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Health & Fitness
The Science: Riding the Storm
Laird Hamilton's fitness odyssey is challenging our understanding of how athletes age
On the morning of Monday, December 3, 2007, Laird Hamilton heard the monsters stomping off the north shore of Maui.
"The big waves often kick up during the night," says Hamilton, hunched
over an espresso at a café in Paia, near his home, seven weeks later.
With his daunting slabs of muscle and blazing green eyes, Hamilton has
an overpowering physical presence, yet he emanates an aura of calm.
"You lie in your bed and try to sleep, but you can feel the waves
building. When an 80-footer breaks, the foundation of the house
trembles. That's why I live on Maui: The waves come to you. It's my job
to be ready for them."
40 on the Outside, 30 on the Inside
My theory of how men really age
A few days ago, I had a business lunch with a guy I thought was about 10 years older than I am. I'm 46, and he looked to be 55 and resembled every English teacher you've ever had. At the end of lunch he said, "You know, I was born the same week as you…" and went on to discuss all the same music we listened to in high school. Meanwhile, it was all I could do to compose myself while looking around for a reflective surface--a knife blade, the hologram on my Visa card--to convince myself I didn't look 55 like this guy did. I felt as if I had progeria, that disease in which you age half a century in five years. That's what growing older does to a guy.
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