Hunter gets California healthy: Biden, 51, dons a VERY tight wetsuit and hits Malibu beach with surf legend Strider Wasilewski amid ongoing controversy over his $500K art deals
Hunter Biden was seen on Wednesday living the California dream - surfing in Malibu with former professional surfer Strider Wasilewski, and beaming from ear to ear as he managed to stand on his board.
Biden, 51, is no stranger to hitting the waves on the Golden State's coast, having vacationed at a Laguna Beach surf resort with his cousin Caroline in 2018.
But on Wednesday he was evidently hoping to improve his skills and learn from the best.
Wasilewski has been a towering figure on the surf scene for over 30 years, growing up in Los Angeles in the 1970s and working as a pro rider for Quiksilver and modeling alongside Cindy Crawford, Olivia Newton-John and Darryl Hanna in between.
Now 49, he is a regular commentator for World Surf League. Last month he was surfing with the Jackass crew for their new film, with skateboard legend Tony Hawk.
Wasilewski was seen guiding Biden, learning on a pink board.
Hunter Biden, on a pink board, was seen on Wednesday in Malibu taking lessons with a friend from surf great Strider Wasilewski
Wasilewski, who now works as a commentator for World Surf League, is seen with a microphone in 2015 giving views an insight into what it is like to surf a barrel, during a competition in Fiji
Wasilewski, a retired pro surfer who is now a commentator on World Surf League, was seen guiding Biden on his pink board
Biden is seen taking a tumble off his board during Wednesday's session with the surf great
The father of five was all smiles as he picked up his board to try again along the Malibu sands
Biden's giant surf board immediately showed that he was a beginner. More experienced surfers use shorter boards, to make quick turns, but for those starting out a larger board is more stable
Both men live in Malibu, Wasilewski with a house on the beach which he built with his surfing profits, and Biden in a $20,000-a-month rental overlooking the ocean, where he lives with his South African wife Melissa Cohen and their one-year-old son, Beau.
Biden moved into the 3,000-square-foot, four-bedroom, 2.5-bath home about four months ago, TMZ reported, leaving behind the $5.4million mansion he had been renting in Venice Beach because it afforded the family too little privacy.
His new Malibu home features an open floor plan and touts solid oak floors, French doors and 180-degree views of the Pacific Ocean, according to the New York Post.
With Wasilewski sitting on his board, Biden was helped to catch a wave in Malibu on Wednesday
Biden was full of concentration as he managed to pop up onto his knees, trying to stand on the board
Biden (on the pink board) and his friend progressed to being able to stand up when they caught a wave
An exhausted-looking Biden takes a breather between waves during Wednesday's session
Biden, his friend and Wasilewski - all three in black wetsuits - look out to the surf on Wednesday
Biden and his friend were all smiles after their day in the surf with Wasilewski. The man dressed in khaki with the ear piece appeared to be a member of Biden's Secret Service detail
Biden was beaming after his day on the beach with the other two surfers
Biden reportedly starts his days at 5am with a cup of coffee brewed in the kitchen and then heads to his new art studio, which occupies a converted three-car garage and features brick flooring and a skylight.
The studio also houses a tabletop that he uses for painting artworks he will display when he makes his controversial debut at a Manhattan gallery this fall.
Prices would range from $75,000 for pieces on paper to $500,000 for large-scale paintings, according to his art dealer, Georges Bergès.
Concerns over whether buyers of his paintings would try to use the transactions to curry favor with the Biden administration have put officials in an ethics bind.
Jen Psaki, the White House Press Secretary, claimed that the gallerist 'will be the only person who handles transactions or conversations in that vein and will reject any offer that is out of the ordinary'.
Hunter Biden, who recently transitioned to a career as an artist, is renting a $20,000-per-month home (pictured) in Malibu complete with four bedrooms, 2.5 baths and an art studio
The home utilizes an open floor plan, as shown in this photo, and touts solid oak floors and French doors
The house has an indoor-outdoor living room with pocket doors (seen above) and a great room with a vaulted ceiling
It is on a 0.7-acre lot featuring a pool, hot tub, stone patio and built-in barbecue (seen above)
The studio houses a tabletop that Biden uses for painting artworks he will display when he makes his controversial debut at a Manhattan gallery this fall
The home boasts a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace, an indoor-outdoor living room with pocket doors and a great room with a vaulted ceiling.
Additionally, the 0.7-acre lot features a pool, hot tub, stone patio and built-in barbecue.
Neighbors told TMZ that Biden mostly keeps to himself, noting that many haven't even seen the aspiring artist. However, they say the property has been 'crawling with Secret Service agents'.
On Monday the Harvard-educated lawyer was seen enjoying coffee in Malibu with a friend, as the row about the sale of his art work rumbles on.
He and his friend were spotted sitting outside in a flower-filled patio garden at Blue Bottle Coffee, in the center of the celebrity enclave.
On Tuesday his wife, Melissa Cohen, mother of one-year-old son Beau, was seen being escorted by two Secret Service agents in a government Ford Expedition as she stopped for a coffee.
One agent stayed at the wheel of the blue SUV parked at the curb, while the other carefully opened a rear door for her as she returned to the vehicle carrying a tray.
The trip to Starbucks cost taxpayers $285, with her Secret Service detail earning an hourly rate of $71.36.
And yet while Biden settles into his new Californian life, his previous interrogator Rudy Giuliani - Donald Trump's former lawyer - was unwilling to let him forget his past.
Giuliani on Thursday said he was horrified by Biden's forthcoming art show.
'It's outrageous,' Giuliani told SiriusXM’s Stacy on the Right.
'The guy's a drug addict, he's a sexual pervert.
'He should've been arrested for child pornography. Anyone else would have.'
Giuliani did not offer any evidence for his wild claims.
Biden has written an unflinching memoir about his escapades as a crack addict, entitled Beautiful Things, and has been open about his use of drugs and prostitutes.
'Believe me,' Giuliani continued.
'I'm not just saying this. I have the hard drive — oh, gosh, about 40 yards from me right now. I know everything on it.
'I don't know everything about them, but I know everything on that hard drive.
'And everything on that hard drive, as an experienced prosecutor … I will tell you that within three months, I could put the damn family in jail as a RICO enterprise.'
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