Arguably the greatest athlete to ever live. He’s 51 and still as good as almost everyone on tour, nearly all of whom hadn’t even been born when he won his first world title. In heavy, hollow waves he’s still in the top five globally and one of the top five tube riders walking.
slater is an absolute legend ..the tech giants behind wired not so much for shadowba**** certain crucial information..slater spoke out about it yet i cant find it on youtube with all the right keywords...and its their fault in the first place through primitive infowar and censorship
I grew up in Cocoa Beach surfing the same spots as Kelly. I remember watching his technique and thinking, "I will literally never be that good." 😂 The dude was an absolute animal back then and it's been a joy to watch his career become what it did.
@Jacob32905 Yo random question but are you bald or balding as well? iv heard a theory that the Coco water being jus south of Cape Canaveral makes all the surfers bald there cuz the Nasa waste in the water
Kelly Slater is an absolute class act. Have met and photographed him several times and I can tell you all he is very kind, genuine, and humble champion. He is so generous with his time (within reason) for fans and especially the youth. One of the greatest things about professional surfing is the access that fans have to the professionals. Many times at the WSL Championship Tour the competitors are on the beach and talking with their fans and friends of their own accord.
Nailed it. Kelly is top tier in the surfing realm, a true waterman 11x WORLD Champ and still competing with kids just about 1/3 of his age! Dude is the ideal example of a *Living Legend* .
both the youngest and oldest world champion in the history of the sport. 11 times world champ, 55 career titles. He's not just the greatest surfer of all time. He is among the greatest athletes of all time in any sport. Kelly Slater you are the GOAT supreme.
I laughed way too hard at the hang 10 joke 😂😂😂 When that girl was asking about why her dad would have so many surfboards, my immediate thought was “she doesn’t get it.” It’s like anything that you love doing, you end up with a lot of different tools and items related to it. I will not go into just how much crochet, knitting, and drawing related things I have in my room… But I need them all!
same with the knitting and crochet! it's getting out of hand 😭 my family is so confused why I need so many of the same size of needles! like they just don't get it 💔
I sk8 & surf & I own a sk8 shop. I've had youngsters ask me how many sk8boards I have. Itz not a simple answer. When I lived in Fla,my friends had short boards & longboards. Some days in the summer the waves were too small for shorts boards. Itz funny how I knew surfers that rode only short boards & would clown ya if you said you had a good day goofin around on longboards. Longboards are harder to turn around & often the older ones didn't have leashes & you had to swim for them. Being short on a short board was easy for me in Fla.
I’m a photographer. Photographers and videographers have a name for that phenomena: We call it GAS. For “Gear Acquisition Syndrome”. Because no camera is objectively and absolutely perfect. A camera is perfect for a specific purpose. So we buy many, for different uses. Although, many of us, during our journey, tend to think that we’re limited by our equipment, that buying a new camera or lense will solve a given issue (hence why we seek the new shinny toy). And it is, almost every single time, a mistake. Usually, the photographer is the limited factor, not their tools.
I like how a lot of these he could have just laughed off as silly questions but he actually took the time to explain the answer properly, often with an interesting story to back it up.
How cool is that!? I like Slater's ability to answer the most total-no-clue-questions with the same seriousness and no judgement as the more-informed ones.
Adding to the 'what if there's a surf competition and no waves' answer... On the WSL Championship Tour events they have a window of around two weeks to get to the final, known as a 'wait period'. They do a 'dawn patrol' early in the morning to decide if the surfing is on or off for the day. If the surf is great, they run the heats back-to-back to make the most of the conditions. I think both the men and women's tournaments can be completed in five full days of surfing.
Excellent question and answer session was fun to hear the answers to newbie questions and also common ones that we’ve heard over the years. Thanks Kelly
These questions had me laughing 😂. Especially the one asking why my stepdad has so many boards when he’s the only person in the house. What Kelly Slater should’ve said is that you never can have enough boards lmao
I feel like its more cause their priority is dependent on the adults, like groms r not just gonna go and drop in on everyone and stuff, but adjlts will usually give them priority
Kelly is obviously a legend but also huge props to Shane Dorian for developing a life jacket that’s saved several surfers’ lives after he himself had a scary experience. Love that he channeled his bad experience into something that helps surfers today.
