“I don’t think I’ve ever allowed Hawai’i to really feel like home,” Kelly says in episode 11 of Kelly Slater: Lost Tapes. “As a kid I wanted to live in Hawai’i so bad, I think it’s still hard for me to realize that I live here.” All that being said, there’s no doubt that Kelly has a special connection with the crown jewel of Hawaiian surfing, The Banzai Pipeline.
Episode 11 is the final episode in the Lost Tapes series (catch episode 10 here). So, after a trip around the world, it’s nice to come home, even (and perhaps especially) if there’s a complicated relationship to explore there. Episode 11 dives into Kelly’s connection with Pipe, his connection to pro surfing, his career, and where he’s going to take things next. “You have to be realistic as you’re getting older in what’s deemed to be a young man’s sport,” Kelly says. “Being eighth at 47 years old is a pretty big accomplishment for myself… My brother’s trying to push me to surf until I’m 50… Maybe that’s a bar I need to try and set.”
