“Our Doubles Team a Few Years”: Now Nearing Retirement, 51-Year-Old Kelly Slater Reminisces a Special 1998 Memory

From surfing at the age of 5 to becoming an 11-time World champion, Kelly Slater has had a phenomenal journey. Battling with some of the world’s best surfers like Andy Irons, Gabriel Medina, and Dane Reynolds, Slater carved his legacy in surfing. Defeating Seth Moniz and winning his 8th Pipeline Pro in 2022, Slater once again displayed his amazing surfing prowess. However, it was not all a battle. Slater also shared some memorable instances with his competitors.

Recently, the surfing icon recalled an unforgettable memory with Australian surfer Taj Burrow and shared it on his Instagram handle. The short video clip depicted both surfers surfing confidently on the waves and showed fierce competition between the two. This clip accurately captured Slater’s and Burrow’s prowess in the Billabong MSF Pro 1998. Though neither could win the competition, Slater hinted at how he and Burrow teamed up after this contest.

Kelly Slater walks down the memory lane

In the clip, both young surfers were seen traversing the waves at lightning speed. This event took place in Gold Coast, Australia. Interestingly, this was the first time where they faced each other in 1998. This was Burrow’s earliest experience competing in the Billabong Pro. On the other hand, Slater had already competed in the contest in 1996 and was in his 20s while competing at this event.

The surfing legend captioned this Instagram Story, “Doubles with @tajamos, a precursor to our doubles team a few years later in tavarua.” It seems that Slater is referring to the ‘Let’s See It’ competition in May 2004 where both Slater and Burrow had contested in Tavarua. This event also included a team surfing event where two surfers must ride the same wave.

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Luke Ega, Tom Carroll, Tom Curren, and Andy Irons were some of the other surfers who participated in the event. A video review was used to evaluate the competitors and declare the winner of the contest, with Slater emerging victorious. This was not the only time Slater recalled a memory of his initial surfing contests. Earlier, he shared with fans a memory of the year 1994 where he secured a victory and took his revenge for an earlier defeat.

Kelly Slater recounts a milestone he achieved in 1994

The surfing legend described how he competed against some of the best surfers like Gary Elkerton for his first Bells trophy. At that time, Slater was only 22 years old. Slater had captioned his earlier Instagram story, “Just snuck past @garykongelkerton in the ’94 semis when he gave me a medium size wave under his priority.” 

Post this, Slater elaborated on how he had to compete against Martin Potter in the finals, who had earlier defeated him in Japan and other contests in 1993. Slater spared no effort and managed to win his first Bell’s trophy at the age of 22. While this helped him to get his revenge, the win also showed his huge potential.

Watch This Story: Kelly Slater’s Little Buddy Gets Special Praise From Surfing Legend Following His Sensational Win 

Slater’s Instagram story and his admissions are proof of his tremendous dedication and prowess in surfing. How are you inspired by Slater’s surfing journey? Share your thoughts in the comments section.