Slater Hater ???

[rmb]

Ha Ha that thread bought out a lot of passion.
I was off the ball on a few things too. Would be good to have a few quotes to read on the Slater Hater too. How can people hate the guy he's been an ambassador for the sport and has put his name and image to a lot of causes using his profile for good.

[chrisb]

I suspect that it's the perception of many people that Slater has minders in and out of the surf and that all his appearances are carefully stage-managed. No-one knows who the real Kelly is........not really much different to Tom & Nicole I suppose.

It's probably a function of the closseted and stage-managed USA fame phenomenon.

Comapre that to Australia where you will occasionally see former world surf champs in the water. Usually they are just like everyone else (except for superior surfing prowess), have no airs or graces and will be happy to talk, sometimes initiating conversations themselves...........gotta love this egalitarian society we live in.

[alakaboo]

Comapre that to Australia where you will occasionally see former world surf champs in the water. Usually they are just like everyone else (except for superior surfing prowess), have no airs or graces and will be happy to talk, sometimes initiating conversations themselves.......

Don't know if you can call yelling "Oi, cnut, get off my wave!" to Bumfluff as a conversation.

[Beanpole]

Used to know some country boys up north who would have competitions to see which famous surfer they could drop in on at Greenmount/Kirra/Snapper. Don't think it would work so well these days.

[Nick Carroll]

I suspect that it's the perception of many people that Slater has minders in and out of the surf and that all his appearances are carefully stage-managed. No-one knows who the real Kelly is........not really much different to Tom & Nicole I suppose.

Wow, that's a pretty fcuken amazing call.

I dunno shit about Tom and Nicole, never met either of 'em, but KS is not a stage managed minder creation, he's actually a real human being, a very interesting person and a good one at that.

He's frighteningly competitive but duhh, I mean what would you expect.

Here's a hint of who he is, recently the great Hawaiian surfer Dane Kealoha had a serious health scare and didn't have the financial resources to deal with it. Kelly kicked down the sum involved -- in the bigger four figures. Avoided all mentions of it in the public realm. He wouldn't even take compliments on it; his mates had to call him out on it in order for him to acknowledge it.

Kelly's like a lot of famous people, he has had to put up with heaps of people wanting to be his "friend", and heaps of other people imagining the most incredible shit about him, whereas in fact he is exactly what he looks like, a kid from Cocoa Beach who has been unimaginably successful at his chosen passion.

If you happen to come across him in the surf, 'cause you might one day, like he goes surfing the same as the rest of us, you can bring up the whole thing about being like tom and nicole with him, but I imagine he might just brush it off.

[alakaboo]

If you happen to come across him in the surf, 'cause you might one day, like he goes surfing the same as the rest of us

I don't surf like Kelly. Maybe R Kelly.

[Deesee]

Years ago my mate got Slater's mobile number via his radio reporter sister that had planned a radio interview with him.. Few drinks later we were pranking and mucking around, just constantly niggling.. He actually was really cool and started joining in with the jokes.. He kept saying "I think you guys have a chemical imbalance".. Some internationally well known Socceroos where absolute w@nkers in comparison..

[chrisb]

I suspect that it's the perception of many people that Slater has minders in and out of the surf and that all his appearances are carefully stage-managed. No-one knows who the real Kelly is........not really much different to Tom & Nicole I suppose.

Wow, that's a pretty fcuken amazing call.

I dunno shit about Tom and Nicole, never met either of 'em, but KS is not a stage managed minder creation, he's actually a real human being, a very interesting person and a good one at that.

He's frighteningly competitive but duhh, I mean what would you expect.

Here's a hint of who he is, recently the great Hawaiian surfer Dane Kealoha had a serious health scare and didn't have the financial resources to deal with it. Kelly kicked down the sum involved -- in the bigger four figures. Avoided all mentions of it in the public realm. He wouldn't even take compliments on it; his mates had to call him out on it in order for him to acknowledge it.

Kelly's like a lot of famous people, he has had to put up with heaps of people wanting to be his "friend", and heaps of other people imagining the most incredible shit about him, whereas in fact he is exactly what he looks like, a kid from Cocoa Beach who has been unimaginably successful at his chosen passion.

If you happen to come across him in the surf, 'cause you might one day, like he goes surfing the same as the rest of us, you can bring up the whole thing about being like tom and nicole with him, but I imagine he might just brush it off.

I was careful to say that is the perception of some people, but not necessarily me. As I have never met the guy or seen him in the surf I will defer to your opinion.

But the question remains: Why do some people dislike him?
Sure, the tall poppy syndrome is an issue in Australia but most Aussie former world surf champs are regular guys and girls and are well-liked here.

[Beanpole]

did they plagiarise their stories in the pub that night?

