On a clear August night, Darryl Virostko got in his black Toyota Tundra and drove to Monterey’s Beacon House drug rehabilitation center. The big wave surfing icon from the Westside of Santa Cruz, known to surfers worldwide simply as “Flea,” made the trip in a daze.
When nurses admitted him, Virostko’s blood alcohol content registered at 0.28 on the breathalyzer. A BAC of 0.30 and above is usually enough to put a person in a coma, if not flat out kill him.
It had been a week since family members and a group of his closest friends, including childhood surfing heroes Richard Schmidt and Joey Thomas, held an intervention for Virostko at Santa Cruz High. Initially he was upset, but Virostko knew the partying had gotten to be too much. Not even the three-time Maverick’s Surf Contest champion could handle such an intense ride for this long.
“It got to a point where I needed it,” said Virostko, adding he’s now eight months sober…Â Details