I love the ongoing discussion about wave height! In NZ we go with the 'Hawaiian' thinking (must be a Pacific Ocean mentality). What I don't get here is why we still use feet for waves but km/hr for wind. We are now seeing more metric measurements for height, it makes it seem smaller though ;-) Instead of 6.5 foot it's only 2 metres. Basically the back of the wave height is half the face height, here.
I don't believe for a NANOSECOND that I know anything about surfing that Kelly Slater doesn't, but regarding the surfboards being strapped in backwards on top of cars - I worked at a surf shop for a few years and we always told people to mount them that way because the aerodynamics of the board going forward would loosen it under the straps, and cause it to fall off while you're driving down the road. The idea I think was that the board is shaped to go in that direction in the water so some kind of aerodynamic lift can happen that supposedly wouldn't happen if the board was strapped in backwards. Now I'm wondering if someone at the shop just made that up and everyone else repeated it 😅
Yes, the board is flatter (less rocker) at the tail end than the nose end. Better for the tail to be forward on the car.. What Kelly said could be true if you have horribly unreliable straps.
"Hi, I'm Kelly Slater. I'm a professional surfer..." O m g! Many years ago, I went to one of the first Mavericks contests. Walking out to the beach, there was a kind of short, shave headed guy with a surfboard under his arm talking to a couple of guys. I stopped to eavesdrop. After the surfer left, one of the guys said to the others, Dude, who was that? Dude, that was Kelly f ing Slater! Imagine LeBron James or the Brady guy stopping to casually talk to fans before a game. A game in which he could be killed. Fan for life. 😎
I always go to Lori Wilson Park, where they have Kelley Slater Pavilion East and West. He's a legend here in Cocoa Beach, FL. I never knew about the gloves that help you paddle faster. I have bad shoulders, so I am going to try this to help me paddle fast enough to catch a wave.
@@Jensen-C he’s 51, still very competitve against 20 year olds, 11 times world champion on a very demanding and difficult to practice sport. I just don’t see any other more accomplished athlete. Tom Brady just retired at 44 with 7 titles. Anyone that surfs knows that being good at it is very difficult because you cant just practice anytime you want, sometimes you can go a whole month without any waves.
Your argument is facile, it would be very difficult to justify. First, you said the greatest athlete ever. That's a different argument then the greatest amongst the greatest in their respective fields. For one you may say Bo Jackson and the other you might say Tom Brady. Tom Brady can also play near perfect and still lose a game easily, it's a team sport surfing isn't. Tom Brady has much more data to verify his greatness than Slater. No one to blame it just is what it is. So be careful of the blanket statements, it's showing your obvious bias.
I went to hide my keys under a rock once and there was another set of keys there. I still put my keys there and when I came back, they were still there and my car was untouched. Dude understood haha Took a pic with Kelly like 15 years ago when I surfed in Benji Weatherley's grom contest... so I'm sick
I clicked on the video just to see his response to the thumbnail but something about his eyes and the way he spoke mesmerized me like a snake charmer into watching the whole thing. I am a straight male
Fins forward on surf racks is most likely due to the surfboards rocker (curve) being flatter near the tail giving the wind less resistance on the board while your driving fast. I’ve seen the wind actually snap the nose off a short board. Just in case anyone is wondering…
Get a non-chipped duplicate car key that just unlocks the door but won’t start the car. Most surf trunks have an elastic string in the pocket to attach it or you can add one through the pockets drain grommet. Some leashes (DaKine) have a small Velcro pocket on the ankle strap. Another option is a combination lockbox (like realtors use on doorknobs) locked on your bumper somewhere. DON’T hide or use a magnetic key holder because some punk will be hiding and eye your spot.
