Laird Hamilton
Encyclopedia
Laird Hamilton is an American
big-wave surfer
, co-inventor of tow-in surfing
, and an occasional fashion and action-sports model. He is married to Gabrielle Reece
, a professional volleyball player, television personality, and model. Hamilton and his family split their time between residences in Maui
, Hawaii
, and Malibu, California.
designed to ease the mother's labor
. His Greek
birth father, L. G. Zerfas, left the family before his first birthday. While he was an infant, Laird and his mother, Joann (Zyirek), moved to Hawaii. While still a young boy living on Oahu
, Laird met with 1960s surfer Bill Hamilton, a bachelor at the time, on Pūpūkea beach on the North Shore
. Bill Hamilton was a surfboard shaper and glasser on Oahu in the 1960s and 1970s and owned a small business handmaking custom, high-performance surfboards for the Oahu North Shore big wave riders of the era. The two became immediate companions. The young Laird invited Bill Hamilton home to meet his mother. Bill Hamilton married Laird's then-single mother, becoming Laird's adoptive father.
The family later moved to a remote valley on Kauai
island. Joann and Bill had a second son, Lyon, Laird's half-brother, who also became a surfer. Laird's mother died of a brain aneurysm in 1997.
Hamilton had a reputation for an aggressive demeanor around others of his age. This hostile attitude was in part due to Laird and his brother Lyon being bigger than their classmates, fair-skinned, and blonde: unusual in their predominantly Hawaiian-populated neighborhood. The role of the outsider profoundly affected Laird through to his teen years and early adult life. He became used to this role and was uncomfortable being in the center of anything. He was also known for his physical and mental toughness.
Laird was shown in footage jumping off a 60-foot cliff into deep water at 7 years old.
to pursue a modeling career and work in construction. At 17, Hamilton was discovered on a beach in Kauai by a photographer from the Italian Men's Vogue
magazine L'Uomo Vogue which landed him a modeling contract and later a 1983 photo shoot with the actress Brooke Shields
. Hamilton continued to do occasional men's action sportswear print modeling.
In 2008 Hamilton announced his own "Wonderwall" line of affordable clothing, sold through Steve & Barry's
until that retailer shut down at the end of January 2009.
He has had long-time sponsorship from the French beachwear company Oxbow
surfwear.
, rather than based chiefly on wave-by-wave ride performance scored by judges.
In the 1987 movie North Shore
, Hamilton played the violent, antagonistic role of "Lance Burkhart".
Despite further success in modeling during the 1980s, Hamilton, with his professional surfing upbringing, always intended a life of surfing, but continued to reject the professional contest circuit.
In 1989 Laird featured in windsurfing movie "Moving Target" alongside Fred Haywood.Moving Target clip on stableroad
. The Strapped Crew tackled bigger waves featuring stunts. Stunts included: launching 30 feet (9.1 m) jumps on sailboards, then mating the boards to paragliders to experiment with some of the earliest kiteboards.
In late 1992, Hamilton with two of his close friends, big wave riders Darrick Doerner
and Buzzy Kerbox (also an occasional men's fashion model; Hamilton and Kerbox later lost their friendship over a property disagreement), started using inflatable boats to tow one another into waves which were too big to catch under paddle power alone. This innovation is chronicled in the documentary film, Riding Giants
. The technique would later be modified to use personal water craft
and become a popular innovation. Tow-in surfing
, as it became known, pushed the confinements and possibilities of big wave surfing to a new level. Although met with mixed reactions from the surfing community, some of whom felt that it was cheating and polluting, Hamilton explained that tow-in surfing was the only way to catch the monstrous sized waves. Using tow-in surfing methods, Hamilton learned how to survive 70 feet (21.3 m) waves and carving arcs across walls of water.
In 1995 Hamilton met women's professional volleyball
player and New York fashion model Gabrielle Reece
in Los Angeles, California
after a television interview. They later married on November 30, 1997. In 1996, People magazine named Hamilton one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World, and in the same year Hamilton pushed for and took from his future wife the correspondent position for the syndicated cable series 'The Extremists'. In 1989 Reece had been named by Elle
magazine as one of the Five Most Beautiful Women in the World.
By the late 1990s, Hamilton continued with windsurfing
, waterskiing and kitesurfing
. In 1996 Hamilton and Manu Bertin
were instrumental in demonstrating and popularizing kitesurfing off the Hawaiian coast of Maui.
