Surfing

Surfing is a surface water sport in which the wave rider, referred to as a surfer, rides on the forward or deep face of a moving wave, which is usually carrying the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable for surfing are primarily found in the ocean, but can also be found in lakes or in rivers in the form of a standing wave or tidal bore. However, surfers can also utilize artificial waves such as those from boat wakes and the waves created in artificial wave pools.

The term surfing refers to the act of riding a wave, regardless of whether the wave is ridden with a board or without a board, and regardless of the stance used (goofy or regular stance). The native peoples of the Pacific, for instance, surfed waves on alaia, paipo, and other such craft, and did so on their belly and knees. The actual modern-day definition of surfing, however, most often refers to a surfer riding a wave standing up on a surfboard; this is also referred to as stand-up surfing.

Another prominent form of surfing is body boarding, when a surfer rides a wave on a bodyboard, either lying on their belly, drop knee, or sometimes even standing up on a body board. Other types of surfing include knee boarding, surf matting (riding inflatable mats), and using foils. Body surfing, where the wave is surfed without a board, using the surfer's own body to catch and ride the wave, is very common and is considered by some to be the purest form of surfing.

Garrett McNamara

Garrett ‘GMAC’ McNamara (born August 10, 1967) is an American professional big wave surfer and extreme waterman known for breaking the world record for largest wave ever surfed at Nazaré, Portugal, surviving a monstrous wave at Jaws, and riding tidal waves from calving glaciers in Alaska.

Biography

Early life

McNamara was born on August 10, 1967 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts and spent part of his childhood in Berkeley, California. In Berkeley, McNamara, and his younger brother Liam McNamara, were both known by friends to be rather fearless and to shrug off the pains of rough childhood play, foreshadowing his later ability to face danger while surfing. McNamara moved to the North Shore of Hawaii in 1978. At eleven years old, McNamara followed his younger brother's footsteps and began surfing at Sunset, Waimea and the outer reefs in search of giant swells. He entered and placed in the prestigious Hawaiian Triple Crown Series at seventeen and began to gain major sponsors from major Japanese brands. For the next ten years, both brothers joined the competition circuit, traveling and becoming fluent in Japanese.

Red Bull

Red Bull is an energy drink sold by Austrian company Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987. In terms of market share, Red Bull is the highest-selling energy drink in the world, with 5.387 billion cans sold in 2013.

Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an existing energy drink named Krating Daeng, which was first invented and sold in Thailand. He took this idea, modified the ingredients to suit the tastes of Westerners, and, in partnership with Chaleo Yoovidhya, founded Red Bull GmbH in 1987 in Chakkapong, Thailand. In Thai, daeng means red, and krating is the large bovine called "gaur". Red Bull is sold in a tall and slim blue-silver can, while Krating Daeng is in a gold shorter can. The two are different products, produced separately.

The Red Bull company slogan is "Red Bull gives you wings", and the product is marketed through advertising, events (Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, Red Bull Air Race, Red Bull Crashed Ice), sports team ownerships (RB Leipzig, FC Red Bull Salzburg, Red Bull Brasil, New York Red Bulls, Red Bull Racing, Scuderia Toro Rosso), celebrity endorsements, and music, through its record label Red Bull Records.

Big Wave

Big Wave may refer to:

Laird Hamilton

Laird Hamilton (born March 2, 1964) is an American big-wave surfer, co-inventor of tow-in surfing, and an occasional fashion and action-sports model. He is married to Gabrielle Reece, a professional volleyball player, television personality, and model. Hamilton and his family split their time between residences in Kauai, Hawaii, and Malibu, California.

Early life

Laird was born Laird John Zerfas in San Francisco on March 2, 1964, in an experimental salt-water sphere at UCSF Medical Center designed to ease the mother's labor. His father, L. G. Zerfas, left the family before his first birthday. While he was an infant, Laird and his mother, Joann (née Zyirek), moved to Hawaii. While still a young boy living on Oahu, Laird met with 1960s surfer Bill Hamilton, a bachelor at the time, on Pūpūkea beach on the North Shore. Bill Hamilton was a surfboard shaper and glasser on Oahu in the 1960s and 1970s and owned a small business handmaking custom, high-performance surfboards for the Oahu North Shore big wave riders of the era. The two became immediate companions. The young Laird invited Bill Hamilton home to meet his mother. Bill Hamilton married Laird's then-single mother, becoming Laird's adoptive father.