Laird Hamilton

Laird, Gabby, Reece, and Brody in Montauk, New York for a Chanel / The Wave event.

Laird introduced SUP to party goers before the evening fun began. They are now hooked!

Laird graces the cover and gives an in-depth interview about SUP in the September issue of Stand Up Journal.

“Chanel J12 Marine through a great event in honor of Susan Casey’s up coming book the Wave and benefiting the Surf Rider Foundation. Laird was able to take guests Stand Up Paddling earlier in the day in the Montauk. The dinner that evening was a great opportunity for him to meet up with old friends Jimmy Buffet, Bruce Weber, and meet new ones like Julian Schnabel, Anjelica Houston, and others. Gabby and the girls were there to join in on the fun. As always Chanel through a first class event enjoyed by all.”
~Jane Kachmer (Manager)

Below excerpts taken from The Wall Street Journal – Read full article… TheWallStreetJournal.com

Saturday, some of the same guests, including Ms. Gubelmann, Mr. Grauso, Mr. Weber and Ms. Bush and Ms. Brant and Ms. Sischy joined a starrier if more incongruous crowd to celebrate—this is a bit of a handful—the launch of Chanel’s men’s J12 watch as well as publication of the nonfiction book “The Wave” by Susan Casey. (Ms. Casey is also the editor of Oprah’s O Magazine.) This event took place at the Crow’s Nest, a shabby-chic inn and restaurant that Sean McPherson has been renovating this summer.

Who was there? Actors Rachel Weisz, Richard Gere and Carey Lowell and Anjelica Huston, who shared an exclusive table as Hollywood stars tend to do at these kind of events; some of the New York social crowd, like Amanda and Christopher Brooks, Allison Sarofim and Stuart Parr and Somers and Jonathan Farkas; and a few fashion folks like Julie Gilhart of Barneys and designers Rogan Gregory and Cynthia Rowley.

The host for this evening was the 46-year-old handsomely weathered surfer Laird Hamilton, who was there with his wife, Gabrielle Reece, the professional volleyball player. Mr. Hamilton is an ambassador for Chanel’s new watch. What made him particularly Chanel?

“I didn’t know I was Chanel until somebody sent me a watch to use,” Mr. Hamilton said. “Usually I can break a watch in three or four months. I climb trees. I do crazy things in the pool, I surf, of course. I paddle board. I jet ski. But this watch endured me.” In return for Mr. Hamilton’s enduring and, well, endorsing the watch, Chanel has been supporting the Surfrider Foundation, which protects the world’s beaches.

“We’re always trying to help the ocean, so if Chanel has decided to help the ocean, that’s fantastic,” said Ms. Casey who has been living with Mr. Hamilton in Maui and his tribe of surfers for the last five years. “I’m really just a person who’s crazy about the ocean.”

*Correction - Not actually living with for 5 years…flying over for periods of time to write the book!

Ms. Casey was asked how she imagined Chanel’s designer, the seemingly rigid Karl Lagerfeld, interacted with surf culture, 40-foot waves and her friend, Mr. Hamilton.

“They would love each other,” Ms. Casey said. “Karl would get Laird in a heartbeat. You know Karl Lagerfeld and I were born on the same day? I think Karl Lagerfeld is like Oprah. He’s a writer, he’s a photographer, he’s a designer. There aren’t enough hours in the day for him. Has he ever surfed? I don’t know.”

As it turned out, Mr. Hamilton had spent much of the afternoon teaching a few of Ms. Casey’s friends, journalist Bob Woodruff and several of the party’s VIP guests, including Ms. Brooks, Ms. Sischy and Ms. Brant, how to paddleboard.

“We had great, calm seas,” Mr. Hamilton said. “I call it hero water.”

It was time for a hot-button question. Did Mr. Hamilton think he could teach Mr. Lagerfeld to surf? At this query, Ms. Reece appeared at once amused and alarmed.

“I definitely could teach him how to stand-up paddle,” Mr. Hamilton said. “If they can walk I can teach them how to stand-up paddle.”

But catching an actual wave in the ocean?

Ms. Reece chimed in, but was left speechless: “Yeah, it would be—” she said. “That would be like. Yeah.”

Then Mr. Hamilton added, diplomatically, “You know? I enjoy teaching people. If Karl Lagerfeld wanted to catch a wave, I’d be glad to show him.”

Laird is fortunate enough to be able to be involved with events that are by the ocean; you can attend looking fab, and in your flip flops.  He recently partnered up with  Chanel’s J12 Marine watches that are both functional and beautiful. Chanel was generous enough to hold an event at our dear friends Ron and Kelly Meyers home to celebrate the union and to donate money to the Surfrider Foundation.  Besides the beautiful view and great company we had the  pleasure of watching the first U.S. sneak preview  of “Hollywood Don’t Surf!” Laird was grateful to his friends and Chanel for coming out and supporting a great cause.

Best, Gabby

We all know Laird is passionate about the water, whether it’s swimming, body surfing, big wave riding, kite surfing, boating, you name it. But his favorite past time is stand up paddling and stand up paddle surfing when there are waves. This activity – sport has caught on like wild fire, how could it not. It gives people one more opportunity to experience one of Mother Nature’s greatest gifts; great bodies of water. People are flocking to lakes, rivers and oceans to experience the benefits. When a new physical activity emerges that encourages people to get outdoors and be active its a great thing. Laird continues to teach anyone he can how to standup paddle. This past week he was in Utah at the Outdoor Retail Show.

