live on air that sent social media into meltdown. “Stay the fuck away from my girlfriend,” he quipped in a chest beating performance that might have won him a Logie on Home and Away. See our illustration from Johannes Leak.

Gabriel Medina fires up at the WSL

In a post-heat interview at the first event of the 2015 championship tour the defending world champion used some “bad words” to describe an incident with Glenn Hall and was cut off from finishing his sentence by Peter Mel. He also criticised Commissioner Kieren Perrow’s handling of the contest and later fined an undisclosed some of money. Relive the madness right here.

Makua Rothman wins Big Wave World Tour

Back in March Makua Rothman was crowned the Big Wave Tour World Champion. Despite only running two events the rookie finished ahead of his peers taking the title.

Shawn ‘Barney’ Barron passes away

Legendary Santa Cruz surfer, Shawn “Barney” Barron passes away of a heart attack. He was 44. Barney was renowned for aerial surfing, a Volcom team rider, and went on to become a fearless Mavericks charger, making a career change from the small wave antics he was famous for.

Owen Wright’s 20/20 heat at the Fiji Pro

Owen Wright became the only surfer in the history of the sport to have two perfect 20-point heats. Before the final he blew minds charging some seriously large Cloudbreak leaving many wondering whether The Big O would be able to come down from the stratosphere and reset for finals day. Hear Owen talk about his dramatic day at the Fiji Pro.

Sally Fitzgibbons wins the Fiji Pro with a busted eardrum

“In the face of adversity, this is one of the most special wins I’ll ever have,” said Sally post heat. Surely one of the most inspiring performances in the history of the sport.

Mick Fanning’s shark attack in the final of the J-Bay Open

The biggest headline all year. Mick Fanning and that shark attack seen around the world in the final of the J-Bay Open. Surfers reacted, we dissected it, Mick talked about it and then the Internet chimed in with a bunch of memes.

Frequent shark attacks rock the NSW North Coast

Not a happy headline to write about but this certainly was the year of the Shark. After a spate of shark attacks – one fatal – on the far north coast of New South Wales Tracks hit the road and travelled to Lennox Head and Ballina to speak to members of the community and see what was getting done. Watch our exclusive on the ground documentary The Fatal Coast here.

Mick Fanning Donates $75K to shark attack survivor

Mick Fanning selflessly donated his $75,000 appearance fee for his exclusive interview with 60 Minutes to Ballina shark attack survivor Mathew Lee. What a legend.

Kelly Buys Firewire (launches Slater designs), goes banana rockers

After much rumour and speculation Kelly Slater buys a major stake in Firewire Surfboards. Hello big spender.

The Indo Mega Swell hits The Right

“The so called swell of the century…well I must admit it wasn’t too bad at all. The forecasting of wrong winds for the Friday was certainly a blessing. Ben Rufus, Chris Shanahan, Chris Ross, Myron Porter, along with Mark Mathews, Benny Serrano and Phil Read had an absolute field day getting waves from early morning to late evening,” said photographer Russell Ord. Click this way for a gallery.

The Indo Mega Swell at Kandui

One of the places to be was the Playgrounds region of the Mentawais as Nokanduis spewed out top to bottom perfection with a lucky few lined up for the ride of their lives. Here’s a small taste of some ruler edged perfection and watch highlights here!

Quiksilver File For Bankruptcy

It’s been a big year for Quiksilver. The surfwear giant filed for Chaper 11 bankruptcy in the United States in September and lost both Dane Reynolds and Craig Anderson as team riders by year’s end. See 40 years of Quiksilver campaigns that featured in Tracks.

Kelly Launches Outerknown

Kelly once again had the spotlight on his when he launched his label Outerknown. With an above average price point for the majority of the surf populace the King copped heat on his favourite social media vice. Hear what went down at the exclusive label launch with Hollywood glitterati.

John John Florence releases View From A Blue Moon

The film on the lips of every surfer this year. View From A Blue Moon from John John Florence and Blake Vincet Kueny put the whole world on notice with one of the slickest productions ever seen. Watch the trailer and read our review here.

Missing WA Surfers Found Murdered in Mexico

A sad day for the global surfing community. Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman, both experienced travellers, went missing around November 20 while driving through the rural town of Sinaloa. Their burnt out van was found shortly after and three men were arrested in relation to the incident.

Pe’ahi Challenge shows big wave surfing to the world

Big wave world tour events have been marred by inconsistent, funky, conditions. Sure, it gets big – huge even, but it’s rare to see the best big wave surfers showcase their full repertoire in waves of serious consequences. However, this year Pe’ahi delivered and and the world saw.

Evan Gieseleman nearly drowns at Pipeline

After being engulfed by a 15-foot double-up, Evan failed to come to the surface and subsequently suffered a three-wave hold down. South African bodyboarder Andre Botha eventually found him unconscious and began to attempt rescue breathing while swimming him to shore. In the heavy shorebreak they were met by lifeguards, as well as surfers Mick Fanning, Danny Fuller, Kalani Chapman, Brian Toth and a handful of others. After expelling copious amounts of water Evan regained consciousness. Paramedics continued to work on him in the beach park where he was eventually loaded up into an ambulance and taken to Queens Hospital.

Owen Wright suffers wipeout and withdraws from Pipe Masters

Wright suffered a severe concussion after getting rolled by a set at Pipe resulting in minor bleeding in the brain and waking with limited movement. Prior to the incident Owen had been one of the standout surfers this Hawaiian season. His withdrawal rules him out of the world title race for 2015 and also means the event had lost one of its major drawcards.

Carissa Wins the world title and dominates Pipeline

Carissa’s dominance has been a key feature of this year’s tour. After winning the world title at Honolua Bay she then put on a show with the girls at Pipeline proving that there’s nothing that the smiling Hawaiian princess can’t do.

The Retirees: Freddy P, CJ and Micro call it a day

Adriano de Souza wins the world title, pipe masters

The perennial underdog, battler, kid from a favela in Sao Paulo, son of a dock worker and grocery store clerk has been toiling for this day for the past 10 years. His determination to win got him there proving that with hard work, anything is possible.

Kelly blows our minds with his wave pool

Kelly Slater released a clip of his new wavepool the morning after the Pipe Masters concluded and boy did it send the Internet into meltdown. While many have tried, no one has actually nailed an artificial wave as exciting as this, but would we expect anything less from Kelly? We can’t help but wonder how long until we see this as the first artificial wave location on the dream tour?

And that’s all folks! If there’s anything you think we’ve missed feel free to comment below.

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