At some point, Kelly Slater is supposed to start looking his age.
Apparently, 54 isn’t it.
Fresh off a memorable wildcard appearance at the Tahiti Pro, the 11-time world champion resurfaced at Lower Trestles during Hurricane Marie’s south swell—and proceeded to remind everyone that retirement and irrelevance are two very different things.
Firewire captured Slater during a raw session at pumping Lowers, where he was riding the Dan Mann-designed DRK. The footage shows vintage Slater: deep bottom turns, ridiculous positioning, lightning-fast direction changes and the sort of rail surfing that looks effortless until you remember he’s doing it at 54.
Firewire shaper Dan Mann perhaps explained it best: “Kelly not thinking about the board is when he is free to fly. When he is flying, we all win.”
Which raises an interesting question: Should Slater have received a wildcard into this week’s Lexus Trestles Pro?
There’s certainly evidence for the prosecution.
Just last month at Teahupo’o, Slater received a controversial wildcard and responded by demolishing three-time world champion Gabriel Medina with a 19.06 heat total, including a 9.73 and 9.33 in pumping barrels.
Criticism over that wildcard only motivated him.
“You see those comments, a lot of people doubting me or saying [the opportunity] should have gone to a local wildcard,” Slater said afterward. “Even after all this time, I have something to prove.”
Consider that point proven.
Lowers presents a different test than Teahupo’o. It’s less about survival and barrel mastery and more about progressive, high-performance surfing—the arena where younger legs should theoretically have the biggest advantage.
Yet watching Slater during the Marie swell, it’s difficult to argue he would look out of place wearing a jersey.
Related: 54-Year-Old Kelly Slater Goes Near Perfect at Psycho Tahiti
Would he win the event? Who knows. A freesurf edit isn’t a CT heat. But could Kelly Slater still compete with the world’s best at Lower Trestles?
At 54 years old, the GOAT just supplied some compelling evidence.
What do you think?
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