Sunny Garcia Biography | Sunny Garcia

Sunny Garcia (born Vincent Sennen Garcia on January 14, 1970, in Mā’ili, on the Westside of Oahu, Hawaii) is a professional surfer. He grew up in Wai’anae and, after leaving school, debuted on the 1986 Gotcha Pro at Sandy Beach, Oahu, beating the 1984 champ Tom Carroll.

His top surfing achievement was becoming the ASP WCT World Champion in 2000 but Garcia also holds the record for most WQS event wins, 22, and holds six Triple Crown of Surfing titles. In addition, he was the second professional surfer to win over $1 million in prize money.

He initially retired in 2005 but is now competing again, although, in 2008, his hopes for ASP World Tour qualification were dashed with early elimination in the O’Neill World Cup of Surfing. On April 30, 2019, Garcia was hospitalized in the intensive care unit of a Portland hospital.

Sunny Garcia Age

Sunny Garcia is a professional surfer. He grew up in Wai’anae and, after leaving school, debuted on the 1986 Gotcha Pro at Sandy Beach, Oahu, beating the 1984 champ Tom Carroll. Who is 49 years old as of 2019. He was born on January 14, 1970, in Oahu, HI

Sunny Garcia Image

Sunny Garcia Personal

Following his parents’ divorce, Garcia lived with his mother near Mā’ili point, close to the beach. He was a dominant force in the Hawaiian Surfing Association and soon made the grade, as a 17-year-old, on the 1986 WCT, beating former champion Tom Carroll and threatening to cause an upset to the top 16. Despite this early promise he just failed to break into this elite group on his debut season but the following year he finished in 16th position.

Garcia showed great consistency throughout the 1990s, finishing in the top ten every year and coming third four times during that period. However, in 1995 it seemed that he might have reached the climax of his career. Failing to win the Pipeline Masters to claim the title Sunny ended up finishing third behind Kelly Slater and Rob Machado. With a host of talented young blood set to qualify for the 1996 Dream Tour and declining fitness levels, it seemed Garcia’s era was over.

Then, four years later, things changed. Inspired by veteran Mark Occhilupo’s shock 1999 WCT title, Garcia shed weight and moved to Kauai. There he surfed with the progressive Irons brothers, Andy and Bruce, expanding his surfing repertoire.

In 2000, 14 years after his debut, Garcia achieved the ultimate surfing accolade, emphatically dominating the ASP WCT from the start of the campaign, winning the first two events in Australia and clinching the title in Brazil, the penultimate event. On the way, he also picked up a fifth Triple Crown in his native Hawaii.

After initially retiring from the professional surfing circuit in 2005, Garcia is now competing on the WQS again. In 2008, he started slowly but moved into the top ten after a fifth-place finish in Scotland. Garcia was determined to win the series, and many people tipped him to do so but in the end, early elimination in the O’Neill World Cup of Surfing, in his own back yard, meant he was denied a place on the 2009 Dream Tour.

In 2009 he had surgery on his knee and finished the year strongly, following a quarter-final berth in the Hawaiian pro with a runner-up spot to Triple Crown rival Joel Parkinson in the O’Neill World Cup. However, his attempt to clinch a seventh Triple Crown was denied when he lost his Pipemasters place after arriving late for his heat. Some consolation would have come from his standout performance at the ‘Quiksilver in memory of Eddie Aikau’ big wave contest (“The Eddie”), in which he finished third.

As of June 2010, he was placed 67th in the new ASP World Rankings, his best result being a quarter-final finish on the ‘Sponsor me now Sunset Open’ in January.

Garcia has been a controversial figure, depicted as both volatile and easygoing by those who have met him. He has served prison time for tax evasion and been arrested for fighting. According to ESPN TV, his nickname Sunny was given to him by his mother, due to his cheerful disposition as an infant.

He is known as a tough competitor but also someone who owes the success to the anger he feels when surfing, which he often takes out physically on his competitors. He has been married three times, most recently to Colleen McCullough in 2008, and has three teenage children from his first marriage.

On April 30, 2019, the World Surfer’s League announced that Garcia was in critical condition at a Portland hospital.

Sunny Garcia Wife

Sunny Garcia pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges in 2006 when he failed to report over $400,000 he received in prize money from 1996-2001. Right before he went to prison, he got divorced from his second wife, Raina Garcia. In a 2007 interview with the Honolulu Advertiser, he described his situation, “To be honest, I can’t even remember what happened last year,” he said. “My mind was all over the place with the divorce, and I knew I was headed to prison. It was my worst Triple Crown ever.”

