Kelly Slater is having a big year. In the past three months, the 11-time world champion has had a lot of ups and downs, but mostly ups.
Most recently, he beat out John John Florence and Seth Moniz in an opening round heat at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach. Though it should never really come as a surprise when Kelly dominates a heat, this had been on the tail end of a run of disappointing results and missed competitions, along with hints at the possibility of his impending retirement.
A prelude to Slater and Florence’s recent face off comes in the form of a shared highlight reel from YouTube Channel Off Da Lip. The edit gives us a flashback to this most recent Hawai’ian winter, where a run of swell provided a perfect training ground for the grueling Championship Tour season.
If you recall, it was a winter that had a rocky start for the GOAT. Kelly went into the new year recovering from a hip surgery he underwent in late 2023. The labrum reconstruction kept him out of the water for around three months, until he was spotted in late January at Pipe. The same surgery would then be the reason he cited for skipping out on the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal.
You wouldn’t know it from the footage though. So sit back and watch as John and Kelly trade waves in the surfing world’s ultimate playground.
