Big-Wave Icon Laird Hamilton Celebrates 60 Laps Around The Sun
Some people grow old gracefully, some fight it every step of the way. Big-wave surfing icon Laird Hamilton would fall into the later category. Celebrating his 60th birthday, the man’s as active and inspired to chase giant waves as ever. In honor of Hamilton’s birthday and game-changing career, here are six of the most Laird things of all time:
1. Training With NFL Star Running Back Christian McCaffrey
In 2022, San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey started training with Hamilton and wife Gabby Reece. He credits the surfing/football crossover for helping take his game to the next nevel. “Being able to learn from someone like him and listen to a person that has had that kind of life experience is such a gift,” McCaffrey told Men’s Journal. “That’s another example of getting to be around people who are the best at what they do. And when I go over there to train in the pool, they kick my ass every single time.”
49ers’ Christian McCaffrey’s Secret Big Wave Weapon
2. The Millenium Wave At Teahupoo
More than any other monster wave he’s ridden in his monumental career, and he’s ridden a lot of them, Hamilton’s “Millenium” wave in Tahiti in August of 2000 ushered in a new era in surfing. Thicker and heavier than any wave documented at the time, all of a sudden it wasn’t just about how tall the wave was, but home much volume it had. Landing on the cover of SURFER Magazine, the wave is just as impactful today as it was nearly a quarter century ago.
3. Early Foil Board Prototype With Snowboard Boots
Before foil surfing was a pursuit that even the likes of Mark Zuckerberg enjoyed, there was Hamilton’s “guillotine.” Somewhere in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, the big-wave pioneer created a tow-board that featured an aluminum hydrofoil secured to a surfboard, which was then fixed with snowboard boots to keep the rider secured to the board. Perhaps one of the most dangerous wave-riding contraptions ever dreamt up, leave it to Hamilton’s abundant creativity.
4. Naked Rescue Saves Life Of Tow Partner
In an act of supreme heroism, when tow partner Brett Lickle sliced his leg open during an outer reef session on Maui, a quick thinking Hamilton stripped out of his boardshorts and used them as a tourniquet to save his friend’s life. And when a giant set wave carried their jet ski nearly a mile away from them, forcing a naked Hamilton to make a long swim to get it. Lickle ended up with over 50 staples in his leg as a result of the injury, calling it “the most intense things I’ve ever been through.”
5. More Naked Laird In ESPN Body Issue
Hamilton and his wife bared it all for ESPN’s Body Issue back in 2015. Surfing’s Adonis, the couple weren’t the first or last surfers to appear in the issue. Eleven-time world champ Kelly Slater and eight-time world champ Stephanie Gilmore have also graced the magazine’s pages.
6. Wanna Buy Some Photos, Burkhart
Perhaps the greatest surfing villain to ever grace the silver screen, Hamilton’s Lance Burkhart character has been quoted by Gen X surfers at nauseam since the film dropped in 1987. The ultimate beefcake pro surfer in the ’80s, there’s only one Lance Burkhart and nobody could have played the part as good as Hamilton.
Who Is Laird Hamilton's Surf Hero?
With more than 25 years of writing about surfing, the ocean and action sports, Jake Howard continues to share stories, profiles and issues that shape the surfing world. One of the premier subject-matter experts in the field today, he's savvy in the ways of print, digital and social media, his breadth of work is expansive. Getting his start writing Surfline surf reports and recording the phone reports for 976-SURF in the late '90s, Jake served as the managing editor for Surfer Magazine in the early 2000s before moving on to launch RedBullSurfing.com and cover surfing for ESPN and the X Games. Over the years, Jake has also enjoyed time behind the edit desk at The Surfer's Journal, as well as the World Surf League, where he worked as the Senior Editor for a number of years. Beyond producing editorial content, Jake has served as a digital marketer and copywriter for iconic surf brands such as Quiksilver, Roxy and Rip Curl. Writing thousands of pages of copy for Surfline, he has deep SEO experience as well. The surf columnist for the San Clemente Times, Jake continues to dedicate himself to the culture and history of the sport through his involvement with the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente.