Being a cool in the barrel was Marvin Foster’s forte, even backside at the notorious Backdoor. Pic: Tracks archive

Hawaiian surfer Marvin Foster has been found dead on the North Shore of Oahu. Details on Foster’s death are still surfacing pending an investigation, but apparently Marvin’s younger brother identified the body on Tuesday. A sad day for his family and friends in the Hale’iwa area (and beyond).

Marvin had a checked career highlighted by his joining of the ASP World Tour in 1980 and subsequent Rookie of the Year award. The goofy-footers most famous surfing exploit though was being the first man to go left at Waimea Bay. Something he did more than once. Not surprisingly he was one of the first invitee’s to The Eddie Aikua Big Wave Invitational.

Marvin was also famously quoted as saying, “I try to get as deep as can, but not to deep, where I can just make it…” in classic surf flick The Performers. The Performers was the vehicle that arguably introduced his larger than life (he stood tall and dominated line-ups) to the world outside of Hawaii’s North Shore.

But Foster’s past was peppered with some serious clashes with the law, including an 18-month prison stint on weapons charges in 1993. Said to be a notable victim of the ice epidemic that ripped through Hawaii in the nineties Marvin had his demons. Despite his downfalls he was widely respected in Hawaii and especially in his beloved Hale’iwa community.

RIP

Black railed T & C’s with flouro deck and bottom sprays were his signature sticks. Pic:Tracks archives

NOTE: Cause of death confirme – Foster, 49, died from asphyxia due to hanging earlier this week, according to the city Department of the Medical Examiner. The manner of his death was classified as a suicide.