#bethanyhamilton

[pastfutureforeverclub]

BETHANY HAMILTON

BETHANY HAMILTON

1990

AMERICAN SURFER

            Bethany Hamilton was born in Lihue, Hawaii and learned how to surf at the age of three and started surfing competitively aged 8. She went on to become a professional surfer.

            On 31 October 2003 she survived a shark attack when her left arm was bitten off. She was aged 13 when she went for a morning surf at Tunnels Beach, Kauai with her friend, Alana Blanchard, as well as with Alana’s father and brother. Hamilton was lying down on her surfboard talking to Alana; when a tiger shark approached her and attacked her and bit her arm, her armwas dangling in the water just below her shoulder. The Blanchard’s helped paddle her back to shore and she was rushed to hospital. She had already lost 60% of her blood and was in shock, her father was already in hospital to have knee surgery and she ended up taking his place in the operating room with his surgeon.  

            When news spread of the shark attack, a family discovered the tiger shark in the waters close to the same location, they caught it and then killed it. The shark still had surfboard debris in its mouth and its mouth measured the same measurements as Hamilton’s surfboard.

            Hamilton returned to surfing a month later starting with a custom sized surfboard. She returned to professional surfing in 2004 and today uses standard surf boards.

            She is married and has four children. She is a Christian, her husband is a youth minister, and today she offers classes on faith and healing.

            Hamilton has written about her career and experiences in her book, Soul Surfer and Fighting to Get Back on the Board - her book was turned into a film, Soul Surfer (2011).

#bethanyhamilton #soulsurfer #soulsurfer2011

[dcgrantart]

Happy international women's day.

[adamwatchesmovies]

Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable (2019)

Bethany Hamilton… why does that name sound familiar? Wait, was she the girl in The Miracle Season? No, that’s not it. Oh right! Soul Surfer!

Obviously, I’m not one of the MANY fans who contributed to the Kickstarter campaign that made the documentary Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable happen but I like a good documentary and the woman’s truly inspiring. She’s a hero many, but does that mean she’s a prime subject for a documentary?

A shark attack in 2003 left American surfing prodigy Bethany Hamilton missing her left arm. Determined to return to the world of professional surfing once she recovered, the journey proved even more difficult than she could’ve anticipated. Her recovery touched the world but the public appearances never managed to scratch that itch to get back onto those waves. Director Aaron Lieber chronicles her journey through the attack, her marriage and eventual return to competitive surfing.

Sorry to burst your bubble but Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable isn't a well-made documentary. The woman's story is interesting but the choice bits have already been covered in the film adaptation of her book, Soul Surfer, leaving this movie unsure what to do.

At numerous points, you can see an interesting path in the distance. In 2016, Bethany received a nomination for Best Female Athlete with a Disability and decided to back out of it, stating she didn’t want to be in the “handicap” category. Woah! but the topic gets dropped immediately. We see glimpses of the training regiment which allowed her to get back on the board but it’s ultimately just a glimpse. Her Christian faith is barely mentioned, except for a few awkward and out-of-place moments - as if they were edited out and then put back in after Hamilton objected. Her second son isn’t mentioned at all - despite being born in March 2018.

I can't wholly blame director Aaron Lieber. Bethany has skills on the water but on-camera, she has no presence. Everyone interviewed displays little charisma and the flat presentation doesn’t help. There’s no style in the camerawork, editing or storytelling whatsoever. The only moments "Unstoppable" comes alive… are during the spectacular surfing footage but these are drowing in interviews and testimonies by family members, coaches, and athletes.

There’s no true plotline or arc and the picture's objective isn’t clear unless it was simply to tell the people who already loved Hamilton more about her? There’s not really a proper ending either. You sense that things are going ok… but that’s it? A life that’s “ok” isn’t what we go to the movies for. There are numerous clips and scenes all the way until the end end of the credits but no reason to see this in the theater, even for hardcore fans. There’s no immediacy to Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable, a documentary born from love and admiration, not necessity. (Theatrical version on the big screen, August 8, 2019)

[sunshinesurfgirls]

Is there anything this amazing woman can't do?! The Fiji Pro is on now with Bethany Hamilton as the wildcard, tune in! • Surfer🏄🏼~ @bethanyhamilton Pic📷~ @lieberfilms for @unstoppablethefilm • #ssgmag #surfer #surfergirl #surf #surfing #surfgirl #fiji #wsl #bethanyhamilton

[islandpeeps]

Bethany Meilani Hamilton-Dirks is an American professional surfer who survived a 2003 shark attack in which her left arm was bitten off but ultimately returned to—and was victorious in—professional surfing. She wrote about her experience in the 2004 autobiography Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board. In April 2011, the feature film Soul Surfer was released. On October 31, 2003, Hamilton, aged 13 at the time, went for a morning surf along Tunnels Beach, Kauai, with best friend Alana Blanchard, Alana's father, Holt, and brother Byron. Around 7:30 a.m., with numerous turtles in the area, she was lying on her surfboard with her left arm dangling in the water, when a 14-foot-long (4.3 m) tiger shark attacked her, severing her left arm just below the shoulder. The Blanchards helped paddle her back to shore, then Alana's father fashioned a tourniquet out of a surfboard leash and wrapped it around the stump of her arm. She was rushed to Wilcox Memorial Hospital. By the time she arrived there she had lost over 60% of her blood and was in hypovolemic shock. A doctor living in a hotel nearby raced to the rescue. Her father, who was scheduled to have knee surgery that morning, was already there, but she took his place in the operating room. She spent a week in recovery before being released. When the news broke out of the shark attack, a family of fishermen led by Ralph Young presented to investigators photos of a 14-foot-long (4.3 m) tiger shark they had caught and killed about one mile from the attack site. It had surfboard debris in its mouth. When measurements of its mouth were compared with those of Hamilton's broken board, it matched. In late 2004, the police officially confirmed that it was the one that attacked her. Despite the trauma of the incident, Hamilton was determined to return to surfing. One month after the attack, she returned to her board. After teaching herself to surf with one arm, on January 10, 2004, she entered a major competition. She now uses standard competitive performance short-boards. @BethanyHamilton #BethanyHamilton #islandpeeps #Surfer #Hawaii #Sharkattack (at Hawaiian Islands)

[lifeovercoffee]

The #soulsurfer @bethanyhamilton helping her friends at the @corbian_official shoes newest grand opening. #bethanyhamilton #corbian #shoes #flipflops @soulsurferfilm #unstoppable https://www.instagram.com/p/CgrfXk_r0Z-/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[annemarieprice]

Yes. ♥️ @bethanyhamilton 🙏 #huntingtonbeach #CA #bethanyhamilton #whatIsee #alwayshope #keepgoing #nevergiveup #onelife #photography #annemarieprice #lookforthegood #lookforthehelpers #surfing #women #surfers #iconic https://www.instagram.com/p/CdyJ2N4Fcr3/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[dcgrantart]

Another Bethany Hamilton portrait and the one I had done before but the photo was blurry. I was wanting to see the new documentary about her but not a single theater near me is playing it. #bethanyhamilton #bethanyhamiltonlove #bethanyhamiltonunstoppable #bethanyhamiltonsoulsurfer #soulsurfer #ripcurl #ripcurlgirls #surferwomen #womensurfers #prosurfergirl #strongwomen #unstoppable #artist #art #artistsoninstagram #artistsontumblr #pen #portrait https://www.instagram.com/p/B0_rxFPhl1L/?igshid=6hg2a1arar2n