Kelly Slater is not human. He seems to have been born with an extra gene that allows him to a) not age, and b) do things on a surfboard that mere mortals are simply incapable of matching. With 11 world titles under his belt—including five in a row, from 1994 to 1998—Slater is not only the most dominant surfer of all time, he’s one of the most dominant male athletes of all time. He’s a legend of the surf world and one of the more bad-ass fortysomethings on the planet. He’s also sitting in second place in this year’s ASP World Championship Tour rankings, within striking distance of current leader Gabriel Medina and an absurd 12th career world title—at 42.
If that doesn’t convince you of his otherworldliness, allow me to present the video above (which comes courtesy of surf-wear company Hurley) as Exhibit B. In it, Slater sticks a ridiculous 720*—frontside, with two full airborne rotations—during a freesurf session on a non-competition day in the middle of an ASP tour event in Portugal on Friday. He puts it down as though it’s a run-of-the-mill aerial, rather than one of the most impressive things you can do on a surfboard. Kelly Slater, ladies and gentlemen, freak of nature.
*The surf punditry is split on whether to call it a 720 or a 540 (not that it matters—both are near-impossible to pull off), but I’m choosing to count that last half rotation in the whitewater. The man’s 42.
