[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
male narrator: The following
is a presentation
of HBO Sports.
[waves crashing]
Ever since he can remember,
they've beckoned him.
For so much
of the rest of the world
they offer a peace
to revel in,
a fleeting connection
to eternity.
["Taro" by Alt-J]
But to this man they're
something far different.
To Kelly Slater,
the ocean waves
are how he measures himself.
♪ ♪
- ♪ Indo ♪
♪ China,
capa jumps jeep ♪
♪ Two feet creep up the road ♪
♪ To photo, to record ♪
♪ Meat lumps and war ♪
♪ They advance
as does his chance ♪
♪ Oh, oh, oh-oh ♪
♪ Very yellow-white flash ♪
♪ ♪
narrator: From the moment
he came on the surfing scene
decades ago,
becoming the youngest
men's world champion
in the history of the sport,
no one has captivated
this world so completely,
impacted it so profoundly,
or worked so hard
to dominate it so decisively.
- ♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪
narrator:
And that dedication,
that hunger,
and stubborn unwillingness
to let time dictate his story,
turned him into
surfing's oldest
men's world champion as well.
♪ ♪
♪ Hey, Taro ♪
narrator: Now ever more
remarkably, at the age of 47,
he's still a more than
formidable presence
in every contest he enters.
And none
are more important to him
than the upcoming Pipe Masters
on Hawaii's vaunted
North Shore
where some of the world's
biggest
and most dangerous waves
have always made this
the ultimate place
for Kelly Slater
to measure himself.
- ♪ Ooh, ooh ♪
♪ Ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ♪
narrator: In surfing,
success is determined
by an ability
to be poised and present
as the elements break apart
all around you.
If only life always let us
live in the moment
so completely.
- ♪ Ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh ♪
♪ Ooh ♪
narrator: This is the story
of an athlete
who doesn't know
how many tests he has left
and a look at a man
who still cherishes
the rush of the passion
that's forever defined him
heading towards
as big an event
as his sport has to offer.
This is "24/7: Kelly Slater."
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
[waves crashing]
- Okay.
- How hard is it for you
to turn your back on the ocean?
- Yeah, it's hard not
to look at it.
Like, I wanna be on that side
looking that way.
This is, uh--I don't know.
The ocean's mesmerizing,
you know?
You just--[inhales deeply]
even if you're not surfing,
I just like
staring at the ocean.
I just think--
I don't know, like,
I don't know how I'd live
without an ocean.
[upbeat ukulele music]
- [singing in Hawaiian]
♪ ♪
narrator: If the ocean
is an essential driving force
for all of life on Earth,
here on this chain of islands
in the North Pacific
the majestic means
by which sea crashes into land
has mesmerized locals and
visitors alike for centuries.
♪ ♪
Looking at it that way,
Kelly Slater was long ago
just another surfer
who came to Hawaii
for the waves.
But of course, that's
just the start of the story,
and not merely because
he's Kelly Slater
but because this is
the fabled North Shore of Oahu
and the wave
they call Pipeline.
♪ ♪
- As a kid, a friend of mine
had a picture of Pipeline
on his wall,
and from the time I was
probably eight years old
I just used to imagine
that wave and think,
"Gosh, I'll nev--there's
no way I'll ever ride that."
You know, like,
it used to scare me
but it was one of those things
where I would sit there
sometimes
and just stand in his room
and stare at this wave.
Pipeline's our Mecca,
Hawaii's our Mecca.
It's the place we all
have to go as surfers
to prove ourselves and to test
ourselves and to live out,
you know, your dream
you have as a kid.
♪ ♪
narrator: The kid who once
dreamed of surfing here
has now been coming
to this shore
for upwards of 35 years.
The Florida native spends
several months a year in Oahu,
in a setting that offers
a sense of solace and comfort
along with its surf.
[dramatic music]
And today will be the
first day he'll surf Pipeline
since arriving
in early November,
having waited more than a week
for the conditions
to be right.
- Pipeline is just--
I feel like I've built my life
around it on many levels.
It's the wave I look most
forward to surfing every year.
There have been just
generations of surfers
who've lived their life
by Pipeline.
There's really no wave like it
in the world.
♪ ♪
narrator: Pipeline is the
setting for the final event
of the World Surf League
season,
the Billabong Pipe Masters,
set to get underway
on December 8th.
Slater has won the contest
more than anyone else
in the sport.
♪ ♪
- I have won the Pipe Masters
seven times.
I've competed in it
about 28 times.
If there's an event on tour
that favors me,
it would be this one
just 'cause of my experience
and the confidence I've had
surfing heats
and how well I know the wave
and that sort of thing.
[dreamy music]
♪ ♪
If I could win
the Pipe Masters this year
and if it was the last contest
I ever won in my career,
I would die a happy man,
for sure.
narrator:
These days the notion
of Kelly Slater's competitive
career coming to a close
has been hotly
speculated about,
owing in part to remarks made
by the 47-year-old 11-time
world champion himself.
- This is a funny year
'cause I--
last year I announced
that this was likely
gonna be my retirement year.
Then I've kinda gone
a little bit cold on that,
not that I won't
but not that I will.
You know, people say,
"I wanna go out on top,"
that kind of thing.
Of course, we all want
to go out on top.
I want to go out
when the battery's just done.
Like, I just want--
I wanna kill that battery.
That competitive surfing
battery
and just throw it
out the window and be like,
"All right, I'm done."
