Mahalo to Lyndie Irons and Steve Jones for taking time to talk about their documentary.
“Andy Irons: Kissed By God” just premiered in Los Angeles earlier this week and will have a premiere showing in Honolulu on Sunday.
The film will be shown on a one-night nationwide release on May 31, and then will tour across the country starting in June.
From what I’ve heard directly from Lyndie Irons and Jones, this is a documentary I very much look forward to watching.
On the surface, it may seem that it’s just a documentary about a young surfer who reached the highest peaks of surfing but his life was cut short — much too short.
But I believe beyond just highlighting his surfing prowess, this film more importantly tells a human interest story. And, it’s a story that you don’t have to be into surfing — or sports in general — to appreciate.
The documentary will also tell of Irons’ dark and painful times as it delves into his troubles with bipolar disorder and opioid addiction. Lyndie, Irons’ widow, was among those interviewed for the film.
“I think Andy was never able to talk about the truth and talk about his struggles because of the stigma around being an addict, suffering from bipolar or having any chemical imbalances because there’s a huge stigma around it,” Lyndie Irons said in an interview with TGI.
“Being an athlete, he just wasn’t able to tell the truth. It was really sad, honestly. He wanted to tell the truth. He wanted to let people know what he was struggling with, but he really couldn’t. It was really sad. Actually, for everybody to talk about it freely and openly, it’s made it a beautiful film because everyone’s finally speaking the truth. I think Andy would be proud.”
That perhaps is what is most important here — being able to talk openly about disorders, addictions or whatever without the fear of being chastised.
How many stories have you heard or read in the national news, perhaps even the local news, about some young person who dealt with some internal struggle and their life was unexpectedly cut short because of it?
If your answer is at least one, shouldn’t one be too many?
I don’t know what it’s like to deal with something like this, or even something remotely similar. But for those who do, they should know that help is out there and that they are not the only one who is struggling.
That is what I hope to see from this documentary.
I hope this film shows that though Iron’ life ended tragically, it doesn’t have to be the same for everyone else — that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
I hope that I will learn something new from this film and that I take with me a better understanding of what someone like Irons went through and that I’ll be even more sympathetic for people who walk a similar path.
I hope that for everyone who watches this.
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Nick Celario, sports writer, can be reached at 245-0437 or ncelario@thegardenisland.com.
