Keoghan's Heroes

When He's Not Following 'The Amazing Race,' Phil Keoghan Does Some Exploring Of His Own

(CBS) 

Here's Phil's report from his visit to Malibu with Laird Hamilton:

In Laird Hamilton's day job as king of the giant wave surfers, he literally defies death for a living. My assignment was to find out if I, a mild-mannered TV host – could survive the brutal workout of perhaps the fittest man on the planet.

"So this work out that you're gonna put me through, it's a combination of, what? Strength, endurance, agility?” I asked him.

"Everything you're weak at, we're gonna focus on," was his discouraging answer. "If we see any kind of strengths then we're gonna avoid those areas."

He wasn't kidding -- even the warm-up would challenge my very "sole" — a barefoot stroll on the beach, over sharp shells & jagged rocks.

"You see how quickly we just [moved], how you're stimulated. I can guarantee you [are] because almost 90 percent of your nerve endings end in your feet," Hamilton explained. "So all of the sudden your breath's going. We ran 10 feet, 20 feet? "

"It seems to me that you get a lot of stimulation just coming up with ideas, ways to challenge the body," I said.

"Like Arnold Schwarzenegger said once, 'It's all about shocking your body'," said Laird.

Then he had me pull a railroad tie across the beach (see the photo gallery here to get an idea of what it looked like) — I don't recall seeing one of these at my gym.

"This might kill me," I tell Laird as I stumble up a hill with the railroad tie trailing behind me.

"Yeah, whatever it takes," he replies.

Hamilton grew up a true maverick born to surfing royalty. His step-dad, Bill was a legendary surf pioneer. But Laird eventually turned his back on the competitive tour.

"The problem with surfing is that it's an opinion oriented sport," he explained about the judging process. "I don't like my success or failure dictated by other people's opinions."

So, rather than stick with the surfing circuit, he went out and invented a career, producing incredible art films of his exploits.

"I love this quote, 'When the big waves go away, you feel like a dragon slayer that doesn't have any dragons'," I tell him.

"That's the truth," he replied. "When you're not doing what you feel that you're gifted to do, when you can't do that particular thing, then who are you and what are you doing?"

His latest passion, and my next challenge, is paddle surfing. It's, literally, surfing with a long paddle and it's exhausting, especially if you have to climb repeatedly back on the board, as I did.

But, under his tutelage, I eventually rode a wave all the way to shore — and what a thrill to do it alongside Laird Hamilton.

Finally, Laird took me for a bike ride. But, as you've figured out, it wasn't a pretty ride in the countryside. No, I rode uphill with 40-pound weights attached to the bike. And just when my lungs were about to burst, he had me hold my breath. Ow.

"You think that people are not taking enough risks and not pushing themselves enough in
life?" I ask him.

"The judgment of that is how unhappy people are and the fact there's so many people unhappy and miserable tells you they're just not living. The big part about really feeling alive is taking risks."

My feet hurt, my arms hurt, my legs hurt and I ache in places I didn't know could ache. But, as Laird says, after this workout I'm certainly feeling alive.

To see exclusive video of and read about Phil's trip to Hawaii and his hula lessons, go to page 3