After serving his time in a Federal prison in Bakersfield, California, he served 6 months of house arrest in San Diego. According to the Honolulu Advertiser interview, he was able to “establish a relationship with Colleen McCullough, who was introduced to him through a friend.” The two got married in 2008 and divorced in 2018.

He has been married three times, most recently to Colleen McCullough in 2008, and has three teenage children from his first marriage. On April 30, 2019, the World Surfer’s League announced that Garcia was in critical condition at a Portland hospital.

What are Sunny Garcia Body Measurements?

Sunny Garcia stands at a height of 1.78 m i.e. 5 feet and 10 inches tall. He has a body weight of 200 lbs i.e. 91 kg. He has an average body build. He has tattoos on his body.

Sunny Garcia’s Family, Five Fast Facts You Need To Know

Sunny Garcia is a professional surfer legend from Waianae, Oahu and holds the record for the most wins (22) in the men’s World Qualifying Series in the World Surf League. He also holds 6 Triple Crown of Surfing titles and is the 2nd surfer in history to surpass $1 million in prize money.

He’s a legend in Hawaii and one of the most decorated and respected surfers living in the mecca of surfing, the north shore of Oahu. He was recently hospitalized and is currently in ICU in critical condition.

In addition to being one of the GOATs of surfing, Sunny also branched out into the entertainment business and was a stand out in the 2003 reality show North Shore. He infamously got into several altercations during the show and was seen as one of the more entertaining parts of the short-lived reality series.

He was also the star of his own video game, Sunny Garcia Surfing which was released for the PlayStation 2. He retired in 2005 and attempted a short-lived comeback in 2008.

Sunny has publicly struggled with depression and is very close to his family who has helped him through it.

1. His Oldest Daughter, Is a Licensed Esthetician and Business Owner

Sunny’s oldest daughter, Kaila Toettu, is married to Antonio Toetuu, a local man from Waimanalo. Kaila owns “Lashes by Kaila”, a local business that sells beauty products and services including eyelash extensions. She is apparently doing very well and all booked up as her Instagram profile states emphatically, “NO NEW CLIENTS”.

The Instagram profile is private and her business isn’t on any other social media networks so it looks like a referral only, word of mouth business which is common in Hawaii.

2. Kaila Named Her Son After Sunny

Kaila has two children with Antonio, daughter Tia and son Sunny. Sunny has already started teaching his grandchildren how to surf and there are several photos of them on Instagram playing in the water together and hanging out together.

According to the tagged photos on their social media profiles, the Garcia family is extremely close. They spend a lot of time together surfing and hanging out on the beach like many local families in Hawaii.

3. Sonny Garcia’s Kids Love to Surf

The apples don’t fall far from the tree. Stone is an avid surfer just like pops with most of his social media profiles consisting of surfing photos. But not just surfing, like most local guys his Instagram profile is full of all types of water sports including kayaking, cliff diving, and skateboarding. Kaila and Logan are also tagged in a few of Sunny’s photos surfing with him as kids, but their social media profiles are mostly private.

Sunny and Stone are very close, as is the rest of their family. 6 weeks before Sunny was admitted to the hospital he posted “I love you” on Stone’s Instagram post. Stone replied, “I love you too”.

Stone is also an avid traveler, posting photos from Las Vegas, professional tennis tournaments, snowboarding events, and concerts among others. But the majority of his social media content features surfing.

4. His Youngest Daughter Is Dating a Successful MMA Fighter

Logan Garcia is currently dating Lowen Tynanes, a professional lightweight fighter from the small community of Ewa Beach on the island of Oahu. Lowen fights for ONE Championship and is a top talent in the lightweight division, winning a championship title in King of the Cage undefeated in his professional career (10-0).

Lowen also sells his own personal branded merchandise for local streetwear company Defend Hawaii. They have been a couple since at least 2013 according to photos Logan has posted on Twitter.

Logan is a licensed real estate agent working for Hawaii Life Realtors, one of the most successful real estate companies in the state. According to her profile, she works from their Kaimuki office located on Waialae Avenue.

5. Sunny Garcia’s Wife Met Him While He Was on House Arrest

Sunny Garcia pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges in 2006 when he failed to report over $400,000 he received in prize money from 1996-2001. Right before he went to prison, he got divorced from his second wife, Raina Garcia. In a 2007 interview with the Honolulu Advertiser, he described his situation, “To be honest, I can’t even remember what happened last year,” he said. “My mind was all over the place with the divorce, and I knew I was headed to prison. It was my worst Triple Crown ever.”