♪ ♪
[machete clacking]
narrator: If the waves
are what once attracted
a 12-year-old boy here
from halfway around the world
in Cocoa Beach, Florida,
they're in fact
just the start of the
North Shore of Oahu's charms.
♪ ♪
They say everything
moves a little slower here...
even time itself.
Shoes, shirts, and stress
are in short supply.
While seven miles of beaches
are never more than a walk
or a short ride away--
a gleaming playground for
the very best in the world.
[children shouting and playing]
- Hawaii sort of raised me,
you know?
I--the culture here,
the people, the community.
I think it's formed
a lot of who I am.
Really has become, uh,
my second home.
It is the one place
where everyone ends up at
from the surf world
in the winter.
We all do go to Australia
and we all do go to Europe
and places like that,
but there's nowhere
that's like the North Shore
where everything's
tightly condensed in one place
and you get the competitors
and the free surfers
and the people who are just
traveling for a good vacation
all going at the same time.
It just--
it doesn't happen in France,
it doesn't happen in Brazil
or Florida or California.
Just--Hawaii's
real different like that.
It's a place that definitely
brings everyone together.
We're all here to surf
and maybe get the best wave
of our life
and the best experience,
but...
everyone wants that wave.
♪ ♪
[waves crashing]
narrator:
That's all not to say
that competition
isn't part of the routine.
- Go check it out in here.
narrator: And while
December's Pipe Masters
will serve, as always,
as the biggest event
of the season here,
it also is the last of three
North Shore events
known as
surfing's Triple Crown.
- What's happening here?
narrator: The first
is just a few days away,
the Hawaiian Pro,
held at another famed location
on the shore, Haleiwa.
- One of my favorite waves
in the whole world is Haleiwa.
Between Haleiwa and Pipeline,
those are the two waves
on the North Shore
I think that bring the best
out in what I have to offer,
surfing-wise.
Couple of contest guys
practicing.
Which is funny, 'cause it's--
it'll be a lot bigger than this
but maybe just
getting a feel for it
and you can kinda get in
the line-up and see--
and kinda get in the ocean
and feel your line-ups
a little bit.
When we're sitting out there,
we look back up at different
trees and buildings and stuff
and you--
you get your--
you kinda get two points
and you make a straight line
and get your line-up, you know.
And if you get one point
over there,
one line that way and one line
that way and you triangulate
and you know exactly
where you are on the reef.
Pretty basic way
to line yourself up out there.
This year
I've entered Haleiwa.
I don't generally surf
the whole Triple Crown
but I'm surfing the event
this year.
Luckily, thankfully,
I'm surfing it because, um,
the swell forecast
looks really good.
It's probably the best forecast
I've seen for Haleiwa in years
for the event,
so I'm super excited.
[dramatic music]
narrator: A strong showing
at the event at Haleiwa
could offer Slater
a dose of renewed confidence
heading into Pipeline
in a few week's time,
following a 2019 season that
so far has fallen well short
of his own lofty standards.
- Kelly Slater--
oh, just unable
to finish off there.
- To be in tenth
coming into the last event?
I don't know.
I'm not happy with it.
[chuckles]
- Lining up for the alley-oop
on the end section--
- No!
- Not quite enough for Kelly.
- I can think back on, like,
either a wave or a heat I had
at a couple events
where I felt like I'd
kind of started
getting my stride a little bit,
but I'd have to say I'm not
real happy with my performance.
- Slater really seems focused
and he's chasing
a big number here.
That wave
just not cooperating.
- Last five events--I've
won all those events before
and the best I did in the
last five--it was ninth place,
so I look back at that
and I'm like,
"I don't know if I could
surf those five events again
all in a row and do as bad
as I just did."
That's how it feels to me.
What's up, Marty?
- What's up, Kelly?
- What's goin' on, guys?
narrator: The truth is
that those results
only matter so much
to many locals here.
And some 48 hours
before he's scheduled
to attack the Haleiwa waves
in competition,
his presence on the beach,
as per usual,
attracts the attention
of some of the North Shore's
youngest surfing aficionados.
- Boogie board.
- What's up, bud?
Hey, what's up?
- Hi.
[laughs]
- [laughs]
- High five.
- Hi.
What do I gotta do to win?
- Just do some big turns
like you always do.
- Big open-faced turns?
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
- And then--
- Barrels?
all: Yes.
- Tons of barrels.
- 360s?
all: Yeah.
- Carving 360s?
all: Yes.
- Okay, all right.
Carving 360, a big carve,
and a barrel.
- Yes.
- That should win it.
Whoa, look at this one.
Smash it for us, for the boys.
- Whoa!
- Oh, man.
No one's hittin' it.
I'm gonna go out there
and hit it for you guys.
- Thanks!
- Yeah.
- I wanna see you.
- Okay.
- All right.
Okay guys, I'm gonna go surf.
- Okay, hope your shred.
[suspenseful music]
♪ ♪
narrator: There's a duality
to Slater's status
on the tour at this point.
He's a living legend
who still garners respect
in every contest he's entered,
even as he hasn't won
a tour event
in more than three years,
a period that includes
a serious foot injury in 2017
that significantly
curbed his schedule.
For every up and down,
his temperament
has remained unchanged.
♪ ♪
- I think as a competitor
in your mind
you don't ever age.
You're still approach it
kind of like you just want
to take everyone else out,
you know, you wanna dominate.
♪ ♪
When I got on tour,
the oldest guy on tour
was 28 years old, I think.