In 1999 Hamilton sailed his windsurfer between the Hawaiian islands of Oahu and Kauai
, some fifty miles away, in just under six hours..
Hamilton has also experimented with the foilboard
, an innovative surfboard
which incorporates hydrofoil
technology allowing a higher degree of precision and effectiveness of aerial techniques within the water. He has become a proponent of Stand up paddle surfing
, an ancient Hawaii
an technique that requires a longboard and a long-handled paddle, as well as considerable skill, strength and agility. Purist surfers have blasted him for this, but Hamilton calls it a return to the traditional Hawaiian way of surfing, as practiced by King Kamehameha I
and his queen Kaahumanu almost three hundred years ago.
Hamilton's drop into Tahiti's Teahupoo break
on the morning of August 17, 2000 firmly established him in the recorded history of surfing.
Teahupoo is a particularly hazardous shallow-water reef break southeast of the Pacific Island of Tahiti
.
On that day, with a larger than normal ocean swell, Darrick Doerner piloted the watercraft, towing Hamilton. Pulling in and releasing the tow rope, Hamilton drove down into the well of the wave's enormous tunnel vortex, in full view of boat-based photographers' and videographers' cameras. With his signature artistic flair, Hamilton continued deeply carving water, emerging back over the wave's shoulder. A still photograph of him riding the wave made the cover of Surfer magazine
, with the caption: "oh my god..." The wave became known as "the heaviest ever ridden".
In the filmed coverage of this event in the motion picture Riding Giants
, 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."
Hamilton is regarded by surfing historians as the "all time best of the best" at big wave surfing, regularly surfing swells of 35 feet
(11 m) tall, and moving at speeds in excess of 30 miles (48.3 km) an hour and successfully riding other waves of up to 70 feet (21.3 m) high, at up to 50 mph (80 km/h).
Hamilton prefers tow-in surfing the giant waves of Peahi reef
(known as the Jaws surf break) on the north central shore of the Island of Maui.
The fin on the surfboard sliced Lickle, causing him to bleed into the sea, which he feared would attract sharks. Hamilton swam to recover the watercraft, and fashioned his swimsuit as a tourniquet. Hamilton then piloted the craft back to a landing, naked, where Lickle was taken to a hospital to recover.
In February 2008 Hamilton joined the board of directors of H2O Audio
, a watersports music company in San Diego California. He had used H2O Audio products on many of his long distance paddling endeavors before joining the company.
Later in 2008 he published a book which he describes as not an autobiography, but discussing his philosophy of life.
Despite being one of the best known surfers since the time of Duke Kahanamoku
, the matured Hamilton avoids self-promotion. He serves as an ambassador of surfing and watersports and occasional lifeguard to other tow-in surfers.
Hamilton is also an environmental activist. He joined a protest in Malibu against a proposed plant that was to be built in the area, which would affect the quality of the water. Other celebrities attended the event including Pierce Brosnan
, Halle Berry
and Ted Danson
.
Hamilton and second wife Gabrielle Reece
have two children together, daughters Reece Viola Hamilton (born in October 2003), and Brody Jo Hamilton (born January 1, 2008 in Hawaii
). According to Reece, the Hamilton family splits time living in residences in Hawaii and California. The popular press describes Hamilton and wife Gabrielle as part of the "Malibu Mob", a celebrity group in the same vein as the Brat Pack. Other Malibu Mob members include Chris Chelios
, John Cusack
, Kelsey Grammer
, John C. McGinley
, Tony Danza
, Justin Long
, Ed O'Neill
, Max Wright
and tennis star John McEnroe
.
Hamilton is not related to surfer Bethany Hamilton
.
Hamilton was a central figure in the 2004 documentary Riding Giants
about giant wave surfing; and the opening sequence of the 2002 James Bond movie Die Another Day
, as Pierce Brosnan
's big-wave surfing double (shared with Dave Kalama). He appeared in Waterworld
, as Kevin Costner
's stunt double in numerous water scenes.
In October 2006, Hamilton and Dave Kalama
biked and paddled the entire Hawaiian Island chain—more than 450 miles—in a week. The feat was featured on Don King
's film, A Beautiful Son, in support of those afflicted with autism.
