Kelly Slater Says He’d “Rather Ride John’s Wave”

Last week at the Lexus Pipe Pro, we saw two perfect 10s — one by Jack Robinson, and another by Barron Mamiya.

Many, however, believed that John John’s Backdoor snake run — “maybe the best Backdoor wave I’ve ever seen” according to Barron — also deserved a perfect score.

“If the order was switched, and John had gotten his wave before Barron’s it would have been a 10 all day,” explained Stace Galbraith in our latest episode of The Drop, playing above and on your preferred podcast platform. “But because Barron’s wave was first, the judges just couldn’t go there.”

The two waves in question, posted below for your convenience, are strawberries and bananas — Barron’s a giant, over-vert teepee; John’s a cascading crystal palace. There’s a high level of technicality in both rides, but most would argue that Barron’s required more skill — and certainly guts — to wrangle.

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In the Red Bull TV alt-cast on Channel 51, Coco Ho asked Kelly Slater point blank: which wave would you have wanted?

"Whose wave, or whose ride?" clarified Kelly, a student of nuance. He proceeded to explain: "I think Barron had the most incredible under-the-lip... he was halfway down the face when he was standing up and it sucked him up to three-quarters and he still freefell from there. Then he had to go straight at the lip to engage the fins. Technically that was about as good as anything I've ever seen at Pipe. But I think John's wave was a wave I'd rather have. Pumping into a gigantic Backdoor barrel — that's been my dream since I was a little kid. I love Pipe, but nothing beats a big-as-it-gets Backdoor wave that you have to pump into from behind it."

You can watch the entire chat with Kelly below at the 5:04:30 mark. As usual, it's filled with unfiltered insights and even some laughs.