We’re hoping to do a demo for the public in Southern California soon. Would you want to come? What techniques would you want Laird to demo or share. Post your comments below!

There have been many blog postings about the event. Here is a bit from one of our favorites.

“One Word: ICON. Powers Outdoors had the chance to meet up with and even paddle with legendary surfer and Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) advocate Laird Hamilton at the Outdoor Retail demo day up at Lake Jordanelle Reservior in Park City, UT.

On our bi-annual trip to Salt Lake City, this time we were lucky enough to catch up with Laird and his SUP entourage. There was no mistaking his appearance or presence on the water. Laird was out in the middle of things most of the day, sharing, talking and teaching others about his experiences and passion of the SUP. He would take the time to answer everyone’s questions and give you a bit of a demonstration to go along with it. Whether it was how to paddle continuously on one side of the SUP, how inefficient a cross-over stroke was, or how to execute his “peanut butter stroke,” Laird was super excited to be sharing his techniques as an expert waterman.”

To view the full blog visit PowersOutdoors

Read more recent blogs about Laird and SUP:
BackCountryBeacon
Vimeo
MediaSales
gofish.ning.com
PeteThomasOutdoors
Regator

Don’t Blame Laird for this! We have had some technical difficulties with our store this week so to show our apologies we have discounted every product 15%!  enter coupon code – blame – at checkout

Take advantage of some high quality products like:

Catie’s C’s and Greens ~ A Daily essential if you care about your health.

Blame Laird Gear – Caution ~ If you don’t want to spark up a conversation don’t wear these!

Standup Paddle Boards – We know these are an investment so take advantage of the 15% off!
(Laird-Surftech models only)

Laird’s Teaupoo 2000 Wave – ‘The Wave’ – Autographed Copy

Other great products available at shop.lairdhamilton.com ~ Laird’s official e-commerce store.

More Blame Laird gear coming soon!!

SUMMER 2010
Posted By,
A Laird Life Editor

Guest editor Gerry Lopez goes inside the mind of Laird. A 10 page feature story available in stores now.

San Clemente, CA (July 14, 2010) – The Surfrider Foundation’s Not The Answer Campaign has partnered with waterman and activist Laird Hamilton for a new public service announcement (PSA) created by WINDOWSEATpictures urging President Obama and congress to reinstate the moratorium on offshore drilling.  Hamilton is featured in both 30- and 60-second PSAs running online and on-air.

The goal of the PSAs is to increase awareness about the situation in the Gulf of Mexico and encourage people to take action by writing the President and other elected officials asking them to reinstate the moratorium on offshore oil drilling.

Hamilton highlights that he’s accomplished tremendous feats, and that nothing scares him, except for the threat of another Deepwater Horizon disaster happening somewhere else off our coasts.  He goes on to talk about how the Congressional and Executive moratoria have helped protect America’s coastlines for nearly 30 years, and that “the tragic and devastating spill in the Gulf of Mexico is sickening proof that offshore oil drilling is not the answer.”

“We’re all affected by offshore spills, from kids playing in the sand to people like Laird who define wave riding,” says Jim Moriarty, Surfrider Foundation’s CEO.  “I love how this PSA illustrates the point that we should all be scared of man-made disasters of this magnitude, and that we should not stop until safeguards, like the moratorium, are back in place.”

“Our personal desire to preserve the environment, coupled with the saddening disaster in the Gulf, motivated WINDOWSEATpictures to help spread the message with Laird Hamilton and Surfrider Foundation,” says Moz Mirbaba, Executive Producer at WINDOWSEATpictures.  “Our political leaders need to know that offshore drilling is Not The Answer and that it comes at a terrible cost to our wildlife and environment.  This project is very near and dear to us.  We support Surfrider Foundation and are proud to have been involved with this noteworthy movement.”

Laird Hamilton is known as the guiding genius of crossover board sports, and he is truly amazing in the water.  The waterman in the true sense of the word is famous for doing all kinds of extreme things in the ocean from making epic long distance journeys on his ocean-going paddleboard to creating the fast forward speed sailing loop, to pioneering tow-in surfing – a method still used today to surf some of the world’s biggest waves.  As an activist and advocate for our oceans, waves and beaches, he supports education and outreach within the community to protect our waters for future generations to enjoy.

Surfrider Foundation’s “Not The Answer” PSAs with Laird Hamilton were made possible by the generous support from WINDOWSEATpictures, who provided filming and editing, and the Sierra Club who donated video footage from the Gulf of Mexico.

To learn more about Surfrider Foundation’s Not The Answer Campaign and take action, visit  www.nottheanswer.org

About Surfrider Foundation

The Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of our world’s oceans, waves and beaches. Founded in 1984 by a handful of visionary surfers in Malibu, California, the Surfrider Foundation now maintains over 50,000 members and 90 chapters worldwide. For more information on the Surfrider Foundation, go to www.surfrider.org.

About WINDOWSEATpictures

Founded by Creative Director/Director Bill Kiely and Executive Producer Moz Mirbaba, WINDOWSEATpictures uses film and video to create marketing solutions to engage youth culture audiences.  WINDOWSEAT’s inventive take on production has garnered the appeal of major brands such as: Vans, Nike, O’Neill, REEF, Billabong, Anheuser-Busch, General Mills, Monster Energy Drink, Mattel, US Air Force, Maloof Money Cup, NBC, CBS, FUEL TV, and Fox Sports to name a few.  For more information on WINDOWSEATpictures, go to www.windowseatpictures.com.