Shocked Kelly Slater Mentions 14-Year-Old Surfing Prodigy on His Way to Make a New Record

Teenagers are full of energy and passion. They are always hungry to learn and be a master of the sport they adore at a very young age. When guided properly, they can achieve incredible heights. Having a role model like Kelly Slater can motivate any young surfer to achieve their dreams. There is one such surfer who is now making waves and is leaving everyone in shock with his skills. Toa Pere a young paddler is making history and his courage has shocked the surfing legend Kelly Slater.

Kelly is known for inspiring and promoting young talents. He has done it through his wave pool, surf path, or other forums. The surfing legend was astonished by the young prodigy and shared a post on social media about the fourteen-year-old teen who is on the verge of creating history.

Kelly Slater shoutout for the 14-year-old

In his recent Instagram story, the legend posted about the fourteen-year-old Toa Pere participating in the Molokai Channel race. The post contains a live map of the M20 Paddleboard World Championships. In the map, the route of Toa,s paddling is shown. In the caption of the post, he writes, “Follow my little buddy as he becomes the youngest to ever paddle the Molokai channel crossing. Live now in link. He is #64“.

Read More: Kelly Slater Upset After American Surfing Prodigy Drops the Perfect ‘Aerial’ at Corona J-Bay Opener

Toa Pere comes from a family of excellent paddlers. His father Guy Pere is a well-known paddleboarder, canoe paddler, and surfer. His mother Katie Perre is a stunt woman, actress, model, and jewelry maker. In the first Paddleboard World Championships which was held in 1997, Guy set the record for prone paddleboarding. The record was broken after seven years. A water sports enthusiast seems to have moved into his kid.

Toa who is 5’10” and about 115 pounds in weight is participating in the race for the first time. He has been practicing for the event for the past few months. His technique, stroke count, and relaxed mode of paddling make it look easy. The young surfer is about to make history by being the youngest to cross the channel at the paddleboard world championship.

M20 Paddleboard World Championships

The paddleboard world championship started in 1997. It is considered one of the toughest paddle races in the world. The race is conducted every year at the 32-mile Molokai channel that connects two islands Molokai and Oahu. It contains prone paddle races, stand-up races, and paddleboarding. Over the years paddlers from more than 25 countries have participated in the event.

This year after a gap of three years due to Covid19 pandemic the 24th edition of the paddleboarding world championship is being held. Two hundred and fifty men and women have qualified for the event which includes disciplines prone paddleboard, stand-up paddleboard, SUP Foil, and Wing.

The young talent’s courage has surprised the legend and is rightly worth mentioning as he did through his social media.

Watch The Story: Huntington Beach Gets Full Fledged For The Up Coming US Open of Surfing Kickstorming the ‘Nine Days of Wonder’