Sunny lived with his mother near Mā’ili point, close to the beach. He was a dominant force in the Hawaiian Surfing Association and soon made the grade, as a 17-year-old, on the 1986 WCT, beating former champion Tom Carroll and threatening to cause an upset to the top 16. Despite this early promise he just failed to break into this elite group on his debut season but the following year he finished in 16th position.
Sunny showed great consistency throughout the 1990s, finishing in the top ten every year and coming third four times during that period. However, in 1995 it seemed that he might have reached the climax of his career. Failing to win the Pipeline Masters to claim the title Sunny ended up finishing third behind Kelly Slater and Rob Machado.
With a host of talented young blood set to qualify for the 1996 Dream Tour and declining fitness levels, it seemed Garcia’s era was over. Then, four years later, things changed. Inspired by veteran Mark Occhilupo’s shock 1999 WCT title, Garcia shed weight and moved to Kauai. There he surfed with the progressive Irons brothers, Andy and Bruce, expanding his surfing repertoire.
In 2000, 14 years after his debut, Garcia achieved the ultimate surfing accolade, emphatically dominating the ASP WCT from the start of the campaign, winning the first two events in Australia and clinching the title in Brazil, the penultimate event. On the way he also picked up a fifth Triple Crown in his native Hawaii.
