"Eddie would go.. because if you attempt life, you might die, but you'll live on. And Eddie has." That was one of the most inspiring drunk statement I've ever heard.
“Dying happens to everyone, even stars. Even the stuff between the stars. But if you believe in yourself and achieve your goals, you can die so hard that no one will ever forget you, and that’s almost as good as not dying at all. Well, it isn’t, really, it isn’t at all, and believing and achieving is just something sportscasters say, but what are you gonna do, not die? Try it. I’ll wait.” ― Catherynne M. Valente, Space Opera
@@johancakep No. It's a book... just type "Catherynne M. Valente Space opera" (or cut & paste it) in RU-vid's searchbar 😉 Eddie is alive!!! Legends never die...
Eddie isn’t only a huge surfing legend but a lifeguard legend too. All lifeguards should aspire to be him. A man with 500+ saves is godly in my line of work.
He saved 500 people because people were dumb enough to try to swim or surf on some of the most dangerous waters in Hawaii. In florida your barely going to get that cause florida has no waves. And California waves are nothing compared to Hawaii.
And now; two years later - another addition. The Eddie was won by a lifeguard on The North Shore. It’s a very special event, and it was again, this year.
"So the Australians get beat up a few times. Probably made them better people." I died laughing, this was the point at which this rapidly became my favourite drunken history video.
Kids in Hawaii are taught to never go out on your own if your boat gets stranded because of Eddie. I don't even know when I learned it, but I've heard his story a million times just growing up.
@Tryo707 Look man. It doesn't matter if you're disabled or healthy. It was a totally innocent question, and it was their way of finding out the answer. @Vinny is right- this is a really nice thread. No need for it to go sour. Just back off a little and go find something good to listen to, and take a breather. We're not trying to attack you, we just want to let you know that we don't share the same zero tolerance policy. Edit: users
Eddie would go. 3 words. That's it. But it tells the story of a man who literally gave his life for everything he believed was right. I only know of Eddie from working one summer in a surf shop here in Texas but this is the exact same story the owner told me almost verbatim. Speaks to the power of Eddie's story and how he lived his life.
I mean, Eddie Aikau was a great man and saved a lot of lives as a lifeguard, and restored the legacy of Hawaiian surfers. But let’s be real, what was the guy thinking? Eddie definitely should not have gone.
@@drampaman9370 Haha appreciate the callout maine, cracked me up. Always blows my mind when a comment on a video gets 80,000 likes just because they quoted a line from the video I just watched lmao
I love my Hawaiian history! Thank you Comedy Central and drunk history for bringing this story to so many viewers who may not have known about an amazing man!
Grace Zerba - I had not heard of this story before, so you are right, now I will know what ‘Eddie Would Go’ means when I visit your beautiful state! You should be extremely proud of your rich history. Thank you for sharing. And thank you Drunk History.
808 fish man - I live in Alaska, while I am not a Native Alaskan, I am able to understand your point, as much as an outsider is able to do. I am sorry that your land has become overrun with outside influence. E pili mau na pomaika`i ia `oe. Welina, Dingle Barry.
Eddie has a plaque dedicated to his memory on Hokule'a, the canoe whose crew he died trying to save. Hokule'a completed a global voyage in 2017, and Eddie was one of the people the crew thanked and honored at their homecoming.
My teacher at my High school was a student of Eddie's. In class we were taught Eddie; story and this retelling was surprisingly accurate. Eddie Aikau was a humble Hawaiian, a visionary, and a man who cared. All reasons why he was a legend.
Jason Mantzoukas is kind of their on-call guy when they have a brown historical character. They should do a greek story so he can represent his own heritage.
Right? I was looking at the actual Hawaiian extras for this sketch - wouldn't it have been better for them to reprise the role of Eddie Aikau? You can't just use Jason to fill in on roles bc of his seeming ethnic ambiguity.
