no, it wasn’t an april fools joke. the big news of kelly slater leaving quiksilver is real. honestly, i thought it was some kind of joke too. here’s what i think about it. kelly slater was the youngest, and oldest surfer to win world titles. he sold billions of dollars worth of quiksilver clothes throughout his 23 year relationship with them. kelly is quiksilver. quiksilver is kelly. kind of like how michael jorden is nike. anyway, he left because he wants to create his own brand. and probably left because kids like john john florence is getting paid more than him from hurley, and dane reynolds is getting paid more than him from quiksilver. that must of hurt the champion as he knows he’s the most marketable surfer in the history of the sport. to me, no other surfer even comes close to the marketing value of this champion. kelly can sell anything. anything kelly wears and does is cool. yes, a lot of people also hate him and the only reason is because he’s too good. so here’s what i predict, kelly will make a new brand, put the sticker on his surfboard, it will be the most talked about brand when it comes out, people will buy it, and he will make more money than quiksilver ever paid him. yes, more than john john, and more than dane. everybody is looking for something new and cool. it’s been a while since a new surf brand dominated the billion dollar industry, and the time has come. kelly isn’t stupid, and kelly isn’t world champion 11 times for nothing. he will win more championships, win more hearts, win more money, and succeed in anything he does. i’m pretty excited for his new chapter in his life and i hope he proves everybody wrong. Go-Kelly!
as for me, i’m living my life like a 11 time champion. just look at my dinner last night. this was course 1 of 10 and it just kept on getting better and better. i’m so fortunate to have very generous friends that take me to places where only kings can dine at. now i’m sitting up at 3:30am doing this blog as i’m jet lagged. i think my 3 hour afternoon nap yesterday was too long. now i’m going to get ready, jump in a taxi, jump on a train, get into a car, jump on a ferry, and go all the way to shikoku. it will take about 14 hours but i’m a surfer and that’s how surfers do it in japan. yes, i feel like jumping on a 1 hour flight that will take me there, but that’s cheating. i just can’t wait so see mt. fuji, my friends, and some good surf! have a wonderful day!
