Mark 'Mono' Stewart is a driving force for disabled surfers chasing international competition

IT has been a busy few months for Byron Bay adaptive surfer Mark 'Mono' Stewart.

Stewart, who was born in Lismore, surfs with one leg in the kneel division and has been a driving force in bringing adaptive surfing to the world stage.

He was named male Para-Surfer of The Year at the Australian surfing awards last month and has now won the inaugural Adaptive Surfing Professionals World Championship Tour event in Hawaii.

The 57-year-old grew up on a dairy farm near Nimbin and lost his leg to cancer as a teenager.

Hawaii is a fitting spot for Stewart to win major surfing events.

"I never once thought I was going to die," Stewart says in his surfing bio.

"It wasn't until about ten years later, when I was on a trip to Hawaii, that my mum pulled me aside and told me that the doctors had given me two years to live.

"I couldn't speak to her for twelve months after that, I was so pissed off. And then I realised that it was probably the best thing that had ever happen because, had I known that I was going to die, I don't know where I would have been mentally.

"Even though I was sick, all I wanted to do was surf again. That's what kept me going, just wanting to get out and surf."

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Stewart has spent the last decade promoting the adaptive side of the sport and is a three-time para surfing world champion.

There were nine divisions at the Hawaiian event which now includes competition for the visually impaired.

The men's Partial Vision division was won by Matt Formston, who now lives at Lennox Head.

Since moving to the region he has been assisted in the water by local coach Michael Crisp.

There are upcoming events throughout Europe and Japan with all roads leading to the US Open in September.