Professional Surfer Chris Brown's Family Speaks Out After His Death: He Had a 'True Heart of Gold'

The family of the professional surfer Chris Brown — whose body was found along a California beach on January 20 — is speaking out about the man they remember as the “most generous person” they ever knew.

Brown, a surfer from Carpinteria, California, who had a bright smile to match his light golden blonde hair, first rose to fame when he claimed an amateur surfing title in 1988, which was followed by a Professional Surfing Association of America championship six years later. His buttery smooth moves would be in constant rotation in many surf videos throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.

“I always joked saying he didn’t actually have blood – it was just ocean water,” his daughter, Chloe Brown, 22, tells PEOPLE. “He connected spiritually with the ocean. There was just some kind of gift that he must have been born with or a connection to the ocean that he must have been born with, that persisted through his whole life because it’s where he would find the most comfort.”

Following the news of Brown’s passing earlier this month, many in the community took to social media to share their memories of the 48-year-old surfer, including Kelly Slater, who grew up with Brown along the California coast. This remarkable showing of support from around the world has not been lost on the family, says Brown’s wife, Jenny Culver.

“We’re still in a lot of shock and grief,” Culver, 47, explains. “It’s a new reality, but we are definitely feeling their love.”

Though fans of Brown surely recognize his talents in the water, what wasn’t as well known about him was the endless generosity he showed to strangers and loved ones throughout his life, his younger brother, Nathan Brown, says.

“Chris had limitless compassion for people, a limitless generosity to a fault. He would give his last dollar to a person begging in the front of a grocery store because he felt so strongly for that person,” he explains. “He would give them the dollar that he needed to go buy his groceries, then he would have to borrow money to go buy groceries. He was that compassionate and that loving, even to his own detriment.”

It was something Chloe recognized in her father as well.

“He loved helping people. He loved spreading the stoke of not just surfing, but life in general,” Chloe — a recent graduate of the University of Southern California, says. “I think that if you had met him in person, there’s no way you couldn’t remember how compassionate and loving he was. All you had to do was lock eyes with him for a split second. You didn’t even have to talk to him. You knew that he was just full of that.”

Though he would take infrequent breaks from competition during his prime, Brown upped the ante when he took on the sport of big wave surfing in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He became a regular at Maverick’s, the legendary section of the Pacific Ocean where waves routinely crest at over 25 feet.

“I think that was very symbolic of his relationship with the ocean, his interest in big wave surfing,” Culver recalls. “He didn’t prefer big waves at first. If anything, he was actually known to be fearful of them.”

The waves, much more powerful and ferocious than those found at local beaches, presented a new challenge to Brown, who wanted to experience everything the ocean has to offer.

“When he realized he wanted to draw out of the competitive world, away from the aspects he didn’t always like about surfing — the competition and the pressure — he embraced it,” Culver says, “and his love for the ocean never wavered.”

RELATED: Big Wave Surfer, Who Once Survived Shark Attack, Found Dead After Going Missing in Mexico

Brown would take up urchin diving in the years after leaving professional surfing, and the gig seemed like a perfect fit — it often required him to wake up in the early morning hours to take his boat out into the Pacific, where he would then dive into the freezing waters for many hours to collect dozens of sea urchins. While the job can be profitable, it also comes with risks.

Most importantly to Brown, though, it allowed him to keep his “symbiotic relationship” to the ocean, a quality that had been instilled in him by his father.

“My father was a passionate surfer, not very good, but passionate about it,” Nathan says. “We grew up in this surf household and from the time I was born, my father would take us out to Leadbetter Beach in six-inch to one-foot surf, pushing us into waves in diapers on our earliest surfboard.”

Chris would later create those same memories with his daughter, Chloe.

The years following Brown’s career did not come without its struggles, and he often grappled with substance abuse and financial problems. While this would eventually lead to a rift in the brothers’ relationship, Nathan says he doesn’t doubt the love Brown had for him.

RELATED: Wife of Late Surf Legend Andy Irons Opens Up About His Struggles with Mental Health

“I feel that blood is thicker than water, and that was a phrase Chris used often,” he explains. “Through thick and thin, even though we fought and bickered as siblings always do, he always had my back and I’ll always have his.”

He adds: “In spite of all these other struggles, he really was the most compassionate person I’ve ever come across. A true heart of gold.”

An investigation into Brown’s passing is still ongoing, but without disclosing details, the family tells PEOPLE his death was an accident. The family plans to hold a memorial paddle out at Sandspit Beach in February, and a GoFundMe page has been set up by a friend to help them raise funds for the funeral.

As tributes continue to pour in across social media, a fitting hashtag has been adopted to honor Brown, #SmileLikeBrownie, which alludes to one of his defining characteristics.

“His smile was the most radical smile,” Chloe remembers. “It really just, it changed people. If he smiled at you, it changed you.”

from PEOPLE.com https://people.com/sports/surfer-chris-browns-family-speaks-out/