Eight Things You Never Knew About Kelly Slater

Do not start watching these clips unless you have a spare 30-ish minutes. Kelly Slater, even at this point, still somehow manages to surprise. He recently sat down with Graham Bensinger and discussed a range of topics, but it is perhaps as unguarded and as open as we’ve ever seen The Champ, who has for the most part, kept his private life… private. But, Kelly is human and at the mercy of life’s realities, just as we all are, which becomes apparent when he recalls screaming matches between his mother and alcoholic father, having to sleep on the concrete driveway with his brother, having unanswered questions for his father, then becoming a father himself and missing so much of his daughter’s life due to intensive travel.

But there’s also lighter topics discussed, like the certainty of holding competitions in his wavepool, or how he was embarrassed to be on Baywatch, or how he beat guys twice his age as a kid. Here’s a collection of facts (discussed in detail) that you probably didn’t know about this miracle of human existence:

1. When he was World Champ at 21, he was broke:

2. He’ll probably still compete at 50:

3. Yeah, a wipeout nearly killed him:

4. Waves run his life (actually, you probably already knew this one):

5. He was embarrassed to be on Baywatch:

6. It’s been tough to be there for his daughter:

7. His dad’s death forced him to be a man:

8. He beat guys twice his age as a kid (again, nothing too revelatory here):