I'm almost 20 years older
than that.
♪ ♪
It's tough when you start
losing consistently
and you're not winning
competition
for a year or two years,
you're not winning
any contests.
It's hard and I know
there's people out there
saying, "Oh, he should've
quit a long time ago,"
but I enjoy it.
I enjoy the energy,
I enjoy being around it.
And to be part of that still
for a little longer
has been really fun for me.
♪ ♪
[thunder cracks and echoes]
[buzzing]
- Ooh, right there.
- [indistinct]
Too much surfing?
- I've been surfing so much
the last couple days.
- Oh, my goodness.
[dreamy music]
narrator:
Many, many, waves ago,
all he did to prepare
for contests was to surf,
but with age
has come the reality
that there are other ways
to get himself ready--
all in the cause of maximizing
his chances of success
in the coming days.
♪ ♪
- I have more aches and pains.
I'm in denial of it sometimes,
and I also don't think that
that's just something
you just go,
"Oh, well, that's just
the way it is."
I think you can fix all that.
So to me, all the aches
and pains are--
it's just that reminder that
you gotta set the time aside
and specifically work
on things to get them better.
If I were smart, I would take,
like, three months.
- Off?
- Off.
And just be completely
rehabbing my body, but--
[exhales deeply]
You know how surfing is.
If the waves get good,
we just go surf all day.
It's kind of a problem.
narrator: Among the focuses
on the table tonight,
Slater's right foot--
badly broken two years ago
and twice
surgically repaired since.
- It's breaking.
Do you feel it?
- No, it does feel softer
than the first session.
- Oh, my God.
The first time was like a rock.
- That thing--yeah,
'cause that ligament there
on top of the foot got so
locked up into the scar tissue
after the surgery.
I lost the sensation
to my three middle toes
for, like, six months.
♪ ♪
But it's coming back.
There's that battle
against time.
There's that battle against
what your body's
letting you do.
But I feel at this point I surf
better than I've ever surfed,
but the body
holds me back sometimes.
- Okay, good luck, Kelly.
- Perfect, thank you.
- You're welcome.
[waves crashing]
- Hey, Billy.
How's it going?
Yeah.
I mean, I saw a couple
in the dark, like,
in the six-foot range,
you know?
It's still
pretty dark on it
but I say we green light it,
we go,
8:00 start and we just
go as long as we can.
narrator: Haleiwa Beach,
6:30 a.m., November 15th.
Competition director
Marty Thomas
has made a judgment call
on the surf outlook,
and day one of the Hawaiian
Pro tournament is underway.
- JD.
Lookin' at a sharp 8:00 start.
And 27-minute heats
the first round.
We've got 13 days
to run the best four
and not every day
is gonna be perfect,
so we have to make, uh,
those tough decisions.
I think today,
on a scale of one to ten's
probably a, you know,
good six or seven.
Surf's in the
six-to-eight foot range.
Maybe some ten-footers.
Uh, clean condition.
What's up, Lilly?
It looks pretty good.
We'll do a round of 128,
16 heats.
That's a good-lookin' wave
there.
Stoked.
[chuckles]
- Attention surfers,
counting down.
Five, four, three, two, one,
[horn blasts]
And we are on.
Heat one, round one.
2019 Hawaiian Pro.
[cheers and applause]
narrator:
Because of ever-changing
ocean conditions,
every surfing event has
to have a flexible schedule.
This one is set to crown
a champion in 13 days or less.
- But with those two big
maneuvers on that set wave,
you gotta think
he could possibly
go from third to first.
narrator: That champion
will come out of a field
that includes
North Shore locals
as well as
world-class performers
pointed towards
the Pipe Masters.
As qualifying begins,
there are plenty
of impressive riders,
but also one
conspicuously absent.
Because of his
World Tour ranking,
Kelly Slater doesn't
have to enter the draw
until its third round.
And so while much of the rest
of the field competes,
he's a few miles north
where the waves
are a bit gentler
and he can stay in rhythm
with the ebbs and flows
of Oahu's shoreline.
- You know,
I'm sort of imagining
what would happen
if I got cleaned up.
Am I ready to hold my breath
for a long time?
Go swim under the water.
Use some energy
without getting a breath.
I'm just sort of
feeling it out all the time.
- ♪ You keep your head up ♪
♪ Keeping your pride on ♪
♪ Go live forever ♪
♪ Don't ever
let 'em forget you ♪
- You just have to
constantly have it
in the back of your mind,
'cause even
if it's not massive,
you can still get
a little bit over your head
or get knocked out.
- ♪ Don't ever
let 'em forget you ♪
narrator:
He's got backup today
in the form of an old friend,
Mark Cunningham,
a retired North Shore
lifeguard
and bodysurfing legend.
- Kelly's just always genuinely
been stoked with the beach
and the shore break
and the waves
and whether it's one foot
or whether it's 20 or 30 feet
it's a playground
for him to play.
- ♪ It's all right,
it's okay ♪
- Even though I'm going out,
enjoying myself,
I'm trying to give myself
a little bit of a lesson
and refresher course
in how the currents move,
where the rocks are,
how my breath hold feels,
how my swimming feels,
if my body feels like
it's hurting anywhere
or if I feel in good shape.
♪ ♪
These are perfect days
to go for a little swim.
Just kinda soak up
this weather and relax.
It's like the calm
before the storm right now, so
gotta soak up these days
while we got 'em.
