According to former tour surfer turned coach Brad Gerlach, Kelly Slater corrected a crucial mistake at the Tahiti Pro that translated into high-scoring tubes. Photo: Matt Dunbar//WSL//Pinch My Salt
At 54, Kelly Slater’s surfing is an outlier. The 11-time world champ is still turning heads with his performance in heavy surf, like he did at last week’s Tahiti Pro. According to former tour surfer turned coach Brad Gerlach, the way Slater structured his life has contributed to his longevity in surfing. Gerlach joined Sterling Spencer on the Pinch My Salt show to break down the otherworldly barrels we all saw Slater get spit out of in Tahiti.
“Kelly is an anomaly because he has enough money, in a sense he doesn’t have to work,” Gerlach said. “He doesn’t get too far away from surfing, so he can clear his schedule and be like, ‘I’m going surfing.’”
“He doesn’t have to take out the trash, do an email, or drop the kids off,” he added. “Now he’s got two kids. So, it’s going to be interesting.”
Gerlach closely watched Slater’s round two Tahiti Pro matchup against Gabriel Medina, where he started the heat with two heavy wipeouts, and noticed that Slater had to make a key adjustment.
“I learned that (Slater) didn’t really surf too much in the warmups,” Gerlach said. “His first wave, his front foot didn’t go far enough forward. He didn’t land and actually put weight down on that front foot. So when his body went this way, he expected the edge to go in, and it didn’t. It stayed flat. He went (this way), and the board kept going (that way).”
Slater was forced to ditch his takeoff and dive off the next wave. But Gerlach knew Slater was already thinking about corrections. The next wave was just as technical, but Slater made the drop and timed his bottom turn perfectly to get into the tube.
“(Slater) is so smart and such a phenom,” Gerlach said. “He went back and got that third wave on a different board, and you can see when he goes to take off, he goes straight because he’s reading that if he goes for the grab rail, he’s not going to get tubed. He’s got to go straight a little bit and then hook it. That’s how he gets the tube and goes through.”
After two scary wipeouts, Gerlach noted that most surfers in the world would be hesitant on the next wave. But what sets Slater apart is how he committed, and he didn’t rush ahead of the tube.
“Kelly would have been like, ‘I know exactly what to do, so I got this,’” Gerlach said. “When he took off and his nose caught just a little bit, if he was insecure, that tiny nose catch could have made him (fall). If you go watch the footage, you’ll see his front foot is farther forward, closer to the edge of the rail, and his weight is on it.”
Ultimately, Slater lost in round three to Jack Robinson, and Seth Moniz went on to win the event. For Moniz, it was a milestone, winning his first final after losing his previous finals appearance to Kelly Slater at Pipeline in 2022.
According to Gerlach and host Sterling Spencer, Moniz learned from that experience.
“I felt like Kelly kind of tricked (Moniz) a little bit into being a little too lovey-dovey during the (Pipeline final),” Spencer said.
“You actually think Kelly does any tricks?” Gerlach jokingly responded, alluding to Slater’s reputation for winning the mind games of a heat (see: Slater/Machado high-five in 1995).
“I think why Andy (Irons) dominated Kelly so hard is because Kelly likes to get lovey-dovey with his guys,” Spencer continued. “If he’s in a final, he really likes to become their best friend all of a sudden. I felt like he lured Seth into his love.”
Gerlach said that the spectacle and friendship of a heat against Slater can distract surfers. They credited Moniz with keeping his emotions in check and maintaining his focus until he secured the win.
