Photo: Neilson Barnard
11x World Surf League Champion, Kelly Slater joins Dan Patrick on The Dan Patrick Show. They talk about his first-hand experience attending the Oscars as a presenter with Tony Hawk and Shaun White, and he shares his recollection of “The Slap” from inside the Dolby Theatre, saying he could hear it from his seat. They dig into the physical requirements of surfing compared to other related sports like snowboarding and skateboarding and the unique training necessary to avoid drowning. And he says he wouldn’t trade careers with Tom Brady because he loves surfing so much, even though he is a lifelong Buccaneers fan. He says Tom strongly hinted to him privately that he was coming to Tampa a few weeks before it was announced.
Dan Patrick: “If you could change places with any other athlete; like if I said you could have Tom Brady’s career, or you could have yours...?”
Kelly Slater: “I’d have mine.”
Dan: “How come?”
Kelly: “I just think what I do is the most fun thing in the world. I love surfing more than anything, although I really admire Tom; what he’s done has been amazing and I’m a fan. I grew up a Bucs fan from the time I was born, it was the only team I was a fan of... That was really my only team, and we never did good, we lost hope for a long time, and then I heard rumors that Tom was going to play for Tampa Bay. And about a week or two before he announced it, I messaged him and I said, ‘Tell me it’s true and we can jump back on this bandwagon.’ And he just sent me a smiley emoji back and about a week or two later he announced it. We’ve been real happy back in Florida, let’s say that.”