Listen: The Grin Reapers with Kelly Slater
The Grin Reapers - AKA Whitey and Buddha - bail up Kelly Slater in the Box carpark.
There's a bit of history here: Slater saved Whitey's son on the North Shore back in 2015, and the two have remained in contact with KS cheering on Whitey when he entered Ninja Warrior. All explained in the video, plus many other things aside.
Whether it be the relationship or that KS was in a locquacious mood, but short questions received long and entertaining answers.
Too much to summarise here. Dig in.
Comments
Gold.
With all of the fame and fortune, the adulation and hype, how is Kelly so well adjusted? A rare if not totally unique human to start with based on ability, he also seems to have become a super humble, likeable honorary Aussie. Greatest athlete ever? The argument starts here. Is there anyone else at the peak of their sport in their 50's? A "young person's sport" as well? And still performing at the highest level in terms of manoeuvres? Tony Hawk is the only other example I can think of, but it's a very small group.
I think most surfers are well adjusted, the ocean is a humbling place to be
And is it just me, or is that footage of the Box better than anything from the Comp itself?
His memory is incredible.
Cool vid. It was like listening to any surfer chat in a carpark. Even complaining about the crowds. Except he's not just any surfer.
So good to watch and listen to that, good to hear he's inspiring people over forty to get fit and keep surfing. I now regret saying he should have retired after that pipe win. He might go well at g land and chopes too.
The problem with being the GOAT, the royal highness of surfing, the high prince, GOD and freaking pipe master at near 50 is.....i suspect.....no one wants to tell him when he gets something wrong.
That board he tried to ride at Margs was so so wrong. As was trying to hunt barrels that were not there.
I think it was a rare moment of self doubt where he thought he couldn't match his competitors on rail at main break so thought his only chance was the barrel.
Agree, poor board choice though.
I don’t follow Slater around the internet but that’s the most I’ve ever heard from him. Really interesting. Good on him for giving up some time.
One thing is never in doubt with Slater, he’s such a competitive beast. Although he says that’s diminishing, I reckon that’s what he’s struggling with the most in this phase of his life.
I disagree with his sentiment about not retiring on top though. It’s purely a personal decision. Take Ash Barty as a recent example. She genuinely seemed completely comfortable with her decision & she was one hell of a competitive athlete too.
Great stuff.
Interesting. Great format. Hadn't come across it before.
For my mind he's completely full of shit. He may not take drugs, but he's definitely drunk the kool-aid. His 'spiritualism' is completely in the service of profit and self-optimising, and focused on the having of things, whether world titles, the girls that burned him as a kid, or 'experiences'. He's basically a walking TED talk.
You get the sense that it's starting to change though. Maybe he's learning that buyers remorse is built into every commodity and victory.
But yeah, how's the recall.
Gold
chris white is a dick. the stunts done in his tension vids that caused property damage were just cringeworthy, and a pathetic way to make bodyboarding a bigger thing.
Bloody hell mate way to hold a grudge Tension 1 came out in 99, They were just grommets doing grommet things. Pretty sure we all did things when we were young that we are not proud of.
Ya, real gold.
I don't know why so many people bag Kelly; maybe they don't get the American thing of letting it all hang out. He tells it how he sees it with no artifice. That's the truth, for him, that we heard and it's a rare thing to hear it spoken with such generosity.
thoughtfully sharing life lessons .....to those that can relate
Good watch but not sure if Kellys being completely honest when he says another world title is something he dosen't really cares about..........maybe after the high of winning at pipe and now reality is setting in....but i did think he was hard done by in a couple heats .......wonder where surfing would be now without him.?
There is no mystery to this. He has been saying to the media for decades now that his competitive juices are waning. As always, actions speak louder than words. All you have to do is a) observe what it clearly meant to him to win the pipe masters to see that those juices are well and truly there, and b) witness his struggles to remain relevant despite being overtaken by others in the competitive realm.
Whether these media responses represent a lack of self-awareness or a more calculated approach to how he wishes to frame himself to the world at large is unclear. In my view, given he is clearly an intelligent and worldly guy, I lean towards the latter. But always enjoy listening to him, I am a fan.
and even he recons its getting really crowded........
FFS when are pro surfers like KS gonna connect the dots and realise the surf is crowded because of THEM! They’ve sold it and profited from it, for decades in his case, and can’t complain about the same crowds which have funded their exceptional lifestyle. They live the dream because they sell the dream.
Nice interview from Kelly. Seems its a constant chase for normality for him through life.
Even though this is never going to be possible.
Maybe people should concentrate on their own shit for change instead of obsessing in others, maybe then people like Kelly can get on in peace.
light entertainment !
Awesome. The only thing that distracted me the whole 40 minutes was that dolphin at the Box.
The only pressure on me is what I place on myself. A truth that has always held true, even if I didn't recognize it.