Kelly Slater
Latest posts:
Kelly Slater: How It All Began
Posted February 6, 2022 by Dan Fitzpatrick
The GOAT, days from 50, won his 56th career pro event. At Pipeline, no less. Against a surfer half his age. If you, like us, are still numb from witnessing such a rare athletic achievement, maybe it makes sense to resurface the story of how it all began. It was 1990, and Kelly Slater was an unproven 18-year-old kid from Florida. He and the others who were there describe in their own words what happened next.
Live From The 2019 Pipe Masters
Posted December 14, 2019 by Dan Fitzpatrick
What a raucous finish to pro surfing’s 2019 season. Join us here for a live illustrated depiction of the Pipe Masters. (more…)
Editor’s Note – The Pipeline Issue
Posted December 7, 2018 by Dan Fitzpatrick
Fear. It’s a central part of the surfing experience, even if it’s seldom acknowledged. From pros to beginners, all who enter the water know what it’s like to encounter a situation beyond their abilities. We hope to overcome our jitters in that moment. But how? (more…)
The Portuguese Pipeline
Posted December 4, 2018 by Dan Fitzpatrick
John John Florence grew up surfing Pipeline, a wave on the North Shore of Oahu that breaks in his backyard. When he clinched his first world title he was more than 7,000 miles away, in southwest Europe. But it happened on a Portuguese wave that looks a lot like his home break. “Supertubos” produces Pipeline-sized tubes and breaks close to the beach, just as Pipeline does. Portuguese photographer Ricardo Santos Luis was there in the port town of Peniche to witness what happened. (more…)
Facing Pipeline
Posted November 28, 2018 by Dan Fitzpatrick
Eleven accomplished surfers recall their first encounters with the world’s most dangerous wave. (more…)
The Audacious, Comical, Tragic and Potentially Redemptive Story Of A Small Town, A Pool And The World’s Best Surfers
Posted May 4, 2018 by Dan Fitzpatrick
Pennsylvania Amish country was the unlikely setting for the first-ever pro surfing contest held in a wave pool. Was it a comic low point for the sport? Or a glimpse of the future? (more…)
Welcome To The Wave Pool Capital Of The World
Posted April 28, 2018 by Dan Fitzpatrick
Kelly Slater’s wave pool is as much a curiosity to his new neighbors in this small California town as it is to the rest of the world.
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Alvar Sirlin: Surfing Portraits
Posted February 4, 2017 by Dan Fitzpatrick
Alvar Sirlin is a New York illustrator well known for his soccer portraits in Howler Magazine. But he is also a recreational surfer who can be spotted on the beaches of Long Island, N.Y. when the conditions are right. Here is a look at his sketchbook, which serves as a showcase for Alvar’s ability to capture the sport at its most dynamic. (more…)
Great Moments At Trestles
Posted December 3, 2016 by Dan Fitzpatrick
Many of pro surfing’s greatest moments occurred at Trestles. Illustrator Alvar Sirlin brings four to life. (more…)
Editor’s Note – The Trestles Issue
Posted December 1, 2016 by Dan Fitzpatrick
Fifty miles north of San Diego is an expanse of ocean front, sand and cobblestones named after a railroad bridge. How did this spot, called “Trestles,” become the most important place to surf in the continental United States? We thought it would be fun to explore that question in this debut of Twenty, a magazine for anyone curious about the sport of surfing. (more…)
Go Deeper on Kelly Slater’s First Pro Win
Posted November 1, 2016 by Dan Fitzpatrick
Go below the surface of Kelly Slater’s first pro win with this addendum to “A New Beginning.” (more…)
A New Beginning
Posted October 26, 2016 by Dan Fitzpatrick
Kelly Slater, just days before his 50th birthday, won his 56th career pro contest at the Pipeline Pro in Hawaii. He is, by any measure, the most accomplished professional surfer in the world. It is difficult now to imagine him as an unproven 18-year-old in search of his first pro victory. But that’s who Slater was in September 1990 as the Cocoa Beach, Fla., high school senior traveled to California’s Lower Trestles to compete for what was then the richest first place prize at the Body Glove Surf Bout III. What happened next forever altered the sport of surfing. (more…)