"Amazing. Isn’t there always a rainbow over these two wherever they go?" said WSL commentator Ronnie Blakey. "They’re like Care Bears."

House of “gentle but fierce-looking” Hawaiian surf legend destroyed in terrifying blaze: “It was a towering inferno!”

"Today we remember a house full of love."

A fire of a yet-to-be-determined cause has destroyed the home of Hawaiian surf legend Tony Moniz, daddy to rookie of the year Seth, Pipe trials winner Josh and longboard world champ Kelia,

Tony and his wife Tammy split the fire with nothing but their lil dog, a Bible and a couple of Tony’s beloved surf trophies from the Duke contest.

“Twenty-four surfers get invited each year,” Tony told Hawaii News Now. “As a young child growing up I always wanted to get into the Duke Classic. Which wasn’t easy to do. It was the world tour to me. That was my goal.”

Ten fire trucks with forty firefighters hit the blaze, which started in the garage, but were unable to save the home.

“Within minutes, it was a towering inferno,” said Tony, a champion boxer, motocross rider and one of Hawaii’s best surfers in the seventies, eighties and nineties.

According to Warshaw’s Encylopedia of Surfing, “In the early ’80s, Moniz was one of the first to master the lay-forward stance, which allowed a backside-riding surfer to get nearly as deep inside the tube as a frontsider. In 1982, 1983, and 1984 he was a finalist in the Duke Kahanamoku Classic, held at Sunset Beach. By the mid-’80s, Moniz was concentrating on big surf, and he placed sixth in both the 1999 and 2001 Quiksilver-Aikau events at Waimea Bay.”

Another surfer of note, Derek Hynd, who lost his own home in 2019, wrote, “From unfortunate experience the entire sequence from spark to knowing the worst is coming down can take place in seconds, not even a minute. Tony sits as the toppest Top Bloke that I’ve met in my surfing decades and I hope he and the family emerge without long lasting effects from the trauma. Tragic.”

The house, which is in a real nice part of Honolulu, just east of Diamond Head, was worth around $600k.

There’s a GoFundMe kicking around, hoping to raise 200k to help rebuild the joint.

Already it’s hit sixty, from 459 donors.

“If you know them and or have visited Hawaii you were probably invited over their home for dinner or for a visit. Their house has not only been a home for them and their family but to countless others whom they have welcomed and loved over the years.”

Despite losing everything, Tammy Moniz was characteristically upbeat.

The memories don’t stay with the house,” she said. “The memories stay in my heart and their hearts.”

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Lemon Next to the Pie
Lemon Next to the Pie
5 years ago

Why do atheists need to prove something that doesn’t exist exists?

That should be your job.

disqus_00d1gIXedO
disqus_00d1gIXedO
5 years ago

my koran has survived a flood

84092, 92673
84092, 92673
5 years ago

Yes

channelbottom
channelbottom
5 years ago

Using evidence and logic is not infantile.

nicky buttonshaw
nicky buttonshaw
5 years ago
Reply to  channelbottom

Agree CB
Religion has killed more people than its ever saved imo. https://uploads.disquscdn.c…

84092, 92673
84092, 92673
5 years ago

Atheism via Stalin and Mao have killed countless more people than all wars of religion combined. Of course it would as atheist tyrants have no fear of a judgement in the after life.

84092, 92673
84092, 92673
5 years ago
Reply to  channelbottom

Yeah everything we see, feel and touch just sprang about by the power of…….nothing. Sure that makes sense and is most logical. No evidence for it, but my college professor and media assure me it is so. I’m a very open minded thoughtful person.

dickie toledo
dickie toledo
5 years ago

anytime kelia wants to ditch her husband and move in with me and my wife that’s cool with me.

Gino
Gino
5 years ago

Guy who does my brakes is a mad tri athlete about 65-70.
When his house got caught up in the bush fires years ago, he ran in and grabbed his bike.
Left everything else.

Gino
Gino
5 years ago

Luckily he was able to save da boots.

DavidC
DavidC
5 years ago

Why did God burn down their house?

Otto
Otto
5 years ago
Reply to  DavidC

He didn’t. He offered people the opportunity to show the Moniz family gratitude, and blessings for a life well lived.

DavidC
DavidC
5 years ago
Reply to  Otto

Ya know at first I thought this was a wonderful piece of irony response & then I thought, hang on this is Otto speaking, shit he actually believes what he just said. So let me get my ducks in a row here. God totalled the Moniz house so people can give him money for gratitude Blah Blah Blah. Now I’m making a assumption here that Tony is (and quite rightly) a proud Hawaiian & I suspect that him receiving hand outs is rather belittling, to say the least. Now I can go on and on, but I find this type of conversation just so tiresome. So I’ll wind up with saying this has got to be the most dumb fuck statement you have ever made & man you have made some classics!

