From giving his unfiltered opinion on plastic pollution to spreading awareness about the increasing waste, Kelly Slater has always portrayed himself as someone who cares about the environment. Recently, when the surfing legend revealed that he would feature in the Surf Ranch Pro, a fan criticized Slater’s environmental stance. Responding to the fan, Slater gave a strong response on Instagram.

The fan reacted to a post where Slater encouraged fans to buy tickets for this event which will take place on the 27 and 28 May. This event is set to take place in California and feature some of the world’s best surfers. The first round of the event will take place at 7 am, on Saturday. The 11-time world champion displayed a short video clip, in which he can be seen surfing in the water, which triggered the fan to criticize Slater while commenting on water misuse.

The fan posted, “This waste of water is in the Heart of the Central Valley of California. Where Farmers Crops are drying up, neighborhoods have run dry. Kelly’s an “Environmental Activist” when its convenient.”

After reading this comment, the surfer replied, “If the state didn’t allow it we wouldn’t have built it. Uses less water than a golf course. Creates lots of fun for people. There is a ski lake right next door that’s been here forever and has always used about the same exact amount of water as this does and also did when it was also a ski lake. And Tulare lake is looking to make things good for the foreseeable future.” 

The surfing legend clearly doesn’t feel he is doing wrong by taking the decision to create Surf Ranch. This isn’t the only time Slater was criticized for being insensitive to the environment. Earlier, a popular journalist also spoke out against how Slater has damaged the environment.

During the 12th episode of the Dirty Water podcast in 2020, Shearer disclosed his views about Slater while talking with Chas Smith and Derek Rielly. The journalist stated, “That man has traveled, spewing carbon into the atmosphere, the number of surfboards he’s chewed through, he’s the most damaging human of the last ten years.”

Holding Slater responsible for negatively impacting sharks, he also spoke of how artificially produced waves are not good for the environment. His views clearly reflect how he doesn’t find Slater’s actions positive for the environment.