Surfboards to surfers are like jewelry to womenThe legend sh

The legend shares his thoughts on boards, and the future.
Pic: Todd Glaser
The internet can’t get enough of Kelly Slater right now, after his (prank) retirement announcement on April 1st , recent part-acquisition of the company Firewire and his stand-out performance at the still-running Bells Beach Pro in Victoria – Kelly is quite literally everywhere in the media.

He’s been stand up paddling, he’s been analyzing waves he’s surfed at Bells, and he just lost a heat to the up and coming mega-star Gabriel Medina from Brazil. That last one we’re a little bummed about, but to make up for it, this great little video popped up today with Kelly going through his personal surfboard collection, which (as you’d imagine) is spectacular.

Surfboards to surfers are like jewelry to women. You put that stuff away, put it in a velvet box and use it on special occasions. We try to save those good boards for important heats or where we know it’s going to stick to our feet. For us that’s gold.

From his own shapes co-designed with good mate Tomo, with unique shapes and strange concaves (and a very short nose). To the board he surfed during his warm up at Bells, and even the ‘Banana boards’ from Greg Webber. Host of the WSL web series and ex pro himself Ross Williams shares his thoughts on each board and interjects with some pointed questions.

Slater also shares his concerns for the environmental impact of surfboard construction, labeling it as ‘chemical’ and ‘destructive’ from the resins and foam blanks used in almost every modern surfboard. Hinting that there’s room for improvement with Firewire, Kelly shows that he’s not just into surfing the boards, but creating a shape that performs with minimal impact to the environment. If Firewire was a publicly traded company, stocks would be going through the roof right now.

Sit back and watch as yet again the master of professional surfing opens up and shares his current pile of boards, exposes his thoughts on the world tour and delves into what the future may hold. While he didn’t retire this week, the real announcement will come soon. Rest assured however, it won’t be the last we see of Kelly Slater.

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