Kelly Slater. The man who changed everything… in surfing

Every sport has its legends, those whose careers have changed it beyond recognition. When it comes to surfing, that person is Kelly Slater.

Surfer Kelly Slater

First wave

Slater’s life was connected to the ocean from the beginning – his father owned a fishing supply store in Florida, and Kelly spent a lot of time at the beach. At the age of five, he stood on a board for the first time and began his journey in the sport.

As a child, Kelly Slater read surfing magazines, looked at pictures of Hawaii and dreamed of one day being there. At the age of 12, he won an amateur competition and received the grand prize – a trip to the coveted spot. Since then, Kelly continued to develop and devoted all his free time to training to become the best on the beach very soon.

Slater did not plan to stop there and gained more and more importance in the world of surfing. By the age of 18, he was a celebrity, with his pictures now gracing the covers of the magazines he read as a kid. He became a pro rider for the clothing and equipment brand, Quiksilver. Kelly Slater is the fifth athlete and the first amateur athlete the company began sponsoring. Kelly and Quiksilver’s partnership has lasted 23 years.

Inspired by the early days of Kelly Slater’s career, the Quiksilver Originals collection. Combine life in the city with traveling to the mountains, coasts and faraway islands. Live in the now! And stay that same restless adventurer.

Kelly Slater’s records

At the age of 20, Slater participated in the World Surf League for the first time and immediately won the competition. Thus, he set his first record – he became the youngest world champion.

He had a long way to go to become an 11-time world champion. But if you had told anyone about this in 1999, they would have been very surprised, because then six-time world champion Kelly Slater announced the end of his career.

It was an incredible comeback. He was expected, and he came back

After a long pause, the triumphant surfer returned to the sport. It was 2002, and it took him another three years to regain his form and take another championship title. Then, in 2005, he tied another record with two 10-point passes – the maximum number of points in a single attempt.

Kelly continued to dominate, year after year he became the best in surfing. In 2011, Slater broke another record by becoming the oldest world champion. This victory was accompanied by a very unpleasant story. A lot of fans expected the 10-time world champion to be the best again. And at the moment when it seemed that everything was decided and Kelly even held the trophy in his hands, the organizers of the competition announced an error in the scoring system. Slater had to confirm his victory to become an 11-time champion. This episode of his life is shown in the Russian movie “On the Wave”.

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Battle of the Legends. Kelly Slater vs Andy Irons

After his return to the sport Kelly couldn’t win the World Championship for three years, all this time the best was Andy Irons. He was Slater’s main rival throughout his career. Despite the tough struggle during the competition and attempts by journalists to pit the two legends, the athletes, as they themselves have repeatedly stated, maintained friendly relations.

The rivals breathed down each other’s backs until 2009, then Irons took a break in his career. A year later, he returned, fans expected that the famous confrontation will resume, but it was not destined to happen. The rivalry between the two surfing legends was unexpectedly interrupted by Andy’s death. It happened on November 2, 2010, the body was found by hotel staff in Texas. The cause of death was listed as a drug overdose. What happened shocked everyone. A few days later, Slater won his 10th victory at the world championship and dedicated it to his deceased friend. About their confrontation in 2009 was made a movie “The Fly in Champagne”.

Without a board: a movie, a rock band and his own book

On the coast, Kelly Slater always had something to do. Despite his success in sports, he continued to do well in school. Kelly earned his law degree in 2004 without interrupting his sports career. Teaming up with other surfers, Slater formed a rock band that recorded a studio album. And during a break in his career, he wrote an autobiography titled “Dream Wave: The Surfer’s Way.”

The surfing star appeared a huge number of times on TV screens, in documentaries and feature films. In addition, he was invited to take part in the voiceover of the cartoon “Catch the Wave”. Probably the most famous appearance of Kelly on the screen was a role in several seasons of the series “Baywatch”.

Kelly’s boardshorts and lycra from the iconic series on the Quiksilver website.

Shortly before work began on the feature film, Kelly Slater himself had to remember his youth. He saw a two-year-old child and his mother covered by a nine-meter wave and, without thinking, rushed to help. No one would have known about this story, if not for the father of the family, who told about the incident in his Instagram.

The athlete also made his mark in another industry – Kelly became the main character in the game Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer. It is believed that Slater introduced skateboarding style tricks to surfing, for this reason his character was added to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3.

Despite the fact that Kelly Slater has finished his career, he remains an idol for most people who are not indifferent to surfing. Undoubtedly, he divided the history of the sport into before and after with his performances.