RIP Brock Little

RIP Brock Little

February 19, 2016

Friends mourned the death Thursday of hard-charging, big-wave surfer and stuntman Brock Little, who had been suffering from cancer.

The Haleiwa resident was 48.

Little, at age 19, was among the youngest surfers to participate in the big wave Eddie Aikau surfing competition at Waimea Bay in 1986, finishing in fourth place, according to Surfer Magazine.

World-renown surfer Kelly Slater said on Twitter that Little was “larger than life to me.”

“The world will never be the same. I love you, man,” Slater said.

Slater tweeted that Little died today surrounded by friends and family.

Surfer Kai Lenny, in another Twitter comment, described Little as one of the greatest surfers of all time.

Little announced in late January that he had liver cancer.

Glen Moncata, the event coordinator for the Quicksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau big wave surf contest, said Little was strong even after his cancer diagnosis, and was listed as an alternate surfer in this year’s competition at Waimea Bay.

There were plans to honor Little if the Eddie had been held earlier this month. If the competition is a go in the next two weeks, Little will certainly be remembered.

Little moved to Hawaii from California as a child. He lived on the North Shore and grew up surfing.

“The big wave fraternity basically started when he (Little) came in, and Brock was at the forefront in that,” Moncata said.

Moncata said Little was runner-up in the 1990 Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau contest, after wiping out on an earlier wave and then catching a massive 25-foot wave.

Little also worked as a stuntman in movies and television and appeared in many films, including “Transformers,” “Tropic Thunder” and “Training Day,” according to the film website imdb.com.

“He just got a bad break,” Moncata said of Little’s illness. “Hopefully, he’s in a better place.”

Born: 3/17/1967, Napa, California, U.S.A.

Died: 2/18/2016, Haleiwa, Hawaii, U.S.A.

Casa de mi Padre - 2012