HURLEY PROZAC starts Tomorrow

[Nick Carroll]

Think he even amazed himself with this one.

[Buff_Brad]

Think he even amazed himself with this one.

Why do you say that batman?

[Buff_Brad]

50 contests. 40 years old. Amazing what's happening here. This guy just won't stop. At least I hope he doesn't stop for a while yet.

He must be pissing off a lot of people who thought it was their time. Sort of like Queen Elizabeth - just keep on rolling.

It's because of his freakish weird flexo back.

At 40 he hasn't lost his zing.

Discuss.....

[Lucky Al]

bugger, i slept through the whole final day. must have exhausted myself yesterday thinking and getting excited about it.

[Larry]

something happened I didn't know about?

[Larry]

freakish weird flexo back FOOT bb, you gotta look harder

[brendo]

50 contests. 40 years old. Amazing what's happening here. This guy just won't stop. At least I hope he doesn't stop for a while yet.

He must be pissing off a lot of people who thought it was their time. Sort of like Queen Elizabeth - just keep on rolling.

It's because of his freakish weird flexo back.

At 40 he hasn't lost his zing.

Discuss.....

i reckon its awesome. dunno bout u guys, but i look at what he is doing, and also guys like T knox, occy, TC and it shows u what is possible with exercise and training, and it keeps me keen to perform at my best after turning 40 a few months back. i reckon slater could be making finals at 50. look at occy, 46 and still gettin good results, and slater is in a league way higher than occy

[Nick Carroll]

I think he is beginning to show a tiny bit of his age, he doesn't really think that way but there's just a very small edge come off his overall turning speed and response time, especially visible in smaller and/or slower surf.

He won Lowers against the grain; he wasn't the form surfer, he chose to play his hand a certain way in the final and had a bit of good fortune in that regard, but then again very few surfers would have had the confidence and heat knowledge to try the tactic he did.

He's had that 50-win in his mind for a while but when it actually happened it sort of stunned him, I guess you never really expect to have that much success at something. Kelly might have turned a corner in his own head with that win.

[alakaboo]

I think he had a slip up in his interview, where he implied that was the target in his head and he's done now.

[Lucky Al]

I'm afraid my capacity for amazement at Kelly's feats might have plateaued around about World Title No. 7. I wonder if this means I'm not as sensitive as I used to be, don't have as a wide an emotional range as before. Nick, you seem to know your stuff when it comes to the emotions, what would you say?

[Lucky Al]

i just watched replays of a few of kelly's heats and was struck by the resemblance in what he was doing to what cheyne horan used to do on his lazor zaps. much more radical and faster but still very similar the tight arcs and sticking close to the pocket. on the other hand during the finals at tavarua in june i thought he looked a lot like gary elkerton, especially in his bottom turns and reos. maybe if i looked harder or watched him in different conditions i'd see other surfers of other generations in him. maybe he's taken it all in everything he's seen in surfing over the years and kept it and made it part of himself, so now he's like the aleph that point in space that contains all other points. yes, i think so.

[Nick Carroll]

I'm afraid my capacity for amazement at Kelly's feats might have plateaued around about World Title No. 7. I wonder if this means I'm not as sensitive as I used to be, don't have as a wide an emotional range as before. Nick, you seem to know your stuff when it comes to the emotions, what would you say?

Poor Al! Lost the capacity to be astonished at human achievement?

Don't worry. All great achievement is balanced by great dysfunction.

I didn't think he could win more than eight.

[Nick Carroll]

i just watched replays of a few of kelly's heats and was struck by the resemblance in what he was doing to what cheyne horan used to do on his lazor zaps. much more radical and faster but still very similar the tight arcs and sticking close to the pocket. on the other hand during the finals at tavarua in june i thought he looked a lot like gary elkerton, especially in his bottom turns and reos. maybe if i looked harder or watched him in different conditions i'd see other surfers of other generations in him. maybe he's taken it all in everything he's seen in surfing over the years and kept it and made it part of himself, so now he's like the aleph that point in space that contains all other points. yes, i think so.

Well that is really insightful. Nice bit of observing there al.

[SharkBoy]

I think he is beginning to show a tiny bit of his age, he doesn't really think that way but there's just a very small edge come off his overall turning speed and response time, especially visible in smaller and/or slower surf.

He won Lowers against the grain; he wasn't the form surfer, he chose to play his hand a certain way in the final and had a bit of good fortune in that regard, but then again very few surfers would have had the confidence and heat knowledge to try the tactic he did.

He's had that 50-win in his mind for a while but when it actually happened it sort of stunned him, I guess you never really expect to have that much success at something. Kelly might have turned a corner in his own head with that win.

I might agree with you, that I noticed that he wasn't quite as quick as normal, but couldn't that be low volume board with waves that appeared from shore to be breaking a little more evenly than they did once they were in the water?
What was he on, like 5'9 x 18 1/4"?
It's interesting with an athletes prime though, it could fall so fast, and stuff that we don't see, like a nagging slight injury, girfriend trouble, or maybe even just loss of motivation, but one things for sure, the bells air he nailed in the finals was better than anything I've seen him do before, ever.