Kelly Slater on the wipeout that nearly killed him

Kelly Slater shares life-threatening surfing experiences, including two-wave hold-down and getting knocked out in France. Slater calls the Banzai Pipeline in Hawaii and Mavericks at Half Moon Bay in Northern California two of the most dangerous surf spots.

Episode debuted nationwide in 2016.

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[TrapasaurusFlex]

Kelly Slater is literally the perfect name for a surfer.

[NareshSinghh]

Listening to Kelly describe that moment when you are clawing to the surface for air is such a trip. I'm sitting here pooping but also am hella grateful for the breath of air I just took in.

[jeenyus]

Says pipeline is the most dangerous wave hes ever surfed. Then theres jamie obrien on pipeline doing board transfers off an inflatable flamingo wearing a speedo.

[meatman]

"A couple of my friends died there"

[johnchappell]

Kelly Slater has to be one of the greatest athletes that ever lived. It's strange how main stream sports doesn't recognize surfers as much as they should. They say hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports but I dont think they have ever ridden a 50 foot wave.
Thank you..

[stevefowler]

I grew up in Cocoa Beach in the 60's and 70's and was mostly into motorcycle racing but I surfed just enough to say I knew how to surf...when I was in Engineering College in early/mid '80's at UCF I used to surf a little during my free time and one Saturday I was surfing in front of Patrick A.F.B. and there was a young kid there tearing it up...it was Kelly...I would guess he was 12 or 13ish and he was already damn good....Much respect...he is a great guy and a real badass.

[patrickboy]

I wiped out on a 3 foot wave and was tired after

[moosedrummer]

Dude even sits in a chair like he’s on a surf board.

[etspacejams]

So blessed to have Kelly as a spokesperson for surfing. So well spoken and respectful - Slater 4 prez

[erikdowgin]

No one ever talks about when you finally get to the surface and there is two feet of foam that ya can’t breath through.

[dianthe]

“A couple of my friends died there” WHY DOES HE SAY IT SO CASUALLY, that’s so sad🥺

[davitavora]

Why is nobody talking about how weird Kelly's legs are at the beginning of the video

[Ya-average-B]

I almost drowned when I was 9 surfing with my dad on the tail end of hurricane Andrew in 92 and it was absolutely terrifying. I got caught in the undertow and wasn't able to do anything. I've been in fire fights and blown up and nothing compares to drowning it's the most helpless/ panicking feeling anybody could ever experience.

[arthurwatts]

He's so right about the 2-wave hold down - particularly nasty if you've just gone over the falls. I miss a lot of things about surfing, but I dont miss the days when it felt like the ocean really was trying to kill me. You paddle out because you want some of that power, but it comes at a price.

[digiprez]

I KO'd myself for a split-second wakeboarding, and when I came to I was underwater so I started frantically trying to swim to the surface but something was holding me back... Then I remembered I was wearing a life vest, so I stopped swimming and just floated up to the surface... Surfing scares the hell out of me. I went to Hawaii once, tried it, and scorpion'd myself on some kind of sandbar in Waikiki Bay. Turns out you want to surf where the other people are, not in the spot that looks good to your Wisconsin-bred eyes... I actually got up on a wave right away, but all of a sudden the water was a foot deep and the nose of my board dug in, hence the scorpion. There was some coral in that sand too, I took some home in my nipple and had to dig it out after it got infected.

[JGCSRT]

WTF is going on with how Kelly is sitting at the beginning of the video?!? He looks like a paraplegic who was just lifted out of his wheelchair and plopped down for the interview.

[mantasaukstuolis]

When he described getting knocked out - I thought he was describing my story. I can't believe I had the identical thing happen to me - except there were no fans on the beach waiting for me. LOL.

[sherylrae]

Love him. 2 wave hold down is traumatic and I love that it happened to me on relatively small waves too. Just don’t panic. Mavericks is SO cold.

[LurgsHowToGuides]

Literally a living Surfing legend, and still ripping it up at his ripe old age, what an inspiration.

[izzojoseph]

Damn, breathing water when you’re trying to breathe air is the worst.
What little air you have is coughed out and you’re left empty.