He appeared on the cover of the Men's Journal April 2006 issue.
In 2007, Hamilton, along with his wife Gabrielle Reece
, appeared in the ABC reality television
series Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race
, featuring a dozen celebrities in a stock car racing competition. In the first round of competition, Hamilton matched up against tennis
star Serena Williams
and former NFL quarterback
John Elway
. Hamilton was eliminated in episode 5.
He appeared in the Sundance Channel television show Iconoclasts
with Eddie Vedder
from the popular American rock band Pearl Jam
.
Footage of Hamilton is used on the video for Dayvan Cowboy
from Boards of Canada
. In 2003, he was featured in Dana Brown's surf documentary Step Into Liquid
. On January 13, 2010, Hamilton and wife Reece appeared as themselves on the episode "Gary Feels Tom Slipping Away" of the CBS television series Gary Unmarried
.
He was a special guest star as himself in the animated television show Phineas and Ferb
.
He was also interviewed as part of the Australian documentary Bra Boys: Blood Is Thicker Than Water.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
big-wave surfer
Big wave surfing
Big wave surfing is a discipline within surfing in which experienced surfers paddle into or are towed onto waves which are at least 20 feet high, on surf boards known as "guns" or "rhino chasers". Sizes of the board needed to successfully surf these waves vary by the size of the wave as well as...
, co-inventor of tow-in surfing
Tow-in surfing
Tow-in surfing is a surfing technique which uses artificial assistance to allow the surfer to catch faster moving waves than was traditionally possible when paddling by hand.-History:...
, and an occasional fashion and action-sports model. He is married to Gabrielle Reece
Gabrielle Reece
Gabrielle Allyse Reece is an American professional volleyball player, sports announcer, fashion model and actress.-Early life:...
, a professional volleyball player, television personality, and model. Hamilton and his family split their time between residences in Maui
Maui
The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, and Malibu, California.
Early life
Laird was born Laird John Zerfas in San Francisco on March 2, 1964, in an experimental salt-water sphere at UCSF Medical CenterUniversity of California, San Francisco
The University of California, San Francisco is one of the world's leading centers of health sciences research, patient care, and education. UCSF's medical, pharmacy, dentistry, nursing, and graduate schools are among the top health science professional schools in the world...
designed to ease the mother's labor
Childbirth
Childbirth is the culmination of a human pregnancy or gestation period with the birth of one or more newborn infants from a woman's uterus...
. His Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
birth father, L. G. Zerfas, left the family before his first birthday. While he was an infant, Laird and his mother, Joann (Zyirek), moved to Hawaii. While still a young boy living on Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
, Laird met with 1960s surfer Bill Hamilton, a bachelor at the time, on Pūpūkea beach on the North Shore
North Shore (Oahu)
The North Shore, in the context of geography of the Island of Oahu, refers to the north-facing coastal area of Oahu between Kaena Point and Kahuku Point...
. Bill Hamilton was a surfboard shaper and glasser on Oahu in the 1960s and 1970s and owned a small business handmaking custom, high-performance surfboards for the Oahu North Shore big wave riders of the era. The two became immediate companions. The young Laird invited Bill Hamilton home to meet his mother. Bill Hamilton married Laird's then-single mother, becoming Laird's adoptive father.
The family later moved to a remote valley on Kauai
Kauai
Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...
island. Joann and Bill had a second son, Lyon, Laird's half-brother, who also became a surfer. Laird's mother died of a brain aneurysm in 1997.
Hamilton had a reputation for an aggressive demeanor around others of his age. This hostile attitude was in part due to Laird and his brother Lyon being bigger than their classmates, fair-skinned, and blonde: unusual in their predominantly Hawaiian-populated neighborhood. The role of the outsider profoundly affected Laird through to his teen years and early adult life. He became used to this role and was uncomfortable being in the center of anything. He was also known for his physical and mental toughness.
Laird was shown in footage jumping off a 60-foot cliff into deep water at 7 years old.
