Pipe Dreams: A Surfer's Journey

by Kelly Slater, Jason Borte

Soon to be an ABC reality series entitled Ultimate Surfer , starring 11-time World Surf League champion Kelly Slater Six-time world surfing champion, actor, and American heartthrob Kelly Slater tells his inspiring story of triumph over adversity From Beach Blanket Bingo to Baywatch to Blue Crush, surfing has fascinated people for years, and Kelly Slater is the sport’s hottest star. He has won more world championships than any other competitor, and he continues to change peoples’ minds about what can and can’t be done on a surfboard. His wild ride has included fame, fortune, a stint on Baywatch, and a high-profile relationship with Pamela Anderson. Not bad for a skinny kid from a broken home in Cocoa Beach, Florida. In Pipe Dreams, Kelly takes the reader into oceans around the world to take on thunderous walls of water and shares the outrageous stories, solemn moments, and undeniable spirit that have made him a superstar.

Genres: Sports, Biography, Nonfiction, Autobiography, Memoir, Audiobook, Biography Memoir

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Kelly Slater, byname of Robert Kelly Slater, (born February 11, 1972, Cocoa Beach, Florida, U.S.), American professional surfer widely considered the greatest surfer of all time. He earned the title of world champion an unprecedented 11 times, including a record five times consecutively (1994–98), and he was also the all-time leader in event wins.

The son of a bait-store proprietor, Slater grew up near the water, and he began surfing at age five. By age 10 he was winning age-division events up and down the Atlantic coast, and in 1984 he won 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 he won the Pacific Cup junior championship in Australia the following year.

After turning professional in 1990, Slater struggled during his first two years on the professional tour, finishing 90th and 43rd in the world rankings those years. In 1992 he secured podium (top-three) finishes in three of his first five events before winning his first professional tour event, the Rip Curl Pro, in France. His win in that year’s prestigious Pipeline Masters in Hawaii secured his first world title, and at age 20 he became the youngest surfing world champion ever. Slater finished sixth in the 1993 rankings but came back in 1994 to begin a five-year run of complete domination of the world tour, earning the champion’s crown every year between 1994 and 1998. He then took a break from competitive surfing at the end of 1998.

During his years off the world tour, Slater appeared in assorted surf films, television shows, and video games. He returned to the world pro tour in 2002, finished a close second in the world rankings in 2003, and won his first posthiatus championship in 2005. He won his 11th world title in 2011, thereby becoming both the youngest and the oldest surfer to have won the championship.

From: https://www.britannica.com/biography/...

Reviews

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm endlessly fascinated by surfing, so having the chance to read the autobiography of one of the best surfers in the world was enjoyable and informative. Granted, this will not win any awards for best writing, but what it does do is provide the reader a view into a culture and sport that for many is on the fringe and is considered the sport of potheads and hippies. Slater goes into great detail about surf boards, the different types of waves, surfing conditions around the world, the highs and lows of traveling around the world to surf, and the perceived image of a bunch of people who live to stand up on boards and connect with the ocean. Slater and Jason Borte (the co-writer) also go into great detail about Slater's childhood, family dynamics, his relationships with his brothers, his friends from the surfing community, and the women he has dated.

I was pleasantly surprised by his honesty, and it was actually quite refreshing to hear him admit to being afraid to surf on certain waves, his battle with his shyness all throughout his time as a child and into his 20s, and the things he missed out on in his life because he was always on the road. It's this candidness and his willingness to analyze events in his life that make this such a nice read. Kelly Slater has achieved a great deal due to his competitiveness and work ethic, and he should be commended for being a top athlete even if the majority of people do not consider surfing to be a sport and he not to be an athlete. I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of surfing or Slater. Well worth the read.

[Diane in Australia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars = I liked the book.

