Editing Laird Hamilton (section)

===2000s===
On December 3, 2007, when Brett Lickle was towing Hamilton into a wave on the Maui north shore, called "Egypt", a wave knocked Lickle from the watercraft.
The fin sliced Lickle, causing him to bleed into the sea, which he feared would attract sharks. Hamilton swam to recover the watercraft, found Lickle in the surf, fashioned his swimsuit into a cloth tourniquet, and applied it to Lickle to save his life. Hamilton then piloted the watercraft back to a landing, where Lickle was immediately taken to a hospital for treatment.  Brett recalled that day for Chris Dixon that Brett towed Laird into a wave that was in his opinion "better than 10 stories tall" and the biggest wave ever ridden.  That means over 100 feet tall.  It was not photographed and therefore not officially recognized by the XXL judges.<ref>{{cite news |title= Surfing star Laird Hamilton aides fellow tow-in surfer |newspaper= [[Maui News]] |date= December 5, 2007  |url= http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/36622/Surfing-star-Laird-Hamilton-aides-fellow-tow-in-surfer.html |access-date= December 2, 2010 }}</ref>
[[File:Laird Hamilton3.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Hamilton in 2010]]
In February 2008 Hamilton joined the board of directors of  [[H2O Audio]], a watersports music company in [[San Diego]]. He had used H2O Audio products on many of his long distance paddling endeavors before joining the company.<ref>{{Cite web |title= Pioneering Surfer / Waterman Laird Hamilton joins H2O Audio's Board of Directors to help company "Ride With Giants" |work= press release |date= February 12, 2008 |publisher= [[H2O Audio]] |url= http://www.h2oaudio.com/pressrelease/08_02_12.php |access-date= December 2, 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101101165028/http://h2oaudio.com/pressrelease/08_02_12.php |archive-date= November 1, 2010 |url-status= dead }}</ref>
Later in 2008 he published a book which he describes as not an autobiography, but discussing his philosophy of life.<ref>{{cite news |title= The book of Laird |newspaper= [[Maui News]] |date= November 20, 2008 |author= Rick Chatenever |url= http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/511412/The-book-of-Laird.html |access-date= December 2, 2010 }}</ref>

On August 27, 2014, Hamilton was in the news again for riding waves and boards which few others dared. [[Hurricane Marie (2014)|Hurricane Marie]] caused Southern California to be hit with a swell of extreme size—triple over head (and larger) waves could be found from San Diego to Los Angeles, including Laird's home break at Malibu. Late in the day, on a stand-up paddle board, Hamilton dropped into one of the largest waves of the day and proceeded to "shoot" the Malibu beach pier at an extremely high speed.
<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.surfermag.com/blogs/random-happenings/laird-hamilton-shoots-malibu-pier/ |title=Laird Hamilton Shoots Malibu Pier: Yeah, the swell is hitting alright |last=Housman |first=Justin |publisher=The Enthusiast Network |date=27 August 2014 |website=Surfer Magazine |access-date=28 August 2014}}</ref>

Despite being one of the best known surfers since the time of [[Duke Kahanamoku]], the matured Hamilton avoids self-promotion. He serves as an ambassador of surfing and watersports and occasional lifeguard to other tow-in surfers.

Hamilton is also an environmental activist. He joined a protest in [[Malibu, California|Malibu]] against a proposed plant, which would affect the quality of the local waters. Other celebrities attended the event, including [[Pierce Brosnan]], [[Halle Berry]] and [[Ted Danson]].

In April 2018, Laird made worldwide news for voluntarily rescuing people around Kauai, Hawaii from devastating, record-breaking storms that were causing flooding.  Laird, who lives on the island and used his own boat, has assisted many families in evacuating the island from the flooding, and is being hailed a hero.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/Hawaii-storms-surfer-laird-Hamilton-helps-rescue-stranded/|title=Surfer Laird Hamilton helps rescue family stranded by Hawaii storms |date=19 April 2018 |website=CBS News |access-date=19 April 2018}}</ref>

Laird Hamilton is a co-founder and co-creator of XPT Life or Extreme Performance Training, along with his wife, Gabrielle Reece.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/592234/what-doesnt-kill-us-by-scott-carney-foreword-by-wim-hof/|title=What Doesn't Kill Us by Scott Carney: 9781635652413 {{!}} PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books|website=PenguinRandomhouse.com|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-21}}</ref>

Laird Hamilton, along with Paul Hodge and Gabrielle Reece, co-founded Laird Superfood in 2015. In September 2020 the company went public on the NYSE under the id LSF.