Modeling
When 16, Hamilton left eleventh grade at Kapaa High SchoolKapaa High School
Kapaa High School is a public high school based in Kapaa, Hawaii on the island of Kauai.-History:Established in 1883 under the reign of King David Kalakaua it was first built directly above Kealia River and then moved up the hill to where it currently stands on Mailihuna Hill...
to pursue a modeling career and work in construction. At 17, Hamilton was discovered on a beach in Kauai by a photographer from the Italian Men's Vogue
Men's Vogue
Men's Vogue was a monthly men's magazine that covered fashion, design, art, culture, sports and technology. On October 30, 2008 Condé Nast announced that they intended to fold the magazine into Vogue proper as a bi-annual subscriber's supplement...
magazine L'Uomo Vogue which landed him a modeling contract and later a 1983 photo shoot with the actress Brooke Shields
Brooke Shields
Brooke Christa Shields is an American actress and model. Some of her better-known movies include Pretty Baby and The Blue Lagoon, as well as TV shows such as Suddenly Susan, That '70s Show and Lipstick Jungle....
. Hamilton continued to do occasional men's action sportswear print modeling.
In 2008 Hamilton announced his own "Wonderwall" line of affordable clothing, sold through Steve & Barry's
Steve & Barry's
Steve & Barry's was an American retail clothing chain, featuring casual apparel. By mid-2008, the chain operated 276 stores in 39 states. The company was headquartered in Port Washington, New York. The company liquidated all of its stores throughout 2008....
until that retailer shut down at the end of January 2009.
He has had long-time sponsorship from the French beachwear company Oxbow
Oxbow (surfwear)
Oxbow is a brand of clothing and athletic equipment. Since its creation in 1985 in Pont-Audemer, France, Oxbow has positioned itself in the world of boardsports as an international brand. Oxbow restarted the World Longboard Championship in 1992, and sponsors athletes such as surfer Laird Hamilton...
surfwear.
1980s
By the age of 17, Hamilton had become an accomplished surfer and could have left modeling to pursue a career on surfing's World Championship Tour. However, competitive surfing and contests never appealed to Hamilton, who had watched his father Bill endure the competitive surfing contest politics and the random luck of the waves in organized championship surfing events. Bill Hamilton regarded surfing more as a work of artSoul Surfer
Soul Surfer is a term coined in the 1960s, used to describe a surfer who surfs for the sheer pleasure of surfing. Although they may still enter in competitions, winning is not the soul surfer's main motive, since they scorn the commercialization of surfing. The term denotes a spirituality of surfing...
, rather than based chiefly on wave-by-wave ride performance scored by judges.
In the 1987 movie North Shore
North Shore (film)
North Shore is a 1987 film about Rick Kane , a young fictional surfer from a wave tank in Arizona, who heads to surf the season on the North Shore of Oahu and see if he has the skills to cut it as a pro surfer...
, Hamilton played the violent, antagonistic role of "Lance Burkhart".
Despite further success in modeling during the 1980s, Hamilton, with his professional surfing upbringing, always intended a life of surfing, but continued to reject the professional contest circuit.
In 1989 Laird featured in windsurfing movie "Moving Target" alongside Fred Haywood.Moving Target clip on stableroad
1990s
An early attempt at media recognition was his quest to be the first surfer to complete a 360 degree loop while strapped to his board. The attempt was chronicled in Greg Stump's 1990 ski film, Groove - Requiem in the key of Ski. In the early 1990s, Hamilton, along with a small group of friends collectively dubbed the "Strapped Crew" because their feet were strapped to their boards, pushed the boundaries of surfing at Jaws surf break off the north central coast of MauiMaui
The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...
. The Strapped Crew tackled bigger waves featuring stunts. Stunts included: launching 30 feet (9.1 m) jumps on sailboards, then mating the boards to paragliders to experiment with some of the earliest kiteboards.
In late 1992, Hamilton with two of his close friends, big wave riders Darrick Doerner
Darrick Doerner
Darrick Doerner is a big wave pioneer in the sport of towsurfing. His initials: 'D.D.' not only stand for his name, but for 'Designated Driver'. Darrick uses a personal water craft to travel to large surf breaks offshore. He is also known as simply 'Double D'. Darrick is known as a big wave surfer...
and Buzzy Kerbox (also an occasional men's fashion model; Hamilton and Kerbox later lost their friendship over a property disagreement), started using inflatable boats to tow one another into waves which were too big to catch under paddle power alone. This innovation is chronicled in the documentary film, Riding Giants
Riding Giants
Riding Giants is a 2004 documentary film directed and narrated by Stacy Peralta, a famous skater/surfer who helped define modern skateboarding. The movie traces the origins of surfing and specifically focuses on the art of big wave riding...
