Macho? Sexist? Mainstream? A hero to the hip?
I’ve decided to take a different approach. After speaking with Maui’s Laird Hamilton, who is fifty two years old, for an hour (or more accurately, after being spoken at by Laird for an hour), I came to the conclusion that he is an offshoot cousin of the now rampant surfing hipster.
While hipsterdom has sold out and hooked its vintage-clad extremities into every hole of mainstream society, the door has opened for the emergence of a pure DGAF (don’t-give-a-fuck) character such as Laird to take the title of avant-garde surf hero.
Since hipsters are generally defined by what they are not, I have compiled a short list of three things Laird is not, which if taken together should cement his new status.
Laird Hamilton is not…
MACHO: While surf hipsters the world over counter macho masculinity via gender-bending floppy sun hats and rogue kindergarten-grade flower drawings at the end of video clips, Laird has the balls to admit safety is his top priority.
This commitment to safety is the fuel behind his taboo preference of towing over paddling. Laird says: “As long as I’ve been trying to ride big waves and as long as I want to continue riding giant waves, I’m trying to reduce the risk, not increase the risk, in order to have more shots at it and also not create the opportunity to have an experience or a wipeout that may affect the outcome of my love of big wave riding.” In the macho realm of big wave surfing, Laird is committed to putting safety first. The courage to admit to fear, the individuality to embrace it.
SEXIST: A (true) hipster would never be sexist. A while back, Laird’s now infamous comments regarding Maya Gabeira being neither skilled nor experienced enough to be out in maxing Nazaré were widely slapped with the tag of sexism.
Let’s say, for example, I entered into a life-threatening twerk battle with Anastasia Ashley, barely made it out alive, and then was later labeled as not skilled enough to be there in the first place. Sexist? No. Other men can twerk (I’ve heard) and other women, according to Laird, can handle any waves (citing goddaughter Keala Kennelly).
People tend to forget that Laird has shared multiple tow sessions with Maya and rescued her on several occasions. While you could argue that he wouldn’t necessarily be an authority in judging prone paddling capabilities due to his lack of involvement, to say that he is sexist for calling out a fellow tow surfer (of which he is, by default, the most experienced ever) with whom he has extensive experience is silly. It is in fact sexist to assume that he made those comments because Maya has girl parts.
“My mother was an incredible woman. I think women are more than capable of doing many of the things that men do, and quit a few things that we are not capable of doing.” Loves his mommy and admits women can do things men can’t? Hipster. Quintessential surf-hipster-guru Kai Neville including Dusty Payne’s blatant and non-ironic sexists comments in Lost Atlas? Poser.
MAINSTREAM: Alaias, retro twin fins, neck beards, asymmetrical whatevers, all had their birth (or rebirth) in modern surfing at the hands of a few individuals (hipsters) trying to break the monotonous mold of the standard potato chip.
Now, there are hoards of bearded bros from Malibu to the Maldives hand-jiving down the line on their Mini Simmons. What does this mean? It has evolved from a splinter group to the mainstream.
From hydrofoiling to stand-up paddling to windsurfing and kitesurfing, Laird is one of a very exclusive group of guys shredding alternative equipment in XXL waves. And, according to him, they get no love.
“You know it’s interesting. I saw Kai Lenny paddle that morning (last big swell at Jaws) for probably six hours, then he went on his stand-up board and got a couple of the better waves of the day and then a bunch of guys gave him a hard time, and I was kinda like, ‘I don’t understand that’, like, ‘Don’t be so narrow minded that you can’t appreciate that.’”
Need more proof of Laird as the master of… everything? Inhale here.
How does one not see this photo as pretentious? a thousand words
Laird is Normcore AF
I think a lot of the shit, if not most of the shit Laird gets stems from the fact that he was at the forefront of the stand up paddle revival. He was doing that before it was uncool.
Maybe he’s just old enough to not care? Like a wholesome, untatooed version of a Fletcher..
I actually had to think a few times while reading this article . . . good job; I enjoyed that.
Your writing is too clever by half.
However you do make a good point – Laird is unfairly maligned. Yeah, he procured sponsorship outside surf brand-dom, as if that’s a bad thing. Yes, he made himself into a cult of personality – fuck, good work if you can get it. Uh-huh, it’s his fault some lineups are clogged with stabbers and dodgers, but goddamn, how much good fun and toned mid-sections is he responsible for on every stretch of flat water from here to Vladivostok?
Stayed in the water, paid his way, spread it around – good on him.
mmmmm toned midsections.