SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - A 25-year-old San Francisco resident who was killed in a shark attack off the coast of Mexico on Monday was described by co-workers as a gregarious, fun-loving friend who loved to surf.

Adrian Ruiz bled to death after a shark bit a 15-inch gash into his lower right thigh, according to a statement from the public safety department of Guerrero, a southern Mexico state.

Ruiz was surfing near the isolated town of Troncones, during one of many global excursions the San Francisco native embarked on each year, according to Chris Morin, his co-worker at the Blue Light Cafe, a Marina neighborhood bar.

“He was a real surfer,” Morin said. “When he wasn’t traveling around the world surfing, he was talking about surfing. Usually, when he was here, he would pop in some surf DVDs and watch them while he worked. It was his life, for sure.”

Morin said Ruiz had been bartending at the Blue Light for more than one year and was a well-liked figure in the industry, having worked in numerous other San Francisco bars, including Holy Cow in the South of Market neighborhood.

“News travels pretty fast in this industry,” Morin said. “I ran into another bartender on the street today who already knew about his death, and they were definitely shaken up about it.”

Adolfo Cazares, another employee at Blue Light, said the bar’s staff was “shocked” at the announcement of Ruiz’s death.

“Everyone liked him here,” said Cazares. “He was a really good guy.”

Morin said many of his co-workers have been too distraught to work since hearing the news, and that it would be some time before the Blue Light returned to normal.

“With Adrian, work wasn’t really work around here,” Morin said. “We were always just screwing around, having a great time.”

Ruiz was the second fatal victim of a shark attack in less than a week, following the death of David Martin on Friday, who was killed by a great white shark off the coast of San Diego.

wreisman@examiner.com