Kelly Slater, board contemplation, Hawaii

“This is Kelly in his new yard near Pipeline,” says photog Steve Sherman. “He just bought the house and was posting up here before each of his heats.” So, the champ’s acquired a new crib. But, why’s he staring so intently at this board? In truth, he’s a tiny bit rattled: “In their round four heat, right before this,” continues Sherm, “John-John (Florence) had beaten Kelly. Kelly then had to make a decision about what to ride before his next heat.” It may be unlike the Champ to show uncertainty in anything concerning competitive surfing, but when you’re against a kid that’s grown up surfing the wave you’re about to compete on, has the whole beach rallying behind him and has beaten you in an earlier heat, y’gotta be certain. But, you can’t ever doubt Kelly Slater. “In the heat with John John he rode a 5’11”, and felt like he wasn’t able to catch a lot of the waves he needed,” says Sherm. “He ended up riding the 6’8″ to victory in his next heat, though, against Marcus Hickman. This is the board he did that sick no grab bottom turn under the lip. One step backwards, two steps forward.”