Kelly says: “It was actually an 810!”

The 11-timer on the roter-and-a-half in Portugal that has gone more viral than Ebola…

One rule here at BeachGrit. No aggregating. No swiping stories from other sites or re-running the same Aritz or Nic von Rupp clip unless it’s to make a point or hit it from a different angle.

So when Kelly’s roter-and-a-half started doing the rounds last night my heart sunk. His 720 (or whatever) was too good to ignore, but it was spread so thin over all the other surf sites I feared it would evaporate. What might BeachGrit add to the pool of clips and soapy adjectives?

An interview, maybe? This exchange happened just before midnight, Peniche time, nine am in Australia. Still warm!

BeachGrit: I love the casual nose-wipe-to-board-flick at the end. How thrilled were you to make it?

Slater: It felt real nice but I didn’t know whether I double-grabbed or if I did whether I had let go or whatever. I kinda blacked out with surprise that it stuck as well as it did.

BeachGrit: Was it a hail-mary -full-of-grace etc that stuck or was it a planned assault?

Slater: I was trying to rotate as far and fast as I could and see where I ended up. Kolohe was talking about how good the wind was for airs and I was saying how scary it was cause there were ramps but with such hard wind you could take some stitches to the eye before you knew what happened.

BeachGrit: Does landing something like this elevate your spirit?

Slater: Yeah. It sure makes you feel good. I’ve had the best air guys on earth and also skaters and snowboarders all weigh in so it feels like something special for me personally.

BeachGrit: Y’calling it a 540?

Slater: The rotation in the air was about a 540, I guess. I’ve heard everything from 540 to 720 to 900 depending on if you feel the whole rotation counts or it’s a wall versus a down the line takeoff. I actually think it’s an 810.