THE DAY KELLY SLATER CHANGED SURFING - 1990 BUD TOUR TRESTLES STORIES

September 9, 1990 - One of the most pivotal days in the history of surfing. The video begins with the story of the random chance of unlikely events that allowed Kelly to compete in the PSAA Bud Tour 1990 Body Glove Surfabout at perfect, overhead Lower Trestles. Actually signing his first pro contract with Quiksilver on the beach, the day of the event, put enormous pressure on Kelly. However, he was fresh off a 3rd place finish in the ASP (WSL) France, where he faced off with Tom Curren his biggest surfing inspiration, (who won the event and another 5 for his famous Trails To Title 1990 ASP World Title). Slater said his confidence was at an all-time high, and he wanted the opportunity to show everyone what he could do. His performance was remarkable, taking his first pro win, 30,000 dollars, and got the surf world talking. How he rose to the occasion, using his confidence and that pressure to produce a high-risk, sure-footed, and beautiful performance, showed the level of skill and mental fortitude of this young prodigy. When “Kelly Slater“ in Black and White came out shortly thereafter, every young surfer in the world that wanted to rip saw how they wanted to surf, changing the trajectory of surfboards, and how they were ridden, making this video the most influential of the shortboard era in most surfers opinion. Slater, who has gone on the become surfing’s Greatest Of All Time, recalled this day: “When I see that, I see myself unaffected by a history of things in my life. I am aware of the camera being on me only in the sense that I was a little bit sort of shy and nervous. I wasn’t trying to send a message. I wasn’t trying to promote something else. I wasn’t trying to sell a pair of trunks. There is an innocence about that time for me that felt really nice and refreshing and pure. I mean, shit, I would love to go back and live that again right now. I would love to go back to that time and those moments and experience those again, completely.“ video by @tonyrobertsphoto Music: Chaser #trproductions #realsurfstories #surfhistory sources: Body Glove Quiksilver Surfer Magazine Surfing Magazine Twenty Magazine Water Magazine ESM Magazine The L.A. Times