“Wanted to Be Steve Martin”: 11X WSL Champ Kelly Slater Once Revealed Why He Never Envisioned a Career in Surfing As an 8-Year-Old

Published 12/04/2022, 4:15 PM EST
Kelly Slater is renowned as the Surfing King of his sport. He has been both the youngest and the oldest to ever internationally compete. In addition, he has secured 11 World Surf League championship titles. But it was not always that Kelly Slater wanted to become a surfing pro.
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In an interview with CNN sports in 2013, the athlete discussed how his childhood dreams involved a very different perspective.
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Kelly Slater had childhood dreams that did not involve surfing
The surfing King took a keen interest in movies, specifically comedy as a young boy. Ever since his childhood, he was a big fan of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels star Steve Martin. “I wanted to be Steve Martin when I was a kid. I wanted to be a comedian,” declared Slater.
“When I was eight or 10 years old I didn’t know that I could have a career from surfing. There were pro surfers who were my heroes, but those guys weren’t rich,” he continued, “They were just surfing and traveling.” Kelly Slater might not have become a comedian when he grew up, but that did not stop the athlete from venturing into the world of acting. In fact, Slater is one of the very few athletes from his sport to ever become famous enough to appear in movies. Transcending from sports magazines, the surfer appeared as Jimmy Slade in the 90’s television series Baywatch.
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Speaking about his future goals, Slater stated, “I want to surf better tomorrow. I want to surf better in 10 years. When I’m 50 I want to be a better surfer than I am now – for me it’s a lifelong journey.”
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Kelly Slater’s dream job
In the 2018 episode of Joe Rogan Experience, upon being questioned if he saw himself becoming a commentator, Slater explained, “Maybe a little bit yeah… but I don’t really want a job.” The athlete also explained that when he had been surfing throughout his life. He said that he was still competing during the three years that he took off from surfing.
Slater, who is 50 years old today, is getting close to retiring. In his interview, he revealed why he is the oldest competitor in history. Additionally, the oldest player was just 28 years old when he first started engaging in the sport and traveling. “I would say in the 80s…you could make the money if you were the top 5 guy, but it didn’t look like you could have like this crazy career. So guys weren’t thinking longevity, they were like, let’s go and have a freaking good time…,” Slater explained to Joe Rogan.
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