My Surf Hero

About a week ago, my friend Fransauce posted on his blog about his surfing heroes.  He mentioned Andy and Bruce Irons as his heroes.  I thought to myself, those are great heroes to look up to.  Three time World Champion Andy Irons, multiple Pipe Masters between the two of them, and big hearts from both of them.  Although AI is no longer with us, his legacy (and his little baby Andy Axel Irons) live on with Bruce still charging Pipe and various breaks around the world.

So, I figure I'd take a moment to post about my surf hero: Sion Milosky.

I only learned about Sion a few years ago, in several Surfer and Surfing Mag articles on the movement towards paddling in to big waves instead of towing.  I liked how Sion was always emphasizing he wasn't a professional surfer, that he was a family man first and had multiple jobs before settling down as a gate welder on the North Shore.

My love for him started when the Surfing Magazine had it's annual North Shore Underground contest in its April 2011 issue.  The magazine, along with Vans, awarded Sion the North Shore Underground charger of the year, and gave him a $25,000 check to travel around the world.

Most notably, it was only in 2010 that Sion was signed to Volcom with a small contract.

Sion with his daughter

Sion listed his jobs as: "Dishwasher, cook, pizza delivery, busboy, window screen repair, carpenter, commercial fisherman, boat repair, auto repair, waiter, bartender, welding and fabrication, gate builder."  As Mark Healey put it, "Sion did what it took to take care of his family." 

His surfing was stylish and balls out.  He charged both on longboards and shortboards.  I found myself trying to emulate his alligator paddle to get down waves faster, and going for the bigger waves out of the day.  But most importantly, he was remembered for his actions as a family man, a man who took care of his friends, a man who smiled every time adversity would hit and looked on the bright side of things.  His highlight during a session would be his friends getting barreled.  For his fierce heart, balls to the wall surfing, and being a family man, Sion is my hero.

And just like Andy, who was Kauai's native son, Sion Milosky, who also hailed from the great island of Kauai, passed away tragically on March 17th, 2011 at a horrific wipe out at Mavericks.  As if the loss of Andy and the Tsunami of Japan wasn't hard enough at the time, I lost another hero.  However, his legacy lives on, and his mana and aloha remain great throughout the world, even to someone like me who never met him.


Mahalos Sion Milosky!!