[laid-back Hawaiian music]
♪ ♪
narrator: Among the charms
of this particular beach
for Slater is its convenience.
The home he's owned
for the past decade
is just steps away
from the water.
As for the interior décor,
it's a reflection
of his professional history
and his personal sensibility.
- This one's a little funny
'cause I became friends
with Bill Murray through golf,
and Bill Murray
has some surf history.
He learned to surf in Bali.
I sent a picture of this board
to Bill and he wrote me back.
He said, "That guy looks
like he needs a leash."
This is my favorite.
This is the cock rock...
[chuckling]
For obvious reasons.
Somebody broke into my house
and they used this rock.
Broke into my house
and stole everything that year.
[chuckles]
I was really pissed
at the time,
but I actually think
it's funny.
I hope it doesn't
happen again,
but yeah, they used my cock
rock to break into the house.
These are three of my trophies
from Pipe Masters wins.
Best trophy in surfing.
If I win this year,
it's just gonna go
right next to that one.
This picture kinda haunts me
because...
I think it was the best wave
I've ever seen at Pipeline
and I could've caught it.
This wave was coming
and I was like,
"This is the wave I've waited
my whole life for.
That's the one."
And I just couldn't figure out
how to catch it
and not kill myself.
That's a reminder.
Every time you go out there
make sure if that wave
ever comes your way,
you don't miss it.
But that's one
of the best waves
I've ever seen
in my whole life.
[Don Ho's
"You'll Never Go Home"
- ♪ Find enchantment ♪
♪ In the islands ♪
♪ ♪
♪ And you'll never go home ♪
♪ Hey-uh, hey-uh ♪
♪ No, you'll never go home ♪
♪ ♪
- ♪ Don't let the starlight
get in your eye ♪
♪ Don't let a beachboy
whisper you lies ♪
♪ Don't hold his hand
'neath tropical skies ♪
♪ Or you'll never go home ♪
♪ ♪
- ♪ No, you'll never go home ♪
♪ ♪
♪ Don't drink a mai tai
under the moon ♪
♪ Don't go out walking ♪
narrator:
Hawaii has long been a place
that embraces
the sense of escape
it can offer to visitors.
The idea is to enchant you,
to all but dare you
to claim life
to be better anywhere else.
- ♪ No, you'll never go home ♪
[suspenseful music]
narrator: Every dream
that's brought someone here
could tell its own story--
including the one that
belonged to the kid
who had a remarkable drive
to conquer any and every
objective in front of him.
♪ ♪
- I've always had this
relentless, undying desire
to be the best
at whatever I do.
It--when I do look back
and try to sort of
psychoanalyze the whole thing
and pull it apart
there's just a lot
that went into it, you know?
I come from a small town
on the East Coast
that didn't have many waves
so I had a little bit of this,
like, small man syndrome
like I gotta prove myself--
a little chip on my shoulder.
We were lower-middle class.
My dad was an alcoholic.
Drank a ton.
My parents were fighting
all the time.
You know, there was a lot
of drama and instability
in my household.
Uh, I was a younger brother
to--to Sean.
And--and the fact that
I hung out with him a lot
and his friends
who were all older
and better at me
than sort of everything.
They were stronger, faster,
surfed better than me,
et cetera.
I had to kind of be on a level
that was years ahead of me
in order to hang
with those guys.
♪ ♪
I've always kinda, like,
dreamt a lot bigger
than the small town I'm from,
even though
I love my little town.
But I wanted to get out
and experience the world
and I--I feel like this sort of
recipe all came together for me
and created this mind-set.
And a lot of that was from
things I couldn't have
as a kid,
and I found the thing I'm best
at and what I love the most,
so surfing provided all these
opportunities for me.
[waves crashing]
[birds singing]
[rooster crows]
narrator:
Surfers tend to be
well-acquainted
with pre-dawn hours.
- [whistles]
narrator: And for
Kelly Slater early today
there's a packing list
to fulfill
before he heads to the water
at Haleiwa
for his first heat in
the Hawaiian Pro tournament.
- I'm gonna take four boards.
Um--
just to give me a little
variety potential--
what the waves are gonna do,
so this board is, uh,
what I've been riding mostly
for the last couple years.
These are both boards
from local shapers,
buddies of mine.
This board I've had
a lot of success on this year.
It's uh--
my friend Akila made it
and it's just one
of those boards you jump on.
It just feels really good
under your feet.
So good chance I'll ride
that board this morning.
You know,
a board feeling good--
it's just a combination
of a bunch of things that
sometimes you can't really
put your finger on,
but it's the planing surface,
just the flex of the board,
the--the template, the shape,
the fins, it's kind of
the combination of everything
coming together on a board
that makes it good.
And sometimes you can
look at two boards--
they look exactly the same
and one works and one sucks.
♪ ♪
narrator: The breakfast menu
is a study in nutritious fuel,
but just as meal prep
is complete
comes a message
from down at the beach.
Like so many other times
in so many other contests,
mother nature has spoken.
The waves at Haleiwa
are no longer suitable
for competition.
- 6:47--"We are off
today and tomorrow.
Next call Wednesday, 7:00 a.m."
And that's that.
Going back to bed.
[chuckles]
[energetic alternative music]
♪ ♪
narrator: What the conditions
taketh away, they giveth back.
Just because he can't surf
the next two days
doesn't mean he can't play.
- Nice putt. All right.
Well, he's good at golf.
narrator: It wasn't hard
to scrounge up
a few playing partners
for 18 holes
at a nearby course,
and they're both
familiar faces
in the North Shore
surf community.
