That’s Kelly sprinting like a madman to help save Sarah White and her son Van. Still: @freddybooth
Any average human would need a month-long hibernation period after the past few days on the North Shore. But not Kelly Slater. Like a spartan on stimulants (more likely lots and lots of chia seeds), Slater got denied trying to surf maxed out Waimea, won the Volcom Pipe Pro, and saved a mother and her infant son from a freak wave.
And it hasn’t even been a full calendar week.
In classic Kelly form, he was extremely humble about saving Sarah White and her son Van. He brushed it off like it wasn’t a big deal. But footage has surfaced that shows Slater sprinting, no galloping like a goddamn gazelle, to the rescue. It’s pretty intense.
If your Internet browser doesn’t show the video below, you can view it on Insta here.
The footage is from photographer Freddy Booth, but it originally comes from a private account belonging to @spunjah_brad. It’s from Rockpiles, where Kelly was checking the waves after his unsuccessful Waimea session, when Sarah and Van were swept away by the rogue wave.
We spoke with Sarah, who broke down the harrowing incident.
“I called out for help and Kelly Slater and the lifeguards came to help,” Sarah said. “I was worried that another wave was coming and I just wanted to get my son above water. I think Kelly was the first one to come. He got the pram upright. Once it was over and calm, he gave us a lift home.”
Everyone already knew this, but this past (almost) week proves it; Kelly is superhuman. A mechanically-engineered Übermensch. Cue the conspiracy theories – my money’s on him hailing from planet Krypton.
