JUST A MAN

Laird holding court

Stranger meets Laird Hamilton...again, as the big-wave maestro visits Cornwall.

Words by Lotte Mahon

With the Cornish rain beating down on the roof of Bude's Life's a Beach Café (oh, the irony), in strode the (not so big as expected) man himself, oozing with the kind of confidence that only comes from the knowledge that you are the very best at what you do. Meeting everyone with an alarmingly sturdy handshake, Laird Hamilton was full of apologies for his slightly delayed arrival, which was due to a combination of autograph signing and a sneaky unscheduled surf.

Laird tags a copy of Stranger

Those of you who read Stranger's interview with Emmett Malloy will be keen to know that those rumours about Laird being the inspiration for a new Ben Stiller movie were not being strongly denied, "Ben is a good friend of mine, but I think I'll wait to see the film before I put my name to it!" That said Laird has certainly been busy including working with the Malloys on a new film project entitled The Velvet Glove, which will be arriving in June this year, and co-stars Rob Machado. He's also got numerous book and TV projects on the boil. So does Laird get any time to chase those elusive big waves? "It's important that I keep doing dangerous things and I have the confidence now that I understand and know what the water is going to do," he says. So are we to believe that Mr Hamilton is fearless? "Fear is the most important human instinct we have, it channels an incredible drug with which you can achieve superhuman feats."

Waiting to meet the man

Laird is over in England and Ireland keeping an eye out for waves and meeting and greeting his fans courtesy of his sponsors Oxbow. With brands around the world wanting to put Laird's face to their products, Laird has stuck with Oxbow for 16 years, so what's the deal? "I don't endorse anything I don't believe in. I knew the founders of Oxbow and I liked their philosophy and loyalty to team riders," he says. "Less is more for me when it comes to sponsorship."

Nowadays the self-styled waterman is introducing the art of paddle boarding to a new generation, which in his words "Brings you back to the purity of just you and the sea" and focusing on doing all the other sports he enjoys, snowboarding, biking and windsurfing amongst many others. So with all these strings to his bow, how would Laird like to be remembered when he heads to that perfect wave in the sky? "I want to be remembered for my body of work," he says "but if a had to pick a few words, 'Just A Man' would be fine."

A stand up guy

So what, if anything, makes Laird lose his Aloha spirit? "Big wave bounties that are dangled like a golden carrot above 100ft waves can get amateurs into dangerous situations," he says. "For me it is about performing well on a wave, not just surviving. Dying is easy; living is the hard thing the to do."

Whilst he waits to meet the fans queuing outside The Wavehouse, and casually chats to the staff, an earlier comment of Laird's comes to mind, "I don't have any surf titles, so meeting with people who appreciate what I do gives me a sense of confirmation."

Read about Stranger's first meeting with Laird in issue 14 - out now!

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