Watch: Kelly Slater by Jack Coleman in Hawaii
Bit of a departure for the king of lo-fi surf cinema filming KS with #nofilter and what sounds like Tangerine Dream rather than his usual Mingus-style blues or tinny guitar pop.
No idea if this was filmed before or after Slater's recent 48th birthday, but either way the fella is now squarely middle-aged. Though you wouldn't know it from his surfing.
Comments
well that was underwhelming...
Not enough airs?
You must be joking
How were you doing at 48 Fatso?
Surf...@ 48 I wasn't even surfing due to mental health issues. Now I'm back in the water people keep trying to throw me back when I come in. Now I'm just happy to be out there and improving again...or paddling round and getting bombs on the head without having a little cry for mummy like I did last week. Not dissing Skater or his surfing, just didn't do it for me (certainly not cause of a lack of airs Ben)...find it so with a lot of grabs these days. Probably expecting to much...or something
Watching Slats for me now isn't about seeing if he's still the best (he isn't, except for maybe on his day at big Cloudy/Chopes/Pipe), but rather seeing what is still possible at his age.
As someone who's turning 40 this year with a shit back, busted shoulder and seemingly irreversibly tightening hips means the GOAT is still god.
Just thinking about doing one of those larry's has me reaching for the Nurofen.
I loved it.
Serendipitously enough , it reflected the same niche as I’ve enjoyed with my own surfing experience in the last few weeks . That of larger , mostly open faced waves with no shortage of power. These waves might not be too photogenic- they don’t have a thin feathering lip , symmetrical taper to the wall or a predictable curve , but they are nonetheless extremely fun and challenging waves to ride.
Kelly’s freedom on the waves is a joy. Nothing is forced , sections are ridden for the sensation they offer and not for the maximum points they may return. It’s obvious that he is very present on the wave. He’s having fun .
There’s time to wait for clear water and when the opportunity does arrive , his committed carves are smooth and harness the wave power without the theatrical grunt often displayed when he’s competing.
I rewound that first drop with its slump shouldered plunge several times...enjoy the ride , indeed !
I agree Blowin' I got about 1/2 way through and thought "he's just having fun." The guy's how old? 47 or something? He still rips, and in big surf. I paddled out in the recent big swells we had here on the Central Coast and had a serious thought if my fitness and body were still up to big surf. Wish I could do what he does.
I agree. Just seamless beautiful surfing.
In response to fatso, when is Kelly freesurfing ever truly Underwhelming?
Me too.
Thought he surfed with a great, pared-back style. As if he thought nobody was watching.
Anybody know what the music is?
My word, that first drop was a 10/10 for casual under pressure
Kham, see my response above. Just didn't tickle my ample tummy...apologies to those I've offended or that took my comment as ....however they took it
Hot tip.... never apologise. Even though it was a dick move.
At sunset - thought he didn't like that place
Looks more like Haleiwa to me but you might be right
Yeah got to be Haleiwa.
How’s that wave at 1:31, is that Backdoor or really critical Haleiwa?
Love open faced waves like that. So much room to move. Imagine feeling that power on those waves. Looks ‘cruisy’ but would be fairly hectic out there I’d imagine
Enjoyed it and he was loose as a goose man can surf and I like the extra rail line he can crank it over more for power turns. P-funks comment about the nurofen...GOLD.
Love seeing slats with a bit more rail length! Looks like Haleiwa, surprised he hates sunset, he seems to love Haleiwa!
i loved it and i totally agree with blowin, kelly was ripping and having fun. if he doesn't get injured he could go on for years. i prefer that type of surfing, open face waves, lots of cut backs, re entries fast.
i am 68 and it scary, got to keep fit so i can surf. my board is 7ft 2 inches. volumes good so paddling is easy. people talk to me like i am an old person. my brain tells me i am 30 years old and will be that age till the end. ahh, you still surfing?? people get old and they want me to get old. surfing keeps me young.
That’s a great effort to still be going at 68 bipola. You should be really chuffed with yourself. I hope I’m still as keen and able as you obviously are at your age.
Anyone know what board he was riding? Seems longer than his usual length but still quite skatey once he plants the back foot.
I’m not certain, but from the 4 fins, stringer and shape it looks a lot like this one:
Slater and Tokoro have the Houdini together, but it doesn’t say whether that is one of them.
I was thinking it looked spurty, like a quad.
5 secs billie
Not the board in insta pic ...has a different Decal layout
Board also has almost a full 1990s slipper nose.
What is a 'slipper' nose udo? Lots of nose lift/rocker?
Yep .. nose lift .. like an Arabian Slipper.
Cool! Thanks
You're right Billie, it is a quad. There's a shot if his fins very early in the video.
I know from riding one, they can respond poorly to the first little pump, but once they go downhill.... vvvvVVVRRRRROOOOOOMMMMM
Looks more like a 2 +2 to me.
Those back fins look pretty small and narrow (close together) for a quad.
My 2c.
Def looks like a longer board and I also enjoyed that for what it was. Loved the tighter shot footage as well, can focus on his body movements and small adjustments.
Give me that any day v Medgoose
He looks great on that board
How's the layback at 34 seconds?!?!
Just makes you smile
still has 1 of the best full roundhouse cutbacks ever
zoom in a bit more next time .... .. .
