Kelly Slater

Kelly Slater is a champion profession surfer. He is the youngest (at age 20) and the oldest (at age 39) to win the World Surf League Champion title. He is also an author, actor, model, environmental activist, businessman, and innovator.

Upon winning his 5th world title in 1997, Slater passed Australian surfing legend Mark Richards to become the most successful champion in the history of the sport. In 2007 he also became the all-time leader in career event wins by winning the Boost Mobile Pro event at Lower Trestles near San Clemente, California. The previous record was held by Slater's childhood hero, 3-time world champion Tom Curren.

In addition to the ASP tour, Slater has also competed in the X-Games (in 2003 and 2004). After earlier being awarded the title prematurely as a result of a miscalculation by the ASP, on November 6, 2011 Slater officially won his eleventh ASP world title at the Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco, by winning his 4th round heat. In May 2005, in the final heat of the Billabong Tahiti Pro contest at Teahupo'o, Slater became the first surfer ever to be awarded two perfect scores for a total 20 out of 20 points under the ASP two-wave scoring system.

Since 1990, Slater has been sponsored primarily by surfwear industry giant Quiksilver. He exclusively rides Channel Islands surfboards equipped with his own signature series of FCS fins.

Slater has become a fundraiser and spokesperson for suicide prevention awareness. He has surfed in celebrity events for Surfers Against Suicide, telling sports website Athletes Talk "I've lost a couple of friends myself to suicide and its just a horrible thing that can be prevented. People get in this dark place and they don't know what to do so its always nice to see a non-profit that isn't turning into anything else other than just trying to help people."

Slater has also expressed a strong passion for Brazilian jiu-jitsu, a form of martial arts that he has practiced with some of the world's most respected fighters, including Vitor Belfort and BJ Penn.