- Watch this shit.
narrator: Abe Lerner
is a former lifeguard
who spent
more than two decades
keeping the beaches here safe,
though he evidently
never quite managed
to perfect his golf swing.
- Kelly.
narrator: Benji Weatherly
is a former pro surfer.
- That's why you guys
wanted me to do it,
you wanted him to hit the most
perfect shot down the middle.
Damn it.
narrator: Whose family's house
on Pipeline
served as the home base
and heartbeat for Slater
and a wide group
of their surfing friends
as they grew up.
- I dare this ball
to go where I want.
It's the only sport I can play
as good as him.
Like, at surfing I'm like,
"You're so much better.
Fuck it."
♪ ♪
- Kinda fast, gotta turn.
Oh!
- Nice shot, Kell.
- Not bad for the fifth take.
- Whoo-hoo!
narrator:
It's just supposed to be
a fun afternoon on the links,
the mood hardly intense.
- Go on.
narrator:
But make no mistake,
Kelly Slater
is a pro-am regular
with a single-digit handicap
whose competitiveness
is unextinguishable.
- Oh, you dipshit.
What a bad swing.
- Guy's competitive, you know.
- You know he wants
to beat me so bad.
- Closest to the pin
gets a grand.
- Oh, no.
That could be really good.
- Pretty good.
- Oh, come on.
Don't do it!
- Go in the hole!
[grunts]
- Fuck you.
All right, now skip up.
- No, it's gonna stop short.
- Oh, no, the grass?
- Is it really?
- It grabbed? Come on.
- Too much action, guys.
Ugh!
- How long have we been
betting for and not paying Ben?
Like 20 years?
- Oh, yeah.
- Ten years?
- I keep it on my phone,
though, in the notes.
- Cool.
- Just kidding.
[laughter]
- Yeah, turn.
Stay, turn, go, yeah.
- He makes everything.
narrator: As another day
draws to a close,
chalk up another win
for Kelly Slater.
- Hey, you guys.
- Get that?
- Kelly, what'd you shoot?
- I dropped 68.
- I can't even
get this off now.
- [laughs]
- Feels good.
I mean, that's really good.
[light music]
♪ ♪
narrator: There are only
so many places on Earth
where nature's beauty is as
dazzling as it is at Pipeline.
That splendor is what makes
the idea
of surfing these waves
so irresistibly tantalizing
to the best in the world.
♪ ♪
Even as it is also what makes
them so very dangerous.
♪ ♪
The size of the waves,
reaching up to 20 feet,
combined with the shallow,
cement-like reefs
hiding below the surface
mean that the thrill
of every ride
is fed by the fear
of what it could entail.
♪ ♪
Everyone part of the scene
here has mourned the losses
of friends who've died
along the North Shore,
but their memories
are kept alive
by surfers like Kelly Slater--
surfers who never stop
thinking about them
and who carry on
in their honor.
- Really relax
your whole body.
narrator:
The calmness of other waters
can provide a program
of preparation
for the danger
that again waits.
- Focus on every part
of your body
that you can just let go of.
Hands, toes.
narrator: Mark Visser
is an Australian
big wave surfing legend,
as well as a coach
who specializes in methods
to overcome fear
and submersion.
- This is more
of a wipeout scenario.
So basically as if
he's just been caught
and he's being pulled down
and he's looked up
and he's gotta swim
and then he swims, he moves,
his heart rate's
coming right up
and then just before
he breathes again
and then he comes back here,
he's pulled back down again.
Yes, this is a training drill
and we can stop at any time
and pull him up,
but he just gets used
to being comfortable
when it just doesn't feel good
and that's just what helps him
process stress
or any situation
where fear can creep in.
[intense percussive music]
♪ ♪
narrator: And preparation
continues on dry land as well.
- There you go!
Keep going--there!
narrator: For 25 years
Slater has looked to jiujitsu
as another path
to merging his mastery
over his body's movements
and his mind's focus.
Break the grip on your collar,
yeah, watch your feet.
Push forward.
- Kelly has amazing balance.
Go watch him.
He's really like a cat,
you know what I mean?
Most of the guys
that do jiujitsu surf.
All the movements
are real loose
and loosen
your joints all up.
If you learn to deal
with stress in here
when you're getting beat up
in jiujitsu
it's the same as like when
you're getting held underwater.
You wanna do, like, a shaka.
You want to turn your wrist
so now you're using
this bone right here.
Hand in, turn your wrists--
shakas.
Now pull me to you then.
Crazy, huh?
- Yeah.
- Takes no energy.
- No--there's no--
there's no energy.
- Okay, let's line up.
Everybody line up.
narrator:
So the two-day delay
to his start
at the Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa
has hardly been wasted
and a promising forecast
has him once again
looking ahead hungrily
to sunrise.
- I got first heat tomorrow,
so I'm just like--
- Oh, unreal.
Come in here and get beat up
and then go surf first heat.
That's the way you do it,
champ.
That's how the champ does it.
[rooster crows]
[waves crashing]
narrator: If Kelly Slater's
commitment to competition
is remarkable, those who
know him best will tell you
he's just as dedicated
to preserving the ocean
that's always enthralled him.
Slater's passion
for ocean health
has guided the sustainable
and environmentally-friendly
apparel and surfboard
lines he started,
among other
entrepreneurial pursuits.
