Why is it that so many child surfing prodigies never realize their full potential? Each year the magazines proclaim a handful of youngsters to be the next Kelly Slater. In reality, these pint-sized surf stars are just as likely to reach rehab as they are the Top 10.
Today I'm highlighting the inspirational story of David Eggers -- perhaps the most dominant amateur surfer in history, who joined the World Tour, only to succumb to drug abuse and mental illness. Eggers descended into a dark obscurity, forgotten by the industry that helped create his downfall.
Amazingly, Eggers overcame his addiction and reinvented himself, gaining worldwide literary fame as the author of "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius."
Eggers' trophies circa '85. Photo: Chang /Swell
Some highlights from Dave Eggers' Wiki entry:
David Eggers was born January 8, 1970, in Mountain View, CA (although it should be noted that in his purportedly autobiographical memoir, "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius," Eggers claims to have been born in Lake Forest, a suburb of Chicago).
Eggers was raised in Clairemont, CA, and began surfing at the age of seven despite his father's prejudices - the patriarch of the Eggers clan believed all surfers to be derelicts and drug addicts. By age 8, little David already possessed a turbo-charged, functional style that allowed him to do then-futuristic maneuvers such as backside 360s.
Eggers in La Jolla. Photo: Don Balch/Swell
Surfing Career:
Eggers had a nearly-unbeatable aura as an amateur, winning 225 trophies and 4 U.S. National titles. In 1985 Eggers dropped out of 10th grade, signed a lucrative pro contract with Gotcha, and set out on the raucous world tour, nearly unaccompanied. Although he easily beat some of the top surfers in the world and rose to #34 in the ratings, Eggers was mercilessly hazed by older members of the surfing fraternity, and he quickly succumbed to the temptation of drugs. By 1987 Eggers had quit the tour, lost his contracts, was nearly-homeless, and freebasing cocaine.
Literary Work
Throughout the 1990's, Eggers struggled with addiction, turned in some legendary underground performances in La Jolla, and was finally diagnosed as a schizophrenic in 1997. With the support of his family, Eggers received treatment for his addiction and mental illness.
Although never again a factor in professional surfing, Eggers amazingly channeled a previously unknown literary talent into the sensational 2000 book-debut "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius," which masqueraded as a factual memoir of his parents deaths' due to cancer. In the best-selling book, Eggers goes on to describe the challenges he faced in raising a 14-year-old younger brother, Toph, in Berkeley, California.
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is usually classified as a or , and its foundation is certainly laid in true events. However, Eggers takes great creative liberties. He often writes wild, tangential fantasy scenes (and makes no mention of his previous surfing career). Thus, this influential work probably falls into the category of .
David Eggers Today
Eggers is married to the novelist Vendala Vida, lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, and continues to have great success as a writer, editor, publisher, and philanthropist. He is a founder of McSweeney's a literary journal. In addition to penning a number of novels, he helps run 826 Valencia, a non-profit writing center for low-income youths.
Although David's brother Scott is a fixture in the San Francisco surf community, David either surfs in seclusion or not at all, having focused his energies on literature. Occasionally, he is rumored to be spotted surfing alone, at dusk or dawn, turning in mind-blowing performances in waves of heavy consequence.
Finally, some much needed exposure for one of surfing’s true literary greats. Kudo’s to you Lewis Samuels for daring to tell the real story behind the headlines. And to Dave Eggers for doing so much good in his post surf life. It is through stories like these that surfing’s next generation will learn what is possible.
no shit…i’ve been surfing and reading dave eggers (and his work on mcsweeney’s & w/literacy org 826 valencia) for years and never knew there was a connection. good stuff, LS~
don’t let Lewis pull the wool too far over your eyes — David Eggers (the surfer) lives and works in Salton City, CA, where his dad runs a bar named Capt’n Jim’s (see TSJ 16.5).
Well, Jeff, if you’re going to take the bait, might as well swallow.
Muahahaha Lewis you fucking kill me! A) Completely clowning on Lee Crane aka “The Editors” one of the biggest pricks in this industry, and B) Creating the virtual paradox that is David Eggers. You actually got me to do a few minutes of research on the two Eggers. Btw in doing the research found out Eggers the writer’s sister committed suicide in 2002. If you’ve read the book you know who she is. Tragic. Anyways keep up the great posts.
Yep, sad truth is he’s a sad sack at best. Such wasted talent, but so it goes in the world of pro surfing…
is that a picture of a malloy brother? what happened to those tree-huggers? they still shootin and killin stuff, or writting books too?
deep thoughts by: fill in the blank
About Eggers Two, “He often writes wild, tangential fantasy scenes.”
Sounds like a successful Underbite.
interesting. on a slightly related note: how many people want to kill themselves after listening to the audio accompanying every ‘when groms attack’ feature on surfline? the puerto rico feature just came out and i really need some bullets.
didn’t eggers move to newps in the early 90’s. I specifically remember him cutting me off on several occasions. maybe that was richie collins. Those guys surfed so far beyond the rest of us groms. I remember thinking about the arrogance factor though, and saying if that’s pro surfing, sign me up. not.
always wise to keep some skepticism about LS–never know when he’s f’ing with you. a damn fine bullshitter.
Funny, Dave Eggers is also Spike Jonze’s production partner on the new movie ‘Where the Wild Things Are’. Dude must be super busy nowadays! You rock, Lewis!
Classic, all three eggers are legends. But what about the other Lewis Samuels?
I think his TED prize is worth a mention.
nice. can you find another person with my name and write one of these about me? it’s almost like those $1.42 astrological reports where they decide who you’ll marry and what day you’ll die, all based on your eye color and favorite skittles flavor.
Interesting you make this connection. There is an underground big wave savant here in San Francisco that paddles out only during 4X overhead plus O.B. He goes by the name of Charlie “Toph” Anderson. It all makes sense now.
good article.
A mixture of fact and fiction–thanks for confusing us. It’s a shame that this article is a “fake” and poor David Eggers is still struggling to find himself in a state of sanity. I think you’re creating some Karma for yourselves.
You’ve lost me as a reader…and I actually enjoyed your posts.
these are tow entirely different people. David the surfer can barely speak, let alone write novels.
That picture of Eggers now..is a totally different Eggers. The surfer and writer are 2 different people. Take this article down or actually do some research, a simple google search and 5 minutes on the web will show you that you’ve got these guys mixed up.
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