Joe Rogan Experience #1185 - Kelly Slater

1. 0:02 – 1:28

   Kelly Slater’s catastrophic foot break in South Africa (Lisfranc fracture)

   1. JRJoe Rogan0:02

      Four, three, two, one. (claps) Kelly Slater, we've been talking about doing this for how long? (laughs)

   2. KSKelly Slater0:08

      A couple years. (laughs)

   3. JRJoe Rogan0:09

      It's been a while, man.

   4. KSKelly Slater0:10

      Thanks for having me.

   5. JRJoe Rogan0:10

      Thanks for being here.

   6. KSKelly Slater0:11

      Thanks a lot, yeah.

   7. JRJoe Rogan0:11

      I'm glad we finally got a chance to do it. What are you in California for? I know you broke your foot, right?

   8. KSKelly Slater0:16

      I broke my foot real bad. I, um-

   9. JRJoe Rogan0:17

      How'd you do that?

   10. KSKelly Slater0:18

       My... Well, my girlfriend's from San Clemente, and, uh, her family lives there. And, uh, so we kinda live here, and we're not moving around too much, so I'm just kinda here right now. I'm not competing. I broke my foot, I was surfing in South Africa about, um, 15 months ago. And I was just on a wave that I wouldn't consider a very big wave, nobody would really consider dangerous. And it all kinda closed out, which is, you know, when it all breaks at once, I just pulled in the thing 'cause I was gonna sorta wash in on the rocks right where that was and change boards. And, uh, I was practicing. I, I had to compete in about two hours from then, so I was just testing out different boards. For some reason, I wasn't riding the board I was planning on riding competition, so I was gonna come in and change and switch to my norm board. And I just pulled in this wave and just... I kinda hesitated. Like, usually, you either ride those out and stay on your board, or you jump off, and I was kinda be- between the two. And I kinda lifted my front foot off and my back foot, my leg was straight 'cause I was kinda going to... I think I was gonna jump off. And as my foot got... my leg got locked back straight, the board flipped in-

   11. JRJoe Rogan1:21

       Oh.

   12. KSKelly Slater1:21

       ... against the toes-

   13. JRJoe Rogan1:23

       (laughs)

   14. KSKelly Slater1:23

       ... and it just broke the top of my foot in half.

   15. JRJoe Rogan1:25

       Oh.

   16. KSKelly Slater1:25

       Like, immediate, like, there was-

   17. JRJoe Rogan1:27

       Oh, my God.

   18. KSKelly Slater1:28

       Yeah, it-

2. 1:28 – 4:35

   X-ray breakdown: shattered bones, plates, screws, and delayed surgery risks

   1. JRJoe Rogan1:28

      We're looking at a photograph of the X-ray right now, and it's like every bone is snapped.

   2. KSKelly Slater1:33

      Well, what you can't see... So the-

   3. JRJoe Rogan1:35

      Ooh.

   4. KSKelly Slater1:35

      Do you know... Are you, are you aware of the Lisfranc joint?

   5. JRJoe Rogan1:38

      No.

   6. KSKelly Slater1:38

      Which is like... That's where the first big metatarsal comes together, so that first big joint on top of the foot there.

   7. JRJoe Rogan1:43

      Why is it called the Lisfranc joint?

   8. KSKelly Slater1:45

      Lisfranc was a doctor, I think, is what I... um, I could... We could look this up. (laughs)

   9. JRJoe Rogan1:50

      (laughs)

   10. KSKelly Slater1:51

       I think that was the person that did the original surgery-

   11. JRJoe Rogan1:53

       Oh.

   12. KSKelly Slater1:53

       ... which when you used to break your foot in a stirrup back 100 years ago, they used to cut your foot off.

   13. JRJoe Rogan1:58

       Oh, God damn it.

   14. KSKelly Slater1:59

       Yeah, so, so that was what, what it, uh... That was kinda how this sort of joint got famous. But normally what happens is those toes, those two bones right there, the first and second metatarsal, can either spread or converge one way or the other, and that's usually what a Lisfranc fracture is. I had the best of the three, which is... I had a crack, you can just see on the right side of... Yeah, if you go down with the cursor right there, just a little lower, there's a little crack right there. Uh, right there on that l- corner up.

   15. JRJoe Rogan2:31

       Mm-hmm.

   16. KSKelly Slater2:32

       And then the next one broke across. You can just see right there, it's cracked across and then-

   17. JRJoe Rogan2:36

       Uh-huh.

   18. KSKelly Slater2:36

       So it kinda went in a line up and across the foot. And the, the-

   19. JRJoe Rogan2:39

       And then the other two are just destroyed.

   20. KSKelly Slater2:41

       Yeah, the third one displaced, the fourth one shattered into about eight pieces.

   21. JRJoe Rogan2:45

       Oh.