. The technique would later be modified to use personal water craft
Personal water craft
A personal water craft , also called water scooter, is a recreational watercraft that the rider rides or stands on, rather than inside of, as in a boat....
and become a popular innovation. Tow-in surfing
Tow-in surfing
Tow-in surfing is a surfing technique which uses artificial assistance to allow the surfer to catch faster moving waves than was traditionally possible when paddling by hand.-History:...
, as it became known, pushed the confinements and possibilities of big wave surfing to a new level. Although met with mixed reactions from the surfing community, some of whom felt that it was cheating and polluting, Hamilton explained that tow-in surfing was the only way to catch the monstrous sized waves. Using tow-in surfing methods, Hamilton learned how to survive 70 feet (21.3 m) waves and carving arcs across walls of water.
In 1995 Hamilton met women's professional volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
player and New York fashion model Gabrielle Reece
Gabrielle Reece
Gabrielle Allyse Reece is an American professional volleyball player, sports announcer, fashion model and actress.-Early life:...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
after a television interview. They later married on November 30, 1997. In 1996, People magazine named Hamilton one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World, and in the same year Hamilton pushed for and took from his future wife the correspondent position for the syndicated cable series 'The Extremists'. In 1989 Reece had been named by Elle
Elle (magazine)
Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in...
magazine as one of the Five Most Beautiful Women in the World.
By the late 1990s, Hamilton continued with windsurfing
Windsurfing
Windsurfing or sailboarding is a surface water sport that combines elements of surfing and sailing. It consists of a board usually two to four metres long, powered by the orthogonal effect of the wind on a sail. The rig is connected to the board by a free-rotating universal joint and comprises a...
, waterskiing and kitesurfing
Kitesurfing
Kitesurfing or Kiteboarding is an adventure surface water sport that has been described as combining wakeboarding, windsurfing, surfing, paragliding, and gymnastics into one extreme sport. Kitesurfing harnesses the power of the wind to propel a rider across the water on a small surfboard or a...
. In 1996 Hamilton and Manu Bertin
Manu Bertin
Emmanuel Bertin known as Manu Bertin is one of the pioneers of the sport of Kite surfing. He began to develop the sport in the early 1990s and has worked with American big wave surfer Laird Hamilton...
were instrumental in demonstrating and popularizing kitesurfing off the Hawaiian coast of Maui.
In 1999 Hamilton sailed his windsurfer between the Hawaiian islands of Oahu and Kauai
Kauai
Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...
, some fifty miles away, in just under six hours..
Hamilton has also experimented with the foilboard
Foilboard
A foilboard or hydrofoil board is a surfboard with a hydrofoil that extends below the board into the water. This design causes the board to leave the surface of the water at various speeds....
, an innovative surfboard
Surfboard
A surfboard is an elongated platform used in the sport of surfing. Surfboards are relatively light, but are strong enough to support an individual standing on them while riding a breaking wave...
which incorporates hydrofoil
Hydrofoil
A hydrofoil is a foil which operates in water. They are similar in appearance and purpose to airfoils.Hydrofoils can be artificial, such as the rudder or keel on a boat, the diving planes on a submarine, a surfboard fin, or occur naturally, as with fish fins, the flippers of aquatic mammals, the...
technology allowing a higher degree of precision and effectiveness of aerial techniques within the water. He has become a proponent of Stand up paddle surfing
Stand up paddle surfing
Stand up paddle surfing , or in the Hawaiian language Hoe he'e nalu, is an emerging global sport with a Hawaiian heritage. The sport is an ancient form of surfing, and reemerged as a way for surfing instructors to manage their large groups of students, as standing on the board gave them a higher...
, an ancient Hawaii
Ancient Hawaii
Ancient Hawaii refers to the period of Hawaiian human history preceding the unification of the Kingdom of Hawaii by Kamehameha the Great in 1810. After being first settled by Polynesian long-distance navigators sometime between AD 300–800, a unique culture developed. Diversified agroforestry and...
an technique that requires a longboard and a long-handled paddle, as well as considerable skill, strength and agility. Purist surfers have blasted him for this, but Hamilton calls it a return to the traditional Hawaiian way of surfing, as practiced by King Kamehameha I
Kamehameha I
Kamehameha I , also known as Kamehameha the Great, conquered the Hawaiian Islands and formally established the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1810. By developing alliances with the major Pacific colonial powers, Kamehameha preserved Hawaii's independence under his rule...
and his queen Kaahumanu almost three hundred years ago.
