Kelly Slater is a world-renowned surfer. He holds 11 World Surf League titles. In 1995, 1998, and 2019, he won the Triple Crown of Surfing Championship. Surprisingly, the 50-year-old is the youngest and the oldest World Champion in men’s surfing history. Many people consider Slater the best of all time. In 2018, a journalist described him as the greatest he had ever seen.

Slater grew near water as he was a bait-store proprietor’s son. He was just five when he started surfing, and at ten, he won the age-division events on the Atlantic coast. By 1984, Kelly won the age-division events up and down the Atlantic coast. In 1990, Slater started his surfing career professionally.

What compliments did Kelly receive from a journalist?

At 50, Kelly continues to surf like a beast. His performance has left many speechless. Some of his favorite waves are Cloudbreak, Pipeline, Trespass at Deerfield Beach Pier, and Ocean Avenue. Throughout his career, he has consistently gained popularity. However, he took a break from professional surfing in 1998 and returned in 2002.

Kelly’s stardom as a surfer is so great that a columnist once wrote,

“I cannot think of another athlete who’s matched Slater’s genius for such a long period of time, not cream or wilt not Gretzky or Nicolas not Koufax or Babe Ruth not magic or bird or the pistol one might go so far as to say….”

He continued, “that Michael Jordan and Roger Federer were the Kelly Slater’s of their respective sports and yet each of them would have had to sustain the artistry of their prime years for a quarter century to match Slater.”

Kelly heard the compliment during his interview with Graham Bensinger in 2019. After listening to his life’s greatest compliment, Kelly said, “That’s amazing.”

Read More: “I’m Nowhere Near 100%, Don’t Think I’ll Ever Be”: Surf Legend Kelly Slater’s Honest Admission While Training for 2019 World Cup Shows the Dark Side of Professional Surfing

Surfing at the age of 50, Kelly is doing pretty well. He expressed in the interview that his body needs to hold and the mind should be open for him to continue surfing.

Kelly Slater is an environmentalist

Kelly, who is still winning titles and performing impressively, is an environmentalist. He runs a business that makes environmentally conscious products that motivate the younger generation to keep the environment in mind while shopping.

Kelly’s clothing line Outerknown runs on a completely sustainable supply chain. His company also produces surfboards and surf gear made with Firewire designs.

Watch This Story: Shaquille O’Neal, Michael Phelps, Will Smith, and other celebrities who risked their lives to get unforgettable underwater experiences