Sunny Days For Garcia

Former world champion Sunny Garcia recently secured a lifetime sponsorship with Hawaiian-born clothing company Da Hui. Garcia, 32, describes the unusual terms of the deal this way: "Well, when I finally decide to hang it up, I'll have a good job with these guys, and it won't be mopping up floors." Garcia, however, has no plans on retiring despite his 15-plus years on the road and a nagging ankle injury. "Why should I retire?" he says. "Occy is just paving the way for guys like me and Luke [Egan]. With the contests being held in really good waves now, it's that much harder for guys to knock us off. I keep waiting for some young guys to come and do me in, but I ain't seen them yet. So there's no use leaving before I have to."

Eddie Rothman, founder of Da Hui and a longtime North Shore enforcer, says Sunny's move is like coming home. "He's with his own kind now, instead of being somebody's hired gun," he explains. "We don't have huge corporate offices, or a bunch of Mercedes' in the parking lot, or even a lot of money! But that's not Sunny's style anyway. He's Hawaiian."