"As a teenager he was often described as 'the next Mark Occhilupo'".

The “powerful, basso-voiced” former world number two surfer, Luke Egan, has offloaded his redundant beachside bunker in Cronulla for almost six million dollars despite a housing market teetering on its glitzy high-heels. 

Egan, who is fifty-three, and his Fox Sports presenter wife Jess Yates (Fox Sports V8 Supercars, F1 coverage, hosts NRL game day coverage on Fox League) commissioned the build of the five-bed, four-bath, four-whip cubist joint maybe four hundred metres from the sand at Wanda four years ago.

Too late to buy 20 Links Ave, Cronulla, now, but the accompanying real estate spiel is breathtaking, 

“Architecturally designed to capture the magic of its sublime beach-side setting, this world-class designer haven provides the perfect mix of luxury, tranquillity and privacy in one of the Sutherland Shire’s most prestigious and tightly-held beach-side enclaves. Harmonising a beautiful contemporary design with a commanding high set position, this exquisitely finished family home delivers luxury living and resort-inspired entertaining.

“From the timeless marble kitchen and butler’s pantry to the indulgent master retreat with opulent ensuite, walk-in robe and sun-drenched north facing deck, this home has the best of everything. At the top of my list is that the sand can be between your toes, or you can be on a surfboard within a few minutes’ walk from your front door.”

Egan retired from the tour prematurely, it was felt, in 2005 to become a marketing manager for Billabong, leaving eight years later.

Although rarely putting a foot wrong, his real estate chips are the stuff of legend, Egan’s one misstep was his foray into “adventure wear” with his brand Depactus, “a technical outfitter for surfing’s modern youth”.

“They were both screaming frantically for help. There was no way I was going to be able to save them both.”

A woman tossed herself off the Huntington Beach Pier into the lineup last Sunday. Her brother did the lemming walk close behind.

She? Fine.

He? Dead.

Witnesses on the pier told police that a woman, 36, was dangling off the pier’s rail along with a male, 36, identified as Fenton Austin Dee, 43. She was claiming that she wanted to jump but was wavering.

According to onlookers, the two were debating about the plunge.

“It looked like she just wanted to jump for fun, like she wanted to do it and then she didn’t,” Edmundo Alarcon, who recorded the event on video, told the LA Times.  “You can tell he didn’t want to [jump]. I don’t know if he was trying to stop her.”

Surfer Landon Holman, bobbing in the solid evening swell, saw the duo hovering above.

“We’re kind of bantering back and forth,” he told People Magazine, “but I said no, it’s not a good idea to jump, not only will you get in trouble. It’s dangerous in these waters if you don’t know what you’re doing.”

They jumped anyway.

“Immediately they knew they made the wrong decision,” Holman said. “They were both screaming frantically for help. I got there pretty quickly — they were both grasping onto my board. There was no way I was going to be able to save them both.”

After getting the woman to the sand, Holman went back to help Dee, brought him in and attempted CPR until medics arrived, but Dee was already gone. Eight bells.

Last month, I wrote about the sad sack who stuffed a gun in his face in the Vero Beach, Florida, line-up. I suggested we write it off to the unknowable crockpot of the head.

But this?

Brother and sister: full-on thrill seekers. Forget life’s controlled burn.

Let it rip, damn the consequences. At least that‘s what the sister can say, huh?

Toxicology reports yet to be released.

By the way, what’s the oddest thing you’ve seen fly off your local pier?

Surf is dead!

The Roman surfer and face of Gucci Leonardo Fioravanti, who now lives in a pretty house on the beach in Hossegor, France, with step-daddy Stephen “Belly” Bell, has been dumped by his sponsor of fifteen years, the once-iconic Quiksilver.

“When I started surfing at 6 years old my dream was to be sponsored by Quiksilver, because Kelly was there, because it was the best surf company in the world, because they made the best boardshorts in the world and especially because the story they told inspired everyone in the surfing world,” Leo, who is twenty-four and an ambassador for Gucci for the past five years, wrote. “I signed with Quik when I was 9 years old, 15 years ago… today is the end of a chapter for me but especially the start of a new and even more exciting one.”

 

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Quiksilver, of course, led the surf industry charge through the seventies, eighties, nineties and two thousands before theatrically crashing into bankruptcy and eventually selling the name, brand, logo and whatever else that was worth a few nickels to the circling vultures.

Leo’s estrangement from the surf industry began earlier this year when he gave hell in a mainstream newspaper interview, comparing the stiff surf world with the glorious freedom offered by dressing pretty.

“It’s a different world, I love it. In our world you get judged a lot for your surfing style, who you sponsor with or whatever and that’s how it goes. But in fashion, you can be whatever the fuck you want to be. You can dress however you want, nobody’s going to judge you for it, they’re going to respect you for it. That’s so cool for me. The first fashion show I went to, I was only dressing in black. Everyone looks good in black and no one’s going to judge you in black. Now if I’m going to a Gucci show, give me the craziest shit you’ve got. It’s so cool, and I know they’ll never judge you for it. Give me different every time.”