Kelly Slater's First-Ever Midlength: Boss Up

Meet Kelly Slater's first-ever performance midlength, the Boss Up. The Boss Up is the bigger brother of the S Boss.
This utility midlength is the most well-rounded and versatile shape in the Slater Designs range, designed by Dan Mann. The shape was designed to work well in both weak waves as well as heavier conditions - it can cruise across flat wave faces while also shoot through cavernous overhead tubes.
The Boss Up is the board you would travel with if you could only bring one board with you. Your one board quiver with maximum performance in a purely versatile package.
Our crew has really been enjoying this midlength when keeping it mellow and cruising is top-of-mind (or the need to be more mobile to battle crowds). That said, Dan Mann's also been putting it in punchier surf with an open face - as it's perfect for carving. Michel Bourez has ridden well-overhead barrels at home in Tahiti, and loved it equally in those conditions.
For fins, we'd recommend running the KS1 template as a Quad. This template has a lot of pivot for a neutral template, and when combined with the long rail line of the Boss Up, you want fins that can pivot immediately like the KS1. Or, start with your favorite fin set and if it feels too stiff, add more pivot with the KS1 template.
For size and volume, the beauty of this shape is that it doesn't command you dial-in your volume perfectly. Any single surfer can ride the Boss Up in a variety of sizes. Dan Mann has been enjoying both the 6'8" and the 7'0", while Kelly, Shane Dorian and Kevin Schulz have stayed on the 6'8", and Michel has been riding the 6'10". We recommend riding this around 13 liters more in volume than your standard shortboard. The increased volume means paddle power is incredible, but doesn't compromise performance.
Shop Boss Up in United States: bit.ly/4bhlznZ
Shop Boss Up in Australia: bit.ly/4aArrZx
Shop Boss Up in Europe: bit.ly/443s1wa
Shop Boss Up in United Kingdom: bit.ly/3U4n0yN

[@sebastiaosantos7954]

I just want to see a video of kelly surfing with this surfboard! Love the outline.👍🏻

[@moscaman559]

Kelly’s always been into board design and thinking out of the box. Many years tweaking and testing…. always fascinating listening to his thoughts ! 🐐🐐

[@tyson9419]

Slater fanboys are the worst…. He’s speaking gibberish marketing lingo

[@moscaman559]

@@tyson9419 apparently you are a fan, you watched the video😂😂😂

[@tyson9419]

Weak

[@ItsWesSmithYo]

Big ups 50+ squad…I’ll keep my eyes peeled for one in the jungle 🤙🏽

[@Anthony-fd3lz]

Thankyou Kelly for Al Merrick's boards. 👍

[@Anthony-fd3lz]

Cool they were like drop ships...

[@mattgalster9405]

Nice sick cool board! 🤤

[@BenConley]

Count me in! 🤙

[@hawaiiansouthshore]

The boards look sick! Can't wait to hear surfers review on this one 🤙

[@kylewattssurfing3266]

NICCCCCCCCCCCEEEEE NICCCCCCCCCCCEEEEE YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAHHHHH!! 👏😎👏

[@arrzfr]

Now we also want to know about the 5'4 Fugazi for Kevin Schulz 1:37

[@Steven_Oliver_Resurfaced]

this board looks so fun!! - 40 liters at Waimea!? 😅

[@scottyknowsurf]

can't wait to see his personal edits, he should make a channel! upload his surfs, easy.

[@DeforestLCooper]

The experiments at the end are akin to Lindsey Lords, Naval Architecture of Planing Hulls - to see how well a bottom hull planes on top of the water.

[@jw8556]

Thanks for the info lm going to buy my first board and that would suit lm in my mid fifties and thought it was time to finally have a crack at some water therapy

[@Sweetheart_of_the_rodeo]

Came here expecting to see Slater surfing a mid length, I’ve never seen that

[@thestow35]

board looks great...and so do plenty of others :) I thought Kevin Schulz was raving about the Mid 6 not too long ago? - but I guess he can't rave about it anymore because Thunderbolt and Firewire parted ways.

[@jeffg4686]

It's a nice one for FL - definitely. Would personally like to see a standard thruster option. Why not take that same shape down to 36L option - whatever size that works out to be.

[@Xan1988OG]

Heavy reality right here. Shit... Go out in style.

[@twomako9]

45 years old ripping from Caribbean, Guadeloupe

[@rjones4247]

Cmon goat ride the thing

[@krusher74]

its just for people who have them to pretend in the back of their minds that he does ride one.

