When we recently spoke with big wave legend Laird Hamilton about innovation, he told us his biggest inspiration is “stuff I can’t find for myself. Most of the things that I’m involved with are innovative — they don’t exist … So I make them.”
Apparently fellow surfing forefather Kelly Slater abides by the same principle, because last Friday, Slater introduced the world to this:
Kelly’s WaveYes, that’s a man-made wave. And no, there has never been one like it.3:40
The video, shot on December 5th, shows Slater surfing an artificially engineered overhead tube to dazzling effect. It was published late last week by The Kelly Slater Wave Company; further details are yet to be released.
But take it from the man most consider to be the greatest surfer of all time:
“Realistically, I’ve been waiting for this moment since 2005. We weren’t in a hurry. We could have put out an inferior wave years ago, [but] I’m glad we waited all that time to do the right thing. Because this is the best man-made wave ever made, for sure.”
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