Surfing Legend Sunny Garcia Hospitalized and in Intensive Care Amid Depression Battle
Professional surfer Sunny Garcia has been placed in the intensive care unit at a hospital in Oregon.
Early reports suggested the former world champion, who has been candid about his mental health struggles in the past, had died, but the World Surf League confirmed his hospitalization Tuesday.
“With heavy hearts we confirm that Sunny Garcia is in the ICU in the hospital,” the organization wrote. “Sunny has always been a great champion of surfing, both in and out of the water. Our prayers are with him and his loved ones at this deeply challenging time.”
The 49-year-old, whose real name is Vincent Sennen Garcia, was hospitalized just hours after sharing an emotional Instagram post.
“If I told this kid the things he would go through and things he would achieve he would tell me I’m crazy,” he captioned a photo of himself as a teenager, smiling and holding a snow cone. “Wow it’s been a crazy ride since this photo was taken.”
A representative for the power surfer did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
In December 2014, Garcia opened up about his struggles with depression in another Instagram post that included the hashtags “#needhelp” and “#whatswrongwithme.”
“Depression is no joke waking up feeling like you’re ready to take on the world then a couple hours later feeling down on life and wondering what’s wrong with you,” Garcia wrote.
“Well I know I’m not alone and I’m not sure what’s wrong with me because I have no reason to feel the way I do,” he continued. “It’s been happening for about two years and would love to hear from any of you who suffer these feelings so I can figure out what I should do.”
Just last month, Garcia again opened up about his struggle with mental health and called out on others to talk about their feelings.
“Doesn’t matter what kind of mental illness you suffer from, we all suffer in silence and deal with it best we can and most people that don’t suffer can’t understand the pain and frustration that we go through,” he wrote on Instagram, before adding that he had spent the morning curled up in his closet.
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“I have a incredible life surrounded by people that love and care for me, and I get to travel to beautiful places to surf and meet different people from all over the world but I can tell you when I get down that none of that matters,” Garcia continued.
“I just keep sharing my feelings hoping that it helps any of you out there that suffers from anything and encourage you to reach out and talk to others like yourself because this life can really be beautiful.”
After the news of his hospitalization, many in the surfing community posted memories and well-wishes to Garcia.
“Sunny…I love you, brother,” Kelly Slater wrote on Instagram. “I just can’t even fathom you not here. We’ve got so much more living to do before we are done. There’s been hard times but there have been so many good ones, too. Just praying you wake up and we get more of you.”