[Allegra S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yet another autobiography that suffers from 'but it's all good' syndrome. I love reading about stories of people's lives, the random and deliberate events that have shaped their successes and failures, however lately I've noticed a trend in stories where the narrator will tell you a particularly sad or touching event and then try to end it on a positive note, wrapping it up with 'but it's all good'. Finding the meaning in a situation is good, trying to turn negatives into positives is good, but I don't like that as a society these days we have trouble admitting that we're still hurt by some things, some events just purely sucked, or we had a hard time dealing with something. You don't need to sum up every terrible event with a cliche about silver linings.

Other than that it was fun to read about surfing, an easy light read. A bit confusing as none of the people's names or places held meaning for me.

[Sebastian Valencia · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like “bottom to the top” success stories, well you’re in for a ride. Kelly Slater, a now 11 time World Champion, takes you through how his life began and how it flourished. How he had to sleep outside, how he had to try extra hard for attention. A little boy, striving to compete and conquer the surfing scene, or at least make a mark. Keep in mind, this philosophy rose him to superiority, follow the quotes of this book! To finalize my review, this biography will be a classic for anyone who has extra time to read a good book. Thank you.

[Harrison Cramond · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. Not only is it a book of interest to me, but the way it is written makes it so much better. Before reading this book, I only knew Kelly Slater as this great surfer. After reading this book and learning about his life story, I appreciate him so much more from where he began to what he has become. If you love surfing and a good story, this book is for you.

[Ignacio Iturralde · Rating 5 out of 5]

A surfing life biography and a few good tips to improve your surfing. In a way, it is also the account of a quest for self mastery.

[Deb Omnivorous Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book. As a non-surfer but ocean enthusiast it can be touch to find books based in all things marine and oceanic, so I do default to reading books by surfers reasonably often.

Kelly Slater is a name that comes up often when reading surfer books, his accomplishments always seem formidable, but he is not always described in an entirely flattering way so I was curious to see a bit of his career from the inside.

It is a pretty interesting life, growing up on a side of America without much surf, Kelly and his brother nevertheless became pro surfers. The descriptions of surfing and competitions, with a bit of the politics behind competitions, was interesting. There was a lot more info about competing than I could really comprehend, not coming from the lifestyle. As always I am a little delighted to hear my home (Kirra) mentioned so favourably as world class surf.

An interesting book, with excellent narration. The one thing I really did not love about it were the timelines; it seemed like the narrative did not entirely follow a timeline but jumped back and forth in ways that at times could be quite confusing.

For example, Kelly apparently acted on Baywatch (known to Aussies far and wide as boobwatch), which I did not know as I never watched the thing. He also dated Pamela Anderson, which I also did not know as celebrity culture bores me, so I don't follow it. When discussing Baywatch, sometimes he seems to be SIMULATNOUSLY discussing events long before the show and it is a bit disorienting. When it comes to Pam, he discusses her a bit out of sequence and I kind of get that, apparently a lot of people fixated on his dating instead of his career, so that is like a separate topic almost. Still, if you can just cruise along without worrying about timelines and enjoy the narrative, then this can be fun. If you were trying to memorise his life sequence it might not work as well.

[Broghan Periquet · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was great and taught me a lot about surfing

[Zaida · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I realized focusing on the big picture was holding me back. I had to concentrate on what I was doing every second and keep in mind that as long as there was time on the clock, I still had a chance."

Written chronologically from his start in Cocoa Beach, FL, to his rise as one of the top professional surfers in the world, Kelly Slater's autobiography gives a behind-the-curtain look at how he came to be the surfer he's known as today. He takes us back to his grom days surfing contests with less than ideal conditions. He shares stories of his difficult family life. He talks about struggling to make and keep money, his rocky relationships, and rivalries. And somehow through it all, he becomes an 11-time world champion.

The phrase "no guts, no glory" comes to mind. Great athletes are willing to take crazy risks to reap the rewards. Reading through some of these contest stories and the level that Slater pushed himself makes him, in my opinion, one of the greats. He also challenged the old school surfing styles, which, I think, probably pissed off a lot of OGs. But he saw the possibility of progression in surfing and went for it, despite the shit he got because of it.