Put a key in your suit and you’ve got a good chance of losing it. Here in Japan everyone just leaves their car open and respects each other’s property 🙏❤️
Kelly has to do Part 2 ..... 1. What's your fav surfing movie? 2. Why are surfers so territorial about their 'spot'? 3. Have you ever had a shark nibble at your feet ? (btw, surfer here in oc)
I can't explain how a person's level of coolness exponentially shoots up when they're surfers. Like, this guy could say anything and it just sounds cool, ya know?
I read a comment once that said Kelly Slater looks like the default person in a character creation screen 😂. I won’t steal the joke but it needed to be shared.
I love beaches. Actually love living close to them, whenever I could afford it..Rockaway Park or Long beach in N.Y. biggest waves I saw was in Hawaii, I was on the main Island. Surfers flocked there to ride 50 ft waves
For those who don’t know Kelly is 11x world champ, an absolute legend in the sport.
He is *the* legend.
Also possibly Joe Rogan's taller brother
11 world titles for hanging 11 when he is surfing alone somewhere 😂
Arguably the greatest athlete to ever live. He’s 51 and still as good as almost everyone on tour, nearly all of whom hadn’t even been born when he won his first world title. In heavy, hollow waves he’s still in the top five globally and one of the top five tube riders walking.
@@shacktime agreed
That moment when he looked at the camera when the guy said every surfer has long hair is sending me💀
The guy who asked it is a surf journalist,it was a meant joke.
@@Bebtelovimab I see... Maybe I should tell that to my father since he's also a bald guy lmao
4:44
😂😂😂😂😂 that was funny af
Wired knows how to curate incredible people for these interviews. Kelly has led surfing fans through quite a journey.
theres not much curating to be done, why would you choose anyone other than the goat?? yeah kelly!!!!!
Yes just give them 💰💰💰
slater is an absolute legend ..the tech giants behind wired not so much for shadowba**** certain crucial information..slater spoke out about it yet i cant find it on youtube with all the right keywords...and its their fault in the first place through primitive infowar and censorship
@@thomashauer6804 yes, it’s a giant conspiracy 😂 😂 😂
@@rzadigi millions dead excess mortality thorugh the roof. so funny. hahah brainwashed sicko
. learn basic stats ritalin zombie
Kelly a true Florida legend 🙏🏽🤘🏽🔥
That’s you bro
johnny sins if he surfed instead
I never knew him but grew up in the same area and he’s a year younger than me. Pretty proud of the guy.
@@willmcclard206 ok coomer
I grew up in Cocoa Beach surfing the same spots as Kelly. I remember watching his technique and thinking, "I will literally never be that good." 😂 The dude was an absolute animal back then and it's been a joy to watch his career become what it did.
What are some good spots near cocoa? I’m starting to surf and the surf line app shows all the beaches in east coast are poor
@@oguzaksu1024I live here. We don’t have huge waves. That’s why it’s so great we had Kelly Slater.
@Jacob32905 Yo random question but are you bald or balding as well? iv heard a theory that the Coco water being jus south of Cape Canaveral makes all the surfers bald there cuz the Nasa waste in the water
He’s great. Love how straightforward and accurate he is
yeah, could listen to him talk surfing all day.
Kelly Slater is an absolute class act. Have met and photographed him several times and I can tell you all he is very kind, genuine, and humble champion. He is so generous with his time (within reason) for fans and especially the youth. One of the greatest things about professional surfing is the access that fans have to the professionals. Many times at the WSL Championship Tour the competitors are on the beach and talking with their fans and friends of their own accord.
Nailed it. Kelly is top tier in the surfing realm, a true waterman 11x WORLD Champ and still competing with kids just about 1/3 of his age! Dude is the ideal example of a *Living Legend* .
both the youngest and oldest world champion in the history of the sport. 11 times world champ, 55 career titles. He's not just the greatest surfer of all time. He is among the greatest athletes of all time in any sport. Kelly Slater you are the GOAT supreme.
I laughed way too hard at the hang 10 joke 😂😂😂
When that girl was asking about why her dad would have so many surfboards, my immediate thought was “she doesn’t get it.”