Though on a morning like this,
those business interests
take a back seat
to the contest that awaits.
- I was up from, like,
2:30 or 3:00 for, like,
an hour and a half, two hours.
Then I got up at 6:00.
Wanted to be up
two hours beforehand.
No real rituals.
Just try
to get my boards ready.
And imagine what the weather's
gonna be.
It's gonna be big,
it's gonna be an exciting day.
♪ ♪
I surfed the event in Haleiwa
probably 15 times
in my career.
And I've gotten second
before--I never won it.
So I don't know
how many more times
I'm gonna give myself here.
This--you know,
this potentially could be
the last time
I surf at this event,
so yeah, I would love
to win this thing.
♪ ♪
Haleiwa can be frustrating
'cause it can get
really inconsistent.
It can be in the--
like, the most rewarding
and most frustrating wave
on the North Shore.
♪ ♪
narrator: He gets to the
beach a little after 7:00
and his long-time girlfriend,
Kalani Miller,
will be chief among those
cheering him all day long.
♪ ♪
- The thing about Kalani,
she's just a really solid
person, you know?
She's consistent,
she's trustworthy.
The love of travel for both
of us, the love of food.
Our dog, um,
the surf lifestyle,
all those things, they're all
things that we connect on.
♪ ♪
She loves that I'm in love
with the thing I do.
And I guess I love that
about her, you know?
I think that's
what you have to do for
the people
in your life, you know?
You have to make
what's important to them
important to you as well.
♪ ♪
- I always try to give him
his space, I think.
Yeah.
So he can get focused and do
whatever he has to do to get
ready and feel mentally ready
and I try not to interfere too
much in his morning routine
or get in the way or--
just let him have his space.
♪ ♪
- 11-time world champion
Kelly Slater
from Cocoa Beach, Florida,
in red.
narrator: As the contest
begins its third round
there are 64 surfers
left in the draw.
The competition
expected to pick up
with big names like Slater
now entering the water.
♪ ♪
Slater and three other surfers
will take turns
catching as many waves as they
can during the 30-minute heat
with each ride
judged individually.
Their best two scores
will be added together
and the top two competitors
will advance
to the next round.
- The GOAT is about to enter
the lineup.
We know his history here.
One of the all-time greats
at Haleiwa.
- Kelly Slater attacks it
vertical on that huge section.
It's gonna be a good score.
First opening wave score:
a 5.4, Kelly.
Right now he's in second place
with one scoring ride.
That's where he needs to be.
[dramatic music]
narrator:
The strong opening wave
puts him in solid position
in the heat,
but his next two attempts fail
to maintain the momentum.
- Slater on a huge wave.
narrator: Then, though,
not long after
he falls into third place,
he provides the crowd
at Haleiwa
a reminder of what he
can still do on a surfboard.
♪ ♪
- Here is Kelly Slater
and he's up and riding--
nice carve to start off
and then smacks the lip
right at it, almost loses it.
He should've fell
and went down right there.
He defied gravity.
- Kelly Slater: a 6.67.
You go to first.
- Kelly Slater,
a convincing win.
[waves crashing]
- Hi, babe.
[excited babbling]
- Hi, baby.
- Hi.
[indistinct chatter]
narrator:
When the heat's over
Slater has the best
combined score of his group.
Much to the delight
of everyone on the beach,
he's on safely
to the next round.
- Thank you.
- Okay.
[indistinct PA announcement]
- Good job, dog.
- Kelly, mind
if I get a picture?
- How does it feel to be back
in competition at Haleiwa?
- It feels great when there's
a big wet swell like this.
It feels nice, but you know
it's the beginning of the swell
so it's super inconsistent
right now.
I think the size'll come up,
the interval will come down--
we'll see a lot of good waves
this afternoon.
♪ ♪
narrator: There's a
five-and-a-half hour wait
until his next heat.
Though he's well-acquainted
with the importance
of not letting up
in the interval.
♪ ♪
- Another 30-minute heat.
Top two surfers advance
into the quarterfinals.
♪ ♪
And here goes Kelly.
Big bottom turn, knifing one
off the top around the corner.
Finds more open face
and then goes hard off the
bottom, attacks the lip,
just mind-boggling
how he's still
doing it at a level where
he is top ten in the world.
narrator: But even if
the longevity
of his brilliance is revered,
the whole point is that these
waves can humble legends too.
♪ ♪
His struggles leave Slater
at the bottom of his heat,
and the prospect of an early
departure from the contest
is impossible to ignore.
And as the other surfers keep
recording high scores...
- Jacob Wilcox
off the bottom--
stabs it in the lip, good job.
narrator: The task looks
more and more daunting.
- Attention, surfers.
Five minutes remaining.
Kelly, you are in third.
You need a 6.51
to go to second.
narrator: Then there's less
than a minute remaining
and only one last wave
to stave off elimination.
- Let's watch Kelly
with the whitewater takeoff.
Up and riding
with 25 seconds to go--
a big gouge on the close out.
Wow, that was critical.
That was dangerous
and with 19 seconds to go,
was that a 6.51 or better
to get him
into the quarterfinals?
[indistinct PA announcements]
Last wave, Kelly Slater:
a 6.93.
He goes to second!
Unbelievable!
- Yeah, you.
- There we go.
Some of that old magic back.
[indistinct chatter]
- Hi. Good job.
- Hey.
- I mean, that wave
was very big.
- Yeah.
I got up and I'm like,
"Shit, I better
do something quick.