Otto
Otto
5 years ago
Reply to  DavidC

That’s not what I said. The opportunity God provided to the Moniz is not because God caused the house fire. Rather, the Moniz’ faith in God caused them to lead a life well lived and deserving of gratitude beyond just the usual “thank you”. Their faith in God steered their decisions in how they treated those close, and those not close to them. The fire placed the Moniz family in a position where love, caring, strength, comfort and support, even financial, can provide a positive pivot in an otherwise negative engulfed moment. That opportunity for a pivot in a positive direction was born of the Moniz family’s faith because their faith in God is a defining part of how they’ve treated people in life.
Judging you from how you conduct yourself here, I doubt few would come to your aid should your house burn to the ground, cause you got no love in your heart. You don’t deserve a positive pivot cause you’re a dick. Lucky for you God at least has pity for dickheads, so your camping tent probably wouldn’t burn.

Brutus
Brutus
5 years ago
Reply to  Otto

you were doing so well until the last paragraph….when you just couldn’t help yourself with a personal attack , and you judged Davidc on behalf on who??

Otto
Otto
5 years ago
Reply to  Brutus

Judge not, lest ye be judged.

DavidC cast the first stone.

Brutus
Brutus
5 years ago
Reply to  Otto

FFS Otto , there is only one spiritual Judge……revenge seems to be one of your MO’s , very unchristian if you were a Christian….but you can’t be a real Christian as a Trump follower ?

Otto
Otto
5 years ago
Reply to  Brutus

Judgement and Revenge are two different matters. I’m a Deist. I believe in God but do not believe in the involvement of God in my day to day life.
Biden can’t be a real Catholic since he supports abortion. But I’m sure you already knew that.

Wiggolly's Paddling Style
Wiggolly's Paddling Style
5 years ago

Fuck this I’m gonna move to Hawaii. You can’t buy a shit hole in fucken Armstrong Creek for $600k at the moment. For those who don’t know, Armstrong Creek sits somewhere between hell and Guantanamo Bay. I just don’t see the point in this Australian existence anymore. The Australian dream is now the Punjabi dream. Where do I go?

scraps
scraps
5 years ago

wanna buy my house? if not i can sell you a coffee. australia: a nation of dumb cunts.

Wiggolly's Paddling Style
Wiggolly's Paddling Style
5 years ago
Reply to  scraps

Truth.

Chief Hot stuff
Chief Hot stuff
5 years ago

That’s what I was thinking.
And working at Hooters could be kinda fun

channelbottom
channelbottom
5 years ago

It seems to be a society heavily ruled by greed and self-entitlement certainly. Certainly round these parts.

Chief Hot stuff
Chief Hot stuff
5 years ago
Reply to  channelbottom

Unlike say, mmm, err Greenland??

Gino
Gino
5 years ago

Might get you a unit in the eastern suburbs.
Truck driving job…forget about it.

Huli Opu
Huli Opu
5 years ago

You can’t believe anything Drek or Warshaw or these clueless kooks spew. The Moniz’s house on Summer St is worth at least 1.5 million. That neighborhood makai of Kuliouou and adjacent to Hawaii Kai is the top desirable high end residential areas on Oahu. There are houses on that street that have sold for 4 or 5 million. You couldn’t buy a dog house in Kalihi for $600k. 30 yr old condo prices are well over $600k in the least desirable areas. Moneyed outsiders are and have bought up all and any property they can get their hands on. Bidding wars are the norm with most homes and properties sell way above list price. That home was in Tammy’s family for generations and handed down by her grandfather.
For those hucking on the Moniz’s faith – fuck off – you won’t meet a nicer and more humble family man who has never pushed or proselytized his beliefs on anyone.

channelbottom
channelbottom
5 years ago
Reply to  Huli Opu

Yeah fair enough.
I’ll take that on the chin.

Edit: Sorry Huli, I’m in a really cunty mood today. I shouldn’t have said anything. I know they are nice people.
I’ll leave my comments up for the sake of honesty.

Huli Opu
Huli Opu
5 years ago
Reply to  channelbottom

Nah, no worries CB. I know you were speaking in general terms and not about the Moniz family directly. BG would be a lesser place without you. Plus, I know you know Hawaii very well.

channelbottom
channelbottom
5 years ago
Reply to  Huli Opu

Mahalo.

commenter
commenter
5 years ago
Reply to  Huli Opu

Very true.

Aloha is alive and well with the Moniz family. It’s the real deal and it’s nice to see and experience.

For a moment I thought there might be a connecting between this and the houses of the Texas beach concessions guy having his house burned down, but that’s not correct.

They’re very decent people and an admirably solid family.

The GoFundMe is on the rise and they can build a nice, new place, which they probably need anyway.

Huli Opu
Huli Opu
5 years ago
Reply to  commenter

I heard Chris Lassen flipped his lid. The courts assigned a conservator and he’s been in and out of jail. He might be in the loony bin by now.

commenter
commenter
5 years ago
Reply to  Huli Opu

Non sequitir but it doesn’t surprise me.

