The Circus and the Wave

Jordan Tappis meets legend Robert Slater

Could there be such a thing as too sublime - a state just too detached from ordinary experience to be anything other than inhuman, a nudge past what's natural? Perhaps it's in this chill of perfection that unease and negativity grow. Or do we just resent success when it breaks some unwritten rules? Who sets the rules anyway?

There seems to be a threshold of performance, control and domination beyond which respect is replaced with envy, disdain or ambivalence. A line beyond which genius is overshadowed by the attendant circus that follows and feeds so dependently on it.

One thing's for sure, the circus certainly hitches its gaudy wagons to one Robert Kelly Slater, and thus he is cast as a hero to some, treacherous villain to others. In the hullabaloo, it's all too easy to be diverted from what matters most. But for those who dare to see what lies beneath, there's an unrelenting competitor whose inarguable achievements are no accident or gift. More importantly, past the sideshows, lazy labels, accusations of money chasing, Hollywood slurs of a hundred different ways of selling out, there lies an extraordinary and rarely seen man.

A man beyond the circus and the wave. An Artist.

Jordan Tappis spent three hours with Kelly Slater discussing everything from the mystical feeling of love to the healing power of crystals...

The interview

JT: If you were a shrink trying to get a handle on Kelly Slater, how would you describe him in clinical terms?

KS: Obsessive compulsive disorder mixed with a little borderline addictive personality disorder when it comes to things he loves. Kelly’s used surfing as a replacement for intimacy and stability, and goes from being very present one minute to seemingly aloof the next. He's a pretty complex case study because he lives a lot of different lives in the sense that he travels a ton, and his surroundings and friends are constantly changing. I don't think I've ever done an interview in third person. Maybe I'll try this more often.

JT: Your accomplishments are astounding: ten world titles, the winningest surfer in the history of the ASP world tour, the Eddie Aikau big-wave surf competition – the list goes on and on. You grew up in Cocoa Beach, Florida, a place hardly known for its good surf while your contemporaries all grew up immersed in surf culture and, more importantly, great waves. Raw talent aside, can you logically explain how the most dominant athlete in the history of professional surfing hails from America's least likely world champion training ground?

KS: You have to walk before you can run and surfing small waves is surfing's equivalent of walking and crawling. Even if you’re a grom on the North Shore, you have to start in the small stuff. Florida's waves are slow moving due to our continental shelf being so shallow, so it really slows down the whole process and makes it a little easier to translate that to bigger surf. It teaches you to tap into the power of a wave, in my opinion.

"The fun and the challenge of surfing never really go away. There's always something there to put you back in your place."

JT: What is it you love about surfing? It's a broad question, but I can't imagine one can be this good at something without there being a healthy dose of love, infatuation, maybe even obsession.

KS: It’s the whole experience, the sense of adventure and personal freedom, I guess. The feeling that you can always learn something and that it's free to do and no one can tell you how you have to do it. The fun and the challenge of it never really go away. There's always something there to put you back in your place.

JT: Surfing-wise, you've won everything there is to win. What keeps you competitively motivated?

KS: Basically, just the love of surfing and competing. I grew up as a younger brother and learned to compete really well in order to get things I wanted — not because I was stronger or smarter, but because I was either sneaky or good.

JT: What surfers inspire you and why?

KS: I get inspired by a lot of surfers. The first thing that comes to mind are the newest guys on the scene, Jordy Smith, Dane Reynolds, etc. Those guys are great competitors and pushing the sport a ton. Surfing's best guys are now really trying things that are mind surfing, and I think it's only just getting started. I love body surfing and watching Mark Cunningham and Mike Stewart at Pipe, anyone who charges big waves pretty much. Shane Dorian, because he's got it wired big and small, Laird [Hamilton] because he's just totally on it with every aspect of fitness and surfing different equipment. You get the sense no wave scares him. My new favourite athlete though is a fighter by the name of Kimbo Slice. I know that has nothing to do with anything but I love mixed martial arts.

"AI is probably the only one who doesn't really have a weak point competitively"

JT: Throughout your career you've had your fair share of rivals, all of whom you've methodically dismantled. Out of all of these guys, who do you consider to be your most formidable opponent and why?

KS: AI [Andy Irons] is probably the only one who doesn't really have a weak point competitively. His is more a personal struggle than anything, and he is always able to push that into his surfing and increase his focus. It's usually what makes great performers.

JT: If you had to pick a weak point in the technical aspect of your surfing what would you say it is?

KS: I've always wanted a little lower centre of gravity and a stronger lower body. Even though I've got skinny legs, I would say I've got some power in my surfing, but I've always been able to hide some of my flaws by compensating in other areas. You have to use what you've got. I have always thought I should take a couple of months to get myself in amazing shape and then see how I surf. I've pretty much always been at a good level, but not great in terms of fitness.

JT: What's it like being deeply barreled? Can you describe the experience?

KS: Not really. Just total concentration, I guess. When you think about it, any time you are in a barrel, you get to be in a place that no one else in the world has been. It always will be the ultimate ride in surfing.

JT: You've had the opportunity to travel all over the world surfing. Is there any particular place that sticks out as your favourite destination?

KS: Fiji. The people are the nicest in the world and the surf's about as good as it gets when it's on.