   22. KSKelly Slater2:45

       The doctor said he lost count putting them back together. And the... You know, you, you would know from injuries, the problem with when there's shatters of bone, they're not getting the blood flow.

   23. JRJoe Rogan2:53

       Right.

   24. KSKelly Slater2:53

       So it's not like a four or five week repair job. It's like... That was like nine months before that thing was back together properly.

   25. JRJoe Rogan3:00

       So when they do that, how do they piece that shattered one back together again?

   26. KSKelly Slater3:05

       Uh, delicately. And they put like a mesh over. So you gotta kinda like figure out how to... Well, I had, I had a plate on the Lisfranc, and then I had a, a, a plaint, pla- uh, a kind of a bridge across the third and fourth, and so they kinda meshed it all together and then, uh, I think I had 16 screws combined in all that.

   27. JRJoe Rogan3:28

       Godamn, man.

   28. KSKelly Slater3:30

       Um, it wa- it was, it was brutal. The problem with it was I did it in South Africa where I wasn't gonna get surgery.

   29. JRJoe Rogan3:36

       Oh.

   30. KSKelly Slater3:37

       Um, so I had to wait for the swelling to go down for about six days before I could fly-
3. 4:35 – 7:08

   Repeat surfing foot injuries and how barrel forces flip boards into feet

   1. KSKelly Slater4:35

      And I, I got a doctor I work with here, and I called him straight away. I said, "Look, I... It's my fourth broken foot, but I've never broken it like this." Usually it's like, let it heal for four weeks and you're surfing.

   2. JRJoe Rogan4:45

      And it's all from surfing?

   3. KSKelly Slater4:46

      Yeah.

   4. JRJoe Rogan4:47

      You- Did you bring them-

   5. KSKelly Slater4:47

      And all from the same wave.

   6. JRJoe Rogan4:48

      Oh, really?

   7. KSKelly Slater4:49

      Really, pretty much the board going back against the foot.

   8. JRJoe Rogan4:51

      Fuck.

   9. KSKelly Slater4:52

      Um, 'cause... And usually it happens when I'm... you know, I don't know how well-versed you are in surfing, but when I'm tube riding and usually with my back to the wave, which has happened two or three times, so I'm in the wave, the, the lip pitches over and lands, but when that lands, it sends a shock back into the wave. Like, you know when the lip hits flat water, that lip, some of the energy goes down and some disperses out and up and some comes back into the tube. So if it does that and you're in the wrong spot, the board will flip into your feet. But-

   10. JRJoe Rogan5:22

       Oh, wow.

   11. KSKelly Slater5:23

       ... normally what we do is we're, we're... when you're w- backside barrel ride, a lot of times you're grabbing the rail, so you kinda have both your feet and your hand on it so you can handle that shock.

   12. JRJoe Rogan5:32

       Mm-hmm.

   13. KSKelly Slater5:32

       But if you're just going no hand backside, it's usually a pretty big, intense barrel, and, and so the l- that lip has a lot of energy in it and shoots a ton of force back towards you. And if, if the... it hits your board just wrong, it can flip into your foot and break it.

   14. JRJoe Rogan5:45

       Do you know anybody else who's broken their foot like you, like that?

   15. KSKelly Slater5:48

       Not this bad. Um, one guy on tour broke his foot, uh, pretty bad n- requiring surgery this year. Um-

   16. JRJoe Rogan5:55

       That looks horrible, man.

   17. KSKelly Slater5:56

       Yeah.

   18. JRJoe Rogan5:56

       How long was it before you could walk... No, you're walking totally normal now. So how long has it been since the surgery?

   19. KSKelly Slater6:00

       Yeah, so, so I had surgery in end of July last year, and then walking normal wasn't till...... maybe December, January.

   20. JRJoe Rogan6:12

       Wow.

   21. KSKelly Slater6:13

       December. Well, December I competed again, but I probably shouldn't have.

   22. JRJoe Rogan6:16

       (laughs)

   23. KSKelly Slater6:18

       But we were, we were at Pipeline in Hawaii, which is ... You're not doing maneuvers. It's not a small wave kinda compet- ... If the waves are small, I wouldn't have surfed. Since it's bigger-

   24. JRJoe Rogan6:26

       Oh.

   25. KSKelly Slater6:26

       ... it's a little easier 'cause you take off and kinda trim a straight line.

   26. JRJoe Rogan6:29

       Right.

   27. KSKelly Slater6:29

       So you're kinda going straight, you know. Even though you're riding the barrel, you're kinda going straight, and-

   28. JRJoe Rogan6:34

       But are you conscious of your foot being compromised?

   29. KSKelly Slater6:36

       Yeah.

   30. JRJoe Rogan6:37

       Wow.
4. 7:08 – 9:37

   Healing hacks debate: elevation, magnets, hyperbaric chambers, and bone timelines

   1. JRJoe Rogan7:08

      Now when you are healing, is there anything they give you that can accelerate bone healing? Or is there any supplements, or?

