Robert Kelly Slater is an American professional surfer, widely regarded as the greatest of all time. He has been crowned World Surf League champion a record 11 times and holds 56 Championship Tour victories. Slater is also the oldest surfer still active on the World Surf League, winning his 8th Billabong Pipeline Masters title at age 49​.

Growing up in Cocoa Beach, Florida, Slater started surfing at a young age. Born to a bait-store proprietor, he was introduced to the water early and began surfing at age five. By the time he was ten, he was winning age-division events along the Atlantic coast, and in 1984, he clinched his first age-division United States championship title. Two years later, he finished third in the junior division at the world amateur championships in England and won the Pacific Cup junior championship in Australia the following year​.

Turning professional in 1990, Slater initially struggled and was 43rd in the world rankings during his first two years on the professional tour. However, he soon found his footing and secured podium finishes in three of his first five events. He won his first professional tour event, the Rip Curl Pro, in France in 1992, which paved the way for his first world title at the prestigious Pipeline Masters in Hawaii. At age 20, he became the youngest surfing world champion ever. Slater took a break from competitive surfing at the end of 1998, before returning to the world pro tour in 2002.

Slater’s journey has been marked by his evolving relationship with the ocean. Initially not entirely comfortable with large waves, a trip to Oahu in 1987 changed his perspective. There, he witnessed and surfed 40-foot waves, an experience that had a profound impact on his career. In 2022, Slater won his eighth Pro Pipeline surfing title at the Pipe Masters in Hawaii, three decades after his first win. In 2023, he announced his intention to qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, further extending his illustrious career​​.

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