How Professional Surfer Bethany Hamilton Is Doing It All

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A lot has changed in the 17 years since Bethany Hamilton lost her arm in a shark attack on Halloween morning in 2003. She’s published an autobiography; seen her story depicted in the movie, “Soul Surfer,” starring AnnaSophia Robb; and most recently released a documentary, “Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable,” that provides a glimpse into her experience as a professional surfer.

Not only that, but 30-year-old Hamilton has started her own foundation, Friends of Bethany, which supports traumatic amputees, and travels across the country as a motivational speaker.

And along the way she got married and started a family; she and husband Adam Dirks have two blond little boys, Tobias and Wesley.

In a nutshell: This Kaua‘i woman has been busy.

“It feels like it’s a never-ending balancing act,” Hamilton says with a smile. “I think it will always be like that—in an awesome way.”

“We’re a team unit and so we split a lot of the work,” Hamilton says. “Even though I do a lot, I also feel like I’m still a full-time mom. The only time they’re not with me is when I’m out in the ocean, pretty much. They just are a part of our life very thoroughly and just come along for the ride.”

Yet despite all of her recent accomplishments, the story of Hamilton’s shark attack at Tunnels Beach on Kaua‘i in 2003 continues to be what people remember about her. A 14-foot tiger shark severed her left arm just below her shoulder. (Amazingly, she returned to surfing a month after the attack.)

“Our culture is so addicted to drama, so they hang tight to the drama points of life and so naturally everyone is really focused on the dramatic aspects of my life,” Hamilton says.

That’s where her 2018 documentary, “Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable,” the product of five years of filming, comes in.

“In the last 15 years, people would be like, ‘Oh, you’re the shark girl,’ or ‘Oh, you’re that girl that lost her arm,’ or ‘Oh, you used to surf,’” Hamilton says.

The documentary turned the lens away from Hamilton’s attack to capture her ongoing love for high-adrenaline, high-performance surfing.

“It was just to be like, ‘Hey, it’s more than just this one-hour incident in my life,’” Hamilton says.

So certainly, while the shark attack did require adjustments to Hamilton’s life, the pro surfer says she is following what she calls God’s plan.

“I do think I would have veered toward a professional surfing career and probably had a lot of success competitively—probably a lot more success than I have,” Hamilton says, reflecting on where she would be now if she had not lost her arm. “But I also don’t know if I would have a kid now or have my husband. I believe God’s plan is better than our own and that’s just part of this life. In a lot of ways, I have lived my life how I wanted it to be, just a little differently.”

Being a full-time mom and traveling internationally for speaking engagements and competitions—plus daily workouts in preparation for competition this year—means that sometimes Hamilton has to put her family first and cancel a  trip so the four of them can catch up on sleep.

With Hamilton so well-known, family beach days are occasionally interrupted by fans. She’s still not fully used to the attention, she says.