   2. KSKelly Slater7:15

      Uh, uh, a lot of it is kind of ... I mean, it's the furthest place from your heart, right? So, and it's-

   3. JRJoe Rogan7:21

      Yeah.

   4. KSKelly Slater7:21

      ... it's down at the bottom of your body, so you gotta kinda get that foot up. Like, a lot of times I'll sit against a wall and elevate my foot and let it completely flush out. You know when you're a kid and you kinda hold your hand and somebody pushes all the blood outta your hand? You ever do that one?

   5. JRJoe Rogan7:34

      No.

   6. KSKelly Slater7:34

      Oh, it's like this trick where somebody holds your, your-

   7. JRJoe Rogan7:38

      Your wrist?

   8. KSKelly Slater7:38

      ... hands, your, your arteries so no blood's going in. You push all the han- all the blood out, and then you let it go and it's like a little spider web. Feels like, if somebody goes like that, it would feel like a spiderweb.

   9. JRJoe Rogan7:47

      Oh, you know what? I think I did do that when I was a kid.

   10. KSKelly Slater7:48

       Yeah, so-

   11. JRJoe Rogan7:49

       I just forgot about it.

   12. KSKelly Slater7:49

       ... I just kind of imagine (snaps fingers) that's what I was doing with my foot up and, like, "Oh, okay, all the blood's getting outta my foot now." And, um, (smacks lips) uh-

   13. JRJoe Rogan7:57

       But did you-

   14. KSKelly Slater7:58

       But they-

   15. JRJoe Rogan7:58

       ... like research whether there's something that accelerates bone healing, or?

   16. KSKelly Slater8:02

       You can use magnets, like some magnets-

   17. JRJoe Rogan8:04

       Magnets?

   18. KSKelly Slater8:04

       Yeah. Some people believe magnets help increase the circulation and thus the, the, uh-

   19. JRJoe Rogan8:10

       Oh, these-

   20. KSKelly Slater8:10

       Especially a, a rotating magnet 'cause it kinda creates a force field around your foot.

   21. JRJoe Rogan8:14

       Really?

   22. KSKelly Slater8:15

       Yeah, supposedly.

   23. JRJoe Rogan8:16

       I mean-

   24. KSKelly Slater8:16

       I mean around the magnets.

   25. JRJoe Rogan8:17

       But is this, like ... Are these legit people? Are these, like-

   26. KSKelly Slater8:20

       These are, like, theories.

   27. JRJoe Rogan8:22

       Healers?

   28. KSKelly Slater8:22

       Healers.

   29. JRJoe Rogan8:23

       I'm a healer.

   30. KSKelly Slater8:24

       Yes.
5. 9:37 – 13:57

   From leg kicks to Pride stories: Hoost highlights, Arona, and fight culture

   1. JRJoe Rogan9:37

      Oh, that's supposed to r- I know that Uriah Faber used that a lot after he fought Jose Aldo. Aldo kicked the shit out of his leg and his leg was really badly swollen. It was horrible.

   2. KSKelly Slater9:46

      No break- did he break the bone there?

   3. JRJoe Rogan9:47

      No, didn't break the bone, but it was, it was so bad. It was like his left leg was literally twice the size and purple.

   4. KSKelly Slater9:54

      Yeah, I remember ... I've seen the, I've seen the fight-

   5. JRJoe Rogan9:56

      The photos?

   6. KSKelly Slater9:57

      ... and heard you talking, you know.

   7. JRJoe Rogan9:58

      And there it is right there. There's a photo of it. (gasps)

   8. KSKelly Slater9:59

      Yeah, and in the fight you're talking about, look at the color on his leg.

   9. JRJoe Rogan10:01

      It was so nasty.

   10. KSKelly Slater10:03

       Yeah, it was hideous.

   11. JRJoe Rogan10:03

       That was, uh, Aldo when he was in his prime.

   12. KSKelly Slater10:06

       And he ... You didn't see those kicks. You couldn't see his kicks coming. They're just like-

   13. JRJoe Rogan10:10

       He was so fast.

   14. KSKelly Slater10:10

       He doesn't even load up.

   15. JRJoe Rogan10:12

       Oh, look at that.

   16. KSKelly Slater10:12

       It just, there.

   17. JRJoe Rogan10:13

       God. That's probably right afterwards.

   18. KSKelly Slater10:15

       It must have felt broken.

   19. JRJoe Rogan10:17

       It feels fucking horrible just to get hit once, man. I mean, Uriah is so tough. To just take that-

   20. KSKelly Slater10:23

       (laughs)

   21. JRJoe Rogan10:23

       ... over and over and over again like he did.

