Kelly Slater, twilight swerve at D-bah, Gold Coast

The surfing world knows much about Kelly Slater. A man of such influence seldom lives in the spotlight without most facets of his life trickling out to the public at some point. But one thing y’might, perhaps, just maybe not know, is that when on the Gold Coast for the Quiksilver Pro, Snapper Rocks, Kelly likes to surf just as the sun sets. “I was shooting down at D’bah this afternoon with Jordy (Smith),” says photog Ryan Miller. “And right on dark, Kelly comes running down the beach with this tiny little four-fin. I’m baffled why this guy surfs right on dark so often.”

In a post-heat interview at Snapper, during an earlier round, Kelly was asked about the sunset sessions. The answer’s easy: Crowds. Or, lack thereof. But for all the prying and documentation, there’s still one thing that Kelly has managed to keep all to himself – his WT expiry date: “Everyone always makes a big deal about whether I’m going to keep going on,” he said. “When I’m going to quit, I’ll tell everybody – how about that?” Stab likes it that way. Just as we love the swagger of this speed-blurred sunset swerve.