After serving his time in a Federal prison in Bakersfield, California, he served 6 months of house arrest in San Diego. According to the Honolulu Advertiser interview, he was able to “establish a relationship with Colleen McCullough, who was introduced to him through a friend.” The two got married in 2008 and divorced in 2018.

Sunny Garcia Awards

In 2010, Sunny was inducted into the Surfing Walk of Fame at Huntington Beach.
Volunteer Work
Garcia has often volunteered for the charity Surfers Healing, a foundation for autism, which has included beach clean-up days held in Hawaii and along California’s coast.

In 2011, Garcia is the host of “Surfers for Cystic Fibrosis” golf tournament fundraiser that has been organized by the charitable organization The Mauli Ola Foundation. Proceeds will fund surf experience days Cystic Fibrosis sufferers.

In the news
In October 2006, Garcia was sentenced to federal prison for tax fraud after failing to pay taxes on unreported contest winnings from 1996 to 2001. Garcia failed to report over USD471,000 in prize money on his tax returns for those years, resulting in a three-month sentence, beginning January 12, 2007, plus a further 7 months of house arrest and 80 hours community service with Goodwill. “I spent my money foolishly and didn’t handle my affairs,” he said outside the San Diego federal courtroom where he was sentenced.

On 21 February 2011, the ASP Rules and Disciplinary Committee convened to assess an alleged brawl involving Garcia, Jeremy Flores and a local surfer, who allegedly dropped-in on Garcia’s teenage son while surfing on 19 February 2011 on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.

In accordance with the ASP Rulebook, immediately following the incident, then-active surfer Jeremy Flores was suspended from the 4-star Breaka Burleigh Pro event at Burleigh Heads and then-eliminated surfer Garcia was suspended from the 4-star Burton Toyota Pro in Newcastle, New South Wales.

An amateur cameraman who filmed the brawl alleged he was attacked by Sunny Garcia soon after when he approached him on land. The cameraman lodged an official assault complaint with Gold Coast Police but withdrew it on the afternoon of 21 February 2011. Witnesses allege Garcia went after the amateur cameraman, knocking him to the ground and inflicting deep grazes to his back and arms with one of the man’s hands receiving injuries.

The amateur cameraman told police he wanted to drop his complaint after receiving threats from locals and Garcia’s overseas supporters warning of retribution and sought to lay low in his native Brazil until the surf rage furor died down. The amateur cameraman was quoted as saying, “I’m too scared to press charges…Garcia could go to jail and then people would want to get me. At the moment I just don’t feel safe…I’ve had threats on the internet I don’t know how I’d protect myself and my family if something happened”.

Garcia sought legal advice from high-profile Gold Coast lawyer Chris Nyst. On 3 May 2011, Queensland Police Service confirmed an arrest warrant has been issued for a 41-year-old man on a charge of common assault, the reporting newspaper linked the warrant to Garcia. On 4 May 2011, Garcia’s lawyer, Chris Nyst, confirmed the arrest warrant for Garcia, that it involves the young surfer who was allegedly assaulted, advised continued co-operation from Garcia with police and is confident his client would be exonerated.

Other information
Garcia is of Filipino and Hawaiian from his father’s side and Hawaiian, Chinese, Filipino, Irish and Native American heritage from his mother’s side. In 2002, he starred in ‘North Shore: Boarding House’, a reality TV show featuring co-habiting surfers living together. However, he generally chooses to steer clear of the North Shore hype, preferring to spend his time surfing alone or riding motocross.

He has a clothing deal with Affliction Clothing where the tattoos he has on his body have been replicated on his own custom shirt. Sunny also features in the ‘Sunny Garcia Surfing’ computer game.

Sunny Garcia Legal issues

He was sentenced to three months in federal prison for tax fraud in October 2006 after he failed to pay taxes on unreported contest winnings from 1996 to 2001. He failed to report to over USD471,000 in prize money on his tax returns for those years. He was also kept on 7 months of house arrest and 80 hours of community service with Goodwill.

He was suspended from the 4-star Burton Toyota Pro in Newcastle, New South Wales for involving in a fight with Jeremy Flores, and a local surfer.

What is Sunny Garcia Net Worth?

