Today is AI (Andy Irons) day. The Governor of Hawaii declared February 13 as Andy Irons Day. Forever. Irons learned to surf on the dangerous and shallow reefs of the North Shore in Kauai, Hawaii.

As we know, Andy’s life touched thousands of surfers everywhere with his surfing skills, determination, and personality of smiles and fires. He sadly left us and the surfing world when he was only 32 on November 2, 2010… much too young and too soon. Andy is survived by his wife Lyndie and son Andy Axel Irons, who was born 2 months after his death.

In honor of Andy, the only surfer to have won a title at every venue on the ASP calendar, check out his “I Surf Because” video above, his biggest wipeout video below

And here are some of his most famous quotes:

I am the people’s champ.
I can’t get mad at losing if the guy I lost to wins the contest.
I have my friends, and I surf because it’s what I have always loved doing.
To me, failure is not living up to my potential.
You got to go in the mud sometimes to figure who you are.

Make sure to check out the AI collection here. Find out the background story behind all the tees here.