Ride at Teahupoo Reef
Teahupo'o
Teahupoo is a village on the south-west coast of the island of Tahiti, French Polynesia, southern Pacific Ocean.It is known for the surf break and heavy, glassy waves offshore, often reaching 2 to 3 m and up to 70 feet...
on the morning of August 17, 2000 firmly established him in the recorded history of surfing.
Teahupoo is a particularly hazardous shallow-water reef break southeast of the Pacific Island of Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
.
On that day, with a larger than normal ocean swell, Darrick Doerner piloted the watercraft, towing Hamilton. Pulling in and releasing the tow rope, Hamilton drove down into the well of the wave's enormous tunnel vortex, in full view of boat-based photographers' and videographers' cameras. With his signature artistic flair, Hamilton continued deeply carving water, emerging back over the wave's shoulder. A still photograph of him riding the wave made the cover of Surfer magazine
Surfer (magazine)
Surfer magazine is a monthly surfing culture magazine published in San Clemente, California.The magazine was founded by John Severson in 1959 as a program to accompany his yearly surf films...
, with the caption: "oh my god..." The wave became known as "the heaviest ever ridden".
In the filmed coverage of this event in the motion picture Riding Giants
Riding Giants
Riding Giants is a 2004 documentary film directed and narrated by Stacy Peralta, a famous skater/surfer who helped define modern skateboarding. The movie traces the origins of surfing and specifically focuses on the art of big wave riding...
, 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."
Hamilton is regarded by surfing historians as the "all time best of the best" at big wave surfing, regularly surfing swells of 35 feet
Foot (unit of length)
A foot A foot A foot (plural: feet; abbreviation or symbol: ft or ′ (the prime symbol) is a unit of length in a number of different systems including Ancient Greek, Ancient Roman, English units, Imperial units, United States customary units and the units of many Continental European...
(11 m) tall, and moving at speeds in excess of 30 miles (48.3 km) an hour and successfully riding other waves of up to 70 feet (21.3 m) high, at up to 50 mph (80 km/h).
Hamilton prefers tow-in surfing the giant waves of Peahi reef
Peahi, Hawaii
Peahi is a place on the north shore of the island of Maui in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It has lent its name to a big wave surfing break, also known as Jaws.-Location:...
(known as the Jaws surf break) on the north central shore of the Island of Maui.
2000s
In 2007, when Brett Lickle was towing Hamilton into a wave on the Maui north shore, a wave knocked him from the watercraft.The fin on the surfboard sliced Lickle, causing him to bleed into the sea, which he feared would attract sharks. Hamilton swam to recover the watercraft, and fashioned his swimsuit as a tourniquet. Hamilton then piloted the craft back to a landing, naked, where Lickle was taken to a hospital to recover.
In February 2008 Hamilton joined the board of directors of H2O Audio
H2O Audio
H2O Audio is a company based in San Diego, California, in the United States that develops accessories for portable media players. During 2009 it was notable for being one of the top 500 fastest growing companies in the United States...
, a watersports music company in San Diego California. He had used H2O Audio products on many of his long distance paddling endeavors before joining the company.
Later in 2008 he published a book which he describes as not an autobiography, but discussing his philosophy of life.
Despite being one of the best known surfers since the time of Duke Kahanamoku
Duke Kahanamoku
Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku was a Hawaiian swimmer, actor, lawman, early beach volleyball player and businessman credited with spreading the sport of surfing. He was a five-time Olympic medalist in swimming.-Early years:The name "Duke" is not a title, but a given name...
, the matured Hamilton avoids self-promotion. He serves as an ambassador of surfing and watersports and occasional lifeguard to other tow-in surfers.
Hamilton is also an environmental activist. He joined a protest in Malibu against a proposed plant that was to be built in the area, which would affect the quality of the water. Other celebrities attended the event including Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
, Halle Berry
Halle Berry
Halle Berry is an American actress and a former fashion model. Berry received an Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG, and an NAACP Image Award for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge and won an Academy Award for Best Actress and was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2001 for her performance in Monster's Ball, becoming...
and Ted Danson
Ted Danson
Edward Bridge “Ted” Danson III is an American actor best known for his role as central character Sam Malone in the sitcom Cheers, and his role as Dr. John Becker on the series Becker. He also plays a recurring role on Larry David's HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm and starred alongside Glenn Close...
