Career
He has been described by Surfer Today as a "surf legend."
Buttons was active from the 1970s onwards. In 1973 he came second in the Boy"s Division of the United States Surfing Championship. At the age of 21 he competed in the Pipeline Masters and Sunset World Cup.
In 2009, Buttons described himself as a "recovering drug addict" who had been sober for three years.
His drug problems began in 1985 with cocaine. He returned to surfing in 1996 but was arrested in 1998, although charges were later dropped.
In 2007 he featured on the television show Dog the Bounty Hunter after being arrested for drug offences.
