Legendary Hawaii surf photographer Larry Haynes captures his own final moments before a heart attack

A well-known surfer and filmmaker has died of a heart attack in Hawaii just moments after recording his final moments in the ocean.

Video footage of Larry Haynes, 61, was recovered soon after he collapsed in the parking lot of a surfing beach on Hawaii’s North Shore last week.

Haynes was a successful cinematographer who had been recording surfers and surfing events since the late 1980s.

His seminal work was Fluid Combustion, which he filmed in in 1994. Sequels followed throughout the next decade.

Hayne’s suffered a heart attack in his car soon after surfing at Hawaii’s Laniakea Beach, according to surf publication Stab,

Well-known surfer and filmmaker Larry Haynes, 61, has died of a heart attack in Hawaii just moments after recording his final moments in the water

Footage from last Thursday captured moments Haynes’s death was reviewed by some of his friends

On February 9, Haynes finished a session on his stand-up paddleboard and went to the parking lot, where he collapsed.

Footage from last Thursday captured moments before his death was reviewed by some of his friends.

One, Brian Bielmann, told Hawaii channel KHON2 about the moment they watched Haynes’s final moments.

‘I went down and got it this morning and immediately took it home and went on the computer,’ Bielmann said.

‘There must have been 40 files and we looked through all of them. And then he had a lot of, like, non-start type waves and over and over and finally caught this beautiful wave and rode it for a long time. And by the end of it we were cheering and yelling and crying,’ he added. 

He also paid tribute to the legendary surfer, commending his successful career and fearless approach to photography. ‘He had this incredible life right up till the end. He could not have filled any more into his life than he did,’ he said.

‘He’s the most badass of all photographers ever of all time. He was such a bull, and he would go anywhere and do anything and have no fear.’ 

Another friend, Mike Prickett, told KHON2: ‘It’s really cool. In the footage as well because he gets his wave and right before he turns off the camera he had this Larry smile that we all knew from him.’

‘That’s what made me start crying,’ he added. ‘We were so, so shocked. He just did the Eddie Aikau with us. He did the Pipe contest. He does everything with a smile, and then we just lost him. He caught a wave at Laniakea, and then he came in and collapsed.’

Haynes (right) suffered a heart attack in his car soon after surfing at Hawaii’s Laniakea Beach, according to surf publication Stab

Haynes (left) spent the last decades filming major surf competitions including the World Surf League

After Fluid Combustion, Haynes worked as a cinematographer on a number of other projects, including Underwater Universe, Big Wave Hellmen and Chasing Monsters: El Niño

Haynes twice filmed the deaths of big-wave surfers, Malik Joyeux in 2005 and Kirk Passmore in 2015. He was profiled in 2019 and Outside magazine described him as ‘a fixture on Pipeline, the legendary and dangerous surf break on Oahu’s North Shore.’

Fellow surf photographer Jimmy ‘Jimmicane’ Wilson posted a tribute to Haynes on Instagram.

‘Had the pleasure of swimming with the legendary [Haynes] for one final time this December. I contemplated and admired the amount of passion it takes for someone to continue treading out with a camera, at the same places, for several consecutive decades,’ he said.

After Fluid Combustion, Haynes worked as a cinematographer on a number of other projects, including Underwater Universe, Big Wave Hellmen and Chasing Monsters: El Niño.

He also spent the last decades filming major surf competitions including the World Surf League. 

Dozens of other surfers expressed their condolences, including Kelly Slater, who is often regarded as the greatest professional surfer of all time.

‘This man is a staple in our lives, traveling the globe and filming everyone who’s ever caught a wave in front of him,’ he wrote on Instagram.

‘It’s hard to imagine a surfing world without Larry in it always screaming us into waves and throwing good vibes. Gonna really miss this guy.’