Andrew Blauschild certainly had friends who loved him in the Montauk community. Photo: Erik Schwab
On August 19, 2024, the Montauk, New York surf community lost one of its own. A renowned surf and nature photographer, entrepreneur and a well-known face around Montauk breaks and beaches, Andrew Blauschild (53) suffered a fatal heart attack after surfing one of his favorite waves.
Blauschild’s last session was memorable. That day featured a blue moon, beautifully suspended over the Atlantic ocean, and as friends reported, there was a rainbow and a lightning show in the distance. It seemed the entire Montauk surf community had gathered for the final remnants of swell brought by Hurricane Ernesto on the north side of the Montauk Lighthouse. After surfing his last wave, Blauschild walked to the parking lot where he told friends he was having trouble catching his breath. He was put into a vehicle and rushed towards town, but sadly died en route. The official cause of death: heart failure.
Blauschild’s photography of the Montauk and New York surf scenes is renowned, as was his artistic eye. His unique perspective, process and personal experiences of surfing made his photographs cult-like classics in the surfing world.
His weren’t splashy, up-close images of surfers screaming out of the barrel; they were photos born of light, of contour, of landscape, of gradient and a love of water. Blauschild’s photography always seemed to hold a reverence for the wider frame, the full wave, the curves of the land and the aspects of nature that others might miss.
Beyond his photography, Blauschild was also known for launching the surfboard brand Kookbox with longboard world champion, Joel Tudor. Although the original business arrangement didn’t work out, Drew continued to speak highly of Tudor for his inspiration to start the brand and his unlimited talent on the water. The Kookbox board became a collector’s item overnight upon Blauschild’s death and played heavily in the memorial paddle out in his honor.
On August 25th, the Montauk community came together for that paddle out in Blauschild’s name. An estimated 700 surfers, friends and family members gathered at Ditch Plains Beach for the traditional ceremony to bid him farewell. A large circle of surfboards connected by clasped hands gathered out in the water as friends Rick Solano, Mikey DeTemple and others launched Blauschild’s board – a model from the Kookbox company – into the center of the circle with flowers strewn on its deck.
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His mother and father, Frank and Jeanette Blauschild, along with Drew’s uncle Doug and brother Todd came to witness the event from Spring Valley, New York. They were awed by the large turnout and warm welcome they received from every member of the community on the beach that day, taking time to speak and shake hands with countless surfers, accept condolences and feel the love of the Montauk community for Drew.
“If anything,” Blauschild told The Surfer’s Journal for his recent profile article, “Finding Andrew” in the Spring 2023 issue, “I see surfing as nature. That is what is beautiful about it. You’re connecting with some sort of cosmic energy, a pulse of energy that if you pull it back far enough you can trace it back millions of years.”
Andrew Blauschild’s passion for surfing, great love of nature and the East End community was well represented in that final paddle out under blue skies and clear waters. And while the swell was minimal, surfers from the paddle out each caught a “wave for Drew” on their way back in. On the beach, there were barefoot hugs, photographs of Drew being distributed and the yellow, riderless board pulled from the water to be touched, and remembered as people left the beach.
It was one of Montauk’s finest moments. A rare occasion when everyone set aside their grievances and came together in solidarity. The collective created a powerful energy where a love for one surfer made the community whole, once again.