It's closing out," but--
- That's perfect.
- It was--you know,
I've seen, like,
tens, nines get made out here
on one-turn waves, so--
- Yeah.
- I knew it was possible
'cause it's--
they're really scoring
on the big waves, so.
- Uh-huh.
- I don't feel like
I've surfed a good heat yet
and I'm still in the--
you know, I'm in
the quarterfinals, so
I feel like there's a lot
of room to move
on the upside for me.
[waves crashing]
Waves are perfect.
It's hard not to look.
[suspenseful music]
♪ ♪
narrator: About a 45-minute
drive down from Haleiwa
over to Oahu's east side,
nestled on the edge
of the Pali mountain range,
another piece
of Kelly Slater's
journey to Pipeline
is underway.
This is the workshop
of Tocoro Surfboards,
an outfit that
hand-crafts boards
for all levels
of amateurs and professionals.
[saw whirs]
Though there's always
a particular honor
they take here
in what they build
for world-class competitors
like Slater.
♪ ♪
Every step of the process
holds the potential
to make a measure of
untold difference on a wave.
♪ ♪
Every inch treated
with the same care,
the same singular focus,
that the surfer himself brings
to his task in the water.
Because make no mistake,
there's pride in writing
this name on this board.
♪ ♪
Pride in being
this hidden part
of Kelly Slater's
preparation for Pipeline.
[indistinct PA announcement]
[horn blasts]
A little less than 72 hours
after Slater's last-second
exploits kept him alive--
- ♪ Hold on to the thread ♪
narrator:
The Hawaiian Pro resumes
on a picture-perfect day
on Oahu's North Shore,
kicking off
with the quarterfinal heats.
["Oceans" by Pearl Jam]
If this is the final time
Kelly Slater
will compete at Haleiwa
he's of course hardly
approaching it ceremoniously.
Not just because it's
a potentially valuable tune-up
for the Pipe Masters,
but also because
that's just not the way
Kelly Slater surfs.
- ♪ Oh, the next ♪
♪ Time we touch ♪
♪ ♪
narrator: The great weather
translates to a great crowd,
but also calm conditions
and a scarcity of good waves.
- Kelly Slater--
nice foam climb.
He's gonna have to tap-dance
through this dead water
making the most
of what was on offer.
- ♪ You don't have to stray ♪
narrator: These are the kinds
of scenarios
when experience can pay off.
- ♪ Waves roll
in my thoughts ♪
narrator: When a surfer has to
know when the time's right
to seize an opportunity.
♪ ♪
- Gonna get some open face
to work with.
Bottom-turn it.
Gonna go tuck in the barrel
and disappear
behind the curtain.
Slater, still carving.
Good morning, Haleiwa.
- Seven minutes remain.
- Last wave:
Kelly Slater--
an 8.33.
Kelly, you remain first.
- ♪ Be there once more ♪
narrator: Particularly
in these conditions,
it's a huge score,
and it'll hold up to ease him
into the semifinals.
- Three, two, one.
[horn blares]
♪ ♪
[indistinct chatter]
- You know,
you gotta play the game.
You gotta pace yourself.
You know, either you get the
first good wave and start.
You put the pressure
on the other guys,
or you wait for what you know
is gonna be the right wave
to let you do something
somebody else can't do,
and that sort of happened
for me.
I got that one that sort of
stood up on the reef
a little bit better.
Um, couple of the ones Mitch
and those guys got
were a little deeper
and they kind of flattened out.
I wanted to stay away
from those waves
as best I could.
♪ ♪
- On to semifinal heat
number two.
♪ ♪
11-time world champion
Kelly Slater in the white.
♪ ♪
narrator: The difference
between surfing
and so many other sports
is that the playing field is
never totally predictable,
and when the ocean decides
it's not going to cooperate
in the way you wish it would,
everything else is rendered
all but moot.
- The swell--short spurts
and moments this morning.
- Even the GOAT is not immune
to frustration.
♪ ♪
narrator: Frustration that,
in less than 30 minutes' time,
can transform
into desperation.
- Slater driving
down the line.
Up into the lip--goes for just
the craziest flyaway
I've seen in a long time.
- Not a smart choice
for Kelly.
Just a weird heat.
This--Mother Nature caught all
four of these competitors
by surprise.
♪ ♪
- White needs a 4.15.
One minute,
20 seconds remaining.
♪ ♪
narrator: On another day,
a 4.15 would not be
a hard score
for Slater to attain.
- Okay, here we go.
Counting down in five...
narrator: But on this one,
the waves needed to get it
are just not there.
[horn blares]
- We lose the GOAT in Slater.
Little unlucky for the boys;
that was a very slow heat.
One of the slowest
of the whole event.
narrator: Four is not
the number you want
next to your name.
His contest is over.
[light hip-hop music]
♪ ♪
narrator: Even through
the disappointment,
part of the charm
of an event like this
is the way
it can instantly remind you
of who you once were.
♪ ♪
As for other kinds of
self-reflection,
he now can't help but wonder,
heading into
the rest of the season,
if so openly pondering
retirement
has been a detriment.
♪ ♪
- I think I approached
this year--
I put too much pressure
on myself,
and I kind of thought,
"Maybe the pressure'll
bring it all out of me
and make me really focus,"
but it--I think it sort of
distracted me.
♪ ♪
I've beaten all the best guys
in the world this year
in a heat,
but I just haven't beaten them
in rankings, you know.
But...
the retirement thing--
like I said, I'm just gonna go
with what feels right.
♪ ♪
I wish I was in a world title
conversation
coming to Pipeline
this next month,
but I can pretty clearly say
if I were to win Pipeline
this year,
I'd probably retire right
then.
It would just--it would just
cap it all for me.
♪ ♪
[waves crashing]
I always play those green ones.
[indistinct chatter, laughter]
[light guitar music]
narrator: He may be unsure of
what his next step will be,
but he's not one who ever
looks overwhelmed
by that uncertainty.
♪ ♪
- What is this?
That's one of yours?
- Yeah.
Yeah, I don't--I haven't played
this in a long time.
narrator: In so many ways,
it can seem too easy
to render his life
as a surfing metaphor,
but balance in the wake of
the intensity of competition
is essential.
- What are you guys drinking?
narrator: And it's best
achieved with friends close
and guitar in hand.
- ♪ Can I be saved? ♪
♪ Am I too late? ♪
♪ Am I today ♪
♪ Never I say ♪
♪ ♪
♪ Can I be saved? ♪
♪ Or am I too late? ♪
♪ Am I today ♪
♪ Never I say ♪
♪ ♪
- Chihoo.
- Chihoo!
- Chihoo.
[laughter]
- Chihoo!
- Oh.
I actually wrote those lyrics
on a plane,
'cause I was, like, hearing
the song in my head.
When you read lyrics sometimes
and you don't have the melody,
it just, like, looks weird.
- Yeah, completely.
- Yeah.
And so, like, I just went,
like, "Oh, I don't like it!"
And I threw it in the trash.
- I feel--I find it's--
- And then PK's like, "We gotta
sing a melody to that.
Where's those lyrics?"
I'm like, "I threw them away."
And he's like, "Where?"
And I'm like,
"In the trash can."
- And he went and got them?
- And he went and got them
out of the trash can.
- Resurrected it.
- Yeah.
[laughter]
narrator: There are those
who will tell you
that some songs
are meant to be saved.
After all, you never know when
you'll be able to call on one
to embody the moment that
you're living in.
all: ♪ Sitting in limbo ♪
♪ Limbo, limbo, limbo ♪
- ♪ Limbo, limbo, limbo ♪
- Yep, that's right.
all: ♪ Limbo, limbo, limbo ♪
♪ Limbo, limbo, limbo ♪
- ♪ Man, I keep putting up
resistance ♪
all: ♪ But I know that my faith
will lead me ♪
♪ Home ♪
♪ ♪
- Whoo-hoo!
[laughter]
♪ ♪
[indistinct chatter]
- Sometimes I look around
at my life
and I cannot believe
that it happened like this.
I can't believe that wave came
to me at that time
and it won me the world title.
["Corners Of The Earth"
by ODESZA]
When it's all clicking,
it feels like everything's
right in the world.
♪ ♪
I was flashing back last night
about my life
and all the things that
created this life for me
and all the things that've
happened and how it's all--
like, life hasn't all been
great and wonderful,
but it's kinda all
gone my way.
You know, in a, like,--
and maybe that's just
looking at it
from the right perspective,
from the right lens.
♪ ♪
- ♪ Tonight we're golden ♪
♪ ♪
♪ We fall towards each other ♪
♪ ♪
♪ We fall to the edges
of the Earth ♪
♪ ♪
♪ We burn tonight as one ♪
♪ ♪
[waves crashing]
♪ ♪
- I fell so in love with
surfing at a young age.
I didn't know,
at eight years old
when I started competing,
that I could have a career
in surfing.
I just thought,
"Oh, this would be fun
to surf in a contest."
But I've made a living
from what
I'm most passionate about.
If people ever ask me my
advice, I've always thought,
"Oh, do what you're most
passionate about
and figure out how to make
that your life."
But I don't know
if that is or isn't
a possibility for everybody.
I'm not sure.
If it was, I think everyone
would be a pro surfer.
[laughs]
♪ ♪
narrator: The most alluring
aspect of the ocean
to a surfer may just be
that there will always be
another wave
to measure yourself by.
♪ ♪
As far as life itself goes,
you only get one chance
to get it right.
♪ ♪
By even his own account,
Kelly Slater has lived
his life as an exception.
♪ ♪
Able to achieve what
nearly everyone else cannot.
♪ ♪
Less to reap remarkable
benefits from that gift.
Charmed to be driven
by a passion
that continues to fuel him.
♪ ♪
So it's hard for him
to think of competing
as a part of his past.
And by contrast,
natural for a place like
Pipeline
to still attract his gaze
after all this time.
♪ ♪
A 47-year-old legend
in the most famous event
in the sport.
♪ ♪
You wouldn't be alone pulling
for him to win it once more.
♪ ♪
But the truth is,
for Kelly Slater,
the competition has never been
about simply being better
than the next surfer.
It's about measuring up
to all the ocean gives him
and finding a way to realize
the possibilities he glimpses
every time he walks out
towards its horizon.
♪ ♪
[waves crashing]
[dramatic music]
On December 10th,
don't miss the premiere
of the HBO Sports documentary
"Belichick & Saban:
The Art of Coaching."
As the close friends discuss
the approaches
and philosophies
that have made them
among the best coaches ever
in any sport.
♪ ♪
And one week later
on December 17th,
it's the documentary
"Well Groomed,"
a vibrant exploration
of the world of competitive
and creative dog grooming.
♪ ♪
This has been a presentation
of HBO Sports.