Lyons (pictured damaging surfboard) now fired.
Lyons (pictured damaging surfboard) now fired.

Malibu realtor dubbed “angriest man in surfing” who lost his job and was hit with death threats following board-smashing incident reveals the positive side of anti-fame, “People say it ended his career, it’s like, no, shit is taking off! I may not have to sling houses at all!”

"It’s pretty amazing how stuff goes like this…I’ve become sort famous I guess.” 

The Malibu surfer Andy Lyon, whom you’ll hear on a Dirty Water podcast in a couple of days, was the star, victim, whatever you want to call it, of a viral video shaming that cost him job, got him doxxed and his kid threatened.

To recap, Lyon and a retro-riding cowboy get entangled, Lyon’s board gets smashed; he retaliates by taking to the nostalgia craft with a rock before paddling it out beyond the Malibu pier.

A TikTok video and Instagram account @andylyonsisakook soon followed. 

Standard sorta stuff and very good entertainment value.

Lyon, who is fifty-nine, and who has been surfing the joint for fifty years, is upbeat when BeachGrit calls despite the death threats, having his address published and a warning his five-year-old kid is going to get beat up. 

“You know, it’s a good ride right now,” he says. “Fucking dealing with all these little punks, keyboard warriors. It’s pretty amazing how stuff goes like this…I’ve become sorta famous I guess.” 

The incident, and the response of both sides, marks the changing shift, I think, in modern surf culture. On one side you got on the original cats, good surfers, still riding short boards, who grew up with the unwritten code that if the locals don’t get their waves, hell gonna break loose. 

It’s unpleasant but crowded lineups greased with the underlying threat of violence have at least a semblance of order. 

The prevailing mindset, howevs, is that all surfers are equal, beginners, SUP riders, even celebs being pushed onto waves on giant foam surfboards by their sherpas, and that retaliation belongs in the distant ugly past. 

As for being doxxed, supposedly cancelled and so on, Lyon says, “I’m embracing this. People say it ended his career but, it’s like, shit’s taking off. This is the beginning!” 

Lyon does press to clear the record about the supposed kid traumatised by the ordeal.

“He was in his twenties and about a foot taller than me,” he says. “He was no fucking kid!” 

Full story via the Dirty Water podcast, out in a couple of days. 

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“It was weird,” said one witness. “They did CPR on him and then put a sheet over him and we all assumed the worst. He seemed very dead as awful as that sounds.”

Surfer feared dead after “catastrophic” heart attack at Melbourne wavepool wakes from coma, makes miraculous recovery, “What they (lifeguards) did essentially saved my life!”

“I’ve been through the wringer,” says Pritchard, opening his shirt to reveal a wild crucifix shaped scar, “but here I am.”

The surfer whose heart blew out while paddling into the lineup at Melbourne’s wave tank back in June, and who was put into a coma in hozzy, has made a miraculous recovery.

Brett Pritchard, who is forty-seven, was pulled from the water by other shredders who saw his body floating.

“I had a plumbing problem which caused an electrical issue,” Pritchard told 7News.

Pool lifeguards kept him alive with CPR for twenty minutes until paramedics arrived.

“What they did is essentially save my life,” he said.

It wasn’t a pretty scene.

“It was weird,” said one witness. “They did CPR on him and then put a sheet over him and we all assumed the worst. He seemed very dead as awful as that sounds.”

The water, even this early in winter, was “shockingly cold,” said the witness. “I felt like I had a heart attack when I went under.”

“I’ve been through the wringer,” says Pritchard, opening his shirt to reveal a wild crucifix shaped scar, “but here I am.”

Even though the pool is empty for its annual winter maintenance program, Pritchard says he ain’t deterred by his sudden acquaintance with death.

“It won’t be big waves when I first get out there, I think we’ll be looking at knee-high ones,” he said. “I’ll continue to do it for the rest of my life.”

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Lyons (pictured damaging surfboard) now fired.
Lyons (pictured damaging surfboard) now fired.

Well-known Malibu local loses job after surf incident posted to social media is seized upon by righteous mob: “This is a ‘man’ who has run for City of Malibu Council, intimidating a young person and aggressively damaging their property in full view of the public.”

"YOU DON'T OWN SURFING!"

“Surf rage” etc. etc. has become quite the topic in these the triggered years of our lives and, thanks to social media, surf ragers are vociferously named and shamed.

Take a recent incident in Malibu where well-known local Andy Lyon and a young single-finner became entangled.

In a video posted to Instagram, Lyon took out a bit of anger on the offending board which led, directly, to the end of his professional life.

The Instagram account, it must be noted, was created directly for publicly lynching Lyon with a handle @andylyonsisakook.

The caption reading:

This is Andrew (Andy) Hollis Lyon (59) of Malibu, stealing and destroying a young persons surfboard, simply because they took off on a wave that Andy had decided was his.

