Kelly Slater

The son of a bait-store proprietor, Slater grew up near the water, and he began surfing at age five. By age 10 he was winning age-division events up and down the Atlantic coast, and in 1984 he won his first age-division United States championship title. Two years later he finished third in the junior division at the world amateur championships in England, and he won the Pacific Cup junior championship in Australia the following year.

Slater, having grown up in Florida, was never truly comfortable in waves of consequence until a trip to Oahu in 1987. A giant northwest swell was pounding the coast, closing out breaks from Waimea to Sunset. He drove to Makaha, where he was greeted with 40' (Hawaiian scale) waves breaking across the bay. Slater parked and saw charger Brandon "Big Wave" Davis waxing up his 11' board. Big Wave Davis simply gave Slater a wink and they paddled out, trading waves all afternoon. Slater credits Davis in his biography stating "Brandon's knowledge and poise in large surf had a huge impact on my career. Anytime I'm dropping in a big wave, I think back to that wink in the Makaha parking lot and I push myself over the ledge."

After turning professional in 1990, Slater struggled during his first two years on the professional tour, finishing 90th and 43rd in the world rankings those years. In 1992 he secured podium (top-three) finishes in three of his first five events before winning his first professional tour event, the Rip Curl Pro, in France. His win in that year's prestigious Pipeline Masters in Hawaii secured his first world title, and at age 20 he became the youngest surfing world champion ever. Slater finished sixth in the 1993 rankings but came back in 1994 to win the world tour during 1994–1998, during which time televised surfing events had become increasingly popular. He then took a break from competitive surfing at the end of 1998, after Baywatch had become increasingly unpopular.

Since 1990 Slater had been sponsored primarily by surfwear industry giant Quiksilver until his departure on April 1, 2014 to collaborate with fashion brand conglomerate Kering. In a statement released on his social media accounts, Slater states "For years I've dreamt of developing a brand that combines my love of clean living, responsibility and style. The inspiration for this brand comes from the people and cultures I encounter in my constant global travels and this is my opportunity to build something the way I have always wanted to." After Leaving Quiksilver, Slater, in collaboration with Kering, established the eco-friendly and sustainable apparel company 'Outerknown'.

Slater grew up in Cocoa Beach, Florida, where he still lives. He is the son of Judy Moriarity and Stephen Slater. He has two brothers, Sean and Stephen, and a daughter, Taylor, born in 1996.

Slater has been crowned World Surf League Champion a record 11 times, including five consecutive titles in 1994–98. He is the youngest (at age 20) and the oldest (at age 39) to win the WSL men's title. Upon winning his fifth world title in 1997, Slater passed Australian surfer Mark Richards to become the most successful male champion in the history of the sport. In 2007 he also became the all-time leader in career event wins by winning the Boost Mobile Pro event at Lower Trestles near San Clemente, California. The previous record was held by Slater's childhood hero, three-time world champion Tom Curren. After earlier being awarded the title prematurely as a result of a miscalculation by the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP), on November 6, 2011 Slater officially won his eleventh ASP world title at the Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco, by winning his 4th round heat.

In the late 1990s Slater, with friends and fellow pro surfers Rob Machado and Peter King, formed a band called The Surfers. The trio released an album in 1998 titled Songs from the Pipe, a reference to the famous surf spot Pipeline on Oahu, Hawaii. Slater toured Australia with his band, performing in venues such as the Opera House and parliament house. He was given an honorary membership to the Rickson Cricket Club in northwest Sydney.

In 1999, he appeared alongside Garbage singer Shirley Manson in the promotional video for the band's single "You Look So Fine". He played a man washed up on a seashore, then rescued by Manson.

A video game named Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer by Treyarch and published by Activision was released in 2002. Slater also appeared as a playable character in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 prior to this, complete with a surfboard.

In addition to the ASP tour, Slater competed in the X-Games in 2003 and 2004.

In May 2005, in the final heat of the Billabong Tahiti Pro contest at Teahupo'o, Slater became the first surfer ever to be awarded two perfect scores for a total 20 out of 20 points under the ASP two-wave scoring system (fellow American Shane Beschen made the first perfect score under the previous three-wave system in 1996).

Slater performed a song with Ben Harper during Harper's concert in Santa Barbara on August 1, 2006. He also performed Rockin' in the Free World with grunge band Pearl Jam on July 7, 2006 in San Diego.

Event results in 2009 Quiksilver Pro, Gold Coast (Snapper Rocks, Australia): 17th Rip Curl Pro, Bells Beach (Australia): 17th Billabong Pro, Tahiti (Teahupoo, Tahiti): 17th Hang Loose Pro (Santa Catarina, Brasil): 1st Billabong Pro (Jeffreys Bay, South Africa): 9th Hurley Pro (Lower Trestles, San Clemente, California): 3rd Quiksilver Pro France (Hossegor, France): 5th Billabong Pro, Mundaka (Mundaka, Spain): 3rd Rip Curl Search (Peniche, Portugal): 17th Billabong Pipeline Masters (Pipeline, Oahu, Hawaii): 2nd

On May 8, 2010, the United States House of Representatives honored Slater in H. Res. 792 for his "outstanding and unprecedented achievements in the world of surfing and for being an ambassador of the sport and excellent role model." This resolution, sponsored by Florida representative Bill Posey and sponsored by 10 representatives, passed without objection by a voice vote.

