Kelly Slater in Black and White, J-Bay Edition

Originally posted on SURFER | By August Howell | Last updated Aug 18, 2025 3:59 PM ET

In 1991, a film heralded the arrival of surfing’s next superstar. He was already a known commodity then, butKelly Slater In Black And Whiteoffered irrefutable evidence that a 19-year-old from Florida was here to reside in the collective surfing consciousness. Filmed by future Volcom CEO Richard Woolcott entirely in monochrome, there’s a kind of timeless style to his surfing at Lower Trestles, Cloudbreak and Pipeline.

Thirty-four years after that film, we get another dose of Kelly in grayscale, this time at a wave that was not featured in the movie. The astute folks at J-Bay TV filmed him surfing his favorite twin-fin on a fine offshore day at Jeffreys Bay. Whether it's an ode to the film or a split decision in the editing bay, the choice to go all black and white is a fitting touch.

At 53 years young, Kelly is smooth, relaxed and even downright playful on the tapered walls. That Great White Twin makes for easy speed down the line, but you know he wants to lean into a few carves along the way. And he does. Gracefully. As Kelly (gradually) steps away from the Championship Tour's competitive scene, I find myself more intrigued by his freesurfing. We've seen so much of his work in a jersey over the past 30-plus years. But now he's not in that venue, and he can take his mastered fundamentals onto new tracks.

A friend of mine is convinced that Kelly is sitting on a treasure trove of unreleased footage, ready to drop an all-time surf movie when we least expect it. Based on the clip above, we're in for something good. No way to refute it. It's just black and white.

This article first appeared on SURFER and was syndicated with permission.

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