According to Billabong, Irons struggled with his newfound notoriety. His grueling travel and competition schedule didn’t help and it eventually took a toll on the talented surfer. InsideHook writes that his bipolar disorder only made things worse. Irons was said to have suffered from “manic highs and depressive lows” as his career continued to skyrocket. Per Teton Gravity Research, his mental illness only fueled his “intense competitive nature,” as Irons was said to have emotional outbursts during competitions. Nonetheless, some believe that surfing ultimately helped Irons deal with the fact that he had bipolar disorder.
However, he was also heavily using drugs. In 1999, on his 21st birthday celebration in Indonesia, Irons snorted morphine and drank a copious amount of whiskey (per The Inertia). He flatlined for eight minutes before being resuscitated at the ICU. Though he was on the brink of death, his drug use only escalated after that. SurferToday reports that Irons became addicted to opioids and other drugs.
In addition, he would often surf after going on drug and alcohol binges into the morning. Though he was taking up to 20 pills a day, he was still leading a “functional and athletic life.” It’s believed that Irons won the 2007 Rip Curl Pro Search championship in Chile while he was high on cocaine and pills. His brother Bruce later said that Andy was “f***ed up for that whole event” (via Fox Sports Australia). Eventually, the drugs and his bipolar took a toll as Irons decided to drop out of the 2008 tour.
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