When I was a kid, I wanted to know why Spiderman never came to my neighborhood. I lived in a pretty poverty filled city, where crime was the regular talk in the town. The fact that Spiderman was not climbing the buildings I passed each day on my way to school made me think that “heroes” were make believe.

I mean, I was very young still, so they could’ve been real. The cool thing about realizing that Spiderman was a fictional hero was that real life heroes really did exist. They were the firemen and police officers and people who did live in my neighborhood, like grouchy Mr. Zalden who helped save my friend Jason when he was bleeding out from a serious stunt accident. This all leads me into why I started rambling on about this subject in the first place.

Heroes. What does that word even mean to you. It’s uniquely different for everyone, and how cool is that! For me, a hero is a person who is above all, humble, followed by qualities like courageous, kind, selfless and intelligent when it comes to using and acknowledging fear.  Heroes are also a great source of inspiration.

Now that I’m all grown up, I have my own collection of heroes that inspire me each and every day. I am sharing them with you in the hopes that you too will find inspiration and a feel good rush that comes over you if you take the time to get to know them a little too.

Laird Hamilton is the hero I’m sharing with you now. He is a waterman and he surfs the biggest waves in the world. That sounds heroic already….ha…..but that’s not on the top of the list as to why he is one of my heroes. Here is why Laird inspires me.

He is a family man and a community builder. He is dedicated to health and wellness in the most balanced way I have seen to date. He cares about the environment and he does his part every day to give back and to be his ultimate best for himself and for those he holds dear. In a nutshell…he ROCKS!

If you want to get all jacked up on inspiration and motivation, spend a little time listening to this man speak.

Here’s a great video with Laird talking about breathing: