Best Sections of All-Time: Kelly Slater in Focus
There are a few Kelly parts that are in the conversation for his best ever. In Momentum II he had just won his first World Title, well-placed and well-chosen NOFX song, Backdoor wizardry and “new school” maneuvers and his boards still had the carbon fiber strips down the center. Iconic stuff. His Campaign II part had those wheelie airs that made us feel as weird as they were difficult to pull, all white wetties and those incredible and drama-filled Soup Bowl sessions — but it wasn’t even the ender part of that film (Dorian got him that year by adding in some game-changing Jaws and Teahupoo tow-ins for his first “last part”). There are tons more to consider for Kelly of course, but today I want to make a case for his kinda overlooked part in Taylor Steele’s 1994 vid Focus.
This is the part where the Kelly Slater aesthetic debuted. The thing we all tried to either emulate or benefited greatly from because this is when Kelly did us all a favor and perfectly illustrated the 1990s “surfer.” He made us forget all about that Echo Beach day-glo ‘80s thing in one instant. I mean, look at his banana shaped surfboards. Pure white, Al Merrick stamp and black Quik logo on the nose. Maybe a gray K-Grip prototype on some. He introduced us to his hand-drawn voluptuous mermaid supermodel siren things. He was dating peak Pam and Baywatch cameos were going on in the background. Kelly created the Kelly presence in this part and we all benefited for years. You were definitely getting the girl if you were rocking the Kelly aesthetic from 1994-1998.
But now to the part itself. It starts with the barrel roll. The whole era starts with the barrel roll really. It defined the Momentum Generation. It gave groms something cool to attempt and film and it gave Lost and Snapping Turtle the ammo to poke fun at the crew for several films by sending Randall and Chicken down some insane cliffs in their vids — which only made it more iconic.
The first four waves establish everything I’m talking about. The textbook straight air with no grip on an all-white board opening. The casual takeoff and curtain bust through at gloomy Backdoor. The foamy Backdoor/Off the Wall/Aints closeout thing he basically bomb drops. The disregard for the complicated shorebreak section on the fourth wave. And then the Kelly backhand straight air. All before he corkscrews his way through the sixth wave in a way I still don’t think I’ve ever seen done again. You just knew this part was going to make a statement. He demonstrates control over surfboards and waves in a way that all video ending parts should.
He takes you through the paces of Backdoor, dominates onshore Barbados, there’s the Kirra Houdini act wave, J-Bay artistry. I mean this part has it all, but the moment that it becomes next level is at 3:21.
On a what-the-fuck-is-that, muddy, thrashed beachbreak bomb somewhere in God Knows Where, Kelly casually puts his hands behind his back like he’s a 90-year-old Portugese woman out for bread — hands clasped — on a wave that clearly has a lot of issues and holds them there until he exits. That wave is it for me.
Don’t get me started on the trot up the beach with that pearly white board at the end, Quik springsuit, confidence oozing. That is our Kelly Slater. And lucky for us, this was just the beginning. It’s 28 years or so on and the dude is still ranked 15th on the World Tour and is reigning Pipe Pro Champ. God Save the Kelly. —Travis Ferré
