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David Eggers (January 8, 1970-) |
 The Largest Surfing EncyclopediaA-Z: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Advertisement
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"I've done the research, and I did acquire the best amateur record of all time, anywhere." David Eggers says this matter-of-factly, and you get the feeling he's right. Through the first half of the '80s, he won everything there was to win as an amateur in America, routinely surfing multiple events in a single weekend and competing well outside his age bracket. Unfortunately, his career flamed out before it really began because, as he says, "I was too busy doing wrong."
Eggers' parents, Jim and Patti Eggers, both grew up in Pacific Beach, Jim a hot rod buff and Patti the typical San Diego beach girl. Jim was a tuna fisherman by trade, the captain of an 80-foot vessel. The couple had three sons, the youngest of which was David Michael Eggers, born in a small northern town named Mountain View. The family soon returned to Southern California, settling a few miles inland in Clairemont. David and his brothers enjoyed rafting and bodyboarding for a few years before graduating to surfing. Jim had grown up under the assumption that all surfers were derelicts, and he initially opposed the boys' involvement. But after just a year on a surfboard, it was obvious that David had the right stuff. "We were surfing in San Miguel," remembers his brother Scott, "and David paddled up to me and said, 'I just did a backside 360.' I didn't believe him, so on the very next wave, he did it again. There were like two people in the world doing these things, and David was only eight." At his local breaks around La Jolla, Eggers quickly made a name for himself as a cheeky grom who pulled off amazing maneuvers. His style was functional but not pretty, and he possessed exceptional speed. He and Scott were the resident rats at Clairemont Surf Shop before they were picked up by Canyon Surfboards and a shaper named Rusty Preisendorfer. "He was a skinny little freckle-faced 10-year-old when I first started building him boards," recalls Rusty. "I think the first one I built him was 4'10". He was really aggressive and never held back despite his size. Even though he was so light and quick, he always tried big moves." At age nine, Eggers had surfed his first contest, finished sixth in the 15 and under, and was hooked. "I was so possessed with the sport, it was like, 'I have to win,'" he recalls. Soon, he was doing just that, forming an intense rivalry with fellow Californians Doug Silva and Matt Archbold. To Eggers, it was anything but friendly competition. "I didn't really have any good friends my age because I was so serious playing the game. I was winning every single heat, and I'd be so confident I'd sometimes leave the water early." When Eggers started winning events, Jim got behind him, packing the family motor home and driving all over the country for contests. Against a cutthroat cast, Eggers was close to unbeatable. Aside from countless WSA and NSSA event wins, he earned the NSSA Open Season title for Boys and Juniors simultaneously and also captured the United States Championships four times, even defeating a young Kelly Slater. In local pro-ams, he was placing ahead of many established pros, but declining the money in order to retain his amateur status. "The kid was knocking people out left and right," remembers Scott. "When he was 11, there was this pro-am at The Shores and he surfed man-on-man against Rabbit and beat him." Rather than wait around for the lone jewel missing from his amateur crown, a world amateur championship, the 15-year-old Eggers left La Jolla High School for the ASP tour. Success was a foregone conclusion, or so everyone thought. "I was predicted to be the next world champion," Eggers says. "What was I called? The Golden Child, right." Several companies stepped up with hefty endorsement contracts, and off he went to follow the 1986-'87 tour. He came with a heavy reputation and immense pressure to deliver. For half a season, he was progressing on schedule, sitting just outside the coveted Top 16. But immaturity got the better of him. Having to face a host of older, resentful trialists, he was trampled and left for dead, finding his only sanctuary in a debauched crowd. "Everyone was lying, posing as very nice people," he remembers. "There was a lot of alcohol and drugs." The pressure, the repercussions of his arrogance and the unhealthy lifestyle combined to lead him on a slide down the ratings, leaving him in a disappointing 34th at season's end. Drugs had become the driving factor in his life, and at just 17, he was all but finished with professional surfing. Two solid years of partying were followed by a half-hearted comeback attempt in 1990. By the next year, he was in La Jolla "living foolishly," he says. "It was a common thing growing up in Southern California. I wasn't a tough guy or anything, but I didn't care about anything, not even chicks. We were just tearin' up the neighborhood." As it turns out, Eggers' predicament isn't so easily defined. Around 1997, he was diagnosed schizophrenic. It is unclear whether the ailment was a result of the drugs or the other way around, but his condition is far more serious than simply a Southern Californian upbringing. Since vanishing from the public's view, he has continually struggled with sobriety, repeatedly falling victim to his shortcomings. When he does get in the water, the results are still impressive. In June of 2000, Eggers joined Scott for a two-week journey to Indonesia, reliving his youth with a healthy diet of Uluwatu and G-Land. He claims to have remained on the straight and narrow since the trip, staying with friends in La Jolla and striving to serve the church. Looking back on his stardom, he has no interest in clinging to the past. "I pretty much threw all my trophies in a garage," he says. "They're all falling apart; they mean nothing to me. It was fun, but I'm glad it's over." As for the future, Eggers is hopeful. "I'm looking at my qualifications right now, doing the life plan thing, really just trying to be a man." -- Jason Borte, March, 2001
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