Will we see the World Champ in Brazil? Nope.

 

Kelly Slater! You just won your eighth World Title! Where are you gonna go now?

 

That was the corny question we wanted to pose to Kelly Slater after he won his eighth World Title, but Slater is a man on the run, and not always easy to pin down.

 

Kelly Slater won his eighth World Title by making the final of the Billabong Mundaka Pro. While he lost to Bobby Martinez, Mundaka was the ninth event of the year and the eighth that Slater made - he missed Fiji because of an injury - the ASP determines the World Champion on the best eight results of the year, and that second in Spain put Slater over the top, with two contests remaining.

Slater has won eight World Titles and he has done it narrowly, easily, barely, spectacularly. And now he has done it efficiently. ASP President Rabbit Bartholomew knows professional surfing upside down, inside out and backwards from in the water and on the judges scaffold. He summed up Slater's season like this: "The phenomenal pace that Kelly set this year created the most complete tour campaign in living memory. The foundation for Title #8 was emphatically established by winning the first two events. The Rip Curl Pro Bells win was ominous, Kelly building momentum as he cut a swathe through the field, still looking very solid in the Final against the young legs of Joel Parkinson who, like Kelly, was looking for his second Bell. Then at his pet event, the Billabong Pro Teahupoo, where he has triumphed on three occasions, Kelly kept the winning streak alive, moving to 16-0 before taking himself out on a violent floater attempt that resulted in the board nailing him in the ribs."

 

 

You read that right, Slater was 16-0 at Teahupoo, before he got injured in the semi against Fred Pattachia Jr. and had to leave the water. Slater missed Fiji, but then, "resumed in Mexico," Rabbit said. "Recording his season low, fifth, and that was the last time he missed the podium, going 3rd, 2nd, 3rd, 2nd through J/Bay, Trestles, Hossegor, Mundaka. In what has to be one of the highest point yields in history Kelly, over his eight events, averaged a whopping 978 points per event. Now there is 1032 for a The World's Top Surfers Head to the Other Land Down Under for the Nova Schin Stop on the Foster’s ASP Men’s World Tour 2nd, 876 for a 3rd place finish, so over eight events Kelly averaged just under a 2nd place in every single event. Now that is definitely a World Title pace, will have to check back to the best of Curren, Carroll, MR and Pottz and Andy, but I don’t recall a higher average. When one considers the fact that he missed an entire event and there are still two to go, this win may have even taken him by surprise. Congratulations Kelly, you are a great champion, a credit to your sport and your family."

 

 

So what does a surfer do after winning an unprecedented eighth World Title, not to mention pocketing a nice check from the Mundaka contest, plus who knows how much of a bonus from Quiksilver? Slater didn't go to Disneyland or Disney World, but he did something better. Finding himself in northwest Europe in the Fall, Slater went surfing.

But he also answered his emails and on October 17, 2006 he fired off some terse answers to some terse questions:

 

 

It was a little worse than poor Florida surf.  Not so good.

 

 

I sometimes think that I need to use them professionally as long as possible but people also have a preconceived notion of how long a body will last and mind will be in shape and that's not necessarily the  case.  Kareem Abdul Jabbar played til he was 41 in the NBA, I think.  I don't feel near having the body or ability not there.  I could stop for

a couple years and do this some more in all likeliness.

 

 

Not sure.

LAT34: How did you celebrate you World Title? Who did you call first, second and third?

Called Mom and Brothers and manager and then a couple friends called. 

My boss called.  Haha...

 

 

France.  Still there.

Highlights...winning first two events...lowllight...getting hurt in Tahiti but gave me a good relaxing break...

 

 

I'll think about giving that to Curren and he in turn can hand it off to Shaun. I'd do whatever I could for Curren.  He doesn't need any handouts but I'm sure he could use a few good boards from time to time as he just seems to leave ‘em places and show up without any sometimes.

 

 

Everything any of us do is a reflection of what we learned from others, whether it's walking or eating or whatever. I have tried to imitate others throughout my surfing life for sure.  I feel what their surfing looks like and it seems to become part of my approach in feel. 

 

 

Gonna fly to Florida and surf with my bros...and then fly to Hawaii and  surf with Eddie Vedder, I guess.

 

And then Slater went off the radar. A follow-up email with more dumb questions went unanswered and then Slater appeared in Ireland. Clever lad, of all the places a surfer should go in the Fall, Ireland is one of them. The land of Guinness and pots 'o gold at the end of the rainbow is absolutely holding with surf, surf, surf and more surf, and Slater went there to do just that. "Kelly Slater, recently crowned world champion surfer for the eighth time and regarded as the greatest ever surfer, took some time out from the glitz and glamour to chill out in the Donegal Bay region last weekend," said www.surfersvillage.com. "After winning the world championship last week in Spain, Slater chose the quieter regions of Donegal and the North West to catch some of our world renowned waves with some friends."

 

 

Kelly was in Ireland with the actor/surfer Andy Keegan, who was in Ireland shooting a movie called Waiting for Dublin. Along the west coast of Ireland, at Bundoran, Slater met up with Richie Fitzgerald, who some will remember from the movie Step Into Liquid. Slater surfed around Bundoran for a movie called Waveriders, and made mountains out of molehills: "The waves weren’t great this weekend but this guy made the slightest ripple look world class," said Joel Conroy on www.surfersvillage.com. "This is, without doubt, the biggest endorsement Donegal Bay will ever get for its surf quality. To put it in perspective, one could liken it to Tiger Woods spending the weekend on Bundoran Golf Club."

 

Slater took advantage of the surf, and the local pub, drank some Guinness and maybe shot some golf, because Ireland is second only to Scotland as golfer heaven, but apparently he didn't take advantage of the Internet facilities, because those earnest follow-up questions went unanswered.

 

 

And then. Slater went to Disney World!!!! Or pretty close anyway. On October 26, Slater was back home, in Cocoa Beach, signing autographs with his brothers Sean and Stephen by his side, and 2001 World Champion CJ Hobgood there, too.

 

 

Kelly Slater doesn't have to go to Brazil, the title is already clinched and he probably would prefer to hang around home and take care of business before going to Hawaii, which is something he most likely doesn't want to miss.