Drew Dixon

I have to say, and I know many loved Irons for his surfing, that much of this film actually turned out kind of trite. From the Irons loved ones still obsessed with somehow blaming Kelly Slater for causing Irons to "break" to letting many of the enablers clearly off the hook, this film dodges much of the central issues. While it did point out the inexcusable and baffling aggro nature of Andy Irons, it did not go far enough. And the all consuming obsession with Slater was nearly as disruptive to his life as were the substances. This obsession was only enabled even more by many of the people interviewed in this film long after his death. This film also dodges the very real and cynical reality that Irons' family did everything they could to dodge the real cause of death determined by the medical examiner from being released by perpetuating a blatant lie concocted by the family that he died of dengue fever while the reality is his substance addictions did him in (even in death his loved ones were enabling him for their own ego one can only assume, though it's really not clear). Mental illness played a role, obviously. But his "wolf pack" buddies certainly didn't do anything to help him. It's sad all around but ultimately this film only contributes to the surf culture's inability to deal with reality much of the time. It's a paradox for the surfing world: They want as much attention and coverage as any other sport. But as soon as they get it they close ranks and claim they're too precious for such unfair coverage.