Kelly Slater proving why he’s the GOAT. Photo: Dan Scott // YouTube
The Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach was a tough event for Kelly Slater. Though he had a rip-roaring opening round against John John Florence and Seth Moniz, Slater promptly lost to Barron Mamiya in the round of 32. The loss put him on the path to the mid-season cut chopping block, which was cemented with another early loss at Margaret River.
Even going into the competition, Kelly was dropping hints that this run at Bells might be his last (though any talk from Kelly about retiring should always be taken with a massive boulder of salt). “It’s probably my last Bells – not 100 percent. I mean, if I win this one or Margarets, I earn my way back on tour next year,” he said before the event. “But other than that, I’m fine if it’s my last one, 30 years since I won my first, it would be a nice bookend.”
However, all that doesn’t mean Kelly can’t still surf like a madman at the famed Aussie break, as evidenced by a recent post to Dan Scott’s YouTube channel. In the video, Kelly freesurfs a couple Bells waves in April, presumably in the interregnum between the Bells and Margies losses.
Even in defeat, there’s a reason he’s the GOAT.
