Doors of perception.
Four years ago it was revealed that surfing great Kelly Slater had gone to Costa Rica in order to visit the Rythmia Life Advancement Center, a resort that promises to “awaken you to your highest potential through the Rythmia way program, ayahuasca ceremonies, yoga, metphysics classes, hydrocolonic cleanses, transformational breath work, massage and farm-to-table organic food.”
It was life changing.
The 11x World Champion, glowing, delivered a to-camera testimonial where he said:
“I just had the most profound experience of my life. I literally decided to come here twelve hours before I came. It was something that was nagging at me for a few weeks beforehand, that this was something that could potentially change my life. I’ve had a lot of experience in my life. I’ve been all around the world… I’ve lived all around the world…and I’ve got to experience most worldly things. But…”
Just days ago, BeachGrit principal Derek Rielly re-visited the chapter, wondering if Slater’s psychedelic drug trip four years ago opened a portal for the Floridian to launch a world-title challenge, unprecedented in all sports, in his fiftieth year?
As it turns out, Rielly, himself, was prescient for it has just been announced that Slater will be Rythmia’s newest board member. Per the press release:
Rythmia Life Advancement Center today announced that Kelly Slater, 11-time World Surfing Champion, will be appointed to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Mr. Slater joins Rev. Michael Bernard Beckwith, Martin Luther King III, Toni Ko, Gerard Armond Powell, Dr. Jeff McNairy, Gerard Powell II, and Patrick Powell as a member of the Board.
“I am so excited to have Kelly Slater on our Board of Directors,’ said Gerard Armond Powell, CEO, Rythmia Life Advancement Center. ‘He is a true champion and friend, and we are blessed to have him.”
Slater, the announcement goes on to say, “also plays the guitar and ukulele. He has performed with Jack Johnson, as well as Angus Stone. And he is a member of the band The Surfers, alongside fellow surf pros, Rob Machado, and Peter King.”
Imagine sitting there in Costa Rica, colon clean, ayahuasca taking hold, the smooth sounds of Kelly Slater’s ukulele filling the warm air.
Miraculous.