Event results in 2010 Quiksilver Pro, Gold Coast (Snapper Rocks, Australia): 9th Rip Curl Pro, Bells Beach (Australia): 1st Hang Loose Pro (Santa Catarina, Brasil): 2nd Billabong Pro (Jeffreys Bay, South Africa): 17th Billabong Pro Teahupoo (Teahupoo, Tahiti): 3rd Hurley Pro (Lower Trestles, San Clemente, California): 1st Quiksilver Pro France (Hossegor, France): 2nd Rip Curl Pro Portugal (Peniche, Portugal): 1st Rip Curl Pro Search 2010 (Middles Beach, Isabela, Puerto Rico): 1st Billabong Pipeline Masters (Pipeline, Oahu, Hawaii): 3rd

Event results in 2011 Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast (Snapper Rocks, Australia): 1st Rip Curl Pro, Bells Beach, (Victoria, Australia): 5th Billabong Rio Pro (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil): 13th Nike Pro US Open (Huntington Beach, California, US): 1st Billabong Pro Teahupoo (Teahupoo, Tahiti): 1st Quiksilver Pro New York (Long Beach, New York, US): 2nd Hurley Pro (Lower Trestles, San Clemente, California, US): 1st Quiksilver Pro France (Hossegor, France): 5th Rip Curl Pro Portugal (Peniche, Portugal): 2nd Rip Curl Search (Ocean Beach, San Francisco, US): 5th Billabong Pipeline Masters (Pipeline, Oahu, Hawaii): 3rd

Event results in 2012 Quiksilver Pro presented by Land Rover(Gold Coast, Snapper Rocks, Australia): 5th Rip Curl Pro presented by Ford Ranger(Bells Beach,Victoria, Australia): 2nd Billabong Rio Pro (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil): INJ Volcom Fiji Pro (Tavarua/Namotu, Fiji): 1st Billabong Pro Tahiti (Teahupoo, Tahiti): 13th Hurley Pro (Lower Trestles, San Clemente, California): 1st Quiksilver Pro France (Hossegor-Landes, France):1st Rip Curl Pro (Peniche, Portugal): 13th O'Neill Coldwater Classic Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, California): 9th Billabong Pipeline Masters (Pipeline, Oahu, Hawaii): 3rd

Slater did it again in June 2013 at the quarter finals at the Volcom Fiji Pro with two perfect ten waves, only the fourth person in history to do so.

Event results in 2013 Quiksilver Pro (Gold Coast, Australia): 1st Rip Curl Pro (Bells Beach, Victoria, Australia): 13th Volcom Fiji Pro (Tavarua/Namotu, Fiji): 1st Oakley Pro Bali (Keramas, Bali, Indonesia): 9th Billabong Pro Teahupoo (Teahupoo, Taiarapu, French Polynesia): 2nd

Slater historically and exclusively rode Channel Islands Surfboards equipped with his own signature series of FCS fin masons. As the media hype grew around Slater's lack of board stickers in 2015, Slater had been seen riding unlabelled Firewire surfboards, acquiring the company in 2014. In 2016 Slater released his own line of boards. As of August 2017 there are four Slater Designs models in the Firewire range: the Gamma, Cymatic, Omni and Sci-fi.

Wave Pool was a ten-year 'experiment' to create the perfect inland wave situated in inland California. Kelly modeled the wave after a combination of Lower Trestles, a wave in Oahu, and a secret right in the Marshall Islands. The project was a success and the surfing world was abuzz with the possibilities, mostly due to the wave's perfect shape and speed. In 2016 the World Surf League (WSL) acquired a majority stake in the Kelly Slater Wave Company (KSWC) for an undisclosed sum. The WSL held a test event for 300 or more, including Filipe Toledo, Mick Fanning, Kanoa Igarashi, Gabriel Medina and others, at the Kelly Slater Surf Ranch on Tuesday, September 19, 2017. The Surf Ranch also hosted the WSL Founders Cup on May 5–6, 2018. The contest featured five teams - US, Brazil, Australia, Europe and World - made up of men's and women's surfers from the WSL Championship Tour. The WSL Surf Ranch was constructed outside of Lemoore, California and has remained private and exclusive.

There is speculation he is developing Surf Ranch Florida, a man-made surfing lake in Palm Beach County. County commissioners unanimously approved plans for the county to evaluate the proposed surf facility in 2017. Brian Waxman, project leader for Surf Ranch Florida, said the World Surf League is considering bringing the wave lake to the Sunshine State for its weather and heritage of world-class surfers. It would encompass an 80-acre industrial lot east of Jupiter Farms, near the Pine Glades natural area.

Kelly Slater | The Daily Dose

Kelly Slater has won a record 11 World Surf League [WSL] titles, collected 55 WSL tournament wins, and has amassed over $ 4 million in prize money over his 27-year career.