It’s like anything that you love doing, you end up with a lot of different tools and items related to it. I will not go into just how much crochet, knitting, and drawing related things I have in my room…
But I need them all!
same with the knitting and crochet! it's getting out of hand 😭 my family is so confused why I need so many of the same size of needles! like they just don't get it 💔
I sk8 & surf & I own a sk8 shop. I've had youngsters ask me how many sk8boards I have. Itz not a simple answer. When I lived in Fla,my friends had short boards & longboards. Some days in the summer the waves were too small for shorts boards. Itz funny how I knew surfers that rode only short boards & would clown ya if you said you had a good day goofin around on longboards. Longboards are harder to turn around & often the older ones didn't have leashes & you had to swim for them. Being short on a short board was easy for me in Fla.
@@ChopASk8 did you go out today, it was so good
@@ChickenJoe-tq6xd No. Do you live in Fla? Sounds like you had fun.
I’m a photographer.
Photographers and videographers have a name for that phenomena:
We call it GAS.
For “Gear Acquisition Syndrome”.
Because no camera is objectively and absolutely perfect.
A camera is perfect for a specific purpose.
So we buy many, for different uses.
Although, many of us, during our journey, tend to think that we’re limited by our equipment, that buying a new camera or lense will solve a given issue (hence why we seek the new shinny toy).
And it is, almost every single time, a mistake.
Usually, the photographer is the limited factor, not their tools.
For those unaware, this is the Tom Brady, the Michael Jordan, the Messi, of surfing. The absolute GOAT
I'll say the best competitive surfer ever, Medina's surfing is better. Not being Brazilian bias here, love JonJon and Jacko.
The way he stares at the camera when he reads out 'Why do surfers always have long hair?'🤣🤣🤣
As a baldie, this killed me 😂💀
I actually almost choked on my water when he said the "11 fingers" thing. He has an amazing sense of humor throughout.
Met Kelly in January at Whole Foods in Hawai'i. Such a humble, good dude.
Greatest of all time - I don't think there will ever been another like him, either.
I like how a lot of these he could have just laughed off as silly questions but he actually took the time to explain the answer properly, often with an interesting story to back it up.
How cool is that!? I like Slater's ability to answer the most total-no-clue-questions with the same seriousness and no judgement as the more-informed ones.
Kelly always has an interesting answer. Love his interviews.
Adding to the 'what if there's a surf competition and no waves' answer...
On the WSL Championship Tour events they have a window of around two weeks to get to the final, known as a 'wait period'. They do a 'dawn patrol' early in the morning to decide if the surfing is on or off for the day. If the surf is great, they run the heats back-to-back to make the most of the conditions. I think both the men and women's tournaments can be completed in five full days of surfing.
Kinda learning to surf and it truly is a sport that humbles you real quick. So many levels to the game.
One of the best question-and-answer sessions yet.
Excellent question and answer session was fun to hear the answers to newbie questions and also common ones that we’ve heard over the years. Thanks Kelly
"I am a professional surfer" - understatement of the century.
😂😂😂👍the GOAT! Kelley
Was and still am a huge fan bro. Much love and it's good seeing you doing good.
I love Kelly, he is a great athlete and a great person too.
i was just on the north shore of oahu watching surfers and its nuts what these guys n gals can do
Always love hearing what Kelly Slater has to say.
I love these interviews especially the ones that involve science
Messi??? You mean Pelé!!!
These questions had me laughing 😂. Especially the one asking why my stepdad has so many boards when he’s the only person in the house. What Kelly Slater should’ve said is that you never can have enough boards lmao
Kelly is legit the goat. Been surfing for 20 years and he’s legit the best ever.
He turned pro in 1990...33 years. Dude is 49
@@justayoutuber1906 he is 51 and he won the pipeline master at 50 last year.
@@justayoutuber1906 Correction: he’s 51.
It’s interesting because Kelly said that the groms have last priority but where I surf we love groms and they have priority in almost every situation
It’s like that in cocoa beach too where he’s born, idk why he said that
I feel like its more cause their priority is dependent on the adults, like groms r not just gonna go and drop in on everyone and stuff, but adjlts will usually give them priority
Thanks for your time and dropping some knowledge Kelly
Absolutely love the resposne to the long hair question!
i wish there were more question i love how he answers them im very interested!