   22. KSKelly Slater10:25

       Yeah. (laughs) Well, do y- can you check those? I mean, what if-

   23. JRJoe Rogan10:28

       You can, but-

   24. KSKelly Slater10:29

       Can you turn into them and let- what is the-

   25. JRJoe Rogan10:30

       The problem is when you get hit o- ... Just getting hit once by a guy who's really good, like a Peter Aerts or someone who's like a really good leg kicker, they hit you once and you're, you're not even gonna be able to lift your leg upright. You-

   26. KSKelly Slater10:42

       Well, think of a charley horse a guy gives you-

   27. JRJoe Rogan10:44

       Mm-hmm.

   28. KSKelly Slater10:44

       ... in school when you're a kid.

   29. JRJoe Rogan10:45

       Yeah.

   30. KSKelly Slater10:45

       You know how bad that ... It's probably 10 times that or whatever.
6. 13:57 – 18:17

   Yoga, breath control, and flexibility as combat/surf performance tools

   1. KSKelly Slater13:57

      I see some of these yogis. I follow this guy, this yogi guy, and I think... God, this guy named, uh, Gokula Condra or something. And he, he, um, he puts these poses up and I think, "If this guy did jujitsu, there's no way somebody could tap him out." 'Cause he-

   2. JRJoe Rogan14:12

      (laughs)

   3. KSKelly Slater14:13

      ... he's doing these, the craziest... I don't know how you put your... I've never seen somebody put their body in these contortionist positions. And you just wonder if somebody who's a real true contortionist, if they knew jujitsu and how to escape things, if they could ever really get tapped-

   4. JRJoe Rogan14:26

      Well-

   5. KSKelly Slater14:27

      ... with, like, arms. I'm sure necks or guillotines or whatever, but...

   6. JRJoe Rogan14:30

      What do you got here, Jimmy?

   7. NANarrator14:31

      This is Ray.

   8. JRJoe Rogan14:31

      Oh, there was a guy... I thought you were showing us something. There's a guy named Ray who was... Oh, Jesus.

   9. KSKelly Slater14:35

      This guy. Yeah.

   10. JRJoe Rogan14:36

       This, look at this guy. Wow, that's insane.

   11. KSKelly Slater14:38

       Wait, is... Did you follow this guy?

   12. NANarrator14:39

       No, I just found him.

   13. KSKelly Slater14:40

       Yeah, he's-

   14. JRJoe Rogan14:40

       Oh, my God. That's insane.

   15. KSKelly Slater14:41

       Well, he does these poses where he's, he's balancing on his elbow and he's... And then the rest of his body's in these poses. It's insane.

   16. JRJoe Rogan14:48

       Wow.

   17. KSKelly Slater14:48

       These hand poses and stuff.

   18. JRJoe Rogan14:49

       Look at that one in the... Go above that, right there on the right.

   19. KSKelly Slater14:52

       To the right?

   20. JRJoe Rogan14:52

       The far right, Jimmy.

   21. KSKelly Slater14:53

       That thing, yeah.

   22. JRJoe Rogan14:54

       Yeah, that one. When he's on one hand.

   23. KSKelly Slater14:56

       It's amazing.

   24. JRJoe Rogan14:57

       That's-

   25. KSKelly Slater14:58

       It's insane.

   26. JRJoe Rogan14:58

       ... fucking nuts, man.

   27. KSKelly Slater14:59

       Yeah, this kind of stuff. And the strength and the, the amount of time you gotta take to learn these things, it's like, it's... I mean, that's a m- sort of a martial art in itself.

   28. JRJoe Rogan15:09

       Oh, yeah. Well, y- y- um, there's a guy who's, uh, uh, a famous jujitsu guy who once said that yoga is a martial art that you do against yourself.

   29. KSKelly Slater15:18

       Yeah.

   30. JRJoe Rogan15:19

       That's how-
7. 18:17 – 22:06

   Foot dexterity sports rabbit hole: Sepak takraw and elite coordination stories

   1. JRJoe Rogan18:17

      I posted a video of these guys in Thailand that were doing that. They were playing s... Like, volleyball, a version of volleyball with their feet.

   2. KSKelly Slater18:25

      Yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan18:25

      And it's fucking wild, man.

   4. KSKelly Slater18:27

      Yeah, it's like the ultimate hacky sack, man.

   5. JRJoe Rogan18:28

      Yeah, it's the craziest shit. Like, the dexterity they have with their feet, where they're whacking the ball over... And then the other guy on the other side is whacking it back and-

   6. KSKelly Slater18:36

      Yeah.

   7. JRJoe Rogan18:36

      ... it's like they're catching it with their foot. Oh, look at this.

   8. KSKelly Slater18:38

      Yeah.

   9. JRJoe Rogan18:39

      Whoa.

   10. KSKelly Slater18:39

       Look at the angles they get.

   11. JRJoe Rogan18:41

       ... yeah. I mean, the flexibility too. And these guys are really close to each other too.

   12. KSKelly Slater18:47

       Yeah.

   13. JRJoe Rogan18:48

       That's-

   14. KSKelly Slater18:48

       There must be some good fails, like kicks in the face. Right?