LAssen used to pull up to Malibu in a stretch Hummer.

Weird.

How old is he now?

Some people just don’t handle getting old very well.

Anthony Bourdain for example.

He made obscene amounts of money in his heyday.

When Clark Little first showed me what he was doing with his shorebreak photography around 2005, I told him, “You stay with this and promote it right and it could “Go Lassen” on you.”

And he did, and it did, although maybe not tens of millions like Lassen.

I also heard a bad report on D_____ K_____ from a woman who went to visit him on Maui.

Age sucks.

Huli Opu
Huli Opu
5 years ago
Reply to  commenter
commenter
commenter
5 years ago
Reply to  Huli Opu

Wow out of money too?

It’s age.

It sucks.

It misrepresents us.

It can’t be defeated. Etc.

The Bitchy Crab
The Bitchy Crab
5 years ago
Reply to  Huli Opu

Was a bit slow on the Lassen thing. Just kicked a little something live.

Chief Hot stuff
Chief Hot stuff
5 years ago
Reply to  Huli Opu

There goes my Hooters career.
And yes, all the bible basher bashers can go to hell.

The Bitchy Crab
The Bitchy Crab
5 years ago
Reply to  Huli Opu

Yeah, anything out of my postcode I gotta trust Zillow. This cute lil apartment didn’t sell at 675k, howevs. Same part of town, no?

Stephen Wolfram
Stephen Wolfram
5 years ago
Reply to  Huli Opu

I really liked the Faith Riding Co. line of clothes. No hard religious sell, just some nice tees.

disqus_00d1gIXedO
disqus_00d1gIXedO
5 years ago

to Punjabi. and and make it ans Australian nightmare

scraps
scraps
5 years ago

gave all my $$$$ to the dengue fever awareness foundation. based outta Puerto rico

Gwen Walz’s Eyes
Gwen Walz’s Eyes
5 years ago
Reply to  scraps

Thats the comment of the year to date. And no one even noticed it.

Chief Hot stuff
Chief Hot stuff
5 years ago

Go fund me is the new insurance.
And no premiums.

JOB's second chin
JOB's second chin
5 years ago

edit: comment made in poor taste

Chief Hot stuff
Chief Hot stuff
5 years ago

Yeah
Mmm
Not very christian

The Bitchy Crab
The Bitchy Crab
5 years ago

I think money to replace furniture etc.

JOB's second chin
JOB's second chin
5 years ago

Homeowners’ insurance in the US includes personal property coverage for up to half the value of the structure. Not having insurance would be pretty fuckin dumb.

?uzzled
?uzzled
5 years ago

You never come out whole from fire insurance. They generally depreciate your furniture, appliances and floor coverings for age. They also tend to undervalue personal belongings and clothing. That Gofundme money will be needed. Besides, there is nothing wrong with people showing love for someone who has stoked them out over the years.

JOB's second chin
JOB's second chin
5 years ago
Reply to  ?uzzled

Ah fair enough, thanks for the education. Been fortunate enough to not know how screwed over you can get by home insurance thus far in life.

channelbottom
channelbottom
5 years ago

Definite bummer for the Moniz clan, am glad everyone is unhurt, but the jebus stuff makes me roll my eyes unapologetically.

Chief Hot stuff
Chief Hot stuff
5 years ago
Reply to  channelbottom

It’s their human right to believe. It makes them nicer people, what’s the problem?

channelbottom
channelbottom
5 years ago

It’s embarrassing to see infantile belief systems in anyone over the age of 10 or so.

I’m sure the Moniz family would be lovely delightful gentle people even without religion.
But yeah, what ever. It was heavily presented as a factor in the story so I commented on it.

Chief Hot stuff
Chief Hot stuff
5 years ago
Reply to  channelbottom

Judge Judy over here.

channelbottom
channelbottom
5 years ago

Ssshhhh. That’s my stage name.

Dogsnuts
Dogsnuts
5 years ago
Reply to  channelbottom

I was given the opportunity to submit stage name with our national music representatives, so I insisted on “Longboard Bong Lord”.

?uzzled
?uzzled
5 years ago
Reply to  Dogsnuts

That’s an all time incredible name!

Dogsnuts
Dogsnuts
5 years ago
Reply to  ?uzzled

I was quite impressed with my wit, especially given the amount of weed I was ingesting at the time.

Chief Hot stuff
Chief Hot stuff
5 years ago
Reply to  channelbottom

God bless

84092, 92673
84092, 92673
5 years ago
Reply to  channelbottom

You fear judgment to come so any reference to Christ you dread. Completely natural and your fear is justified. But, you’re still breathing so it need not be so….

channelbottom
channelbottom
5 years ago
Reply to  84092, 92673

Hilarious if it weren’t so sad.
No judgment. Nothing.
Body rots. Physical mass returns to chemical / energy soup.

That’s it.

Brutus
Brutus
5 years ago
Reply to  channelbottom

there’s a lot of proof out there ….seek and ye shall find !


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