Kelly Slater wave pool
Kelly Slater, in trunks, at this remarkable Lemoore, CA, wavepool. Did you know the twenty acres, with lake, cost $575,000 to buy exactly two years ago? But why trunks? Has he been surfing it since summer?

Mystery: Kelly in trunks at wave pool!

Thumbnail photo on Slater wave pool movie sows new drama!

Watching website traffic at the back end of BeachGrit is like being on the spike. When it’s roaring, colour creeps into your face. Your hips twitch. A spreading wave of relaxation slackens the muscles away from the bones so that you seem to float without outlines, like lying in warm salt water.

…oh, it’s good.

Therefore, can you imagine our highs when the Kelly Slater wave pool story broke yesterday? Records smashed, our server trembling under the weight of eyes, new viewers, new countries (Yes! Hello Syria! Hello Afghanistan! True).

From Brazil and the US came the online detectives. Permits arrived. Satellite photos. And, here, maybe the second greatest mystery after where the Slater pool is…

Our theory is than kelly is surfing since june, and he make it public now to put in shame adrianos win, at the end of the day, even the brazilian are speaking about kelly’s wave.

Why is Kelly Slater wearing trunks? 

Marcelo Matos from Costa Rica writes:

Our theory is than kelly is surfing since june, and he make it public now to put in shame adrianos win, at the end of the day, even the brazilian are speaking about kelly’s wave.
i love your web, even when is kind of hard for me to read! but i like the fact that the editors dont kiss asses. Congrats , this is truly love for the truth, fuck sponsors.
We were the first on see kelly is no wetsuit on the picture.

Doesn’t the little movie clearly show a cold December morning in Lemoore California? With Kelly trussed in steamer, booties and gloves

And yet the thumbnail photo for the film has Kelly in trunks, a wave that doesn’t appear in the short?

Let’s watch!

What do you make of all of this?

Has Kelly been surfing the wave for six months?

Or did the water temp suddenly bounce upwards later in the day?

Oh, and if you want to see the joint before the pool, click here. 

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mike
mike
10 years ago

They need to upscale the wave, if the face was twice the size you could sell admission all day every day, the wave is boring at that size.

RJKR
RJKR
10 years ago

3 months?…..appears he’s been working on it for a while.

RubbaSlippahs
RubbaSlippahs
10 years ago

You know Kelly got a few practice runs in before he shot his video. Probably went there in the summer for a test run!!

Ricoimmo
Ricoimmo
10 years ago
Reply to  RubbaSlippahs

i agree – while i love the production/edit choices made on the video, (showing kelly’s reaction to the “first” wave off the assembly line) i firmly believe he’d seen and probably surfed it before.

quiksilver hotels/resorts advertising a kelly slater wave pool as the centerpiece of their planned resorts – think those execs and investors didn’t get a preview glimpse?

Señor
Señor
10 years ago

I love your web also!

Fahking Haole
Fahking Haole
10 years ago

Well, maybe it’s just a snapshot, but I thought the thumbnail wave looked bigger (he’s deeper than in the video) with a thinner lip overall. Does this thing have different speeds or energy levels? Perhaps this WAS earlier in the year when they were tinkering with levels to make it peel longer (i.e. too much energy = more likely to close out?). And, no, winter in California’s Central Valley wouldn’t be conducive to trunking it mid-day. The water would still be freezing.

Mark Allendorf
Mark Allendorf
10 years ago

Who flipping cares! When and where can I get my steel track and wench starter kit? Bass ponds on cheap land litter the good ole USA. With desperate municipalities looking for new revenue sources, a consortium of well heeled surfers should be able to plug these things in all over the Central Valley of California, or western Texas. Anyone interested? Is KS going to sell franchises? FAX me the paperwork, please.

Tio Sam
Tio Sam
10 years ago

Kelly decided to start surfing it when he became Italo’s punching bag earlier in the year.

Richie Collins' Paddling Glove
Richie Collins' Paddling Glove
10 years ago
Reply to  Tio Sam

Yeah I’m sure the near 44 year old bloke with 11 world titles was absolutely gutted to lose a heat or two to a hairy looking cross between Micro Hall & Dion Agius..

Tio Sam
Tio Sam
10 years ago

sarcasm is so 2013

longtom
longtom
10 years ago

Just to throw a different angle into the mix; looks like Kelly has no intention of retiring next year…….or the year after.

http://www.theguardian.com/…

Trogan Fan
Trogan Fan
10 years ago

It was hot in CA through the end of October. I’m guessing he was there after Trestles.

Jean-Francois Gauvin
Jean-Francois Gauvin
10 years ago

Probably this picture come from a r&d session

bankswar
bankswar
10 years ago

This seems like a funny place for Volcom to advertise.

