Malik Joyeux

Malik Joyeux (31 March 1980 to 2 December 2005) was a professional big wave surfer and an accomplished all-around waterman, known to many as the petit prince. A goofy-foot surfer, he often drew attention by riding the dangerous barrels at Teahupoo in Tahiti, and in 2003 he was credited with the Billabong XXL Tube of the Year for riding one of the largest waves ever surfed. He was born in France and moved while young to French Polynesia, where his mother Helene raised her three children on the island of Moorea, and he began surfing at the age of 8. French surfer Didier Piter took him into the European Gotcha team, which gave him an official contract to fund his surf trips. He appeared on the cover of Surfer Magazine's 2004 Big Issue. He died on 2 December 2005 while surfing at Pipeline on Oahu, Hawaii, after a wave forced him underwater; he was found about fifteen minutes later and could not be revived.