Kelly Slater Discusses The Greatest Athlete Ever Debate and Andy Irons - The Inertia

In the first part of our two-part interview above, Kelly Slater discusses what it means to be in the "The Greatest Athlete Ever" debate as well as his relationship with Andy Irons, his father, the future of Kelly Slater Wave Company, and words of wisdom that keep him going.
Stay tuned. Part two drops next week. In it, Kelly discusses his politics, gun control, morality, why he likes to aggravate people on social media, and how the surfer stereotype has affected his approach to being a leader. Next Wedenesday. Don't miss it on Surfing's Definitive Online Community: theinertia.com
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[@v.k.i9412]

Kelly obviously thinks before he speaks. He is one of the most articulate athletes and definitely the most articulate surfer.

[@BigZ_4i20]

By far. One thing that upsets me, as a brazilian, is that none of the current wsl brazilian surfers is a talented speaker or even mildly articulated. They are all great poets when silent... Amazing surfers, though

[@silentdogfart4892]

Kelly has that magical combination of being both very focused and very humble. Rare quality. And he's dead right, it's an unanswerable question.

[@12345lolacat]

Seems like a pretty humble dude with some great views on things.

[@metalfish66]

love your humility Kelly

[@sunnygrewal8824]

Kelly is a legend. Just surf, eat and drink with you're lads.

[@bert_gimspon]

Kelly doesn't even have friends...

[@Aint1S]

the result of his miraculous disconnect with his board at the Hurley Pro vs Mick should've helped change surfing's rules for more miracle moments like we witnessed there.

[@clarkewi]

Brilliant.

[@clarkewi]

Amazing interview. Surfing is so exciting and challenging. Waves are beautiful yet they can kill you. Especially at Banzai Pipeline, Hawaii and the other deadly breaks around the world on the pro tour. The competitive surfer is stripped down to almost nothing. Just himself, his small surfboard, his trunks or 3mm wetsuit. So surfing is a real measure of an athlete's talent, conditioning and skill. Hence those that excel exceedingly like Kelly and Andy are clearly great athletes. There can be no argument about that. Are they "They Greatest Athlete Ever"? God only knows.

[@latentsea]

I would put dolphins up there for greatest athletes

[@jodycrawford2841]

Kelly has talent!

[@MyGenericYTC]

Kelly Slater...grown man!

[@skulleagletartat]

He's a good dude.

[@christopherromanoff1598]

...as mr.slater puts forth, judging surfing competitivly...entirely subjective...bravo, Kelly...you and Andy...plus the ozzies..set standard...

[@ShredTheGnarz]

cant wait to go to a wave pool

[@GlassGenius]

ah men to that!

[@AeroGanter]

Irons was my favourite surfer I am so sad that he is gone

[@mux.spacetraveler7877]

Alex Honnold.

[@runemason]

I disagree with Kelly on one point. I think you can scientifically break down what is considered a more difficult move by how much risk it took to pull it off. Every surfer can tell you if a turn is more vertical or critical than another turn. This isn't really opinion, it is speed, flow, torque, release, control and these are things that can be measured. Nobody questions in skate boarding if a front-side 180 olly is harder than a backside 180 olly...we all know it is the bside that is harder. Nobody questions if a stale fish air is harder than just a plain front-side air...we all know it is the stale fish. Likewise in surfing we as surfers know what is more difficult. It is just the judging of those moves that gets confusing.

[@tgshark1]

+Rogue Surfer Cam Films That would make sense but you have to factor in body weight. A larger guy is going to have a more difficult time doing air launches than a smaller dude, the smaller dude will have a harder time carving.

[@briancohen1967]

Lance drugstrong please

[@philipl.hankin6913]

the best

[@dstorm7752]

Cal Ripken, the "iron man," had to retire in his early 40s from a non-aerobic sport, but many ordinary people lift weights and run long distances decades older than that.

[@pete9124]

it's good that its silly to judge surfing because its the only thing you do to escape that bulldust on land!

[@tonyruaporo5535]

F1 driver's are the best athletes on this Earth to drive a car at between 100km 2,3,400km and Finished

[@da324]

You're full of shit.

[@justinlarsen2281]

Ric Flair

[@GlassGenius]

Kelly ask each surfer and skater for $1each. That will generate some $$$$$$

[@AmericanTestConstitution]

The best athletes in the world are MMA fighters. The is almost definite winner. The sport requires all muscles of the body to work evenly. It also requires all land based athletic qualities: endurance, speed, power, accuracy, timing, agility, mobility, balance in anyway, etc. Surfing requires athleticism, but it's not a really a sport. Surfing is most enjoyable without rules; while sports require sets of rigid rules to exist.

[@fernandomaron87]

Skateboarders get it as raw as MMA fighters, they slam on 20 set stairs and fall from height on concrete over and over. Surfing also requires speed, power, accuracy, timing, agility, mobility and lots of balance, specially if you're surfing big intimidating waves

[@tonyruaporo5535]

Never ever bring Tiger Woods name in this Tiger Woods spent a billion dollars on Prostituted a billion dollars on drugs

[@slimmmshaney5695]

Which has nothing to do with what he did on the green. A lot of great athletes are less than savory people, that doesn't take away from their greatness at their sport. One can simultaneously be an incredible athlete and a horrible person.

[@sandygrungerson1177]

lol this is just run-on sentence gibberish...."i read some stuff about this climber guy and how he blows ppls minds but they dont know it except sometimes when they do because he is better on carbs than me with the moves that happen sometimes but its all about being competitive and how that shouldnt be about the outcome except how me and Andee want to kill each other because our dad wore a shirt that was a gift you know?..." etc etc

[@shanecranney7780]

Bring the hate sandy. Would love to hear a sentence from you, Muppet.

[@donaldhall3308]

Kelly, giving Andy a t-shirt with your dads pic on it is messed up like your dad was

[@samimoring1235]

apples&oranges? you starting rambling about golf, rock climbing..I guess that's the apples? and surfing is the oranges? you shoulda edit'd that pointless shit out competitive surfing and judging..you either can or you can't punt airs. micks been surfing for a very long time.. evolve. mick can't pull tailslides, reverses, alley oops etc? guess what? you don't deserve higher points..show variety, evolve. your a fucking professional, act like one. my only question is..andy vs kelly fight? who one? I bet that was awesome!