The writing is very "talk story," which we say in Hawai`i when we're having a casual chitchat, catching up with friends, reminiscing. This makes it easy to follow along and really get a feel for what Slater was thinking/feeling when these events happened. He's also unforgiving in his honesty, and I love that. Some people might find it off-putting, but I like his up-front attitude and personality.

Born and raised on O`ahu, growing up in the nineties, Kelly Slater was like a god. And I didn't even surf! But I was and still am a fan of the sport. I knew his name, saw his photos in the magazines at Foodland, and realized that in the world of surfing, he was it. You don't have to be a fan of surfing or Kelly Slater to enjoy this book; it leaves any reader with a look at how hard work and perseverance pays off, and that in life, as long as there's time on the clock, there's still a chance.

[Serenah Willison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Initially, I didn’t realize this autobiography was published in 2004. It was fun to get to know the GOAT a little better, but I’d love to hear his perspective on his life, achievements, and relationships now with over twenty more years of maturity under his belt (not to mention five more world titles). So much life has happened since the time of writing.

It’s very cool to learn that Kelly was already so interested in wave pools over twenty years ago knowing what we know now about his innovative role in the industry! Also, it’s a heartwarming touch that he concluded by revealing his ultimate goal of having a loving family: congrats to Kelly and Kalani on achieving that.

[Jake Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The novel "Pipe Dreams" by Kelly Slater is one of my favorite autobiographies. This autobiography is about how Kelly Slater had to deal with hardships between his family, what things he did as a kid, living in Coco Beach, his surf contests, and how he became one of the best surfers of all time! During this book Kelly had hard ships with his family because his father had drinking issues so kelly and his brothers often had to help his mom out with a lot of things because his dad couldn't. When Kelly was a kid he was always surfing, skateboarding, and fishing. Living in Coco Beach was not the best for Kelly because the surf was often bad so usually he had to travel with his dad and his brothers to surf places. Kelly became big in the surfing world because he did surf contests, which led to him becoming one of the best surfers of all time. My favorite part of this book is when Kelly finally got one of his biggest sponsors for surfing which was "Quicksilver". This was probably one of my favorite parts because it showed how he was finally becoming a pro surfer and now as his job he would be traveling around the world to surf places and do contests. Overall, this book was an amazing surfing novel and autobiography.

[Bruce Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a readable and interesting memoir focusing on mostly the surf-competition accomplishments of the legendary Kelly Slater. I'd say it was straightforward and understated, lacking a bit of the "stoke" one would expect from this watersports book. The rock-hard discipline of Mr. Slater, amidst the slings and arrows of his life under the spotlight (e.g., being on Baywatch and having Ms. Anderson as an on again, off again girlfriend), certainly came through loud and clear on these pages, however.

I didn't know the book was published several years ago when I started reading it, so these stories only cover Slater's youth. He's still going strong as he approaches 50. I took my first formal surfing lesson on Kauai when I was 56, and actually got up on a tiny wave by the end and rode it. I also learned paddleboarding on that trip, fell in love with it, and now I SUP all over. At 64, I might pick up racing, and I also want to try a SUP surf session.

Watching good surfers in Kauai, I gained incredible respect for the talent and athleticism of pros like Kelly Slater, and all the other American surf icons of that generation.

[Katrin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this to "close a gap" in my surfbook collection. Kelly Slater is probably the most important and most successful surfer around, and the way he constantly (and still) stays at the top as well as all his style innovations certainly deserve admiration.
But this book is really bad. Despite the fact that Slater had hired a co-author to help him write it, it is bad in style AND in content. The style resembles an essay by a ten-year old: The sentences are as short as possible and are all constructed in the same way, making the whole story a really boring read. I suppose it was meant to sound "authentic", but it just sounds dumb. And the content -- well, sadly the book reveals that there doesn't seem to be much inside Slater's head apart from surfing. He chose to include his personal life, which has nothing special about it at all. There is really nothing much to tell. Small incidents are blown up out of all proportions. I just hope Slater has eveolved a little by now (I think he has) -- the book is almost ten years old.
On the plus side: Many photos (black and white and in colour).

