Name: Robert Kelly Slater, aka Kelly
Nicknames: Slats, King Kelly
Hometown: Coco Beach Florida,
Resides: Flordida, California, Australia, Tahiti, North Shore of Hawaii!
Age: 37 (D.o.b. 11 Feb 1972)
Stance: Regular
Sponsors: Quiksilver, FCS Fins, Channel Island Surfboards, Komunity Project Accessories

What can be said about the phenomenal Kelly Slater?  He is 9 times world surf champion, the youngest and oldest surfer to win the ASP tour, instigator of the duel heat competition format, winner of 41 tour titles... and manages to be involved with charity work and dates supermodels and actresses.  Jealous/Inspired?  Kelly has arguably pushed surfing further than ever before, influencing generations of surfers to gone beyond their boundaries, and has changed the way surfing is viewed around the world.


Kelly's rise to superstardom officially began in 1992 when he claimed his first world title.  At the tender age of 20 he was the youngest surfer to achieve this hugely coveted pinnacle, yet it was only the beginning.  Flash forward to 2010 and he has 41 ASP tour wins, and claimed the world title in not only 92', but 94', 95', 96', 97', 98', 05', 06' and 08'.  His feats have surpassed all who have gone before him.

Not only has he set the record of world titles (closest is Australia's Mark Richards- MR holds 5), he took the title for most tour wins from Tom Curren (who has 33) in 2005, and became the oldest surfer to win the world tour in 2007.   He has even achieved the elusive win at the Eddie Aikau Memorial Big Wave Invitational.  Pretty good for a guy from the small waved beaches of Cocoa Beach, Florida.


Kelly began surfing at only 5 years old and learnt on an adapted body board, which he used to best his surfboard owning friends.  He started to enter competitions soon after and progressed extremely quickly turning heads a long the way.  By 1990 he was picked up by Quiksilver and the rest you could say is history.  His autobiography and even his demeanor when being interviewed is always understated and dismissive of his incredible talents, yet no other surfer or athlete can touch on his achievements.

Kelly has proven that with enough focus, determination, training and a ridiculous amount of talent- anything is possible.  He has even made an awe inspiring come back from his partial retirement from the tour during 1999-2001.  So the question that is on everyone's lips is what will 2010 bring?  Kelly won only one ASP event (not a lot for him!) in 2009- the Hang Loose Santa Catarina in Brazil, and finished 6th on the tour at the end of the year.  What with the heated competition between Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson, Kelly was not the centre of attention for once.  Yet, after achieving 9 world titles, it is likely that Kelly will want to complete the set and win a 10th.

We took some snaps of him getting a nice little barrel in the Rip Curl seach in Peniche, Portugal last October (ok so we're not pro photographers!!!). The event is now a permanent fixture on the tour and one of our most popular destinations for surfing holidays in Portugal:






So all eyes are on 2010 and the Australian competitions coming up over the next few months.  In the meantime, take a look at this quick overview of Kelly in the lead up to the launch of the new 3D film “The Ultimate Wave Tahiti” in which he stars.