Laird Hamilton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Laird Hamilton |
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Hamilton in 2007
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| Personal information | |
| Born | Laird John Zerfas March 2, 1964 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Residence | Kauai and Malibu |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) |
| Weight | 215 lb (98 kg) |
| Surfing career | |
| Years active | 1970–present |
| Sponsors | Oxbow, Amway |
| Major achievements |
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| Surfing specifications | |
| Stance | Regular (natural foot) |
| Quiver | Long boards |
| Favorite waves | Teahupo'o, Pipeline, Jaws |
| Website | lairdhamilton.com |
Laird John Hamilton (born March 2, 1964) is an American big-wave surfer. He is famous for riding huge waves. He also helped create tow-in surfing. Sometimes, he works as a model and actor. He is married to Gabrielle Reece, who was a professional volleyball player.
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Early Life and Family
Laird Hamilton was born Laird John Zerfas in San Francisco on March 2, 1964. His biological father left the family when Laird was very young. Laird and his mother, Joann, moved to Hawaii.
In 1967, Laird met a surfer named Bill Hamilton on Oahu. Bill was a surfboard maker. Laird invited Bill home to meet his mother. Bill Hamilton later married Laird's mother and became Laird's adoptive father.
The family then moved to Kauai. Laird's mother and Bill had another son, Lyon, who also became a surfer. Laird's mother passed away in 1997.
Laird was known for being tough, both physically and mentally. He often felt like an outsider, which made him uncomfortable being the center of attention.
Modeling Career
When Laird was 16, he left high school to start a modeling career and work in construction. At 17, a photographer discovered him on a beach in Kauaʻi. This led to a modeling contract with an Italian magazine called L'Uomo Vogue. He even had a photoshoot with actress Brooke Shields in 1983.
Laird continued to do some modeling for men's sports clothing. In 2008, he launched his own clothing line called "Wonderwall." He has also had a long-time sponsorship with the French surfwear company Oxbow.
Surfing Adventures
By age 17, Laird was an amazing surfer. He could have joined the professional surfing tours, but he didn't like competitive surfing. He saw how his father, Bill, dealt with the politics and luck involved in contests. Bill thought surfing was more like art than a competition.
In 1987, Laird played a character named "Lance Burkhart" in the movie North Shore. Even with his modeling success, Laird always wanted to live a life of surfing, but he still avoided contests.
Pushing Boundaries in the 1990s
In the early 1990s, Laird and a group of friends, called the "Strapped Crew," pushed the limits of surfing. They were called "Strapped Crew" because their feet were strapped to their boards. They surfed huge waves at Jaws surf break off Maui. They tried daring stunts, like jumping 30 feet high on sailboards. They even experimented with early kitesurfing by attaching paragliders to their boards.
In 1992, Laird and his friends Darrick Doerner and Buzzy Kerbox started using inflatable boats to pull each other into waves. These waves were too big to catch by paddling alone. This new method was called Tow-in surfing. It changed big wave surfing forever. Some surfers didn't like it, saying it was cheating or polluting. But Laird explained that it was the only way to ride truly giant waves. Using tow-in surfing, Laird learned to ride 70-foot waves at speeds of 50 mph.
Laird was also a stunt double for Kevin Costner in the 1995 movie Waterworld. He almost got lost at sea when his jet ski ran out of fuel!
In 1995, Laird met professional volleyball player and model Gabrielle Reece in Maui. They got married on November 30, 1997.
Laird also continued to enjoy windsurfing, waterskiing, and kitesurfing. In 1996, he helped make kitesurfing popular in Hawaii. In 1999, he windsurfed 50 miles between the Hawaiian islands of Oahu and Kauaʻi in less than six hours.
Laird also experimented with the foilboard, a special surfboard with a hydrofoil that lifts it out of the water. He also became a fan of Stand up paddle surfing. This is an old Hawaiian technique using a longboard and a paddle. Some surfers didn't like it, but Laird said it was a return to traditional Hawaiian surfing.
The Famous Teahupoʻo Ride
One of Laird's most famous rides happened on August 17, 2000, at Tahiti's Teahupoʻo break. Teahupoʻo is a very dangerous shallow reef break.
On that day, with a huge ocean swell, Darrick Doerner towed Laird into a massive wave. Laird let go of the rope and rode deep inside the wave's huge tunnel. Photographers and videographers captured the moment. A photo of him riding this wave was on the cover of Surfer magazine with the caption: "oh my god..." This wave became known as "the heaviest ever ridden."
