Slater celebrates after winning J-Bay

SURFING: Now, it seemed like everything changed once you got your first 10 in Tahiti, in Round Four against Bruce.

KELLY: Yeah, it was totally a pivotal wave. I was out in the water having a stress fest, and Bruce had two good scores. I started the heat with what I thought was a pretty good wave -- I got a double barrel, and a couple guys in the channel thought it should have been as good as Brucie’s first wave, but it got a full point less. He had an 8.83 and I had a 7.83. And then Bruce got a 9.5. So, basically, I needed a combo of like 18 points. So, I was out in the water all worried about it, but then just kind of let go. I was, like, “Well, nothing you can do about it now. The only thing you can do is relax and have a little bit of fun.” And then I got that 10. That was pretty good feedback for the way I changed my thoughts there.

SURFING: Tell us about that wave.

KELLY: Basically, I switched over to a 6’1” from a 6’5” for the heat, and I misjudged paddling for that wave a bit. The wind switched offshore right before our heat, I just mistimed it and almost ended up missing the wave. But I stood up and kind of jumped off the ledge, freefalling. When I did that, I realized I was further behind than I wanted to be, and that I was going to have to land on my rail to get down the line. I went to try and land on the rail, and I misjudged that a little and basically fell over and went into a layback. And I thought, if I go into a layback, and try to pull my board up underneath me, I’m going to go too far up the face and get pitched. I can’t see what’s happening down the line, so I’ll just turn a little lower and try to keep my back off the water. So, that’s what I did. I ended up just sneaking under the lip, and it pitched out just enough to let me turn, adjust my body and grab my rail. The lip barely caught my head at one point when I was back in there, and I thought, “Oh no, I’ve done all the hard work and now I’m gonna fall,” you know? And then I’m, like, “No, no, no. This wave’s meant to be made.” I held on, got in the perfect position, then it just spit and shot me out the end.

SURFING: No worries.

KELLY: It was a funny situation. Brucey needed to better an 8.83, so he wasn’t even looking at anything that couldn’t get him a 9 or above. After my 10, I needed a lower score to beat him than he needed to better his score. So, I got a couple of sneakers inside of him, got an 8.5 on one, and pulled ahead. In a nutshell, I went from comboville to having total control of the heat in about 10 minutes. That wave changed everything.

SURFING: Did things come easy after that?

KELLY: Well, when your back’s to the wall and you get a wave like that, you start to think that something else is working for you. You don’t need to think about it so much, I just went with it. Just being aware of everything that was happening in the water, seizing the moment, instead of worrying about points or ratings or whatever. Literally that wave clicked everything into place for the next couple of weeks.

Slater makes a groms day after the final at Teahupoo

SURFING: So, it kept you pumped going right into Fiji.

KELLY: It did, but at the same time, after that final against Damien at Teahupo’o, I got those two 10s, and I thought, “This might be a good way to just quit.” [laughs] I might not go to Fiji, just quit and leave it to those guys. So, I stayed in Tahiti for a couple extra days, and saw this purple blob of a storm forming on the charts, and I was, like, “Hmm. Maybe I’ll go and check it out.” [laughs]

For the entire interview as well as all the great photos from our 2005 photo issue, pick up the September 2005 issue of SURFING. On sale July 26th. Or Subscribe.

 

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		THE BEST WAVES! THE BEST SURFERS! THE BEST PHOTOS! AND NOW THE BEST DEAL: SUBSCRIBE TODAY AND GET 1 YEAR OF SURFING MAGAZINE FOR ONLY $12.00! Take advantage of this special offer-act now! GIVE A GIFT
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