Kelly Slater Reflects on Pro Surfing Debut…35 Years Later (Video)

Originally posted on SURFER | By Dashel Pierson | Last updated Jun 16, 2025 2:43 PM ET

The year was 1990. In theaters, Home Alone was topping the box office. Sinéad O’Connor and her haunting rendition of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” was inching up the Billboard charts, ripping apart the hearts of lovelorn listeners. In surfing, a young sensation from Florida was on the rise.

Kelly Slater – then an 18-year-old kid coming out of Cocoa Beach, FL – kicked off his ascension to GOAT status, with his first-ever win on the professional level at Lower Trestles during the Body Glove Surfbout on what was then the Bud Pro Surfing Tour. And now, 35 years later, Slater returned to the fabled cobblestones for a wildcard appearance at the 2025 Lexus Trestles Pro.

He did not win; he lost early. But he did take the chance to walk down memory lane.

“Winning the first time in 1990, I was staring my senior year of high school,” Slater said. “It was the first week of school, and I won this event. I had just signed with Quiksilver, which was really exciting. They were the company I wanted to be with, and they gave me a nice contract. Still being in high school, signing that contract, and winning this contest…I was also filming a movie, Kelly Slater in Black & White, and people still quote that movie back to me in the surf world.”

That contract he signed, at the time, was the biggest ever in professional surfing; and that line – “It’s the morning of the final,” uttered by Richard Wolcott, who would later go on to cofound Volcom – is still iconic. The culmination of moments was the origin story of the Kelly Slater saga.

Slater walked away with a $30,000 check at the event. The first of many. And the surfing he did to win the contest still resonates today. Check it out below for a blast from the past:

As for Slater’s competitive career going forward, since his last win at Pipeline in 2022 just before his 50th birthday, his time in the jersey has slowed down. Looking to the future, Slater said:

“At this point, it would be fun to win a contest, but it’s not make or break for my life.”

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

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