In the movie Riding Giants, Darrick Doerner said, "I towed him onto this wave. And it was to the point where I almost said 'Don't let go of the rope,' and when I looked back he was gone."
Laird said, "That was all about faith. Believing I could. That wave in Teahupo’o was a wave we didn’t know existed."
Surfing experts consider Laird Hamilton one of the best big wave surfers ever. He often rides waves 35 feet tall, moving over 30 miles per hour. He has ridden waves up to 70 feet high at 50 mph. He especially loves tow-in surfing the giant waves at Peʻahi reef, also known as the Jaws surf break, in Maui.
Heroic Actions and Later Years
On December 3, 2007, Laird showed his heroic side. While Brett Lickle was towing Laird into a wave called "Egypt" in Maui, a wave knocked Brett off the watercraft. Brett was cut and bleeding, which he feared would attract sharks. Laird swam to get the watercraft, found Brett, and used his swimsuit to stop the bleeding. Laird then drove them back to shore, saving Brett's life. Brett later said Laird towed him into a wave that was "better than 10 stories tall," meaning over 100 feet! This wave was not photographed, so it wasn't officially recognized.
In February 2008, Laird joined the board of directors for H2O Audio, a company that makes music players for watersports. He also published a book about his life philosophy.
On August 27, 2014, Laird made news again during Hurricane Marie. He rode one of the biggest waves of the day at Malibu on a stand-up paddleboard. He even rode through the Malibu pier at high speed!
Even though he is one of the most famous surfers, Laird avoids showing off. He acts as an ambassador for surfing and watersports. He sometimes even helps other tow-in surfers as a lifeguard.
Laird is also an environmental activist. He joined protests in Malibu against a proposed plant that would affect water quality.
In April 2018, Laird became a hero when he rescued people in Kauai, Hawaii, from severe flooding caused by record-breaking storms. He used his own boat to help many families evacuate.
Laird Hamilton is also a co-founder of XPT Life (Extreme Performance Training) with his wife, Gabrielle Reece. In 2015, he co-founded Laird Superfood, a company that went public in 2020.
Personal Life
Laird Hamilton has a daughter with his first wife, Maria Souza.
He married volleyball player and model Gabrielle Reece in 1997. They have two daughters together. Laird and his family live in both Kauai, Hawaii, and Malibu, California. Laird and Gabrielle are part of a group of celebrity friends in Malibu.
Other Media Appearances
Laird Hamilton has appeared in American Express credit card commercials.
He was a main person in the 2004 documentary Riding Giants, which is about giant wave surfing. He was also a stunt double for Pierce Brosnan in the opening scene of the 2002 James Bond movie Die Another Day. As mentioned before, he was Kevin Costner's stunt double in Waterworld.
In October 2006, Laird and Dave Kalama biked and paddled across the entire Hawaiian Island chain (over 450 miles) in one week. This amazing feat was shown in the film A Beautiful Son, which supported people with autism.
He was on the cover of Men's Journal magazine in April 2006.
In 2007, Laird and his wife Gabrielle Reece were on the ABC reality show Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race. They competed in a stock car racing competition.
He also appeared on the Sundance Channel show Iconoclasts with Eddie Vedder from the band Pearl Jam.
Footage of Laird Hamilton is used in the music video for Dayvan Cowboy by Boards of Canada. In 2003, he was in Dana Brown's surf documentary Step Into Liquid. He and his wife also appeared as themselves on the TV show Gary Unmarried in 2010.
Laird was a special guest star as himself in the animated TV show Phineas and Ferb. He was also interviewed for the Australian documentary Bra Boys: Blood is Thicker than Water.
He had a small acting role as Troy in the movie The Descendants.
In February 2012, Laird was featured on Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN)'s show Oprah Presents Master Class. He shared his life story and ideas with the audience.
Laird also appeared in an episode of Hell's Kitchen (Season 11), where he taught one of the teams how to wakeboard.
In the 2015 movie Point Break, Laird played a small role as a surf vagabond.
A chapter about Laird Hamilton is in Scott Carney's bestselling book What Doesn't Kill Us.
Works
Laird appeared on the television show FitTVs "Insider Training" with his wife.
Images for kids
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Pipeline on the north shore of Oahu where Hamilton grew up
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Hamilton has a family home in Maui, Hawaii and another in Malibu, California
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Laird on a personal watercraft at Teahupoʻo
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Hamilton in 2010
See also
In Spanish: Laird Hamilton para niños
