Slater, doing what he does best… and that he’s done best for a long, long time. Photo: YouTube//Screenshot
Surfing is weird. In a good way, but it’s weird. There aren’t too many other sports or activities or whatever you want to call surfing where you can share the playing field with the best in the world. But surfing? That happens.
Such was the case in the Mentawai Islands, when Kandui went off. Sure, most of the surfers were better than the global average, but if you find yourself on a boat with well-overhead Kandui in front of you, you’re probably no slouch. Still, though, Kelly is an 11-time world champion, so it’s likely there were at least a few star-struck surfers paddling around.
But that’s the ocean, right? A great equalizer. We all fall, even Kelly. He just doesn’t fall as much.
“Kelly Slater made an appearance and put on a show for everyone on board,” wrote Jesse Little on YouTube.
Kelly is getting up there in years, but he’s still performing like a young man, especially when the waves are pumping. He’s lithe, flexible, and strong. Functional fitness, as it were. Not bulky like a body builder, not rake thin like a marathon runner. He’s still surfing with the best of them — maybe not as much of a title threat as he once was, but definitely not not a title threat. He’s famously into health and fitness, which one must be if they expect to compete in a physical sport into their fifties, and he’s not shy about explaining how he keeps himself in tip-top shape.
And he keeps in tip-top shape so he can continue doing what you see in this video. Is there a better reason?
