Kelly Slater Announces His Retirement Plan

In a recent statement on his Instagram, Kelly Slater has announced his plan to compete on the World tour next year, and then retire. Here’s the full statement:

“My last wave in Portugal the other day. Sick little bank with just@patchy_o and myself. Hugely inspired by the young guys on tour these past few months and what @john_john_florence has accomplished this year. So next year I’m gonna get my shit (and my body) together for real and see if I can make a last run at a title. Then I’ll go find the best waves on earth til my last day before being freeze dried and used as plant food to make a #Koa and #Monkeypod tree on my property or take the carbon from my ashes and make a diamond from it for my family. (Don’t forget to drop some of me in the tube also!) Photo @badboyryry“

It’s no secret Slater’s attention has been a little diverted in the past few years, what with the creation of his clothing brand, his wave pool, his surfboard company and more recently, a collaborative art show, so it will be interesting to see if he’s still got what it’s got to take home a world title when he fully focuses. We also know he’s been carrying some niggling injuries for the past few years and so his ability to get over these will also play its role. We could throw some predictions out there, about whether he’ll stick to his word and whether he’ll get pack to being a title contender,  however if Slater has taught un anything with his absurdly long reign of dominance it’s that speculation on both his success and participation is futile.