Legendary Santa Cruz surfer, Shawn “Barney” Barron passed away on Tuesday night of a heart attack. He was 44.
Shawn was renowned for aerial surfing, a Volcom team rider, and went on to become a fearless Mavericks charger, making a career change from the small wave antics he was famous for. I met Shawn many years ago in France when I was working for the now-defunct Surf Europe magazine, and he came across as a friendly, smiling surf stokie, who just wanted to get back out there and surf as many hours as the French summer would allow, and that was a lot. He was hyperactive, never slowing down, and fun to be around that summer.
Shawn morphed into a diverse character, with surfing being the glue that held it all together. He had a strong creative side and turned to art, or ‘Barney Art’ as he called it, with the motto ‘anyone can do it!’ Barney also made the classic ‘art movie’ Trophyman (watch here) about a metallic robot being constructed out of Shawn’s surf trophies. The 5-minute cult classic was described as, “Trophyman rose from the graveyard of surf legends and contests, the wastelands of sponsorship extinction, and the purgatory of lost souls inhabiting the rock star ladder of professional surfing that inevitably ends with age.”
He was also one of the featured surfers in Josh Pomer’s 2011 movie, The Westsiders, in which Pomer delved into the darker side of the Santa Cruz surf scene.
Fellow Santa Cruz icon and good friend Peter Mel paid tribute to Barney on his Facebook page.
“It’s been a few hours since I learned of the passing of my friend Shawn “Barney” Barron. I’ve been reminiscing of trips, parties and surfs we’ve shared. Each and every one of those memories brings a smile to my face. He was an innovator. In his surfing, his art and his personality. There’s nobody I could compare him to. I will never forget you Shawn. I’m sad today, but will always remember you with a grin. Thank you for sharing your life with us. You will always be in our hearts. Love you brother.”
Mavericks charger, Darryl “Flea” Virostko took to Instagram upon hearing the news.
“Rip to my best friend Shawn Barney Barron. Made me smile everytime. This is not fair! But all we can do is remember the good times we got to share with barns. His art work was so cool and very different. Make sure u tell your friends u love them. Love u guys #love#laugh#smile#share.”
Shawn was much loved in the Santa Cruz community as well as the global surf community and will be missed greatly. RIP Barney.