Chris "Davo" Davidson is being lauded around the world as a champion surfer but in his home town of South West Rocks, and among the surfing fraternity, he is also being remembered as a troubled soul.
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Mr Davidson, 45, died on Saturday, September 25, as the result of an alleged one-punch assault outside the town's Country Club.
Grant Coleman, 42, has been charged over his death. He is the brother of the NSW Waratahs head coach Darren Coleman, who has travelled to South West Rocks to be with his family.
"We've lost an absolute character, and real magical human at times," surfing podcaster Vaughan Blakey said the day after Davidson's death.
"[But] once the grief and the mourning and the celebration of Davo as a surfer subsides, there's going to be a lot of looking at how this life got to the point it got to, and how it ended the way it did, because nobody wins here."
Champion surfer and friend Nathan "The Hog" Hedge, who toured with Davidson, remembers him as "his own worst enemy".
"I don't know how you pull off being such a selfish and reckless human, and still be an open-hearted soul at the same time.
"He could be Mufasa one minute and the next he's Scar. He was both. Most loving guy who would give you the shirt off his back. Next, you wouldn't want to upset him."
Town unsettled
There is a unsettled energy in the tight-knit coastal town of South West Rocks.
Among locals, the overall consensus is "no one wins in this situation"; their thoughts are clearly with both the Davidson and Coleman families.
Some locals were wary of Mr Davidson and aware of his problems with the law and with alcohol. Others say he was "friendly" and someone who was always up for a chat.
Local Roger Wilkinson, who knew Mr Davidson's "troubled ways" said he appreciated his ability and eagerness to "chat with absolutely everybody".
"He'd go around town fixing everyone else's problems. Always asking 'how are you?" said close friend and surfer Jonny Vandermeys, who says "Davo" was "like a big brother" to him.
"I keep seeing people driving around town that knew Davo and they look so sad, it makes me sad."
Mr Davidson was in and out trouble with the law from his early rise to surfing fame.
Hedge said he had hoped moving away from Sydney's northern beaches would be good for Davidson's "volatile ways".
"I was hopeful when he was moving up the coast to South West Rocks that it might have been a bit more of an organic existence for him," he said. "That it was a bit quieter... a little more simpler life. I really hoped that would be a good recipe for him up there than the city.
"Out of all the predicaments and spaces and trouble he got in and out of all over the globe, to think that he passed away up there in South West Rocks, at a sports club, I just wanted so much better for him. He deserved so much better," he said.
A funeral will be organised for October 11, with a traditional paddle-out set to be held by surfers on the same day.
A makeshift memorial has been set-up at Horseshoe Bay Headland, one of "Davo's" favourite spots to spend time with friends.
Flowers and beer bottles have been laid by his photograph. "The difference is, he'd put his [bottles] in the bin", Vandermeys said.
Distraught staff
The incident outside the South West Rocks Country Club has left some staff too traumatised to work, while Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) procedures are expected to be reviewed.
Counselling sessions are being held at the club for anyone affected by the incident, whether they were present at the time or not.
Staff can choose to attend the counselling in both private and group sessions and have the opportunity to participate in phone consultations with a psychologist.
