Oct 16 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents An Evening with big wave surf pioneer Laird Hamilton

“Laird is flat out surfing’s biggest, boldest, bravest. He is the best big wave surfer in the world today, bar none.” Surfer

• UCSB Arts & Lectures presents An Evening with Laird Hamilton
• Sunday, October 16 / 7:30 p.m. / Arlington Theatre
• An evening with one of the greatest innovators in the history of surfing
• Moderated by documentary filmmaker Rory Kennedy, director of Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton
• $24.50 – $44.50 : General Public  / $11: UCSB Students and Youth (Current student ID required; 18 & under) (includes facility fee)
• Free screening of Take Every Wave in advance of the event on Thursday, September 29 at the Arlington Theatre
• Tickets & Info: www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu, (805) 893-3535; or the Arlington Theatre at www.AXS.com, (805) 963-4408
• Patrons can take advantage of discounts to see Laird Hamilton by subscribing to Create Your Own series. For more info, visit: www.artsandlectures.ucsb.edu/subscribe-save/

About Laird Hamilton

Laird Hamilton is best known as an American big-wave surfer and innovator in the world of action water sports. In addition to his affinity for the water, Hamilton is labeled as an inventor, author, stunt man, model, producer, television host, fitness and nutrition expert, husband, father and adrenaline junkie. At 6’3” and 215 pounds, Hamilton is unique in the way that he balances flexibility and strength. A renowned innovator and guiding genius of crossover board sports including tow-in surfing, stand-up paddle boarding and hydrofoil boarding, he is the quintessential waterman, skilled in multiple aquatic disciplines and continuously pushing the limits and expanding all possibilities.

Over the last decade, Hamilton has transcended surfing to become an international fitness icon and nutrition expert. As co-founder and chief innovator of Laird Superfood, he has been able to take his nutrition expertise and create delicious, plant-based better-for-you food products that are accessible to all. Many of today’s top professional athletes and celebrities look to Hamilton for training guidance, including instruction in his unique underwater resistance workouts. Partnering with his wife, professional volleyball player and television personality Gabrielle Reece, he created Extreme Performance Training (XPT). XPT is a powerful fitness training and lifestyle program featuring unique water workouts, performance breathing, recovery methods, high-intensity and endurance training for people of all fitness levels and backgrounds.

Hamilton released his first book in 2008, Force of Nature: Mind, Body, Soul, and, of Course, Surfing, which has become the go-to manual for those seeking inspiration for leading a healthy lifestyle. The book hit the New York Times bestseller list within two weeks of publication. In 2017 he released Fuel Up, his first cookbook, sharing healthy and exotic recipes garnered from a lifetime of far-out travels. From the Wild Coast of South Africa to the Gold Coast of Australia, Hamilton’s novel take on food and life is synthesized in a cookbook that invites readers to master both themselves and the world, through the art of fueling up.

Liferider: Heart, Body, Soul, and Life Beyond the Ocean was released in 2019. Based on extensive conversations between Hamilton and his co-author Julian Borra, with additional insights from Hamilton’s wife, Liferider takes on human resilience, relationships, business, technology, risk-taking and the importance of respecting the natural world – all through the lens of his extraordinary life both in and beyond the ocean. Hamilton was also a contributing editor for Men’s Journal, where he wrote about his own fitness, health and nutrition philosophies.

The entertainment industry has also called on Hamilton, who has appeared in a number of feature films and surfing documentaries including Radical Attitude (1992), Wake Up Call (1996), Step into Liquid (2003) and Riding Giants (2004), for which he also served as executive producer. He performed as a stunt man and surfer in The Descendants (2014), Waterworld (1995), Die Another Day (2002) and Point Break (2015). In addition to his film work, Hamilton has appeared on numerous television shows such as Oprah’s Master Class, Charlie Rose, 60 Minutes, Chelsea Handler, Conan O’Brien, Steven Colbert and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

When Hamilton is not busy surfing the biggest waves in the world, inventing new water toys and appearing in Hollywood features, he is a philanthropist. He has always had a great passion for helping others live a happy, healthy life, as exhibited through his work with nonprofit organizations such as the Surfrider Foundation, Heal the Bay, Race Across America, Pipeline for a Cure for Cystic Fibrosis, RainCatcher, Muscular Dystrophy and City of Hope.

Hamilton, his wife Gabrielle Reece and their daughters split time living in residences in Hawaii and Malibu, Calif., chasing waves, staying in top shape and continuing everyday adventures.

About Rory Kennedy

Academy-Award-nominated, Primetime Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker Rory Kennedy’s work deals with some of the world’s most pressing issues-poverty, political corruption, domestic abuse, drug addiction, human rights, and mental illness. A dedicated activist, Kennedy shares her unique viewpoint of living American history. Her devotion in taking on the world’s most pressing social and human rights issues serve as a call to action for audiences.

Kennedy’s most recent feature documentary is Downfall: The Case Against Boeing. Made for Netflix, the film examines the prelude and aftermath of the two tragic Boeing 737-Max crashes. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2022.

Kennedy is one of America’s most prolific documentary filmmakers. She has made over 30 ?lms, including Last Days in Vietnam, Ethel and Take Every Wave, all of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Her ?lms have appeared on the major streamers and broadcast networks including Net?ix, HBO, National Geographic and PBS. Her work has been pro?led in The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times, and she has appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Today Show, CNN and NPR.

Take Every Wave is an intimate portrait of the legendary big-wave surfer that had its world premiere at Sundance and was distributed theatrically through IFC and streamed on Hulu. In 2014, Kennedy’s PBS/American Experience feature documentary Last Days in Vietnam premiered at Sundance, went into wide theatrical release in the fall of that year and garnered an Academy-Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature. In 2012, her HBO feature documentary Ethel chronicled the extraordinary life of her mother, Ethel Kennedy; the ?lm premiered at Sundance and was nominated for ?ve Primetime Emmy Awards.

Prior to that, in 2011, Kennedy produced Killing in the Name, which garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Short. In 2009, she executive produced Street Fight, which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature. In 2007, her HBO ?lm Ghosts of Abu Ghraib premiered at Sundance and went on to win a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Non?ction Special. Other recent projects include Above and Beyond: NASA’s Journey to Tomorrow for the Discovery Channel and The Fence, which opened the Sundance Film Festival, and was broadcast on HBO.

She is currently partnered with Net?ix, Imagine Entertainment and Appian Way on a feature documentary examining the devastating 2019 eruption of New Zealand’s White Island volcano, a popular tourist destination. The ?lm is executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, Ron Howard, and Brian Grazer. She is also directing an independently ?nanced feature documentary which explores how the international community has responded to refugees since World War II.

Kennedy recently served two terms as Governor of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She is the founder of the Malibu Foundation, which supports local nonpro?ts impacted by the Woolsey ?re, and the Climate Emergency Fund, which supports activists protesting climate change. She lives outside of Los Angeles with her husband, three children, two goats, two nice dogs, one very mean dog, and a sixty-two year old tortoise named Zippy.