Laird Hamilton is at a different stage of life, but his philosophy on fun and health remains the same. Simplicity rules the day. Photo: Tom Servais
For Laird Hamilton, the hard-charging surfer known for “The Heaviest Wave” ever ridden at Teahupo’o, basically inventing foiling, and pioneering tow-in surfing, the blessings and burdens of the human experience boil down to survival, first and foremost. “It’s the top of the list. First you have to survive, then survive optimally,” says Hamilton, now 61.
This basic need of survival is often overlooked in our day-to-day, modernized lives. At this stage of his existence, it’s not something Laird Hamilton takes for granted. Some may have mislabeled him a madman — how can big wave surfing be good for survival — but he is, and always has been, calculated. “We need to experience survival, and learn from it so that you can implement that knowledge. Inevitably you will be subjected to experiences that are out of your hands. Why not face that more wholeheartedly? Build a relationship with it and have an understanding.”
Laird embraces being in touch with the edge; mastering the skill of survival through risk taking is his art. “Then it becomes something bigger than that — something useful,” says Hamilton. “All of the sudden you have comfort and skills when you are no longer in control of the situation.”
Close to survival is experience. “The whole object about being here is to experience, which hopefully results in learning, and then implementation,” says Hamilton. Riding giant waves, or “being out with the dinosaurs,” as he calls it, takes preparation and calculation.
“In those situations, you say you’re slowing down, but what you’re describing in those moments is speeding up,” says Hamilton. “Like in film, you speed up the film to create slow-motion, so maybe you’re speeding up the assessment, and you get good at it, then you’re able to implement that kind of behavior in another situation that’s dangerous. You become more deliberate.”
As you sharpen these skills over time, you learn how to assess risk and avoid rushing. “There’s a formulaic pattern in terms of mastery. Not only in surfing, but with many others in different genres who experiment in frontier activities,” says Hamilton. “There’s always anomalies, people throwing themselves at stuff and surviving, but the angels are protecting them… and they’re not available for you, so you better be making good decisions,” he says with a blessed laugh.
It’s a philosophy we can certainly apply to other aspects of our lives, too.
Purpose
It’s a rare, attractive thing when someone knows their purpose in life, then goes pursues it. “I’ve come here to ride waves,” says Hamilton, “in all of the different ways that I can.” Whether that’s shortboards, SUPs, foils, or even a lunch tray (back in the day), he’s out there getting wet.
If surfing is your purpose, but crowds or subpar surf is making it more of a chore, heed this. “COVID has thrown [crowds] through the ceiling. My take is that there isn’t enough surf or surf spots for the amount of humans that are doing it,” says Hamilton. “That’s why I spend a lot of time doing other activities.”
There’s a lot of ways to be in the sea. “It’s about a relationship with the ocean,” says Hamilton. “Malibu, two waves, 20 guys, it’s unproductive. I’d rather take my paddleboard out into the ocean or get pounded in the shorebreak. You’re still playing in the ocean. A lot of people with skills want to stay in their wheelhouse, but if you want to learn new things, you have to be able to learn and to be a beginner again.”
In the language of Laird, losing the love for surfing would be a sin — to stop loving this thing that has brought him so much joy and emotions. Sometimes you have to do different things to not lose that love. “If all I had was a thruster and that was my whole life I’d be like ehhh — I don’t wanna surf,” says Hamilton.
That playful attitude opened up new doors like tow surfing, foiling, kite surfing, and SUPs. “We’d go ride like half a broken 12-footer with no fins. Ideas come out of that play,” says Hamilton. “Foiling came out of riding an air-chair and smashing our faces. We realized: Oh, you can stand on it; Oh, you can ride it. Maybe we can catch a wave with it. That’s how we started foiling.”
Play with stuff. It’s good for you. “Same with SUP and towing around in the summer,” says Hamilton. “You learn that you can catch a wave with it. And from that play can become something that can have an impact, something that can be amazing.”
Credit where credit is due: Hamilton is the master of finding fun in simple ways. Photo: The Inertia
Health
You see a lot of guys that eat crappy but they surf everyday. They’re healthy, but are they optimal? “They at least have that base. We’re outside, we’re at the beach, in the sunlight — these are the foundational things,” says Hamilton.
The foundation of optimum performance and health is connected with nature. “We’re fortunate as surfers to have the most unique and intimate connection in nature — the ocean. Everything comes from the sun,” says Hamilton. “We’re at the beach and our relationship with the sun and sunlight.”
Which is why Laird starts his days with solar gazing, or looking at the sunrise during its initial ascent into the sky. “If you’re not getting good sunlight, if you’re not getting good grounding from being barefoot on the Earth, if you’re not sleeping in the dark — your diet isn’t going to override that. We are light beings. We are solar panels. If you put your solar panel in the house, it’s not gonna charge.”
Next on the list is water, and life force. “We need good water, and then magnetic force. On the beach, on the shoreline, that’s a powerful magnetic force area,” says Hamilton. Life, water, magnetism. Surfers are lucky to get most of that covered — assuming you’re not chugging poor-quality sink water.
On diet these days, Hamilton still keeps it simple. He grew up with a wide variety of foods in Hawaii. “Hunting, fishing, fresh farms, and then being able to go to the local store and buy a pound cake and chocolate milk. I’m looking at food like — this is fuel to energize the system and this (cake) is pleasure; you feel like crap but God it feels good to do it.”
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In terms of fuel, Laird chooses coffee. “I try not to have a must-have (for fuel) but I am a big coffee proponent. I love my coffee and my fats,” says Hamilton. “For fuel, I make these drinks in the morning that, if pushed, I can roll through the day and not eat and be ok.” Coffee, creamer, a little gui, and some turmeric. A drink he designed himself in a line of healthy foods now famously knowns as Lairdsuperfood. His coffee drink evolved out of a need for fuel that could sustain him for big outputs.
As for what to avoid, he keeps that simple, too. “If you can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it,” says Hamilton. “Paul Chek — who rebuilt skateboarder Danny Way when he broke himself — told me to avoid the three white devils.” White sugar, white flour, and white milk.
Laird has accomplished big things in his surfing life, but his philosophies are really quite simple. Approach risk with a learning mindset, play and innovate whenever you can, get in the sun and ocean, eat and drink clean.
Sometimes we all need a reminder — you can make life more difficult than it needs to be.
