ai forever festival set to kick off may 5
After three long years of Covid delays, the best Keiki event on Kauai will be up and running again in early May. Now called the Andy Irons Forever Festival, the 18th annual event will host a long list of activities, including the surf event at Pine Trees.
Visit here to sign up and remember: event is for Kauai residents only. See you there!
ANDY IRONS FOUNDATION X KIDS HURT TOO HAWAII: WAIKIKI
The Andy Irons Foundation partnered with @kidshurttoohawaii earlier in the month to kick off the 2023 Billabong Pro Pipeline festivities with a Waikiki surf session with their team riders followed by a team signing at @billabong_waikiki. Kids Hurt Too Hawaii is such an amazing organization and focuses on mentoring and caring for kids who’ve lost a parent. Thanks to the local community, all who came out and a huge thanks to Cynthia White and Walker Rowsey for bringing so many smiling young faces to the beach! Andy would’ve been proud.
For more info, please visit www.kidshurttoo.org
KIDS HURT TOO HAWAII PROJECT: HI RISING
We recently paid a visit to the proceeds recipient of Billabong’s AI Forever collection, Kids Hurt Too Hawaii. This organization is doing amazing things for Hawaii’s vulnerable youth and we’re so thankful for their help and partnership.
One program in particular called “HI Rising” is a work force development project aimed at fostering and training youth for future career paths. The program includes foundational skills, professional development, academics and mentorship. It sounds like they’ll be creating a satellite space for this program on the North Shore of Oahu in the coming months!
For more info, please visit www.kidshurttoo.org
BILLABONG’S NEW AI FOREVER COLLECTION: A TRIBUTE TO THE WAY HE SURFED
More than 10 years after his tragic passing, Andy Irons’ approach to riding a wave is more relevant than ever. To celebrate this, Billabong created its 2020 AI Forever collection, recognizing the most iconic boardshort prints he wore during this reign. A portion of proceeds from the collection, in partnership with the Andy Irons Foundation, will be donated to Kids Hurt Too Hawaii, an organization providing services to grieving and traumatized children, youth and their caregivers.
Watch the Thank You Andy Part 2 film featuring Seth Moniz, Griffin Colapinto and Ethan Ewing here or learn more about the collection at billabong.com
ANDY IRONS FOUNDATION AND SAS SOFTWARE PRESENT: AN ANDY IRONS: KISSED BY GOD WEBINAR EVENT
We’ve partnered up with SAS Software, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Billabong for a free virtual screening of Andy Irons: Kissed By God along with a live roundtable chat with Joel Parkinson, Lyndie Irons, Selema Masekela and more.
All proceeds raised from the event will go to the Data For Good project, a program focused on helping youth struggling with mental health conditions by leveraging better data analytics. Join us this Thursday, Oct. 8 at 1 PM PST for a celebration of the three-time world champ and his lasting impact on the sport.
You can register for the free event here. Looking forward to joining you all!
AIF INCLUDED IN THIS SEASON’S FOODLAND “GIVE ALOHA” FUNDRAISER
Throughout his lifetime, Maurice “Sully” Sullivan, the founder of Hawaii’s No. 1 grocery store chain Foodland, gave generously to many causes and encouraged the spirit of giving in others. It is in his honor that Foodland created Give Aloha, its annual community matching gifts program. This year, the Andy Irons Foundation is proud to announce that we’ll be part of Foodland’s give-back initiative that has contributed so much to the Hawaiian community.
The donation process for Hawaiian residents is easy to follow:
1. Visit your local Foodland during your next grocery run.
2. When you use your Makai’i card and elect to donate to Give Aloha.
3. Designate your donation to the Andy Irons Foundation (NO. 79039)
4. Foodland will match that donation throughout the month of September.
5. The Andy Irons Foundation will, in turn, dedicate those resources toward improving mental health and wellness in our local communities.
Thank you for your consideration, and thanks to Foodland for including us!
watch the video: 100,000 masks donated to the island of kauai
Special thanks to all involved with the project, including Every1nehawaii.com, RVCA and especially Zak Noyle for spearheading the initiative. Kauai is now covered!
