Why One Of The Best Athletes In The World Refuses To Compete

In 2000, Laird Hamilton infamously surfed the most dangerous wave in the world. It was as tall as a seven-story building. He was 36 years old. Everybody flipped out. It's just one example of how Hamilton has continued to disrupt the surfing world for over 30 years by constantly reinventing new ways to conquer the ocean. He has saved lives at sea more than once. He's “shot the pier” by maneuvering his board in between the supporting pillars of the Malibu pier during a storm. He's popularized standup paddling and invented tow-in surfing, which has allowed athletes to ride enormous waves in the ocean that were previously deemed impossible. His invention of the foil board could be the future of big wave surfing.  Surfer Magazine nicknamed him the sport’s “test pilot” and The Washington Post called him the world’s greatest athlete. Yet, despite all this, Hamilton has never actually competed professionally. “I’m a terrible loser. I was so competitive, I wouldn’t compete. Show me somebody who can lose well, and I’ll show you somebody who loses," Hamilton told The Huffington Post last week.  “If you can accept loss, you won’t be winning a lot," he added. HuffPost met with the supremely tanned 51-year-old in his kitchen in Malibu, California, on a sweltering August day. Wearing not much more than board shorts and boiling a pot of turmeric on his stove, Hamilton is the epitome of a We...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news