Owwww, no need to get all grouchy their R&R.
Those guys wouldn't know how to spell plaigerism.

Didn't know we were sitting for a history exam at the moment anyway.

[oldman]

But the question remains: Why do some people dislike him?
Sure, the tall poppy syndrome is an issue in Australia ........................

Oh fark, not that bullshit again. Tall poppy syndrome was summarily debunked in extensive and boring detail,

by me,

ages ago. Sheesh. Only qld'ers think that has any currency.

Slater? I reckon he's a freaking down to earth genius considering what he has done and how hard it would be for him to meet real people.

Seems extremely grounded to me for a genuine superstar.

I'm not gonna lay the boot into him. I've got nothing against him.

[Beanpole]

I think he is the best public face surfing has ever had....as well as being on another planet surfing ability wise.

[Lucky Al]

dad used to get me and my brother surfing and surfer mags when we were kids and just getting into surfing. i'll always remember a picture of kelly slater in one of them up the back where they had the nssa event reports looking about 10 years old just a pretty little boy and he's being handed a huge trophy by this good-looking woman towering over him with big blonde hair and in a fluoro swimsuit.

[Nick Carroll]

Do you remember the letter writer called slater hater?

Or was it sl8r hater?

I don't remember that v much, I was in CA at the time (early mid 90s?).

He seemed to write letters to Tracks a lot, that's prolly where you'd find his missives.

The ones I read, I got the impression he was an angry Australian surfer who was upset at Kelly's success because it sorta challenged slater hater's ideas about surfing.

[Nick Carroll]

But the question remains: Why do some people dislike him?
Sure, the tall poppy syndrome is an issue in Australia but most Aussie former world surf champs are regular guys and girls and are well-liked here.

Well it's not that hard to understand, Kelly is a very visible person who's had a lot of success, he expresses himself in public, and thus draws down judgement from people who have not much else to do at the time.

He's also exposed to various public prejudices, ie if you don't like Americans, you might decide you don't like Slater. Or if you have a weird thing in your head about surfing and competition you might also decide that KS is a kind of avatar of that and is thus evil or whatever.

If a hundred million people have heard of you, it's a logical consequence that some percentage of 'em will take against you.

It's not entirely true about Aust surf champs being well-liked -- some people hate Nat Young for instance, the outbreak of nastiness toward him after his punching at Angas in 2000 was very unedifying.

Some people take against my brother because of his reputation for dropping in. I've read the most amazing and virulent assaults on Mick Fanning and Occy on other surf websites, assaults that clearly have no basis in reality but were born in the minds of the assaulters.

On this site, some of the stuff you read about Layne Beachley is super creepy, how she has a face like an old boot, she's a bitch, and all sorts of shit.

The fact is if you're famous and alive, you're basically cactus in some people's eyes. Heavy if you're the famous person, but there's a lot of advice available to such people about how to deal with it.

[Indo dreaming]

Little bit off topic, but while speaking about old tracks mags...anyone remember how much the magazine in the early 90,s hated Jet skis ??? the hate was huge...ten/fifteen years latter and the tow in thing hit and the tune was totally changed.

[Nick Carroll]

Little bit off topic, but while speaking about old tracks mags...anyone remember how much the magazine in the early 90,s hated Jet skis ??? the hate was huge...ten/fifteen years latter and the tow in thing hit and the tune was totally changed.

Maybe the same phenomenon in a way?

Put simply, at the time -- the early 90s -- there was a part of the Australian surfing culture that couldn't cope with change.

slater hater hated slater because he was changing surfing. Jet tow in was just starting to change the sport in other ways. Neither of these changes was coming from Australia. It was the first time in modern surfing history that Australian surfers were not the ones busting down doors etc, and it forced us into a reactionary corner from which we didn't really emerge until Occy got his title and the Coolie kids surged forth.

It was a weird time in retrospect but maybe necessary; it humbled Australian surfing. It's no coincidence I think that not long afterward, a great interest began emerging in Australia's surfing history and we began viewing it in a different light. We'd sorta learned that you needed to understand your past in order to move strongly into the future.

[chrisb]

I would have been shocked if the Slater hater was a girl. It seems to me his problem would be the opposite, namely fighting off the hordes of groupies... another reason for male jealousy?

BTW I've seen Layne Beachley in the surf a few times: she's a lovely person.

[Davros]

Slaters done well to get any Australian saying positive things about him, we bash the yanks for their uber competitive nature and the way they go about it but our tall poppy syndrome inhibits success, its better to be one of the pack than succeed, dont get above your station etc.....more power to him. See parkos adulation for him after Pipe, the guy is a god amonst the elite, what we think kind of means nothing unless your a gorged out Quicksilver exec. Dane Reynolds take note, make your mind up, success or cool guy.