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pipe Dreams is a biography of surfing world champion Kelly Slater. This was the first sports related book I'd read, and it's refreshing and also interesting to follow the life of an athlete whom I've admired since day one. We see the private life of Kelly Slater, beginning with his childhood in Cocoa Beach, Florida. With international success and fame, Slater learns to stay focused on his athletic career, and avoid getting sidetracked by women, booze, partying, and millions of dollars. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the sport of surfing, Kelly Slater, or a good read of a man whose passion for surfing is above and beyond many.

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book "Pipe Dreams" by kelly slater is really good, and is very discriptive about all the acomplishments that he has done in his life, and that he wants to do in the future. Also it mentions alot about him and what he likes to do/did when he is not competing/ on the world tour (mon his spare time. It also shows how he got to where he is today and what he did to do it. So it is overall a good book.

[Elso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Living and travelling up and down the east coast of Australia I have always been fascinated by the ocean and I eventually tackled my fear of the waves.
It has been over 35 years since that first day we took a deep breath and paddled out the back. Plenty of surfboards, countless kilometres travelled in pursuit of getting that wave - only a surfer knows the feeling.
Kelly Slater - A Surfers Journey has been a great insight into the start of this giant of the surfing world.

[Melody · Rating 2 out of 5]

In my opinion, this book just added to the stereotype of surfers. This makes Kelly Slater look arrogant and doesn't give surfers such a good name. Kelly Slater is one of the best surfers in the world, though this does do a good job of letting you know he is just a normal person, it makes him look like he doesn't think he is. This book drastically lowered my respect for Kelly Slater.

[Nick Ciotola · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed hearing first hand how Kelly Slater became the surfer and person he is in the surf community. As a surfer myself, it really inspires me to pursue my goals in the water and even just in general. I really appreciated his candid account of how he saw things and his positive attitude he showed throughout his career, which I think lead him to become the best surfer of all time.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy, quick read and I really enjoyed it. Kelly Slater comes across as genuine and open sharing both the highs and lows in his life and surfing career. It was interesting learning about the world of competitive surfing and the close network of friends and mentors that Slater built over the years.

[Hai Nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book I couldn't put down. The book is by 7 time world champion surfer, Kelly Slater. The east coast kid from Cocoa Beach is good at telling about his past. He continues to strive to be above his game.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a breath of fresh air to know that even Kelly Slater, a multiple time ASP world champion, has obstacles he had to face in terms of fear and himself. I also enjoyed the fact that he didn't bullshit, was willing to admit his embarrassing moments and to his mistakes.

[Traci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved reading Kelly’s book from his perspective. My husband surfs so was fun to read & learn more about the sport.
I especially loved the Acknowledgment section since Kelly filled it with so much goods & adored all the pictures.

[Venus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Autobiography of world champion surfer Kelly Slater. Definitely worth the read even if you don't like Kelly, enjoyable although I was frustrated by the lack of discussion and mention of his rivalry with the late Andy Irons.

[Will Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Pipe Dreams: A Surfers Journey is a great book that tells people about the ups and downs in Kelly Slaters life.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haven't sat down and finished a book in a single sitting in quite some time.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this read and learning about Kelly's child hood and Florida and his exciting life as a pro surfer

[James Mackenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pritty honest story, One can relate to.

[Bex Quin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read that shows how Kelly is such a good athlete

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome, really feels like you're talking with the man himself.

[Ian Tierney · Rating 4 out of 5]

First athlete book I read. Really enjoyed it as a kid.