@@deepabanapur111 He played the main character because he's a regocnizable name in the business. A nameless hawaiian b reaks the tradition of having actors we know fill these roles all for some bullshit equality olympic idea of "pErFeCtLy aCCuRaTe rEpReSenTaTiOn"
@@vinny5638 idk man I can think of jason mamoa and Dwayne Johnson before this comedian mate. There have been more famous actors than them who've been on drunk history and hundreds more Hawaiian actors exist besides them too - including the very ones sidelined in this sketch. Bottom line is, culturally respectful representation isn't that hard of a goal; rather, it's people like you who uphold the myth that it is by resigning yourself that the best people of color can get is an ethnically ambiguous greek actor pretending to be us. Gl mate.
@@deepabanapur111 I guess you're emotional because he's the main character in the story? Because just about every other person who is meant to be is accurately hawiian. You're clearly just ethnically sensitive, and thats fine but its obvious because we dont see any austialians bitching about how the three brothers were all white americans. Literally none of them were accurately represented, so they have something to cry about, whereas you're just emotional because the main characters actor wasn't hawiian in this irrelevant youtube video lmao. Its adorable/hilarious that you think this is remotely close to a debatable issue.
A new movie coming out next year. It's the 100th anniversary of The Eddie, and Eddie Aikao's ghost has appeared, riding waves and taking out all the competition with his board one at a time. The only ones that have a chance at stopping him are a group of hippy surfers and their dog that all live in a van. So they fly from California to the islands to put an end to the deaths. Why? Because #EddieWouldGo.
@@flurbmadoogle Out of all the internet names I've ever seen, yours was the first I did a double take to read again. I was no where near ready ready for the name that is Flurb. And quite honestly, I don't think the world is ready either. Have a flurby day!
Legend has it that Eddie made it to the mainland, changed his name to Rafi and started making porn with his friend Randy. He even joined a fantasy football league.
Actually I was living in Hawaii at the time this REAL story took place. The sad truth is Eddie died trying to help save his fellow seafarers. Now he belongs to the ages a true HAWAIIAN hero. 🌊🌴🌸🤙
The 2016 Eddie contest had John John win, Slater getting barreled and Clyde Aikau handling business in his 60’s. It was incredibly fun and inspiring to watch.
I only attended to 2001 one. I knew traffic was going to be insane, so I decided to take the bus. Waimea has a small parking lot, so lots of people illegally parked around the bay. Tow truck companies were towing cars left and right. I recall seeing Pam Anderson there while she was dating Kelly Slater.
What a tragic story! My heart is crying. Eddie is a hero! A superhuman, through & through. I’d never heard of him before this, but I’m glad to have learned his name & who he is. Live on, Eddie! 🌈
Next please: story of Hokule'a sailing voyage, and how after that bad start, it really did go around the world, and brought a rebirth of Hawaiian and Polynesian culture.
This was really fun to shoot and be a part of. Respect to Comedy Central for sharing this story. I’m Filipino but I always appreciated being mistook for native Hawaiian. Peace & Love and remember all what got us here.
He left out some stuff but I'm a surf nerd but just for reference - they don't even have The Eddie surf competition until the waves are a minimum of 20 feet tall consistently. If you ever hear that The Eddie is happening, look at the live feed and appreciate it because it doesn't happen every year. It's a rare gem! Appreciate it! EDDIE WOULD GO
The canoe Eddie Aikau and his crew were on was the Hokule`a. It was a recreation of the canoes the Tahitian used on their voyage from Tahiti to Hawai`i using only the stars. After Eddie Aikau’s voyage, the Hokule`a was rebuilt and had a worldwide voyage from 2013-2019!!
I used to live on the North Shore, right on the beach. One "winter" we had 25-30 foot waves, they were scary from the windows in the condo, but there were folks out there riding, and it's all because of Eddie!
This shit made me cry might be over thinking it but I'd love to see the the entire movie of this like a biography The part where he goes to rescue them idk normally I'd say that's dumb but this sounded genuinely sounds like a great dude.
Marc Shields you can say that about the whole show but you’d be missing the point. Obviously drunk people explaining history isnt going to be the most detailed exposition. It does however make it funnier and help connect to an audience that might otherwise have never even known about Eddie. As a native Kanaka Maole who is a huge admirer of Eddie Im stoked to see all these people discovering Eddie and the power and Aloha within his story.
I saw the Eddie when it went in 2016, It was honestly one of the most amazing competitions I have ever seen. The opening ceremony was beautiful, the Surfers were so talented, truly an inspiring tribute.