   15. JRJoe Rogan18:51

       Oh, I'm sure. I'm sure there's a lot of that.

   16. KSKelly Slater18:53

       What's it called? Uh, Asian games...

   17. JRJoe Rogan18:56

       This is Koreans.

   18. KSKelly Slater18:57

       Sir-

   19. JRJoe Rogan18:58

       Boom.

   20. KSKelly Slater18:58

       ... Sarak Takraw?

   21. NANarrator18:59

       Yeah.

   22. JRJoe Rogan19:00

       Look at that kick.

   23. KSKelly Slater19:01

       Sarak Takraw. (laughs)

   24. JRJoe Rogan19:01

       Oh my God, that's insane. And then you have to fall on your hands. And I hope you don't break your wrists.

   25. KSKelly Slater19:06

       Yeah.

   26. JRJoe Rogan19:06

       I mean, you're falling from like five, six feet up.

   27. KSKelly Slater19:07

       I wonder if they got kind of a padded, uh, floor, like a mat on a dojo.

   28. JRJoe Rogan19:12

       This is pretty impressive stuff. But Jamie, see if you find that video that I posted on my Instagram page. I reposted somebody else posting it, and it, it's fucking bananas, because these guys are using this like little shitty ball in the jungle.

   29. KSKelly Slater19:25

       Yeah.

   30. JRJoe Rogan19:25

       And just the ability that they have with their feet is just out of this world.
8. 22:06 – 38:09

   UFC matchmaking and analysis: CM Punk, Logan Paul, Ferguson vs Khabib, heavyweight chaos

   1. KSKelly Slater22:06

      Why wouldn't someone like him end up in a UFC fight pit?

   2. JRJoe Rogan22:08

      Because he doesn't know how to fight on the ground. I mean, that's all it is. It's just-

   3. KSKelly Slater22:11

      But wouldn't they just pin him with another standup guy?

   4. JRJoe Rogan22:14

      Uh, if they were smart, yeah, that would be the, the smart t- thing to do. But I mean, you know-

   5. KSKelly Slater22:19

      I mean, you're not gonna put CM Punk against another ground guy, are you? (laughs)

   6. JRJoe Rogan22:22

      Right. Well, CM Punk.

   7. KSKelly Slater22:23

      (laughs)

   8. JRJoe Rogan22:24

      Yeah, that's... That would be a disaster. CM Punk, that whole thing was... Everybody's like, "I could do it." You know, you watch CM Punk, you're like, "Fuck, I'll fucking fight." Like, they won't give you those fights.

   9. KSKelly Slater22:32

      Well, I guarantee you CM Punk is... CM Punk's probably a lot tougher than the average guy anyway. I mean, I don't know. I don't know fighting. But you know-

   10. JRJoe Rogan22:40

       Not even the average fighter.

   11. KSKelly Slater22:41

       No, not the average fighter.

   12. JRJoe Rogan22:42

       He's-

   13. KSKelly Slater22:42

       But maybe the average guy in a bar, right?

   14. JRJoe Rogan22:44

       CM Punk is a real nice guy, and I don't want to say anything bad about him, because I mean, the guy gave it his all.

   15. KSKelly Slater22:49

       Yeah.

   16. JRJoe Rogan22:49

       He really did.

   17. KSKelly Slater22:50

       Totally, totally dedicated.

   18. JRJoe Rogan22:51

       Not a, not a bad guy.

   19. KSKelly Slater22:52

       And he, and he ate some humble pie-

   20. JRJoe Rogan22:53

       Yeah.

   21. KSKelly Slater22:53

       ... and he was totally cool about it.

   22. JRJoe Rogan22:54

       He was. And he was cool about it the first time, and he was cool about it the second time.

   23. KSKelly Slater22:57

       Yeah.

   24. JRJoe Rogan22:58

       He's a real good guy. But he doesn't have what I would call talent.

   25. KSKelly Slater23:02

       Yeah, the skill.

   26. JRJoe Rogan23:03

       But... It's just moves wrong.

   27. KSKelly Slater23:05

       Yeah.

   28. JRJoe Rogan23:05

       It's just, he doesn't-

   29. KSKelly Slater23:06

       You can see him against a Micky Gall, he came in and just went uh, you know, over the top.

   30. JRJoe Rogan23:09

       Mickey-
9. 38:09 – 52:33

   Slater’s longevity on tour: competing at 46, mindset, family dynamics, and competitiveness

   1. JRJoe Rogan38:09

      Do you think when you retire you'll do commentary?

   2. KSKelly Slater38:11

      Uh, maybe a little bit, yeah. Maybe a little bit. But I don't want to, I don't really want a job. (laughs)

   3. JRJoe Rogan38:17

      (laughs)

   4. KSKelly Slater38:17

      I got, whenever I retire, you know, I've been, look, I've been, I've been on in pro tour pretty much since I was 19, I'm 46. I took about three years off, but I would still compete a little bit those years.

