Bethany Hamilton is a supremely nice human being. Ever-smiling, always humble, forever grateful, never has a bad word to say about anyone, and all that good stuff. But don’t get her started on commentators focusing on her shark attack over her surfing. “Commentators are like the most annoying people in the world,” she says. “They just say the same old thing, over and over again. If they could just acknowledge my surfing, even, like, 25 percent of the time. I’m okay if you want to mention Soul Surfer, but I don’t think they should be talking about the shark attack in the middle of my heat.”
She said that while making eggs in front of the camera for a Vans series profiling Pipe Masters competitors. “I’m not one to be hating on people, but if they’re doing such a bad job,” she continued, “they shouldn’t be there.” Then she laughed. “You got my buttons pushed.”
And she’s right. Bethany’s shark attack happened in 2003, when she was 13. That’s almost two decades ago. She’s lived longer after the attack than she lived before, and when things get hairy out at Pipeline, Bethany Hamilton is one of the best out there, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
She’s one of the rare surfers who’ve bridged the gap between being known by surfers and being known by the general public. Surfers like Kelly Slater and maybe Laird Hamilton. Ask any non-surfer to name two surfers, and it’s almost a guarantee that Bethany, Laird, or Kelly will be on the list.
She became one of those surfers by overcoming immense challenges, pushing through pain, relearning how to do things, and doing it all with that ever-present smile on her face. She doesn’t just show people that she can surf; she shows them that they can overcome. Although she certainly isn’t a fan of announcers bringing it up during a contest, I get why they do: she’s one of the best surfers at one of the best waves on Earth… and she’s doing it with one arm.
Bethany Hamilton has been surfing Pipeline since she was about 12 years old, so she knows it well. Also of note in the Vans’ profile is that she hates, hates, hates the new-ish no priority rule in place at the Pipe Masters, and — big surprise — her goal is to win the thing.
