Kelly Slater
Kelly Slater
Robert Kelly Slateris an American professional surfer known for his competitive prowess and style. He has been crowned World Surf League Champion a record 11 times, including 5 consecutive titles in 1994–98. He is the youngestand the oldestto win the title. Upon winning his 5th world title in 1997, Slater passed Australian surfer Mark Richards to become the most successful champion in the history of the sport. In 2007 he also became the all-time leader in career event wins by...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionSurfer
Date of Birth11 February 1972
CityCocoa Beach, FL
CountryUnited States of America
I feel like an ambassador for surfing at this point. I'm happy to go and play that role and share that where I can in certain areas of the mainstream media that doesn't get the surfing attention.
Maintaining marriage seems to be tougher than fatherhood: apparently it's the most difficult thing in the world.
When I'm 50 I want to be a better surfer than I am now - for me it's a lifelong journey.
Big waves are a whole different ball game. You're riding a wave with an immense amount of speed and power, generally over 10 meters. On the face of the wave, obviously life and death thoughts start to happen.
It's a perfect wave when small and the most beautiful and scary wave on Earth when it's big, as the swell from deep water hits the shallow reef ledge. A ten-foot high wave and a 30-footer break in the same depth of water.
I surf more now for other people than myself. I feel a lot of support from people wanting me to do well, and I feed off that. I can send a positive message to people from what I do.
A wave isn't like a skate ramp or mountain; everything's moving around and you have to time how to move along with it. That's easier with a slow wave.
A lot of times I'll see guys who are nowhere near the level of the board they're riding. They might love surfing and love how it looks, but you really have to work your way up. It takes eating a little humble pie at first, and stepping back to equipment that might be a bit slow, but do it.
My belief is that 'heaven' and 'hell' are metaphorical terms for what you make of your life. In any instant, you have the ability to make your life total pleasure or total hell.
He has a great knack for picking the right wave and he's a really smart competitor. He might even bust out a superman air. He has a few tricks up his sleeve. He always pulls reverses and airs that other people don't.
I thought to myself, 'There's a man with confidence'. Then he went out and did his thing and beat Andy.
I thought to myself that I should stick around to watch Nathan and Andy's heat and if I won today I should be at the beach,
I was just living in the moment, ... That's something I've been trying to do this year. I wasn't worried about anything that I couldn't control.
Good catch -- I mean, a good throw.