Actually no, he don't! Instead, twenty five years of Slater… condensed!
The Kelly Kut, a “borrowed” footage edit of Mr Slater’s decades-long run at the forefront of performance surfing is a trip to watch if you were alive and cogent during the early years of his reign.
It seems like Kelly’s been this grizzled old vet for ages. With his peanut-brown dome and weathered good looks, he’s an elder gladiator, older but no slower, more cunning, maybe slightly less motivated.
But he was a young man once.
Not too long ago he was a Baywatch-starring ground breaker who was plastered on my walls.
Watching the old footage, juxtaposed with the new, it’s striking how little he’s improved over the years. His boards are different, his style a little more perfect, but it’s unreal to ponder how far ahead of the pack he was, and how long it took everyone to catch up.
If anyone even has.
Some kids may come close in certain aspects. It’s hard to beat a teenager’s air game, what with their bendy bones and hyper-flexible ligaments.
But no one else is the total package, it’s doubtful anyone ever will be.
This is a killer video, give it a watch. And soon.
‘Cuz there’s a whole lot of sampled content on there, I’ll be surprised if it doesn’t get yanked from the web post-haste.
Even if Kelly is stoked on it and posted it to his instagram page. What does he care? He don’t own the footage.
Excerpts Courtesy Of:
‘Flow – The True Story of a Surfing Revolution’
Director: Josh Landon
Koastal Media
‘Blue Horizon’
Director: Jack McCoy
A Coastrain Production
www.jackmccoy.com
‘Focus’
Director: Taylor Steele
Poor Specimen Productions
www.sippingjetstreams.com
‘Good Times’
Director: Taylor Steele
Poor Specimen Productions
www.sippingjetstreams.com
‘Cypher Vision’
Director: Jamie Tierney
Quiksilver Films
www.quiksilver.com
‘Kelly Slater: In Black and White’
Director: Richard R. Woolcott
A Pavillion Film
www.quiksilver.com
‘The September Sessions’
Director: Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson Films
www.jackjohnsonmusic.com
‘Letting Go’
Director: George Opadchy & Jamie Tierney
A Pavillion Film
‘The Dream Tour 2005’
Director: Matt Gye & Shagga
ASP International/Mutiny Media
‘Young Guns 3’
Director: George Opadchy & Jamie Tierney
A Pavillion Film
www.quiksilver.com
‘Campaign’
Director: Taylor Steele
Poor Specimen Productions
www.sippingjetstreams.com
‘Campaign II’
Director: Taylor Steele
Poor Specimen Productions
www.sippingjetstreams.com
‘Days Of Strange’
Director: Ivan Tanjung & Kai Neville
Poor Specimen Productions
www.sippingjetstreams.com
‘What’s Really Goin’ On’
Director: Jason Kenworthy Ryan Ray
Mike Reola
Lost Enterprises/Snapping Turtle Productions
Web Excerpts Courtesy Of:
‘Kelly Slater Afternoon Interview’
What Youth
www.whatyouth.com
‘Human To Hero’
Cable News Network/Turner Broadcasting
www.cnn.com
‘Kelly Slater in West Oz 2015’
Geordie Tarren
DZH Digital
‘Final Day Highlights’
2011 Quiksilver Pro New York
www.aspworldtour.com
‘Throw Back Thursday: Quiksilver Pro France’
ASP/WSL
www.aspworldtour.com
‘Day 3 Shot On Red’
Volcom Pipe Pro 2014
www.volcom.com
‘Men’s Final Heat’
2012 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach
www.aspworldtour.com
‘Final Day Highlights’
2011 Quiksilver Pro New York
www.aspworldtour.com
‘Slater’s Backside Barrel Tutorial’
ASP/WSL
www.aspworldtour.com
‘Kelly Slater’s Urban Jungle’
Quiksilver
www.quiksilver.com
‘Massive Swell Continues’
ASP/WSL
www.aspworldtour.com
‘Kelly Slater’s 540: Red Camera Footage’
Noah Alani
www.surfline.com
‘Kelly Slater 15 Foot Drop’
Billabong Tahiti Pro
www.billabong.com
‘Shane Beschen vs Kelly Slater: 1994’
Encyclopedia Of Surfing
www.encyclopediaofsurfing.com
Photography:
Steve Sherman
www.steveshermanimages.com
Edited By:
J. Patrick Stublen
Motion Graphics By:
Jason Stublen
Music Courtesy:
‘Mirrors’
Crocodiles
Sleep Forever
Fat Possum Records
www.killcrocodiles.com
‘I Wanna Destroy You’
Uncle Tupelo
Still Feel Gone
Uncle Tupelo Partnership
www.uncletupelo.com
‘Tiny Birds’
Yo La Tengo
Summer Sun
Sire Records
www.yolatengo.com