   5. JRJoe Rogan38:27

      What are the, what is the high end of the age limit in terms of like-

   6. KSKelly Slater38:30

      46.

   7. JRJoe Rogan38:30

      ... when a guy can really compete? Like right now with this sit?

   8. KSKelly Slater38:33

      No, I've, no one's ever been my age on tour.

   9. JRJoe Rogan38:34

      Really?

   10. KSKelly Slater38:35

       Yeah. No, I think the next oldest guy on tour is 38 and he's retiring this year.

   11. JRJoe Rogan38:39

       Wow.

   12. KSKelly Slater38:40

       When I've got on tour, the oldest guy was 28 years old.

   13. JRJoe Rogan38:42

       Holy shit.

   14. KSKelly Slater38:43

       Yeah. It was like, there was a real... You know, there, i- I would say in, in the '80s, there wasn't like, it didn't look like... You could make some money and if you were a top five guy, but it didn't look like you could have like this crazy career. So guys weren't thinking longevity, they're like, "Let's go have a freaking good time."

   15. JRJoe Rogan38:58

       Right.

   16. KSKelly Slater38:58

       "Travel around the world and get paid for it for a few years, and then we'll figure out a job after, or maybe we'll have enough money to kind of live real humbly."

   17. JRJoe Rogan39:05

       What is the difference between how you prepare and other guys? Is it your diet? Strength and conditioning? Like, what is it?

   18. KSKelly Slater39:11

       Um, I don't overexert myself very much. So my, my training, aside from surfing, isn't a lot. Um, I retain, I feel like I retain enough strength to be good at what I need to. So to find-

   19. JRJoe Rogan39:24

       So you don't burn yourself out.

   20. KSKelly Slater39:25

       I don't burn myself out. You know, 'cause like, I, the oldest people in the wor- world weren't athletes.

   21. JRJoe Rogan39:31

       Mm-hmm.

   22. KSKelly Slater39:31

       You know, they're kind of people who didn't burn themselves out too much.

   23. JRJoe Rogan39:34

       Right.

   24. KSKelly Slater39:34

       So I, my theory on longevity is like, don't overdo it. I don't know, need to necessarily be overtrained for what I do. A lot of the skill, a lot of the, the, the winning that I do competitively is from a skill. It's not so much from being super strong, having crazy cardio.

   25. JRJoe Rogan39:51

       Mm-hmm.

   26. KSKelly Slater39:51

       It's making a choice about which wave, how I'm going to approach and ride that wave, and I have to get two scores every 30 minutes when I compete. So it's like I got this 30-minute window I need to be ready for. I don't need to be like in crazy, crazy shape, 'cause-

   27. JRJoe Rogan40:04

       So what is it that held other guys back in the past?

   28. KSKelly Slater40:06

       I, I think there's a number of factors. I think, um, you have to naturally be really competitive, like in your, when you were born, in your home, somehow you had to, maybe you needed something to prove, you know. I, I was kind of like, you know, growing up, I, I sort of look back at it and kind of laugh, like I, maybe I couldn't get the girl I liked 'cause she liked an older guy. Or, you know, I didn't have-

   29. JRJoe Rogan40:28

       Right.

   30. KSKelly Slater40:28

       We didn't really have any money in my family, so I wanted to make some money. I had an older brother who kind of picked on me, but I hung out with him and played football with his friends that were all three years older than me, so I had to be strong.
10. 52:33 – 56:11

    Kelly Slater Wave: building a man-made surf ranch and how the wave technology works

    1. KSKelly Slater52:33

       I didn't, I didn't break it, but I didn't displace the bones any, but, I mean, I, I actually rode, I rode a couple waves like six weeks later.

    2. JRJoe Rogan52:40

       No.

    3. KSKelly Slater52:41

       Yeah. I probably shouldn't have.

    4. JRJoe Rogan52:42

       Why would you do that?

    5. KSKelly Slater52:43

       Well, 'cause we built this wave up, like, uh, up near Fresno. We built a man-made wave. And, um...

    6. JRJoe Rogan52:49

       Are those a good way to learn?

    7. KSKelly Slater52:51

       Yeah. They... Well, yeah, they can be. I mean, it depends on how long the wave lasts and what size wave and how fast and all that kind of thing. But our wave's pretty easy to learn on. But it, our wave lasts, on the low speed for a beginner, it lasts like over a minute long.

    8. JRJoe Rogan53:05

       That what seems to me that that would be a great way to, like, just get your feet wet.

    9. KSKelly Slater53:09

       Yeah.

    10. JRJoe Rogan53:10

        No pun intended.

    11. KSKelly Slater53:10

        You should, you should come up.

    12. JRJoe Rogan53:11

        Is that it right there?

    13. KSKelly Slater53:12

        Yeah, but that's not the low setting.