[@twomako9]

would loVe to try one but for me i c'ant because it 's so expensive and no lightweight models for me 21,5 liters

[@surfbum8166]

Retired and already riding a mid length, sponsored by AARP

[@ThomyeSurfs]

LOL, I'm 54, I just started getting my AARP letters in the mail. 🤣🤣🤣 😢😢😢

[@boltup5566]

Soon to be on craigslist...."Tried it at waist high cardiff. It wasn't for me. $600."

[@krusher74]

its the perfect board for loosers who want to connect themselves to Kelly by the tinyest margin.

[@12jasroxy]

Hate all you want while those who have one are having some of the best surfs of their lives.

[@fuzz6454]

Would be interesting to know your height and the length of the board. Seems like if you want a mid length for small waves, probably a foot or more longer than your height is the way to go.

[@charleshawk6668]

@@12jasroxyand it will be sold in 2-3 weeks, sounds like you fall for the FireWire marketing and it shows 😂

[@12jasroxy]

@@charleshawk6668 marketing? That's funny I've already been riding the board for the last two months.

[@BritonRoque-im1xg]

shinderella shtorry, came outa nowhere, a liddle harsh, bark, growing a combover, Hint KSsounds like Bill Murray

[@williamhanley7031]

I QUESS it takes a super star to get people to ride what's accurate for Thier capability. All novice surfers should ride this before going to a short board. I've been up on the volume for 5 years now and never went back to the shorty. They turn

[@williamhanley7031]

Liter peter. Leagnth and thickness is what only I understand . Here these guys saying, it's not the right liter for me. Just frickin ride a board and do what you can

[@brba1325]

So Kelly comes out with a Mid6 lookalike. I wonder if he'll make a version of the Moe?

[@andrewkao9924]

Retires from competition and immediately jumps on a mid-length! That was fast.

[@hawaiiansouthshore]

Haha Yeah...

[@barryshepard5792]

IMO, it's not a board for everyone. But that's a fact for everything in life.

[@danieldesmond3422]

Okay Kelly 😏😏😏

[@manulele2020]

I’m not sure about this board… the guy doesn’t have enough experience on mid length… If you are a decent surfer have a chat with your shaper and make a custom that suit you. Mid length boards have huge potential and I ride them from 1 to 12 ft just by swapping some fins, I think they are more related to HP longboard than shortboard. Harley can give you an idea… Kelly can surf a coffee table but I don’t think is the guy to ask for mid length…🌊 in the specific… and with all respect for his knowledge.

[@coldseamonster]

You are on a surf trip , the airline destroys all your boards and you’re left with your giant step up and the surf is waist high.

[@danodonnell7218]

And you are stoked ❤

[@paulgrealy7523]

MR Midlength is the best

[@wavester46]

I'm 60yrs and riding 30-33 litres so there's still hope for Kelly LOL

[@fernandoguevara612]

where can find you stickers for boos up

[@hman7236]

The Boss

[@danodonnell7218]

❤❤❤ He is such a salesman,he doesn't need to surf it! This week a thousand will be sold!!!

[@tyson9419]

Yeah he’s full of crap

[@charleshawk6668]

Lmao. His boards new sell for half the price 5-7 months after release 😂 Go browse the boardsource 😂

[@salty_adventures]

Calling a 6‘8 a mid-length sounds like a f* insult to me 😂😂😂 jk I‘m 6‘3 so the relations aren‘t the same, especially for an average like me. Interesting board! Keep it up🤙

[@J0llygiant]

Agreed, at 6’5 and 100kg these are more like a shortboard for me 😂

[@salty_adventures]

@@J0llygiant for sure! My shortest board is a 6‘6, I tried a 6‘4 once but I don‘t see any interest to go smaller

[@emerallemear4872]

I’m 6’2. I have a 6’8 mid length, but it’s for small to head high waves. Super wide, thick rails. It’s like a big guy’s small wave board. I have small wave hybrids like a 5’10 hybrid/grovel type board, but at my size and weight (185 lbs) it feels like even my small wave shortboards need some size and punch to go. I think a proper “all around” midlegnth for guys our size would be somewhere between 6’10 and 7’6

[@salty_adventures]

@@emerallemear4872 Okey I never tried a smaller „fat“ board. Would be interesting. Does it glide well? I have a 7‘2 Lady Twin from Pukas. The board is insanely good, but only in punchy waves. The tail is thin with hard rails which gives the board its reactivity, its channeled and is set up as a twin, a really nice combo. As you say, going a bit longer doesn‘t hurt!

