Bruce Irons (born November 16, 1979) is an American regularfoot professional surfer from
Hanalei,
Kauai and younger brother of three-time world champion
Andy Irons
Philip Andrew Irons (July 24, 1978November 2, 2010) was an American professional surfer. Irons began surfing with his brother Bruce on the shallow and dangerous waves of Kauai, Hawaii, before being spotted by a local surfboard brand and flown to ...
.
Background and early years
Born in
Hanalei, Kauai, he was raised on the North Shore where he began surfing at age seven. After a successful amateur career with several wins in the United States Surfing Championships, he went pro shortly after graduating high school.
Professional surfing career
After placing second place in 1998 and third in 2000, he defeated eleven-time world champion
Kelly Slater
Robert Kelly Slater (born February 11, 1972) is an American professional surfer, best known for being crowned World Surf League champion a record 11 times. Slater is widely regarded as the greatest professional surfer of all time. Slater is als ...
to win the 2001
Billabong Pipeline Masters
The Billabong Pipeline Masters is an event in surfing held annually at Banzai Pipeline in Oahu, Hawaii. It was established in 1971, and has been sponsored by Billabong since 2007.
The event attracts the top 34 surfers from The World Surf Le ...
event. On October 3, 2004 after qualifying for the
World championship
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
tour, he again defeated the seven-time champion in the semifinals at the
Association of Surfing Professionals Quiksilver Pro France event, but lost to his older brother
Andy Irons
Philip Andrew Irons (July 24, 1978November 2, 2010) was an American professional surfer. Irons began surfing with his brother Bruce on the shallow and dangerous waves of Kauai, Hawaii, before being spotted by a local surfboard brand and flown to ...
in the final. Later, on December 15, 2004, he won the
Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau event with a perfect score of 100, in waves that exceeded 40 feet (12m) at
O'ahu's
Waimea Bay. Soon after, he dazzled crowds by making the final and placing fourth in the Pipe Masters, barely re-qualifying for the 2005 tour.
On August 3, 2008 Irons defeated
Freddy Patacchia to win the
Rip Curl Pro Search 2008 held in
Uluwatu, Bali,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. It was his first win on the ASP championship tour.
On November 21, 2012 Irons split with his longtime sponsor
Volcom, where he'd been for nearly 20 years, helping shape the company's identity. On December 12, 2012 Irons signed a long-term deal with Fox Clothing. On November 30, 2015 Irons signed with
RVCA after leaving Fox Clothing.
Non-surfing credits
Included in Irons'
product endorsements are:
*a signature pair of
Oakley
Oakley may refer to:
Places
Antarctica
*Oakley Glacier
United Kingdom
* Oakley, Bedfordshire, England
*Oakley, Buckinghamshire, England
*Oakley, Dorset, England
*Oakley, Fife, Scotland
* Oakley, Gloucestershire, England
* Oakley, Hampshire, En ...
sunglasses
*life sponsorship by the skate, surf, and snowboard clothing line,
Volcom
*one of three pro surfers, with
Dane Reynolds and Ry Craike, supported by
Power Balance
Power Balance is the original brand of hologram bracelets claimed by its manufacturers and vendors to use "holographic technology" to "resonate with and respond to the natural energy field of the body" to increase athletic performance. Numerous ...
*together with his brother, Andy, sponsorship by skate shoe company
DC
*wetsuit sponsor
Body Glove International
In 2005, Irons starred in the Volcom funded
autobiographical documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...
, entitled ''The Bruce Movie''. The film was shot using 16mm,
Super 8
Super 8 or Super Eight may refer to:
Film
* Super 8 film, a motion picture film format released in 1965
* Super 8 film camera, a motion picture camera used to film Super 8mm motion picture format
* ''Super 8'' (2011 film), a science-fiction fi ...
and 35mm format and filmed on location in Hawaii, Indonesia, Australia, Tahiti, California, France and South Africa, and whilst popular in the surfing community, did not cut through to mainstream release.
Irons was in the cast of the 2007
Australian documentary film about the
Sydney surf gang, the
Bra Boys, entitled ''
Bra Boys: Blood is Thicker than Water''. The film's official cast included eleven-time world champion,
Kelly Slater
Robert Kelly Slater (born February 11, 1972) is an American professional surfer, best known for being crowned World Surf League champion a record 11 times. Slater is widely regarded as the greatest professional surfer of all time. Slater is als ...
, and surfing legends
Mark Occhilupo
Marco Jay Luciano "Mark" Occhilupo (born 16 June 1966) is an Australian surfer and winner of the 1999 ASP World title.
Occhilupo, also known as "Occy", began his professional career in the World Championship Tour (WCT) at the age of 17. In S ...
, Irons,
Laird Hamilton and approximately 40 other well known surfers.
Video game appearances
Irons is a playable character in the video game ''
Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer
''Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer'' is an extreme sports video game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision under the Activision O2 label. The game was endorsed by veteran surfer Kelly Slater and released for Game Boy Advance, GameCube, Play ...
''.
Filmography
Acting
*''Burning Man Dan 2'' (2017)
* ''View from a Blue Moon'' (2015)
* ''Pipe'' (2011)
* ''Dude Cruse'' (2008)
* ''
Blue Crush'' (2002)
Self
* ''Além da Visão'' (2020)
* ''White Rhino'' (2019)
* ''Red Bull Sports Events'' (2018)
* ''Andy Irons: Kissed by God'' (2018)
* ''Who is J.O.B'' (2016)
* ''Peaking'' (2016)
* ''Heavy Water'' (2015)
* ''Immersion the Movie'' (2012)
* ''Pacific Pirates'' (2011)
* ''Fiberglass and Megapixels'' (2010)
*''Vans Triple Crown'' (2010)
* ''The Arena: North Short'' (2009)
* ''Archy: Build for Speed, Born to Ride'' (2008)
* ''Bra Boys'' (2007)
* ''Freddy P. Project: Interrogation'' (2006)
* ''Pipeline Masters Documentary'' (2006)
* ''The Kelly Slater Surf Invitational'' (2004)
* ''Blue Horizon'' (2004)
* ''Wow'' (2002)
* ''Bluetorch TV'' (2001)
* ''Gondwana'' (2001)
* ''Hit & Run'' (2000)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irons, Bruce (Surfer)
American surfers
1979 births
Living people
World Surf League surfers
People from Kauai County, Hawaii