    14. JRJoe Rogan53:13

        Kelly's Wave. Look at you.

    15. KSKelly Slater53:13

        That one's like the, uh... That's like-

    16. JRJoe Rogan53:15

        That's the high setting?

    17. KSKelly Slater53:16

        Yeah. This was... And this was actually the-

    18. JRJoe Rogan53:18

        Where is that? Like, is that a, a outside area?

    19. KSKelly Slater53:20

        It's like 40 minutes south of Fresno. Yeah. It's a big l- it used to be a ski lake, so it's long narrow lake.

    20. JRJoe Rogan53:26

        Oh, wow.

    21. KSKelly Slater53:27

        Um-

    22. JRJoe Rogan53:27

        That is crazy.

    23. KSKelly Slater53:28

        Yeah.

    24. JRJoe Rogan53:29

        That's all man-made?

    25. KSKelly Slater53:30

        This is man-made.

    26. JRJoe Rogan53:31

        That's so weird.

    27. KSKelly Slater53:32

        This isn't the newest version of it.

    28. JRJoe Rogan53:34

        Th-

    29. KSKelly Slater53:34

        If you were to google, uh, if you were to search like, um, uh, there was a contest called, uh, we had a couple contests. We had one called the, the Surf Ranch Pro about six weeks ago, and that's... We changed the waves since then, and, uh, we remodeled it. We had to rebuild it, but... Um, anyways, the, the reason I surfed was 'cause we were having the first competition at this wave, and I wanted to ride the first wave. Like, uh, I didn't, wasn't gonna compete, I just-

    30. JRJoe Rogan54:02

        Right.
11. 56:11 – 1:00:15

    How surfing is judged: subjective scoring, perfect 10s, and Teahupo’o risk calculus

    1. JRJoe Rogan56:11

       How do they judge? Like how do they judge? Like-

    2. KSKelly Slater56:13

       It's, it's s- subjective.

    3. JRJoe Rogan56:14

       Yeah.

    4. KSKelly Slater56:15

       Um, that's the, probably the tough thing for our sport, but I mean, gymnastics is subjective. Um, ice skating, you know, that kind of thing.

    5. JRJoe Rogan56:22

       Mm-hmm. Gymnastics, yeah. Good one.

    6. KSKelly Slater56:22

       So it's, it's, it's not too different, t- and it's not too dissimilar to that. So, you know, the judges are all good surfers, relatively good surfers. Maybe not ex-pros, but you know, guys who know what is possible-

    7. JRJoe Rogan56:33

       Mm-hmm.

    8. KSKelly Slater56:33

       ... on a wave. And, um, they're, it's pretty easy for them to c- compare apples to oranges. A different person's skills over the other one. Um, but it would be interesting in UFC, you know, if, if you had judges subjectively judging. Not, not necessarily like who won the round or looking at strike counts, but like, whose style did I like?

    9. JRJoe Rogan56:52

       Mm-hmm.

    10. KSKelly Slater56:52

        How fast and how much power did he have? How did he link his, you know, h- strikes together? How were the takedowns?

    11. JRJoe Rogan56:57

        There's definitely a subjective element to it, but unfortunately (clears throat) unlike surfing, the UFC's not com- the judges, they're not, it's not comprised of former fighters or people that really know a lot about-

    12. KSKelly Slater57:07

        Which is-

    13. JRJoe Rogan57:07

        ... martial arts.

    14. KSKelly Slater57:07

        Which is wrong.

    15. JRJoe Rogan57:10

        It's awful.

    16. KSKelly Slater57:10

        Totally wrong.

    17. JRJoe Rogan57:10

        It's awful.

    18. KSKelly Slater57:11

        I mean, some, some surfers really believe that the judges should just be ex-pros that were tour level guys, um, that, that make those calls.

    19. JRJoe Rogan57:19

        Seems like there's enough of those guys out there, right?

    20. KSKelly Slater57:21

        There are, there may be but, you know, getting back to why ... that kind of leads me back to, like, you asked why guys didn't have the longevity. Look, people get married, have kids, um, have a life back home. All that kind of stuff so, you know, I was sort of, I went a not quite the traditional route with all that stuff. Um, so I had a lot more time, focus, dedication into what I was doing. And I wanted to do it for a long time because I just love surfing and, I mean, ev- if, if I had my druthers every day I'm going to wake up and go ride waves.

    21. JRJoe Rogan57:51

        Now is there a point system that they score on? Like-

    22. KSKelly Slater57:54

        Yep, out of 10.

    23. JRJoe Rogan57:55

        Out of 10, oh so it's a lot like boxing.

    24. KSKelly Slater57:58

        Out of 10. Not everybody gets a nine. If they lose-

    25. JRJoe Rogan58:00

        Mm.

    26. KSKelly Slater58:00

        ... that battle, you know. It's, um-

    27. JRJoe Rogan58:02

        10 is the max?