Loved this way more than I should have. Hilarious and well done
Me be like: knowing all the answers to the questions but still watching the whole video cause I love kelly. 😅
Always enjoy watching Kelly ❤
Kelly is a living legend!
Kelly is obviously a legend but also huge props to Shane Dorian for developing a life jacket that’s saved several surfers’ lives after he himself had a scary experience. Love that he channeled his bad experience into something that helps surfers today.
Incredible victory in Pipe in 2021
He is the prince of the ocean.
This was amazing! He seems so nice
When you know just enough bout surfing to know that's the GOAT ✊🏻
Thanks Kelly (and Wired), that was informative, funny and entertaining to this Geezer Surfer.
I love the ongoing discussion about wave height! In NZ we go with the 'Hawaiian' thinking (must be a Pacific Ocean mentality). What I don't get here is why we still use feet for waves but km/hr for wind. We are now seeing more metric measurements for height, it makes it seem smaller though ;-) Instead of 6.5 foot it's only 2 metres. Basically the back of the wave height is half the face height, here.
This was very interesting, informative and entertaining.
Life is a big wave and I'm just a grommet.
And I'm Wallace
Absolute GOAT! This was a really fun interview.
a good question would have been: how do they read surf forecast? swell direction, period, influence of the tide, winds, etc.
Would love to surf Kelly's Surf Ranch someday!
I don't believe for a NANOSECOND that I know anything about surfing that Kelly Slater doesn't, but regarding the surfboards being strapped in backwards on top of cars - I worked at a surf shop for a few years and we always told people to mount them that way because the aerodynamics of the board going forward would loosen it under the straps, and cause it to fall off while you're driving down the road. The idea I think was that the board is shaped to go in that direction in the water so some kind of aerodynamic lift can happen that supposedly wouldn't happen if the board was strapped in backwards. Now I'm wondering if someone at the shop just made that up and everyone else repeated it 😅
Yes, the board is flatter (less rocker) at the tail end than the nose end. Better for the tail to be forward on the car.. What Kelly said could be true if you have horribly unreliable straps.
In all countries but the US the surfboard goes fins backwards
@@loupipeline List all the countries you've surfed or driven in with boards.
@@Randsurfer USA, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, Australia
@@loupipeline And outside USA surfers, all nose first on the cartop? Not.
"Hi, I'm Kelly Slater. I'm a professional surfer..." O m g! Many years ago, I went to one of the first Mavericks contests. Walking out to the beach, there was a kind of short, shave headed guy with a surfboard under his arm talking to a couple of guys. I stopped to eavesdrop. After the surfer left, one of the guys said to the others, Dude, who was that? Dude, that was Kelly f ing Slater! Imagine LeBron James or the Brady guy stopping to casually talk to fans before a game. A game in which he could be killed. Fan for life. 😎
What a brilliant man
I always go to Lori Wilson Park, where they have Kelley Slater Pavilion East and West. He's a legend here in Cocoa Beach, FL. I never knew about the gloves that help you paddle faster. I have bad shoulders, so I am going to try this to help me paddle fast enough to catch a wave.
Such a special human being. What I like about him is that he doesn't know it. He thinks he's just a regular person.
So humble. "I'm a professional surfer"...more like the best athlete ever in all sports
IKR
Nah, that's Rodney Mullen.
That’s just not true lol
@@Jensen-C he’s 51, still very competitve against 20 year olds, 11 times world champion on a very demanding and difficult to practice sport. I just don’t see any other more accomplished athlete. Tom Brady just retired at 44 with 7 titles.
Anyone that surfs knows that being good at it is very difficult because you cant just practice anytime you want, sometimes you can go a whole month without any waves.
Your argument is facile, it would be very difficult to justify. First, you said the greatest athlete ever. That's a different argument then the greatest amongst the greatest in their respective fields. For one you may say Bo Jackson and the other you might say Tom Brady. Tom Brady can also play near perfect and still lose a game easily, it's a team sport surfing isn't. Tom Brady has much more data to verify his greatness than Slater. No one to blame it just is what it is. So be careful of the blanket statements, it's showing your obvious bias.
