David Eggers has passed away at the age of 45 in Salton Sea, California. The goofy-footer was one of the stars of surfing in the 1980s.
Eggers was born in Mountain View, California, in 1970. He caught his first wave at the age of seven. By 1984, David had already won two United States Amateur Championships.
Two years later, and with 225 amateur trophies, the young rider drops out from school, signs pro deals with surf industry brands, and ends his rookie campaign on the world tour in 34th place.
In 1987, David Eggers sinks deep. The Californian quits the tour and gets caught in a spiral of drug abuse. Cocaine sent him to rehab in 1989.
"Yesterday was gone. I didn't know what was going to happen tomorrow, and all my friends and I cared about was the here and now. We didn't care if we lived or died," Eggers told of those days, according to the Encyclopedia of Surfing,
Life was difficult for David. He would only find sobriety in the early years of the 21st century.
His personality reflected multiple paradoxes: humility and ego, fragility and strength, confidence and doubt.
A stroke or heart attack claimed David Egger's life, but he will forever be remembered as the fearless teenager who defied the big boys in the big league.