Malik Joyeux

Malik Joyeux (31 March 1980 – 2 December 2005) was an accomplished all-around waterman and a professional Big Wave surfer. Known by many as the "petit prince", the goofy-foot surfer often gained attention for charging the treacherous barrels at Teahupoo, Tahiti. He was credited in 2003 with the Billabong XXL Tube of the Year for riding one of the largest waves ever to be surfed in history.

Joyeux was one of Tahiti's best known professional surfers and was featured on the cover of Surfer Magazine's 2004 "Big Issue".

Early life Joyeux was born in France and moved to French Polynesia at a young age, where his mother Hélène raised her three children on the tropical island of Moorea. He started surfing at the age of 8.

For years his older brother Teiva, little sister Tylane and mother Hélène lived in a big hut near Haapiti on Moorea with no luxuries. It had no walls, just a wooden structure with a roof, surrounded by ferns and palm trees, and the ocean just meters away. 2001 Semi-Finalist "Volcom air show" 2003 "Billabong XXL Heaviest Tube" 2004 "Monster Tube Award"

Notes and references

Pro Surfer Malik Joyeux Dies at Pipeline on Surfer magazine Rider's Profile of Malik Joyeux on Oxboworld