"Why do surfers always have long hair?"
Kelly Slater: [turns to camera. *Jocko Willink stare intensifies.* ]
So funny. He’s a hottie either way.
If you only knew what the joke actually was.
Love this dude, the Hang 10 was funny.
For those who wonder about the key car, it exists key box secure with code, you put you key car in it and lock it to your car handle or anywhere else.
4:45 was hilarious! 😂🤣
I went to hide my keys under a rock once and there was another set of keys there. I still put my keys there and when I came back, they were still there and my car was untouched. Dude understood haha
Took a pic with Kelly like 15 years ago when I surfed in Benji Weatherley's grom contest... so I'm sick
I clicked on the video just to see his response to the thumbnail but something about his eyes and the way he spoke mesmerized me like a snake charmer into watching the whole thing. I am a straight male
Loved this!
Fins forward on surf racks is most likely due to the surfboards rocker (curve) being flatter near the tail giving the wind less resistance on the board while your driving fast. I’ve seen the wind actually snap the nose off a short board. Just in case anyone is wondering…
Get a non-chipped duplicate car key that just unlocks the door but won’t start the car. Most surf trunks have an elastic string in the pocket to attach it or you can add one through the pockets drain grommet. Some leashes (DaKine) have a small Velcro pocket on the ankle strap. Another option is a combination lockbox (like realtors use on doorknobs) locked on your bumper somewhere. DON’T hide or use a magnetic key holder because some punk will be hiding and eye your spot.
Combination lockboxes are the best, my bro in law uses one whenever he goes surfing.
Put a key in your suit and you’ve got a good chance of losing it. Here in Japan everyone just leaves their car open and respects each other’s property 🙏❤️
Kelly has to do Part 2 ..... 1. What's your fav surfing movie? 2. Why are surfers so territorial about their 'spot'? 3. Have you ever had a shark nibble at your feet ? (btw, surfer here in oc)
Legend
That was super sweet!
Amazing Kelly
He is the GOAT (greatest of all time) of surfing... By the way, that is undisputed.
💯💯💯👍
That question where the guy asks "why do surfers always have long hair" was so funny 😂
But do you the reason why it was so funny? I don’t think you do…
I can't explain how a person's level of coolness exponentially shoots up when they're surfers. Like, this guy could say anything and it just sounds cool, ya know?
The legend KS. He is a god and an amazing human
I read a comment once that said Kelly Slater looks like the default person in a character creation screen 😂. I won’t steal the joke but it needed to be shared.
Second question is a question I've had for a while too
Kelly is the man!
surf pools are expensive but we can also ride jetboards and efoils if automation is what we are looking for :)
Awesome interview! Such a legend!!!
Legendary surfer my favorite charachter in baywatch🌊🏄♂️
This dude talked like this when he was 20. Super mature when he was younger which is probably why he lasted so long why others failed.
Hands down the GOAT surfwise and charismaticallywise
I had a picture of him on my wall when I was young lol He's still gorgeous
This was so interesting.
such a good interview
If u ever read this Kelly u the Goat!!!! & Thx for yr time
Kelly Slater is a living legend
Great Stuff.
nice explanations
I love beaches. Actually love living close to them, whenever I could afford it..Rockaway Park or Long beach in N.Y. biggest waves I saw was in Hawaii, I was on the main Island. Surfers flocked there to ride 50 ft waves
What a legend
His face when he read the question "Why do surfers always have long hair?" 😂
His response to "why do surfers always have long hair" was priceless!🤣🤣🤣
Slater is the greatest athlete the world has ever seen. Period.
Awesomeee!!!
KELLLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
well done!
GOAT sportsman.
The goat!!
He is King in the Sport of Kings!
Kelly! Good man.
I have a question .. why are you wearing a wedding ring in your index finger !? 😝
The awkward pause after the long hair question 😂 😂 😂