Let's celebrate with the most dazzling moment in his thirty-year career!
Today, February 12, is the birthday of Kelly Slater, who was born in 1972.
And what a year it was!
Israeli athletes murdered by Palestinian terrorists at the Munich Olympics, a Ford Pinto cost two grand, a gallon of gas was fifty-five cents, Nixon was sunk by the Watergate break-in, The Godfather was the movie to see if you were a sharp sorta cat and if you turned on the radio, you’d be swallowed by the guitars of a new Brit band called Led Zeppelin.
Forty-four years old today. Can you believe? Slater’s lived through Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush snr, Clinton, little Bush, Barack Obama and maybe, soon, Hillary Clinton or mad old Bernie Sanders.
And so many career highlights: eleven titles, fifty-four tour wins, more time racked up on social media than any other surfer, pro or otherwise.
But the highlight that sings to me, and probably to you too, is when the former Waves magazine editor Vaughan Blakey, convinced Kelly, then 31, to cameo in his film Doped Youth. Who knew Kelly was a natural in front of the camera?
Watch here! (And, yes, that’s your favourite WSL commentator Ron Blakey at the end!)
Kelly Slater in Doped Youth from BeachGrit on Vimeo.
Such a good Movie. I remember freaking out when a bunch of us saw Davo whilst we were in Sydney yelling ‘Fucking Kingswood Black!!!’
I’d say old Kell rates being on Doped Youth right up there with his greatest highlights ,But in reality his acting performance was poor compared to most of the others. Greasy and Lemmy in the credits was outstanding
Wasn’t his b-day on the 11th?
By 1972, Zep were dinosaurs. LZ I, II, III & IV released in 69, 69, 70 & 71. Nixon was impeached & sacked in 1974. Regardless, happy birthday to King ‘Syrian’ Kelly, fellow Aquarian & Phoenician. Only after the injustice & greatest performance at Pipe 2013, did I honor The King (since Aussies cheer the underdog). Again, at 44, The King beats all comers at Volcom Pipe. A freak. A top bloke. A surfing legend, who still talks with the same voice as when he was a grommet. Will Kelly have eternal youth, like Badger?
Do you refer to yourself in the third person because you’re a mental?
Doped Youth is fuckin classic despite it featuring Dingo. It shows way more of each wave (including the gimpy dismounts) than todays shit edits which provides the opportunity to showcase style. The stop rewind play in sync with the music is also an A+ Gold Standard of editing feature worth mentioning. If a video doesn’t get better after you’ve hit a bong, you’ve done something wrong.