.
Personal life
Hamilton was previously married to Maria Souza. They have a daughter, Izabella, born in 1995.Hamilton and second wife Gabrielle Reece
Gabrielle Reece
Gabrielle Allyse Reece is an American professional volleyball player, sports announcer, fashion model and actress.-Early life:...
have two children together, daughters Reece Viola Hamilton (born in October 2003), and Brody Jo Hamilton (born January 1, 2008 in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
). According to Reece, the Hamilton family splits time living in residences in Hawaii and California. The popular press describes Hamilton and wife Gabrielle as part of the "Malibu Mob", a celebrity group in the same vein as the Brat Pack. Other Malibu Mob members include Chris Chelios
Chris Chelios
Christos Kostas Tselios is a retired American professional ice hockey defenseman. He is currently the Executive Advisor to Ken Holland, the general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, a role that Steve Yzerman held before leaving to become general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning.Chelios played...
, John Cusack
John Cusack
John Paul Cusack is an American film actor and screenwriter. He has appeared in more than 50 films, including The Journey of Natty Gann, Say Anything..., Grosse Point Blank, The Thin Red Line, Stand by Me, Con Air, Being John Malkovich, High Fidelity, Serendipity, Runaway Jury, The Ice Harvest,...
, Kelsey Grammer
Kelsey Grammer
Allen Kelsey Grammer is an American actor and comedian. He is most widely known for his two-decade portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the sitcoms Cheers and Frasier...
, John C. McGinley
John C. McGinley
John Christopher McGinley is an American actor, most notable for his roles as Perry Cox in Scrubs, Bob Slydell in Office Space, Sergeant Red O'Neill in Oliver Stone's Platoon and Marv in Stone's Wall Street. He has also written and produced for television and film...
, Tony Danza
Tony Danza
Tony Danza is an American actor best known for starring on the TV series Taxi and Who's the Boss?, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and four Golden Globe Awards...
, Justin Long
Justin Long
Justin Jacob Long is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles in the Hollywood films Galaxy Quest, Jeepers Creepers, Dodgeball, Live Free or Die Hard, He's Just Not That into You, Drag Me to Hell, and Youth in Revolt, and his personification of a Mac in Apple's "Get a...
, Ed O'Neill
Ed O'Neill
Edward Phillip "Ed" O'Neill, Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the main character, Al Bundy, on the Fox Network sitcom Married... with Children, for which he was nominated for two Golden Globes...
, Max Wright
Max Wright
George Edward Maxwell "Max" Wright is an American actor, best known for his role as Willie Tanner in the sitcom ALF.-Biography:Wright was born George Edward Maxwell Wright in Detroit, Michigan....
and tennis star John McEnroe
John McEnroe
John Patrick McEnroe, Jr. is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. During his career, he won seven Grand Slam singles titles , nine Grand Slam men's doubles titles, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title...
.
Hamilton is not related to surfer Bethany Hamilton
Bethany Hamilton
Bethany Meilani Hamilton is an American professional surfer. She is known for surviving a shark attack in which she lost her left arm, and for overcoming the injury to ultimately return to professional surfing. She wrote about her experience in the 2004 autobiography Soul Surfer: A True Story of...
.
Other media appearances
Hamilton was featured in American Express credit card television commercials; an early 2000s commercial in the series "Hi, you probably wouldn't recognize my name . . . " and more recently in the American Express "My life, my card" commercial series.Hamilton was a central figure in the 2004 documentary Riding Giants
Riding Giants
Riding Giants is a 2004 documentary film directed and narrated by Stacy Peralta, a famous skater/surfer who helped define modern skateboarding. The movie traces the origins of surfing and specifically focuses on the art of big wave riding...
about giant wave surfing; and the opening sequence of the 2002 James Bond movie Die Another Day
Die Another Day
Die Another Day is the 20th spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth and last film to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond; it is also the last Bond film of the original timeline with the series being rebooted with Casino Royale...
