From bored to board

Laird Hamilton is one of the most well-rounded watermen in the world. Having mastered every aspect of wave riding, he's bringing a whole new faction of boarding to the surface. "Stand-up paddleboarding is the ancient Polynesian sport we never saw but know existed," he said of the latest water craze sweeping the globe. A surfer by the age of 3, Hamilton has spent his career pioneering a crossover between board sports. His latest endeavour — with PUMA Ocean Racing and the Volvo Ocean Race held recently in Abu Dhabi — takes surfing back to its roots with stand-up paddleboarding. Hamilton is the team's honorary 12th member, hired to track wave patterns while sailing through the remotest reaches of the world's oceans, fly in and prepare to surf.tabloid! on Saturday caught up with Hamilton recently. What is special about stand-up paddleboarding? Stand-up paddling is a full-body workout. It involves all the muscles from the toes to the fingertips. It's great for building core strength and balance, and is good for all-round fitness. Plus, it's nice to mix up your routine and go paddling rather than the gym every day. I'm a big believer in adding variety to your training. Can anyone have a go at it? Paddlesurfing is an incredible way to get out on the water and is something everyone can participate in. Younger kids can always ride along with a parent until they get to the point where they can balance and handle the paddle on their own. Of course, as with participating in any sport, you should always consider your health, but paddling can be as fun or as intense as you want to make it. Why paddleboarding over other watersports? I got into it as a training activity during summer — it was a way to prepare myself for surfing the big waves in the winter. It kind of took over my interest, and then I started paddling in all kinds of conditions. The challenges of surfing led me to stand-up paddling. Now the challenge of trying to paddle giant waves has become a sport in itself. I'm trying to see what the biggest waves are that we can ride on a paddleboard.   What should a first-timer expect? It's really just an extension of surfing, but for the most part you are just paddling on flat water. To many, it can almost be like walking on water. You are standing on a large surfboard, and standing is just a natural position to be in. The boards are designed to glide across the surface of the water, and when you add the paddling to it — similar to being in a kayak or a canoe — you propel yourself forward. It's a sport that is easily accessible to most people, because you don't need an ocean — you can also paddle on lakes and rivers. How is paddleboarding good for both the mind and the body? Paddleboarding allows you the ability to be in incredible shape, no matter what the conditions are, and it can make you better at the various sport or fitness goals you're trying to achieve. It has helped me create a whole new list of goals, both in the sport and in life. Laird Hamilton and PUMA have collaborated on a line of limited-edition carbon-fibre stand-up paddleboards, which take inspiration from the Mar Mostro Volvo Open 70 hull. The PUMA / Laird Stand Up Paddleboard is available at PUMA stores and Surf Shop Dubai for Dh30,000.