Trogan Fan
Trogan Fan
10 years ago
Reply to  bankswar

you understand how targeted advertising works, yes?

bankswar
bankswar
10 years ago
Reply to  Trogan Fan

yeah fair call but i am trying to start conspiracy theories, so any thing goes. With the failed attempt of KSwavepool on the Gold coast a few years ago, it was to be the centre piece of a major property development. It seems like they went to a pretty massive effort to build this thing. It looks pretty permanent, If you buy into Kelly’s new housing development that surrounds the wave and golf course you may get cheep waves, as part of the deal? Who knows.

Invasive Species
Invasive Species
10 years ago
Reply to  Trogan Fan

Laird has been stalking me around the internet ever since I looked at his website thanks to BeachGrit.

Fahking Haole
Fahking Haole
10 years ago
Reply to  bankswar

Ad-Block Plus (sorry Derek).

bankswar
bankswar
10 years ago

Next to a golf course, if Kelly is the business savant he makes out, he will already own a shit load of land around this thing. Property development that where the real cash is.

Trogan Fan
Trogan Fan
10 years ago
Reply to  bankswar

What – hotels? Condos? Large scale outlet mall?

Audit In Progress
Audit In Progress
10 years ago
Reply to  Trogan Fan

The Central Valley is like 90% large scale outlet malls already. Get some, Kelly.

John Baruch
John Baruch
10 years ago

I wish, I live here in the area and its too small for any of the above and KSwave pool. It is here thats fo sure, but they are just doing research for the resort he is breaking ground on in 2016 at Cape Hatteras. I hope he at least opens it for one day, one weekend sometime in between. Don’t quote me, hopefully he does open here in Lemoore but I doubt it.

bankswar
bankswar
10 years ago

Well the questions just give this story more value every day, i have not watch a surfing clip this many times, since Loose change on VHS.

One wave maybe even the next day, no wind sun high in the sky, just jump off the ski do a step in and not even get wet. It’s a pity we can’t see if his hair is wet.

What about his claims? He also has his own wave pool to improve his small wave game, me thinks he will be ready for snapper. Is this cheating? No wonder he was committed to the next year on the CT.

Has any one interviewed him or any other of the top 32 about this? Greg webber?

When will Dane be allowed to surf it?

Is the winch running on Tesla technology?

That will do for now.

klansea
klansea
10 years ago

How about the fins he puts in that don’t currently exist? New tab fcs w Kelly’s old fins?

Dooma
Dooma
10 years ago
Reply to  klansea

They make those exclusive for Kelly.

Lorlac
Lorlac
10 years ago
Reply to  Dooma

I thought he was off FCS these days. Looked old to me also.

klansea
klansea
10 years ago
Reply to  Dooma

Ya interesting they’re cutting him special fins when he no longer rides for them and they don’t even sell a version of a k fin.

blumpkin mung
blumpkin mung
10 years ago

the more logical answer is that the lemoore warms up during the middle of the day. The pic looks sunny and wind looks very light. It was probably warm out. He may have just paddled out for a quick one and done mind bending tube and then returned to sun bathing while eating gluten free rabbit meal.

Chas Smith
Chas Smith
10 years ago
Reply to  blumpkin mung

Ummmm water takes a few seconds to warm from full suit, booties, gloves to trunks…

Dooma
Dooma
10 years ago
Reply to  Chas Smith

Actually Raimana whipped him in from dry land while Todd Kline trawled for Bass off the back of the ski, they kept pace with the wave until it finished and kelly surfed on to the sled then Taylor Steele handed him a cold Corona to the sound of Jack Johnson music over the PA and faiytales, unicorns, and bigfoot.

blumpkin mung
blumpkin mung
10 years ago
Reply to  Chas Smith

so cal has been frigid at dawn these last few weeks. By mid day you could easily paddle out pretty comfortably for a 20 minute session if there is no wind. But… I’ve reconsidered and I too think it was last summer or potentially even the summer before. May have even taken the lake mobile done a pop up shop for the arvo in Arizona.

J H
J H
10 years ago
Reply to  blumpkin mung

Washed down with a refreshing Purps beverage, of course.

Jimmy the Saint
Jimmy the Saint
10 years ago
Reply to  J H

Whilst wearing an oversized ill fitting Purps hat

J H
J H
10 years ago

Yeah…what the hell was that about?

Luugart
Luugart
10 years ago
Reply to  J H

Hahahahahah I thought the same thing

Jack Robinson's Bowl Cut
Jack Robinson's Bowl Cut
10 years ago

maybe its one of Kellys mind-games…..? water was actually freezing.

Trogan Fan
Trogan Fan
10 years ago

BTW, anyone else notice Kelly’s worst year ever coincides with this? Maybe practice in perfect waves doesn’t make perfect.


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