This is a “man” who has run for @cityofmalibu Council, intimidating a young person and aggressively damaging their property in full view of the public.

After hearing from locals who are familiar with Andy, it is apparent that this is not an isolated incident. Andy has a reputation for behaving aggressively while surfing, and seems to be under the impression that because he is an OLD local, he has the right to behave this way.

We believe that Andy should be held accountable for his actions, and feel that this needs to be brought to the attention of the wider community, as well as the surfing community as a whole, to show that this sort of behavior is not acceptable.

Andy is a Malibu resident, and has worked in the Real Estate industry, most recently for @theagencymalibu (@theagencyre).

We are asking you to please share this video around, so that anyone associating with Andy is made aware of his violent behavior, and to also bring attention to a side of surfing that is present, but not welcome, in the community.

Well.

Lyon’s employer, a boutique real estate agency in Malibu, tagged in the post, instantly and publicly fired the man though the mob is still demanding more publishing his address, phone numbers, email address and penning,

“The internet doesn’t care who you think you are. You don’t get to behave like a criminal because of some self appointed hierarchy that only exists within your own group of old junkies. YOU DON’T OWN SURFING!”

The internet.

Do you trust the internet to mete proper justice?

Would you prefer it to rule over your trial?

Down with the mob?

Moreover, have you ever surf raged but only lucky enough not to be caught on camera?

Share your story and get fired old school!

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"You were never going to Tahiti? NEVER?"
"You were never going to Tahiti? NEVER?"

Eagle-eyed oceanographic cartographer discovers universally beloved surf champion John John Florence never intended to sail to Tahiti for upcoming contest leaving surf fans jilted and woebegone!

It's hard our there.

Fans of professional surfing at its very highest level have suffered a difficult year. After the world’s greatest surfer, Kelly Slater, opened with an inspiring win at the Pro Pipeline, it has been a string of semi-bad fortune. Lousy waves, overall, a mid-tour cut that robbed us of Owen Wright, sitting champion Gabriel Medina opting to take a mental health break, universally adored John John Florence becoming injured, Gabriel Medina returning from me-time and becoming injured himself.

On and on though we were treated to a brief moment of hope, of joy, when nearly two weeks ago, Florence posted a message to social media informing his 1.5 million fans that he was “headed south” on his sailboat that was filled with provisions and surfboards.

But Tahiti is south of Hawaii and the Tahiti Pro is the next event on the schedule.

Could he be?

Might he be?

Florence’s name remaining on the heat draw further buoyed the faithful but alas. It was revealed late last night that Michel Bouringez has replaced Blonde Ambition and that Tahiti was never the destination anyhow.

An eagle-eyed oceanographic cartographer, Will Dahlgreen, has sorted that our hero has always been on his way to Fiji.

Surf fans slumping at work desks, carving “FML” into the pressboard, not able to partake in office lunch talk.

Jilted and woebegone.

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Image courtesy Superpower Dogs film.
Image courtesy Superpower Dogs film.

In aftermath of US Open, professional surfers forced to deal with uncomfortable reality that dogs riding soft-tops are far, far more popular than them!

Sad.

Speciesism, these days, is as unchill as ablism, classism, heteroism etc. but professional surfers are waking up, this morning, with bad feelings toward dogs brewing in hearts. Yesterday, you see, was the wildly successful conclusion of the US Open of Surfing there in Huntington Beach. Light thousands watched online, though the sand was packed, as Zeke Lau was crowned champion thus fulfilling the promise spotted by ABC television producers last year.

Lau, you certainly recall, as “The Ultimate Surfer.”

And, thus, professional surfers expected their names, and exploits to be splashed across front pages, dominating internet news feeds, professional surfing for the win.

Alas, what they discovered was almost exclusive coverage of the 2022 World Dog Surfing Championships up in Pacifica, near San Francisco.

According to the Bay Area’s local NBC affiliate:

Large crowds packed Pacifica’s Linda Mar Beach Saturday for the World Dog Surfing Championships.

People watched man’s best friend ride some waves.

Fans of the event said the dogs look silly, but they were also very impressive.

“I like the gathering. It is a big event. A lot of people from all over come and join us. And then, seeing the dogs actually surf is really a funny thing to watch. And they’re really good surfers,” said Patrick Sayres of Pacifica.

The event at the beach also had mobile pet adoptions, a dog costume contest and “yappy hour” for drinks.

Other news outlets called the event “whimsical,” “delightful,” “just what we need,” with august Reuters declaring, “Surfing has officially gone to the dogs.

How does that make the aforementioned Zeke Lau or BettyLou Sakura feel?

World Surf League CEO Erik Logan?

While I can’t say for certain, I’d have to guess speciesist.

Sad.

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