"I don't ever want to get to the end and say I could've done this or that"

JT: What is your greatest fear?

KS: I think it's not knowing how to live to my full potential as a person and friend. I don't ever want to get to the end and say I could've done this or that for someone. I think there are a lot of things right in front of us we either don't know or are afraid to know the answers to. I think that's why people seem more conservative as they get older.

JT: What or who inspires you?

KS: People doing what seems obvious, something we all know, but that no one else is doing; someone who won't take no for an answer from themselves when they know inside that something can be done.

JT: If you had to give a beginner surfer advice what would you say?

KS: Big board. Build the confidence and don't surf with a bunch of other people.

JT: You've been playing music for years. You’ve built guitars, performed on stage with artists like Ben Harper, Eddie Vedder and Jack Johnson to name a few. Who are some of your favourite musicians and how important a role does music play in your life?

KS: Music is comfort to me. Last week, while in Brazil, I didn't play guitar all week and I realised I was getting very stressed out. For me, it's like taking aspirin for a headache or something. It's so hard to pick just your favourites, but you named three of them there. Jack Johnson is the best lyricist in music right now, in my opinion. I also like Brett Dennen's lyrics a lot. I've been listening to Paolo Nutini and James Morrison a lot lately. Ben Harper just did this song with a Brazilian girl named Vanessa da Mata that I really love. I'm always looking for new stuff like everyone. Waiting to hear Jack's new one right now. I think I'm the last one of our friends not to have heard it yet.

JT: You've been in the limelight since you were sixteen years old, maybe younger. How do you think the fame has changed you? In your experience, has international fame been good or bad for you?

KS: It's caused a lot of frustration in my personal life, but it's also created a lot of fun opportunities to do so many things in so many different places with so many great people. I don't know if fame has changed me. I hope it hasn't, but I guess in some ways I’ve been jaded from having so much disposable opportunity. I don't want to change from who I am, but I've always wanted to become more aware of what life is all about.

JT: Speaking of opportunities, for years you’ve received a lot of attention for having celebrity girlfriends. Is it easier for you to spend your intimate time with women who deal with similar things on a day-to-day basis?

KS: It's easier to not have a normal life and get caught up in that non-reality. Let's just say that my so-called celebrity girlfriends have been totally blown out of proportion. Now it seems that every famous girl I know, I'm supposed to be sleeping with. Pretty lame.

"Beautiful women don’t seem like a bad idea"

JT: But in your experience can beautiful women become an addiction? Can it destroy the chance of coming back to a simple monogamous relationship?

KS: Anything you constantly repeat becomes patterned in your life. [Beautiful women don’t] seem like a bad idea, but connecting with someone you really love and get along with is surely much more meaningful and important.

JT: Do you think you've had to make sacrifices to live the life of a professional surfer?

KS: I have felt at certain times of my life I sacrificed a lot to totally experience this opportunity. I have felt married to surfing and all it offers at times.

JT: If you could go back in time would you change anything?

KS: If I could go back, I wouldn’t have sold no crack!

JT: Hmm… Have you ever actually used drugs, Kelly?

KS: I've tried pot a couple of times but just don't get it. I don't think it did anything the first couple of times. I mixed a lot of alcohol with it and threw up about three or four years ago. I really don't think there's anything at all I'm missing. I think any kind of smoking is a really odd way to spend any time or money.

JT: You’ve been to Israel to teach young kids how to surf. Why did you end up not going to the Gaza Strip as originally planned?

KS: We couldn't get the plans together to get into Gaza. What we were going after could be done in Israel more easily, but I would love to go back and go into Gaza and experience that one time for sure.

JT: Can you elaborate on your feelings about the war?

KS: We all got duped beyond our wildest imaginations through the lies told to us by our so-called leaders and the media. People can handle the truth, but sometimes it's just too unbelievable and embarrassing to accept.

JT: Are you religious? Do you believe in God?

KS: No. I'm agnostic. I know all things are possible, but if there is a God, he's been used in a strange way by a lot of people to make them feel right and just. If he's there, can't he do everything? Why not make awareness of what we're doing a little more obvious and life’s purpose not such a mystery of faith?

"There are a lot of waves I still want to surf and experience"

JT: What future goals do you have for yourself?

KS: I want to build a house and have a family at some point when it makes sense. There are a lot of waves I still want to surf and experience. I want to get more into writing, studying, recording music as time frees up. There are a few film ideas I have that I want to work on. Also, this wave-pool idea I am working on I truly believe is the way for surfing to reach everyone in the world in a real sense and potentially making surfing possible for the Olympics.

JT: Do you fully understand the healing power of crystals?

KS: Not exactly. I think you have to be open and sensitive to the idea that they can work and they could also not work. It's just life's balance needs to be looked at from all angles. I believe that everything we need is here naturally on the earth. There's not a fruit that grows or process that happens that doesn't work for us in a natural way. That shows me that we are from the earth. I'm not sure we evolved exclusively from apes or that we were magically placed here, but to me it all makes perfect sense that it's happening.

JT: Do you ever use sarcasm to veil your feelings? Is being vulnerable difficult for you?

KS: Absolutely. I didn't learn the best communication skills in my family. Sarcasm and cynicism are great hurdles and tools for hiding.

JT: Do you believe in love?

KS: Absolutely. There is nothing else to believe in.