1:05:02
And there was his mother, beautiful
brown-haired, brown-eyed gal.
1:05:07
I went, "Oh, my God."
1:05:09
Mom was like, "Who's this?"
"This is Bill."
1:05:12
You know, give him the nudge,
you know.
1:05:15
Shortly thereafter,
Billy Hamilton, who was known...
1:05:18
... as one of the sport's
most popular and stylish surfers...
1:05:21
... married Joann,
becoming Laird's adopted father...
1:05:24
... and giving him his name.
1:05:28
I was known for being the kid
that ran around and said:
1:05:31
"My dad's Bill Hamilton.
Know who he is?"
1:05:33
These guys are like...
Guys like Gerry Lopez.
1:05:36
"I know who your dad is.
I see him every day."
1:05:38
"No, but do you know
now it's my dad?"
1:05:41
Like, you know,
they knew who he was...
1:05:43
...but I wanted them to know he was
connected to me. This is my dad.
1:05:46
Because if you don't, you might get
a soda can full of sand...
1:05:50
...in the side of your head or...
1:05:54
The young Hamilton family
set about making a life in Hawaii...
1:05:58
... where, despite the paradisiacal
island setting...
1:06:01
... the initial years took on
a rough edge.
1:06:04
Being a blond Caucasian...
1:06:07
...I kind of represented
the stereotypical person...
1:06:11
...that destroyed
the culture of Hawaii.
1:06:13
A lot of people hated me,
wanted to fight...
1:06:16
...because of my skin color.
1:06:18
The way he learned to fight,
because he was so big and powerful...
1:06:21
...was he'd slap an opponent so hard
it would shock and embarrass them.
1:06:26
It wouldn't injure them, but it would
hurt so bad mentally and physically...
1:06:30
...that he won the fight
right at that minute.
1:06:33
The reputation was,
"Don't f*** around with Laird."
1:06:37
- So he looked after you as well?
- Of course, I was his brother.
1:06:40
He took care of me. I mean, he was
the only one giving me beatings.
1:06:44
Let's put it that way.
It was a privilege deal.
1:06:52
He wanted to be Hawaiian.
1:06:54
He used to dream of wishing that
he had brown skin, to be Hawaiian.
1:06:59
Because for him, that was
what was sort of beautiful and strong.