    28. KSKelly Slater58:03

        10's max but I mean, more average you're seeing threes and fours than you are eights and nines, 'cause, you know, it's just a certain wave and a certain skill set gets you up to that excellent category. So we consider eight and up excellent and, you know, s- sort of six, five, to eight is like really good. And then there's-

    29. JRJoe Rogan58:22

        And is there a lot of, uh, this debate about whether or not a, a, a, a, a nine is, is, uh, is accurate for someone's ride?

    30. KSKelly Slater58:30

        Yeah. Yeah, there is. Well, if, if it's early ... There's a lot to it, you know. There, like, if it's early in a heat and a guy gets a nine or m- girl gets a nine and then you think that there's a lot more that could've been done either on that day in those types of waves or on that wave specifically. Like, some, uh, occasionally you'll see somebody get a 10. Perfect ride, as good as you can possibly do. It's the ultimate, you should remember that wave forever kind of thing, you know. It's like the perfect knockout. And, but then they won't ride, they'll kick off the wave when there's more to ride or they'll fall and they still get a 10. So like, sometimes you'll see somebody get a really good score and you know a lot more could've been done. They could've been deeper in that tube, they could've been higher in that air, they could've rotated, they could've m- you know, more they could've ... In the air they could've ridden out, like, smoother. It, it could've linked a couple different, more difficult turns together, added more variety. So you, you have to kind of like, i- if anything scale down, I think, as a judge.
12. 1:00:15 – 1:12:31

    Wipeouts, reef survival, and big-wave rescue realities (vests, eardrums, CPR, secondary drowning)

    1. JRJoe Rogan1:00:15

       What is it like when one of those giant tubes-

    2. KSKelly Slater1:00:17

       (laughs)

    3. JRJoe Rogan1:00:17

       ... crashes down on top of you?

    4. KSKelly Slater1:00:20

       Um, yeah, so this is Gabe Medina. Um, he w- he ended up winning the contest. Um, it's not super fun when you eat it. (laughs)

    5. JRJoe Rogan1:00:27

       Yeah. I could imagine. It's horrific.

    6. KSKelly Slater1:00:28

       I mean, you've probably talked to Shane. That's me actually.

    7. JRJoe Rogan1:00:31

       Yeah, I've talked to Shane about it.

    8. KSKelly Slater1:00:32

       Yeah, and I mean, look Shane, no one's more of an authority than Shane is. Maybe not in the super hollow crazy stuff. I mean s- whatever. Shane rides everything but the biggest waves in the world, Shane's the authority. Like he's had wipe outs that he, he came close to dying. He probably talked to you about the vest he created because of that.

    9. JRJoe Rogan1:00:50

       Mm-hmm.

    10. KSKelly Slater1:00:51

        He almost drowned. He created a vest that you pull the CO2 cartridge and it blasts, you know, this big bladder and lifts you to the surface. Even if you get knocked out or take in water, somebody's gonna find you and probably save you. Um-But yeah, this is, that's me there. (exhales) Sorry I didn't make that, but... That wasn't even a, a big one, you know, that, that, for that day-

    11. JRJoe Rogan1:01:09

        (laughs)

    12. KSKelly Slater1:01:09

        ... that was a small wave.

    13. JRJoe Rogan1:01:10

        It's fucking huge though, when that's coming down on you.

    14. KSKelly Slater1:01:12

        Yeah. But see where I'm at?

    15. JRJoe Rogan1:01:13

        Yeah.

    16. KSKelly Slater1:01:13

        I'm kind of in blue water.

    17. JRJoe Rogan1:01:14

        Right.

    18. KSKelly Slater1:01:14

        So I was able to dive and kind of get under it and not get sucked back over.

    19. JRJoe Rogan1:01:18

        Oh, I see.

    20. KSKelly Slater1:01:18

        So there's a little bit of a skill that goes with wiping out. So you understand that energy, it's... You know, it's like a, it's like a tornado or like a hurricane.

    21. JRJoe Rogan1:01:25

        Mm-hmm.

    22. KSKelly Slater1:01:25

        Like, the eye wall is the worst, but if you're in the center you're fine.

    23. JRJoe Rogan1:01:28

        Mm-hmm.

    24. KSKelly Slater1:01:29

        You know, I always, I've always wondered, like, could you follow a hurricane inside the center of the eye? Like, could you just stay with it and be okay?

    25. JRJoe Rogan1:01:35

        I bet you could if you moved at a really slow speed, right? They don't move that fast.

    26. KSKelly Slater1:01:38

        They only move about 10 to 20 miles an hour.

    27. JRJoe Rogan1:01:40

        Right. Can you-

    28. KSKelly Slater1:01:40

        Sometimes less.

    29. JRJoe Rogan1:01:41

        Can a plane go that slow?

    30. KSKelly Slater1:01:43

        No, but maybe you could stay in your car.

Episode duration: 2:03:30