Honestly, Fatso, if that's underwhelming you must be JJF's idol. Come on, admit it, you probably couldn't turn the wheel of the car as hard as he pushes those turns.
Check out the rail he has buried at 1:17. At the risk of sounding over the top, that is the best turn I've seen anyone over the age of 25 do all year.
Tango....I don't take it back mate...see my responses above. Got back out recently on my 35 litre 6'4 )at 52 having been more or less out of the water for 5 yrs or so) and did a turn. Blew my mind it did ;-). Guess I've never been one for watching, and there is a lot out there these days. Skater rips as he always has, but I don't think he requires my worship more than anyone else.
Haha no worries, you can't be doing too badly if you've only got 35 litres of foam under your "ample" belly (or whatever you said above that I can't see now as I reply). Unless you're rather short, too....
Keep turning, I'm told it doesn't get any easier.
Nice, good fun, but he fell at 1:07 ....he’s human after all! lol
Agree with Blowin.
His surfing looks so much better when he’s on a slightly longer board.
Those trims!
I prefer thruster wielding vintage Slater, with less skate, but this is fine viewing from the ol' boy.
You're kidding me, what a shredder! See how deep those pits were!? Solid waves to be riding the foamball... his knees must be made of gold.
After watching that I’m going surfing!
Are my comments blocked because of Slater not being that fond of me?
Well stunet it wasn't a rant it was a statement about how I just returned from
a month on the north shore watching Slater and many other world class surfers
tearing the place apart and or I can say is that he was by far the best surfer in
the water and reinforced it day in day out. The bald one is definitely a freak.
Nup.
What were you ranting about anyway?
Come on fatso. If slats turned up at your house and asked you to go catch some waves. Would you?
A. Call him a hasbeen kook and tell him to piss off.
Or
B. Blow a load in your pants, and follow him around like a bad smell.
I'm tipping B !!
B.1 Go surfing with him...paddle around and catch nothing as I often do...take him for a beer at the local after...go to bed having had a great day
Wow, never been so popular! After upsetting so many, I've rewatched it. Yep, Skater is the GOAT...yep the grab has his usual power, flow, style, edge (like everything you see of him), and possible more sense of fun than usual. Still didn't tickle my corpulent tummy...which has nothing to do with my sadly crashed and burned surfing ability. Forgive me
All is forgiven Fatso.
How dare you think for yourself.
But, I agree with everyone else.
Cheers Zen....fark...every time I think for myself I get in trouble hey. Good stuff, its great to see everyone agreeing
How can you throw any thing but praise sheesh ...
How can you throw any thing but praise sheesh ...
Hey Fatso. Its all good. You are are suffering a bit of tall poppy syndrome towards Slats.
Would be un australian if you didnt.
We are ,known for it.
Nothin new here
Hey Fats, I missed you comment about what you doing getting back in the drink after a layup and the black dog.
Sorry.
More power to you from me. Keep banging away champ. I hope you kick your goals.
I'm with Fatso...completely underwhelming......but NOT because of the surfing. [That was great]
That video just misses the mark on so many levels
That is what I call Fan-boy Filming, or Filming the surfer and NOT the actual surfing.
Most shots do not even show the entire wave top to bottom, let alone anything else to help give reference to the speed of the surfing. Surfing is about distance traveled and the speed acquired, something you don't really understand unless you have a proper reference. That's why pro-surfers look so much faster in real-life as your wider-vision gives you a much better sense of speed and distance.
...And the music...if you can call it that...that was really, really grating.
To sum it up.
I could watch the goat surf every day for the rest of my life. [Certified Fan]
...but this video ...hmmm I could not even make it halfway through
Hah, good to hear we have polar opposite opinions :-)
Usually unimpressed with KS, but really liked his surfing here. Also loved the filming, the tempo of the editing, and the music.
Great to hear you loved it. :)
Art is only ever a personal opinion so there is no right or wrong.
i'm still waiting for the song to start
great surfing by the goat tho
Just got a chance to watch this. Love the lines he draws... gains speed through the turns too! Incredible.
Good on him. Still rips big time. Poor little lamb needed a long arm springy to ward off the chill. Home to a nice cup of hot tea and a blankey over his legs.
Goji porridge and kale smoothie more like it.
Amazing surfing though. Whenever I start to have thoughts about getting old and creaky, he immediately springs to mind as a stark rebuttal.
I also think that by maintaining his fitness the way he has, he has been able to reap the benefits of having spent more time on more waves than almost anyone alive. In most of the older surfers, their accumulated wisdom is outpaced by their physical decline, rendering it useless. This is surfing from an old master, like a painter who's been working for 40 years and just getting better and better.
Definitely surfing like Kelly of old. Funny how he surfs best on boards the same as Al Merrick used to make for him.
shit music
To be born with such natural ability and drive. Lucky bastard now owns a place in all his favourite surf spots. But yes the music absolute shite.
that's pretty much surfing mastery right there.
I'll throw a dissenting opinion in and say I didn't like the look of that board under his feet, looked like a few turns he had to nurse it and it was catchy.
By contrast watch the latest Tournotes, he surfs heaps better.
so fluid, loose with incredibly sharp turn angles.
So relaxed, fast and in control, he is incredible to watch - just the first drop so calm..;
So relaxed, fast and in control, he is incredible to watch - just the first drop so calm..;
Two mins of Grandpa Slater in the latest Tour Notes: