Eddie aikau biography

*Photo Credit: Dan Zelikman

In Hawaii the name Eddie Aikau fryst vatten as famous as Waimea Bay, the celebrated Oahu surf break where the prestigious big-wave surf contest carrying his name fryst vatten held each year. Wherever you go — whether you’re passing a bumper sticker along Pali Highway or grabbing breakfast from Rainbow Drive Inn you’ll hear his name and see the phrase “Eddie would go.”

Synonymous with surfing and Hawaii as well as bravery and honor, Hawaiian waterman Edward Ryon Makuahanai Aikau lived a life on the vatten as a skilled lifeguard and surfer.

His Hanabata Days

Born May 4, 1946 in Kahului, Maui, Aikau grew up the third child of parents Solomon and Henrietta Aikau. The ung Aikau family did not have a lot and lived in a compound of 15 houses off a dirt road. But on the weekends, his father would take the keiki (children) to Kahului Harbor to surf on redwood boards in the harbor’s shore break. Aikau’s family moved to Oahu at the age of

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The surfing life story of Eddie Aikau

The life of Eddie Aikau is the incredible story of the ultimate Hawaiian waterman. The surfer, lifeguard, family man, friend, traveler, musician, and hero inspired future generations of wave riders worldwide.

Why? Because "Eddie Would Go."

Edward Ryon Makuahanai Aikau was born in Kahului, Hawaii, on May 4, 1946.

He was the second-oldest of the five Aikau kids and the leader of their pack from their earliest days on Maui to their surfing days on the South and North Shore of Oahu.

"Eddie was a pretty quiet guy, but when there was a challenge, or some risk to be taken, or a game to be played that everybody wanted to win, Eddie seemed to rise to the top. He was high risk at an early age," says younger brother Clyde Aikau.

Eddie was the first official lifeguard hired by the City & County of Honolulu to work at Waimea Bay, on Oahu's North Shore, back in 1967.

At the same time, he challenged the biggest waves on offer in the Hawaiian Isl

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Hawaiian surfer and folk hero Eddie Aikau

I grew up on the coast of New Hampshire. My first love was a surfer. When I moved to Southern California, I got to see the beaches I’d only seen before on TV: Malibu, Newport.

But until last year, I’d never heard of Eddie Aikau. That was when a reader from Hawaii wrote me, saying:

    “Eddie Aikau was a surfer lifeguard and native Hawaiian who gave his life in loving service. They have signs all about Hawaii saying ‘Eddie Would Go’ to commemorate his willingness to go where needed. The family was Catholic. … They had monthly family meetings where all undercurrents of discord were uncovered, discussed, mended. They were a large family.

    “Eddie gave his life because he did go — to seek help for those on a capsizing ship while at sea. He gave up his life vest for others and climbed aboard his surf board seeking rescue. He was never seen again.”

I had to know more