“Surfing Wasn’t Some Launch Pad to Acting”: Despite His Reluctance, Kelly Slater Once Faced External Pressure To Star in Baywatch

Kelly Slater is a surfing legend. He is the only surfer to have become the world champion an incredible 11 times. Slater’s talent earned him a million dollars even before graduating high school. However, the legendary surfer lost all the money as he didn’t know how to manage his finances. When a lucrative offer to star in a TV show came his way, his mother pressured him to take it.

However, Slater, who kept excelling in his sport, was reluctant. Since he didn’t feel confident about acting, Kelly’s mother did something that strained their relationship. Slater once opened up about his experience in an interview.

No one asked Kelly Slater for his consent

In a 2016 interview with Graham Bensinger, the 11-time world champion spoke about starring in the popular TV show Baywatch. The surfer appeared in 23 episodes of the popular series. When he became famous, Slater felt embarrassed about acting in the show. “I wasn’t trying to go be an actor. Surfing wasn’t some launch pad to acting,” Slater told Graham.

“Surfing was my craft, and that was what I was good at,” said the 11-time World Champion. Instead of acting in the show, Kelly felt like pursuing the path of a pro surfer. “I wanted to go surfing and win contests”. Kelly saw shooting for a TV show as a hindrance to his way of life, even though the show became immensely popular.

Moreover, the surfing legend made another shocking revelation. Kelly also revealed how he faced external pressure to sign up for the show, since his finances were not in good shape. “My mum and my manager at the time really wanted me to do it. He more or less just signed me up without me approving it,” said Kelly.

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The massive breach of consent caught him off guard. Kelly said he didn’t know how something like that could happen to him and said he didn’t have the skills to prevent it.

The troubled relationship with his mother

Slater told Bensinger about the time his mother and manager signed him up for Baywatch. The mother-and-son duo was going through a rough patch at the time. The surfing legend said he was “resentful” about losing nearly a million dollars. After that, Slater’s mom tried to intervene and told him how to do things.

The surfer wanted to find his identity and “butted heads” with his mom. However, with time, his relationship with his mother gradually improved.

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According to Slater, his mother had been trying to look out for him. However, he didn’t appreciate the breach of consent.

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