, as Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
's big-wave surfing double (shared with Dave Kalama). He appeared in Waterworld
Waterworld
Waterworld is a 1995 post-apocalyptic science fiction film. The film was directed by Kevin Reynolds and co-written by Peter Rader and David Twohy. It is based on Rader's original 1986 screenplay and stars Kevin Costner, who also produced it. It was distributed by Universal Pictures...
, as Kevin Costner
Kevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner is an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and businessman. He has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards, won two Academy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Costner's roles include Lt. John J...
's stunt double in numerous water scenes.
In October 2006, Hamilton and Dave Kalama
Dave Kalama
Dave Kalama is a big wave surfer, windsurfer, and celebrity watersports enthusiast. Kalama and his family live in Hawaii.Kalama is credited with the co-development of tow-in surfing, along with Laird Hamilton, Darrick Doerner, and Buzzy Kerbox...
biked and paddled the entire Hawaiian Island chain—more than 450 miles—in a week. The feat was featured on Don King
Don King
Donald "Don" King is an American boxing promoter particularly known for his hairstyle and flamboyant personality. His career highlights include promoting "The Rumble in the Jungle" and the "Thrilla in Manila". He also had a long association with Mike Tyson...
's film, A Beautiful Son, in support of those afflicted with autism.
He appeared on the cover of the Men's Journal April 2006 issue.
In 2007, Hamilton, along with his wife Gabrielle Reece
Gabrielle Reece
Gabrielle Allyse Reece is an American professional volleyball player, sports announcer, fashion model and actress.-Early life:...
, appeared in the ABC reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
series Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race
Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race
Fast Cars & Superstars: Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race was an ABC reality television series featuring twelve celebrities in a stock car auto racing competition...
, featuring a dozen celebrities in a stock car racing competition. In the first round of competition, Hamilton matched up against tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
star Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
and former NFL quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
John Elway
John Elway
John Albert Elway, Jr. is a former American football quarterback and currently is the executive vice president of football operations for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League . He played college football at Stanford and his entire professional career with the Denver Broncos...
. Hamilton was eliminated in episode 5.
He appeared in the Sundance Channel television show Iconoclasts
Iconoclasts (Sundance Channel)
Iconoclasts is a Sundance Channel show. Each episode pairs two "creative visionaries" who discuss their lives, influences, and art, most of whom are longtime friends with the other person featured in the episode. The series premiered on November 17, 2005, and has had five six-episode...
with Eddie Vedder
Eddie Vedder
Eddie Vedder is an American musician and singer-songwriter who is best known for being the lead singer and one of three guitarists of the alternative rock band Pearl Jam. He is widely considered a cultural icon of alternative rock.He is also involved in soundtrack work and contributes to albums...
from the popular American rock band Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
.
Footage of Hamilton is used on the video for Dayvan Cowboy
Dayvan Cowboy
"Dayvan Cowboy" is the fifth song on The Campfire Headphase by Boards of Canada. The track was released on iTunes on October 4, 2005. The song and a remix of it, created by Odd Nosdam later appeared on the EP Trans Canada Highway...
from Boards of Canada
Boards of Canada
Boards of Canada are a Scottish electronic music duo consisting of brothers Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin...
. In 2003, he was featured in Dana Brown's surf documentary Step Into Liquid
Step Into Liquid
Step into Liquid is a documentary about surfing directed by Dana Brown, son of famed surfer and filmmaker Bruce Brown. The film includes surfing footage from the famous Pipeline, the beaches of Vietnam, and some of the world's largest waves, at Cortes Bank...
. On January 13, 2010, Hamilton and wife Reece appeared as themselves on the episode "Gary Feels Tom Slipping Away" of the CBS television series Gary Unmarried
Gary Unmarried
Gary Unmarried was an American sitcom created by Ed Yeager, which ran on CBS from September 24, 2008 to March 17, 2010. The series focuses on a recently divorced couple sharing custody of their kids while starting new relationships...
.
He was a special guest star as himself in the animated television show Phineas and Ferb
Phineas and Ferb
Phineas and Ferb is an American animated television comedy series. Originally broadcast as a preview on August 17, 2007, on Disney Channel, the series follows Phineas Flynn and his English stepbrother Ferb Fletcher on summer vacation. Every day the boys embark on some grand new project, which...
.
He was also interviewed as part of the Australian documentary Bra Boys: Blood Is Thicker Than Water.