Men's Health: You're still as famous for what you get up to on a surfboard as you were in your twenties and thirties. How have you managed it?
Laird Hamilton: Well, I have a couple of things on my side. One of them is that my platform – my sport, my art – is not restricted by a structure that would make it more difficult to stay at the top. You see older guys in other sports, such as Tom Brady or Roger Federer, and your ability to participate decreases as the younger guys come in. With surfing, you don't have to be in a structure like that. You don't have to tour around and be a part of a season and all that stuff. So that helps.
Passion is a big piece of it, too. You have to like what you do – love what you do and really want to do it.
Sometimes it's easy to get burned out because you've done it for so long. The schedule is brutal, the training is brutal. You just tap out. So retaining that passion is crucial. I've put a lot of effort and conscious thought into retaining my passion. I always use the quote “retain
