There’s been a lot of talk about Kelly Slater and world titles this year. More talk, I’d venture to say, than ever before about a guy sitting 18th on the Jeep Leaderboard with four of eleven events down. It’s clear why fans have followed the champ’s title chances with such fervor, though. For one, Slater himself announced both that this would be his last year on tour full time, and that he’d give a twelfth world title one last shot. Second, how poetic for surf fans of all stripes and the WSL if the GOAT were to take the money and run? The mic drop of all mic drops.
As the year progresses, though, a world title seems increasingly less likely – a fact that Slater himself is painfully aware of. During the OK Fiji Pro Post Show, the champ joined Ronnie Blakey and Rosy Hodge to discuss, among other things, his current competitive state of mind. At about 5:55, Ronnie asks point blank, “I caught an interview with you at a premier of the Proximity movie, Taylor Steele’s new movie, and someone in the crowd had asked you the question about the world title. And in response you said ‘It wasn’t really feeling like a world title year.’ Has anything changed now that you’re back at an event?”
During his response Kelly confides, “You know, I’m in like 18th. I’m not even in the conversation right now, and I’m aware of that.” He goes on to say, though, that last year he had a slower start and managed to get himself into the back end of the conversation after a few good results. Point being, he doesn’t see himself as completely out, but is fully aware that he needs something big to catapult him ahead.
At this point, Kelly’s on the right track for a win or even a final or semifinal finish in Fiji – especially given Owen Wright and Gabriel Medina’s early exits.
In the interview Kelly also talked about what it’s like to have Outerknown sponsor his favorite event on tour (“It’s a strange feeling,” he says), and threw some shade at older guys saying, “The level of surfing really excites me. Honestly, when I got on tour in 1992 I though the level was terrible.”
