Kelly Slater has joined the WME Agency roster. Photo: WSL
You likely know Kelly Slater for his surfing. He’s pretty good at it. Eleven world titles good. Five Laureus Action Sportsperson Awards and one Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award good. He’s a talented fella, but the most talented people need the best representation. Recently, Slater signed with a huge talent agency called WME.
“Welcome to WME, Kelly Slater! ” the agency wrote. “Over his 30+ year career, Kelly Slater has changed the landscape of surfing. He holds nearly every major record in the sport. With 11 World Surf League (WSL) titles and 56 WSL career victories, Kelly has the distinction of being both the youngest and oldest person to ever win a world title.”
Besides the previously mentioned accolades, Slater is also a two-time X Games gold medalist, a five-time ESPY nominee for Best Male Action Sports Athlete, and a 19-time Surfer Poll Awards winner. But surfing hasn’t been his only gig. Not by a long shot. A variety of other cash cows have come from his brain. Outerknown and the Kelly Slater Wave Company, to name a few, not to mention his majority ownership of Firewire Surfboards. For a while there, he dabbled in acting, most notably, perhaps, in Baywatch. His career as a professional surfer on tour is winding down, but his career as Kelly Slater is not.
WME is far from just for actors, although they do represent quite a few silver screen stars, like Ben Affleck, Christian Bale, Matt Damon, Jennifer Garner, Hugh Jackman, John Krasinski, Amy Schumer, and Denzel Washington. Stars of writing, fashion, music, and of course sports are all under the WME umbrella, and now Kelly’s in there with some of the best representation in a wide range of businesses.
Slater has always positioned himself for success, and this is yet another step towards furthering an already stellar career, not just as a surfer, but as an icon.
