Laird Hamilton, one of the greatest big-wave surfers of all time, once spoke about living with memories of his dad physically abusing him when he was younger. The legendary surfer, with maturity and age, eventually came around to forgive his father, understanding how his dad’s temper at that age was responsible for it.

In a 2018 interview with Graham Bensinger, the American journalist notable for his interview with sports personalities, Hamilton opened up about the punches he took from his father while growing up. While he may have had resentment towards his dad while growing up, he is more understanding now and has chosen to forgive him for it.

Laird Hamilton has forgiven his stepdad for his behavior

In the interview shared on Facebook, Hamilton said, “You know my mom was always about forgiveness. You hope they forgive you and you should forgive them”. His belief in forgiveness stems from his strong bond with his mother. Speaking about his tumultuous relationship with his stepdad, Hamilton believes it had to do with their small age gap. His stepdad was only 14 years older than him. He said, “I just think it’s like older brother, younger brother. I think we were more like brothers”.

Hamilton said, “The fact is he was just young and didn’t have a lot of control over his temper and had a wicked temper”. He also blames himself for not obeying him from time to time and getting in trouble. He believes that he deserved a lot of what he got. Hamilton’s stepdad, William ‘Bill’ Stuart Hamilton was a surfer from the 1960s who married Laird Hamilton’s mother in 1967. Hamilton, a then 3-year-old had introduced his mom to Bill as he desperately wanted a dad.

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However, things got ugly at times between the two. Bill would often beat a young Laird Hamilton with a pipe and even punch him in the face. It must have been devastating for a young Hamilton, but as a grown-up, he has chalked it up to his stepdad’s temper as a guy in the 60s. He eventually found the courage to forgive him.

How Hamilton felt about his stepdad as a kid as opposed to where he is now

That time Bill hit Hamilton with a pipe, it paralyzed him for a while on the ground. Hamilton also found humor in that grim tale sharing, that after he fell to the ground, his stepdad also got hit by another rod which he intended to throw out, but bounced back to hit him. At this point, he breaks down in laughter. Hamilton is married to American Volleyball player Gabrielle Reece and they have two daughters together. He also has another daughter from his previous marriage.

Laird Hamilton’s biological dad walked out on him and his mother when Hamilton was just a year old. The disappointment of that incident stayed with him to date, and hence for him to forgive his stepdad, who stayed with them, was more acceptable. Goes to show the true resilience of Hamilton.

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