So I say to him, “It’s amazing how little we know about the way our
body works. Maybe because you are a lifelong athlete you have more
knowledge than most of us, but if you ask a hundred people where their
liver is located in their body, I’m not sure that even 25% would know.”
“Yes, that’s true,” he says, “Ultimately I just ask people to breathe.
I’ll say, ‘Hey, breathe for me.’ I’m so often amazed by how people
breathe—or don’t. I’ll say, ‘Have you breathed?! Breathe like you need
it, like it’s the most important thing you’re going to do. Breathe like it
means something.’ Then I watch them and think, ‘Wow that doesn’t
have a lot of meaning.’ I use breath to bring people back into them-
selves. There’s something about self-awareness that makes you desire
less, that makes you less interested in searching for things outside of
yourself. You begin to find that most of what you need is right inside.”
“What are your three top fitness tips for regular folk?” To be honest,
I am not sure Laird has ever seen the likes of regular folk. He’s been sur-
rounded by athletes his entire life.
“The most obvious to me that many people have an issue with is hy-
dration. It is essential to be properly hydrated. Drink as good a water as
you can, with minerals. Next is breathwork. You can get a lot of benefits
quickly, it’s readily available, there’s a thousand ways you can do it.
Then, I would say, go out and learn something new. Go out and try new
things you’ve never done, and tell me if you don’t benefit from that.”
He’s talking about the Buddhist concept of Beginner’s Mind. As long
as we’re comfortable, we’re not going to grow. At this point, I’m not
sure if I am talking to a surfer, a fitness guru, or a spiritual teacher.
There is a human side to this man, I saw it in the film. He’s a husband
and a father to three daughters. He’s got a big heart and I want to con-
nect with it. I take the obvious way in.
“Laird, it’s hard to talk to you without mentioning Gabby. There’s a
beautiful moment in the film where Gabby is speaking over some very
sweet footage of your wedding. She says that she has a tremendous
amount of respect for you and for your dedication to the ocean. That
she knows you love her as much as the ocean, and that there is an unspo-
ken understanding that she will never ask you to choose.”
He jumps right in and I can hear the love in his voice. “Gabby is just
incredible. Because my mother was such an amazing woman, such a
hardworking, intelligent woman, it was the beginning of my training to
be able to first of all be with a woman like Gabby, because I have such
respect, you know. Her strength gives me stability. I get power from
knowing that she is there for me. It gives me great strength knowing
that she’s behind me and I rely on her, her intuition, and all of her other
skills. I think ultimately a man is not complete without a woman. It’s
not always the same way with women. I think they don’t need us the
way we need them.”