[@J0llygiant]

@@salty_adventures I used to have a 5’9 seaside which was actually fine for me which always surprised me.

[@jaimemc7886]

He did not surf it 😂

[@12jasroxy]

But you should.

[@tyson9419]

Yeah weak commercial

[@joaomiguel1988]

he seems disgusted by it to be honest 🤣

[@AuRowe]

@@joaomiguel1988lmao

[@tg5834]

Nice mini-mall.

[@oshea03]

Kelly doesn't surf small waves anymore unless it's in a WSL comp

[@foxgd88]

He released a mid length as he quit the tour😂 must be a sign

[@MellowMaterials]

Duder should mob the midlength league now

[@stevitos]

Struggling to hide the fact that he doesnt surf it and has no interest in surfing it

[@AuRowe]

Makes this video hilarious

[@akinsl45]

Anyone else notice the MID6 disappears and this board just so happens to be the same exact board lmao - scum move by firewire... coming from a long time rider.

[@kookvision9295]

Hopefully that algae deck pad makes up foe the production of all these superfluous boards that the industry flogs

[@Randomoter]

The poor mans Mid6 🤷‍♂️

[@brba1325]

Didn't Kevin Schultz rave about the Mid6?

[@barrydworak]

Hey Kelly- You're finally retired from the WCT. You're a full time businessman now, like Dr. Dre. You own, among other things, 70% of Firewire. Most of the money Firewire makes, is yours. You're still the best surfer alive. Maybe, just maybe, you could ride this new design from your company, to show us how good it is. Or is there something wrong with it? 🤷

[@timwilgibson]

Kelly mid length = 5'11"

[@Guntherthefool]

Generic science you say? 🤔

[@jimjam8687]

If you watch the video at twice speed it sounds like Kelly’s on coke

[@danielo2427]

I watched it at half speed and now it sounds like he’s been hanging out with Rob Machado too often

[@madscientistdan]

I can’t believe it but I tried it anyways. At 0.5 speed he sounds drunk or definitely like he’s been hanging with Rob Machado!

[@1982mako224]

Board looks like a dog under the feet of some very good surfers in that video. Beware, your results may differ.

[@12jasroxy]

Like with any surfer, but this board is insanely fun. Quiver killer, or stuck on an island with only one board…youre golden.

[@kaiguy]

Made in Asia

[@JeremyNeedham-hi9rs]

Kelly's retirement present to himself?

[@jaud6657]

who cares...if i want a midlenght torren martyn or others would be my reference

[@wurbondurgon]

He sounds so bummed out talking about this board. Most depressing surfboard ad ever

[@stevenharrison7560]

Machado boards take 2..😂

[@jasonfreestone9944]

Kelly’s been the best competitive surfer ever but he’s no where near JJF, Medina, Ethan, Jack Robbo etc now and hasn’t really been for a while really, WSL have pushed his name for a long time. Put him in ‘waves of consequence’ and he’s still top level sure. But he’s in a strange place because I much prefer to watching Machado and Kevin Schulze and Mickey February and Joel Tudor etc than watching an old guy try to compete with the young ones. He can’t do those amazing flowy hacks that Ethan and JJF smash out and he’s nowhere near the air game of the brazzos. Maybe he should finally hop off the tour and show us what he can do on different equipment and not be constrained by litres or length and try everything?

[@MjMayna]

Nose is too wide : (

[@samleary5657]

How dos this compare to the Mid 6? Thanks!

[@12jasroxy]

Both are great, it's a super tough pick between the two. I have both but I'd have the say that I'm riding this more often. I've got 6’8 boss up and 7’ mid 6. I surf almost everyday and it's always a dilemma which one to grab.

[@tyson9419]

Both sweat shop popouts. Buy local

[@samleary5657]

@@tyson9419 do you have an iphone? the clothes your wearing? Go buy those items locally. all probably made in a sweatshop - get over your sanctimony. I have had numerous custom boards from local shapers some worked and some were dogs. I have bought numerous fiewires as well over 40 years of suring and some have been great and no dogs. I buy what works and am done gambling locally.

[@AuRowe]

@@tyson9419localism is disgusting. Virtually no foam is made on site so you're just saying buy an imported thing sHaPeD LoCaLLy

[@joseangon7521]

@@12jasroxy Hello, compared to those two, is the Boss easier to catch the waves? Does it need less wave size than the mid6?