Slater still has surf bug

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

After three years of not competing full time on the surfing circuit, Kelly Slater is planning a comeback this year. "It wasn't like I felt like I had something to prove. I just wanted to be out there again," he says. Bernie Baker photo

You do the math.

Anyway you add it up, Kelly Slater is the most successful competitor in the history of professional surfing. And he's not done yet.

But more than a month after winning the contest that erased any doubts about his position at the top of the sport, Slater still has a hard time believing it.

"There's no way I can take any of this for granted," said Slater, who is from Cocoa Beach, Fla. "I look at the whole picture of my career and can't believe how things have fallen into place. But of all the things I've accomplished, I would say winning the 'Eddie' was the most unexpected."

Final honor

On Jan. 7, Slater became just the fifth surfer in history to win the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational. Because the contest can run only when waves are higher than 20 feet at Waimea Bay, it has been completed just five times since its creation in 1986.

"It's still kind of weird to think of myself as a big-wave surfer," said Slater, who turned 30 on Feb. 11. "I enjoy surfing big waves with my friends, but I never even considered winning the 'Eddie' as a possibility for me. I think that's why it's taken so long for it to sink in."

It probably didn't help that Slater's name was inadvertently left off the top of the scoreboard throughout the day. Were it not for Slater doing a little math of his own and discovering a scoring error moments before the trophy presentation, Australian Tony Ray would have been declared the winner.

"It's a habit of mine to check the scores," Slater said. "I've been doing that since I was a kid surfing in the amateur contests. It's rare that you find a mistake, though. This was just one of those times."

Hale'iwa's Ross Williams, who placed 14th in the Eddie Aikau contest, left Waimea Bay before the trophy presentation and thought the television news made a mistake by announcing Slater as the winner.

"I called him right after I saw it on TV to tell him how funny that was, but he told me it was true," Williams said. "He's probably the only guy who would have checked his scores like that. Not because he was looking for mistakes. He's so competitive, he was probably looking for ways he could have improved his scores."

After a month of interviews with the media and other promotional appearances on the Mainland, Slater returned to O'ahu's North Shore.

"I wouldn't say my life has changed," he said. "But I'm starting to understand why people are saying that my career is complete. There's a sense of fulfillment in hearing that."

As Williams put it: "Kelly has officially done everything as far as this sport goes. He's won in small waves and big waves and everything in between. He's the Michael Jordan, or Tiger Woods, or whoever else you can think of, for surfing."

The return

Like Jordan in basketball, Slater is making a comeback of sorts in professional surfing.

After three years of "semi-retirement," Slater will return to the Association of Surfing Professionals World Championship Tour this year. In the past three seasons, he only competed in select events.

"It wasn't like I felt like I had something to prove," he said. "I just wanted to be out there again."

Winning the Eddie Aikau contest was a remarkable way to begin his comeback year, although the results of that event will not count toward the world championship standings. This year's world tour will officially begin next month with the Quiksilver Pro in Australia.

"It's actually inspired me," Slater said. "It's like no matter what I do, this will always be a good year for me because I won the 'Eddie.' Now, I can just go out and have fun on the tour."

In truth, the Eddie Aikau victory only added to Slater's already legendary status. For the past decade, he has been one of surfing's most recognized figures.

In addition to his surfing titles, Slater has appeared in several television and print advertisements, and once had a regular role on the television series "Baywatch." He was once voted to People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful" list, and also once dated Pamela Anderson. Slater, a five-handicap golfer, was even the subject of a short feature article in this month's Golf Digest.

"He's well known across the United States, in Japan, and throughout Europe," said Glenn Moncata, the Hawai'i director of sales and marketing for Quiksilver. "And it's not all because of his surfing."

Recognizable name

Quiksilver, considered one of the largest companies in the surf industry, has been Slater's primary sponsor for the past 12 years.

"I think as far as marketing value, he's the lifeline of the company," Moncata said. "I don't think you can even put the value in millions or any figure like that. He's beyond that."

To be sure, Slater keeps a whirlwind schedule. This month, for example, he is being filmed for a promotional ad for a video game that will bear his name, working on a book about surfing, and serving as a consultant with Disney for an upcoming animated movie that will feature surfing scenes.

"I do feel like an ambassador for the sport sometimes," he said. "And that's fine with me. This sport has taken care of me and allowed me to be in the position that I'm in."

Through it all, Slater has remained grounded. Any questions about being "the greatest" or the "Superman of surfing" are quickly deflected.

"It's an honor that some people feel that way about you," he said. "But I still don't feel comfortable with all that. I'm just doing what I love and I want to keep doing it for a long time."