Andy Irons FOUNDATION TO DONATE 100,000 MASKS TO THE ISLAND OF KAUAI
The Andy Irons Foundation, in partnership with Every1ne for One Hawaii, will be distributing face masks for all those who need one on the island of Kauai. There’s been a major shortage of masks during this unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, especially for disadvantaged youth and families in need. This donation will help provide 100,000 masks for Kauai and will be distributed during the dates, locations and times posted on the flyer in this post. In addition to the face mask donation, the Andy Irons Foundation will be donating to the following organizations on the island to help local residents get through this once-in-a-century crisis:
Hawaii Foodbank — Kauai Branch
Hawaii’s number one source for feeding the hungry. Hours: 8 am – 4 pm
The Malama Foundation will be distributing breakfasts (7:30 am – 8:00 am) and lunches (11:30 am – 12:00 pm) at the following schools for keikis 18 and under:
Kilauea School
Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle
Kapaa High
Kekaha Elementary
Koloa Elementary
Waimea High
The Kauai Lifeguard Association will be providing masks and food to four of the main homeless encampments on the island.
We look forward to seeing you at one of the locations. Please stay safe and continue to practice social distancing.
For real-time updates, please follow Lyndie Irons’ Instagram.
BILLABONG LAB’S METALLICA X AI FOREVER COLLECTION TO SUPPORT THE ANDY IRONS FOUNDATION
Billabong, the longtime sponsor of Andy Irons, just released a new collection in collaboration with iconic metal band Metallica. Called “Metallica x AI Forever,” the collection celebrates the late Billabong athlete and world champion surfer’s special relationship with the band.
This premium design collaboration with Metallica comes through Billabong LAB, a platform that supports artists, musicians, designers and photographers. The five-part collection, released between October 2019 and March 2020, features a unique blend of boardsports-engineered apparel from Billabong and iconic album artwork from the rock band Metallica.
In this installment, the Metallica x AI Forever collection commemorates the special relationship between Metallica and three-time surfing world champion Andy Irons. In 2007, Billabong enlisted Metallica band members James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, and Robert Trujillo to create a collection featuring Irons as the hero Billabong athlete.
With Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo being avid surfers, the collaboration with Irons created a lasting bond. A bond that also endured the athlete’s untimely passing in 2010, mourned by the international boardsports community, at the height of his career. For this reason, a portion of the proceeds from the new Metallica x AI Forever collection will help support the Andy Irons Foundation in its efforts to create positive outcomes for youth in need.
“There could not be a more positive cause to support with this special collection,” said Evan Slater, VP of Global Marketing at Billabong. “Andy and the spirit of Metallica are an integral part of Billabong’s DNA. And we’re grateful that this collection can help extend Andy’s legacy through his foundation.”
“Andy was a rebel in a rebellious sport,” said Metallica lead singer James Hetfield. “And that’s a great thing to have.”
For more on the collection, visit billabong.com.
ANDY IRONS FOUNDATION AND RVCA TEAM UP TO SUPPORT HANALEI ELEMENTARY
After Kauai endured record-breaking downpours and subsequent floods that wiped out much of the North Shore community in April 2018, residents have slowly been re-building and getting back to normal along this idyllic stretch of coast.
One special project that caught the attention of the Andy Irons Foundation and clothing brand RVCA was the decimated playground at Hanalei Elementary. According to the American Medical Association, “Children will be smarter, better able to get along with others, healthier and happier when they have regular opportunities for free and unstructured play in the outdoors.”
Knowing the importance of this playground for local youth, both the Foundation and RVCA worked together to create a t-shirt to raise funds to help get this project completed. “Our mission is about supporting youth and bringing awareness to mental health,” says Andy Irons Foundation Board Member Lyndie Irons. “This was where Andy went to school and I know these kinds of things were important to him. This is the silver lining that came out of such a devastating flood.”
For more information on how you can help, go to https://www.hanaleischoolfoundation.com
ANDY IRONS: KISSED BY GOD AVAILABLE ON ITUNES
Award-winning documentary Andy Irons: Kissed by God, which tells the heartbreaking story of the three-time surfing world champion and his private struggles, is available on iTunes. The film, created by Steve Jones, Lyndie Irons and Enich Harris, is a must-watch for anyone familiar with the Andy Irons story.
Despite his many triumphs and mastery of the sport of surfing, Irons quietly battled with bipolar disorder and opioid addiction throughout his life — demons that millions of people worldwide combat daily. Born and raised on Kauai with his brother Bruce, Andy was an incredible presence on the world surfing stage. Revered around the world for his blue-collar rise to fame and success, he became known as the “People’s Champion” and the pride of Hawaii. At the same time, many of his friends and most of his fans were unaware of his internal struggle that ultimately led to his untimely demise. As the opioid crisis rises to a national emergency in the United States, the untold story of Andy’s life serves to tear down the myths associated with these two ferocious diseases. Executive Produced by Chris Hemsworth and featuring in-depth interviews with Andy’s family, his wife Lyndie Irons, as well as friends and competitors Kelly Slater, Nathan Fletcher, Joel Parkinson, Sunny Garcia, and more.