[6] Garcia was a dominant force in the Hawaiian Surfing Association starting as a 17-year-old on the 1986 WCT, beating former champion Tom Carroll and threatening to cause an upset to the top 16.

Failing to win the Pipeline Masters to claim the title, Sunny ended up finishing third behind Kelly Slater and Rob Machado.

With a host of talented young blood set to qualify for the 1996 Dream Tour and declining fitness levels, it seemed Garcia's era was over.

Then, four years later, inspired by veteran Mark Occhilupo's shock 1999 WCT title, Garcia shed weight and moved to Kauai.

Garcia was determined to win the series, and many people tipped him to do so but in the end early elimination in the O'Neill World Cup of Surfing, in his own backyard, meant he was denied a place on the 2009 Dream Tour.

[4] In 2009 he had surgery on his knee and finished the year strongly, following a quarter-final berth in the Hawaiian pro with a runner-up spot to Triple Crown rival Joel Parkinson in the O'Neill World Cup.

[citation needed] Garcia has volunteered for the charity Surfers Healing, a foundation for autism, which has included beach clean-up days held in Hawaii and along California's coast.

Garcia failed to report over $471,000 in prize money on his tax returns for those years,[13] resulting in a three-month sentence, beginning January 12, 2007, plus a further 7 months of house arrest[14] and 80 hours community service with Goodwill.

[21] Witnesses allege Garcia went after the cameraman, knocking him to the ground and inflicting deep grazes to his back and arms with one of the man's hands receiving injuries.

The cameraman told police he wanted to drop his complaint after receiving threats from locals and Garcia's overseas supporters warning of retribution and sought to lie low in his native Brazil until the surf rage furor died down.

[27] On September 17, 2019, Garcia's daughter, Kaila, reported that Sunny had previously been in a coma, but was speaking again and doing physical, speech and occupational therapy.