Come back, Bruce. Come back! Photo: Nate Smith
Bruce Irons has his fair share of demons. Probably more, to be honest. But I’ve never met the guy–and for all I know, his whole persona could be just a construct of the media; a clever ploy to make an interesting person; a trick to create a story perfect for the silver screen. It’s probably not, but without meeting him, I can’t say for sure. It could be a conspiracy to make us want Bruce back!
And if it is, it’s working. I want to see Bruce Irons winning, because he’s been losing. I want to see Bruce charging the way everyone knows he can. We all want it. He’s the epitome of the underdog story: an incredibly talented guy who, by many accounts, threw it all away in a violent mash of drugs and partying in paradise. He beat Kelly Slater at pumping Pipeline, for God’s sake! Bruce Irons surfs like no one else. He surfs like he’s got something to prove, and he does it with a fiery passion that only his brother matched.
So I want Bruce back. And so does his girlfriend, Hailee Wade, at least according to Beach Grit. And so does Bruce, which is probably the best news of all. “I definitely want to win something,” he told Beach Grit. “Oh fuck yeah.”
Hailee Wade entered Bruce into eight events on the ‘QS this year, the first of which is the 6-star Burton Auto Pro, which starts this coming Monday in Australia. Of course, the idea of a renewed Bruce donning a jersey again and making a run for the ‘CT has been floating around for some time now. Back in December, it came to light that Billabong wasn’t giving him a spot in the Pipe Invitational, which seemed to most to be a bit outrageous. It’s a contest held in memory of his brother, so who better to keep the memory alive in the water than blood? Bruce was pissed, and let the world know exactly how he felt about it on Instagram… at least for a few minutes. The post was quickly deleted, but not before anyone interested took a screenshot:
But it seems that a bit of a fire has been lit under Bruce since then. At the Backdoor Shootout, he took third place, with an incredibly tiny margin separating him and Mason Ho, who finished in the top spot. At the Volcom Pipe Pro, he hooked into the highest scoring wave of the day, then sat out back in Round 3 before taking off on one of the best waves of the entire contest. And while he wasn’t able to find another one to back it up, his intentions were clear: “I want to win this contest. I want to win again out here. I want to win the Pipe Masters,” he said.
Time will tell whether Bruce Irons will be able to make his mark on the ‘QS. The waves don’t suit his balls-to-the-wall, hair-straight-back surfing. But if he manages to pull it off and gets himself back on the WCT… then we will most definitely have a show on our hands, and it’s one we all want to see.
