Or maybe he is a prophet!
Social media can be a drag but it can also be the most brilliant place on earth. Todd McFarland, master surfboard shaper, got me thinking today. He sent over a picture of Laird Hamilton bottom turning some remote controlled, self propelled water thing and said:
“Laird’s approach to surfing is more dystopian than the Terminator film franchise. It’s as if Laird actually hates surfing on surfboards. I feel like, in the midst of this turn, he is thinking to himself that he should have been working in a tool and die factory in the midwest…or stamping out sheet metal.”
And how brilliant! And I think Mr. McFarland is right! From the hydrofoil to the SUP to the Golfbort it does, in fact, seem that Laird Hamilton hates surfing on surfboards which may certainly be some insight into the way he feels about the future.
Could it be that, with pollution and global warming etc. the way they are, waves will either stop coming someday and thus Laird SUPs, remote controls, golfboards?
Or that they will be so gigantic that a hydrofoil will be necessary to ride them? This begs an even greater question.
Is Laird Hamilton prophetic? Or does he just hate surfing on surfboards?
So I was kind of squatting in Malibu for a bit after I got out of the Marines, and I saw Laird at that breakfast joint by the Ralph’s, Coogies, or whatever, but I didn’t want to fanboy and bother him, so I was waiting for him to get up and leave so I could see if he would sign my copy of Force of Nature (a surprisingly good, if quick, read). Anyway, he ended up leaving when I wasn’t paying attention.
So I dropped a message to his website contact info, and low and behold, the next morning I get a call from Laird Hamilton, thanking me for my service, apologizing for not signing my book, and apologizing that he was leaving for Hawaii that day but get back in touch with him next time I’m in Malibu and we could catch a surf together. Never happened, because I don’t get to Malibu all that often even when I’m actually in California, but the dude was incredibly friendly, gracious, and kind to someone he had never met and had no vested interest in contacting. It’s not like it was for a reality show or something and this is the first time I’ve ever mentioned it publicly.
Whether he hates surfing or not, he’s a legitimately nice guy and a good man, by all accounts.
I think he just froths on the next thing you can do on water. Will admit the golf board thing is a little sell out. But had kelly not copped so much shit for doing bay watch he would have jumped on being the spokes man for that.
I think the bigger question is who actually gives a fuck what Laird is up to. He is so out of touch with surfing let him ride what he likes.
Incorrect. The bigger question is how big are those puppies in that vest? I’m thinking double the size of Dolly Parton and I don’t say that lightly.
The interesting thing, I think, is that he is one of surfing’s biggest stars, externally, yet no one I know embraces him. Don’t you think that is strange?
I reckon it is largely because his truly excruciating style is at odds with his arrogance and self promotion – and non-surfers don’t pick that up.
Took a big chunk out of my foot in the reef once at Ho’okipa. Raw, bleeding, full of sand and staph. Laird was the first to offer help – took my foot and with one slap of thick hand, the wound was clean. Done. Point is, he clearly knows his stuff and isn’t afraid to step up and help out a random kook for no reason than the reason any other human helps another. I think the mainstream media are drawn to him more for his Hollywood-friendly image than accomplishments in the water, and in the neo-traditional world of surf media, it’s the fallible ripper, the underdog and the anti-hero that people can relate to. Laird seems the polar opposite of this – it’s why he appears hard to embrace. Plus your arms wouldn’t fit around him.
Chas has freakishly long arms, you’d be surprised.
people give this too much thought. It’s a business for Laird. Every click is a few bucks in his pocket.