Last week that clip of Bruce Irons went gangbusters. It was the top story on every major surfing website on Friday. ‘Must Watch,’ the caption read, ‘Bruce Irons wraps up his heat up at the Backdoor Shootout and paddles straight into these four gems at Off the Wall.’ And it was welcome news because, even after a 5-year hiatus from mainstream surfing, Bruce keeps a loyal following.
In the 2015 September issue of Tracks, Bruce Irons told us he was ready to get back on the horse, and appeared more determined than ever to show the world he still had it in him.
“I’m more psyched than ever. I want something big. I want to put out some footage. People haven’t seen anything from me in a while and I want to show people that I’ve still got it.”
The candid interview came after a long period during which news of Andy’s charismatic kid brother was few and far between. We found Bruce as honest and spirited as ever when, after hearing of Dane Reynolds being announced as the Fiji Wildcard he said:
‘Oh fuck! I want to be the Fiji wildcard. The WSL can do whatever the fuck they want. Give me a couple of wildcards. Who picked Dane Reynolds? I want to be back on tour. That’s why I don’t really watch it. I miss competing you know.”
The past few months thus saw Act II of Bruce Irons hit the world stage, with a section in John John Florence’s Surfer Poll award winning film, ‘View from a Blue Moon,’ and a part in the Point Break remake as Johnny Utah’s stunt double. He rocketed into the main event of the 2015 Pipe Masters via a WSL wildcard avoiding the trials, and was fired up leading in to December.
“I’m going to be healthy, train and I know I can still really rub shoulders with those fuckers,” he told Tracks, displaying more of that trademark Irons temperament. Bruce looked to be writing the ultimate comeback story heading into the most coveted of surfing contests – but the anticlimax was shattering.
Bruce came up against 20-year-old Filipe Toledo in round 2 and went out with a heat score total of 5.07. It was a disappointing result for the former Pipe Master winner and fearless big wave charger.
Last week it became clear that his resolve had not faultered however, as he cannonballed back into the media limelight. The 36-year-old from Kauai showed us he’s still got fire in the belly.
So what’s next for Bruce? Well whether it be a breakout performance, video part or film we guarantee you will be watching.
