Kelly Slater has never been one to shy from expressing his opinion on a wide range of issues. Occasionally, he steps in it (read: the time he called for a shark cull on Réunion Island and later retracted that statement). But, above all surfing is lucky that the greatest man to ever do it has thoughts on such issues as capital punishment, pollution, and politics and is willing to share those closely-held beliefs so freely.
Which brings us to a recent sprawling interview with sports journo Graham Bensinger on his show In Depth With Graham Bensinger. This isn’t the first time Slater has sat down with Bensinger. Back in 2016, Slater’s spot on the show was especially revelatory about his childhood in Cocoa Beach, his father, and so much more.
A lot has changed since 2016, though. The Surf Ranch in Lemoore, where the two sit for most of the interview, is fully operational. Surfing is now officially primed to make its Olympic debut and Slater has a shot at representing the U.S. in Tokyo. And every year Kelly remains on tour is another year closer to retirement – though he doesn’t so much as hint at retirement plans here.
We’ve compiled some of the most notable segments here to nibble on, but perhaps the most salient piece is Slater’s candid thoughts on the Olympics. Particularly concerns around Japan’s ongoing radiation problem in the wake of the 2011 nuclear disaster at Fukushima, and dolphin drive killings that still occur in Taiji Bay. Both issues, Slater says, should be important to surfers. Although he makes no overtures he’d be willing to boycott the Olympics over them.
“There’s a few things that I don’t think are politically correct that are spoken about during the games,” he says. “But I think that brings up a bigger discussion around nuclear power and captive animals and the fact we kill and eat so many animals around the world.”
Below are a handful of other great moments from the interview.
On falling on his first wave at the Surf Ranch:
On stepping aside: “Tell [the young kids] to take me out.”:
On growing up poor with no heat or hot water at times:
On his bum hoof:
On marriage and kids with longtime girlfriend Kalani Miller. (Kalani wants two or three!):
Check out more from Graham Bensinger’s interview with Kelly Slater on YouTube here.
