Surfing legend Kelly Slater shares an adorable memory of his 17th birthday

Few people have influenced the surfing world quite like Kelly Slater. Widely regarded as the greatest, the 11-time world champion picked up the surfboard at the young age of 5 and never dropped it. In a throwback video, Slater recalled an interview he gave around his 17th birthday. He looked equally ambitious and passionate even in his teenage years.

Kelly Slater shared a video of him surfing just before he turned 17. He spoke about his academic demands, his love of big waves and how much he missed Hawaii.

Kelly Slater was already making waves in the surfing world before he was 17

On his Instagram, Kelly Slater shared a story with the caption: “Right about my 17th birthday”. The story included a 1:48 video of his 1990 interview with Surfer Magazine. It revealed an interesting facet of Slater’s double life – that of a hard-working boy with a 4.0 GPA and also a rabid surfing enthusiast. Slater developed a deep love and passion for surfing from an early age without jeopardizing his education.

He said, “I’m doing well in school and surfing… for the last few years. It’s not that hard, all you have to do is come back and do your makeup.”. However, he already misses surfing during his studies, especially in Hawaii, where he mainly surfed at the time. he continued “I’ve been there (in Hawaii) for three weeks, I’ll be back, I always have makeup work to do, but I always think of Hawaii, just think of the barrels and how perfect the waves are.”.

Slater first made waves in the East Coast amateur scene and by then had already won six ESA (Eastern Surfing Association) titles and four US titles. It was a record number for a 17-year-old. But Slater always called himself one ‘Soul Surfer’. His love for surfing knows no bounds as he once confessed that despite his misgivings he would continue surfing until he was 90.

Slater valued his love of surfing above any amount of money

As someone who treasured the true essence of surfing big waves beyond any expectation for prizes or rewards, Slater upheld that tradition throughout his career. Despite being honored with numerous awards throughout his life, the 50-year-old has always put the joy of surfing above any of those awards. A true “soul surfer” with a fluent control style, he has also shared his knowledge of how not to drown.

Slater joined the World League right after he was 18 years old. Estimates and assumptions were that he was the next big thing, someone who would take over the World Surfing Championships. And boy were they right!

WATCH THIS STORY – 50-year-old surfing legend Kelly Slater’s 5 best surfing destinations