Sunny Garcia is one of the successful professional surfers. He earned around $1.2 million as of 2009. He is sponsored by Versasurf Traction and FCS fins. He has a clothing deal with Affliction Clothing where the tattoos he has on his body have been replicated on his custom shirt. He also features in the ‘Sunny Garcia Surfing’ computer game. His net worth is not available at present.

Sunny Garcia Twitter

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Sunny Garcia News

Surf legend Garcia in hospital after a suicide attempt

Adopted:https://www.sport24.co.za

Published: 1 May 2019

Los Angeles – Surfing legend Sunny Garcia was being treated in intensive care at a Portland hospital on Tuesday after a reported suicide attempt.

The 49-year-old surfing icon’s hospitalization was confirmed in a statement from the World Surf League.

“With heavy hearts, we confirm that Sunny Garcia is in the ICU in the hospital,” the WSL wrote on Twitter.

“Sunny has always been a great champion of surfing, both in and out of the water. Our prayers are with him and his loved ones at this deeply challenging time.”

Garcia, a six-time winner of surfing’s Triple Crown, was admitted to hospital on Monday. The TMZ.com website said Garcia, who has struggled with depression for several years, had attempted suicide.

News of Garcia’s hospitalization prompted a wave of messages across social media.

American surfing star Kelly Slater posted a photo of himself smiling alongside Garcia on Instagram.

“I love you, brother,” Slater wrote.

“I just can’t even fathom you not here. We’ve got so much more living to do before we are done.

“There have been hard times but there have been so many good ones, too. Just praying you to wake up and we get more of you.”

The Hawaii-born and raised Garcia’s professional career has spanned four decades from the mid-1980s when he began competing soon after leaving school in 1986.

He was the WSL’s World Champion in 2000 and he was only the second professional surfer to amass more than $1 million in prize money.

However, his life out of the water has encountered turbulence. He served a three-month prison sentence in 2007 for tax evasion and has also spoken about depression.

“Depression is no joke waking up feeling like your ready to take on the world than a couple of hours later feeling down on life and wondering what’s wrong with you,” Garcia wrote in a 2014 Instagram post.

“I’m not sure what’s wrong with me because I have no reason to feel the way I do and it’s been happening for about two years and would love to hear from any of you who suffer these feelings so I can figure out what I should do.”

Surfing Legend Sunny Garcia Hospitalized and in Intensive Care Amid Depression Battle

Professional surfer Sunny Garcia has been placed in the intensive care unit at a hospital in Oregon.

Early reports suggested the former world champion, who has been candid about his mental health struggles in the past, had died, but the World Surf League confirmed his hospitalization Tuesday.

“With heavy hearts, we confirm that Sunny Garcia is in the ICU in the hospital,” the organization wrote. “Sunny has always been a great champion of surfing, both in and out of the water. Our prayers are with him and his loved ones at this deeply challenging time.”

The 49-year-old, whose real name is Vincent Sennen Garcia, was hospitalized just hours after sharing an emotional Instagram post.

“If I told this kid the things he would go through and things he would achieve he would tell me I’m crazy,” he captioned a photo of himself as a teenager, smiling and holding a snow cone. “Wow, it’s been a crazy ride since this photo was taken.”

A representative for the power surfer did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

In December 2014, Garcia opened up about his struggles with depression in another Instagram post that included the hashtags “#needhelp” and “#whatswrongwithme.”

“Depression is no joke waking up feeling like you’re ready to take on the world than a couple of hours later feeling down on life and wondering what’s wrong with you,” Garcia wrote.

“Well I know I’m not alone and I’m not sure what’s wrong with me because I have no reason to feel the way I do,” he continued. “It’s been happening for about two years and would love to hear from any of you who suffer these feelings so I can figure out what I should do.”

Just last month, Garcia again opened up about his struggle with mental health and called out on others to talk about their feelings.

After the news of his hospitalization, many in the surfing community posted memories and well-wishes to Garcia.

“Sunny…I love you, brother,” Kelly Slater wrote on Instagram. “I just can’t even fathom you not here. We’ve got so much more living to do before we are done. There have been hard times but there have been so many good ones, too. Just praying you to wake up and we get more of you.”

“Come on brother we need you here!” added surfer Jeremy Flores. “It’s not your time yet, you’re a warrior! Love you Sunny.”

“He is the most victorious surfer in Hawaii,” the Hall of Fame says of Garcia on its website.

His talents in the water have also lead to him becoming one of the most photographed and filmed surfers ever, having appeared in more than 75 surf movies and video, the Hall of Fame noted.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “home” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.