I have a lot of thoughts on men’s style at the moment. One reason — and I hadn’t mentioned this to you yet because I was going to wrap this tidbit into a Summer Men’s Style Letter — is that while I was in New Zealand in March, I met Kelly Slater.
Slater is the undisputed GOAT in professional surfing. His accomplishments include a record-breaking 11 World Surf League championships, 56 Championship Tour victories, and a career spanning over 30 years, from 1992 to 2023.
Until I bumped into a friend from L.A. who was in New Zealand at the same time I was I didn’t know who Slater was. My friend was there with her husband and a bunch of their friends, and she invited me to join her table for dinner. “Sure,” I said, because my golfing partner hadn’t arrived yet. Slater, along with everyone else, was already at the table. “Room for one more?” she said as we walked up. “Absolutely!” they replied, as they scooted their chairs over to make room.
Her friends had flown in from L.A., Hawaii, London, West Palm Beach and Monaco to play golf in New Zealand. It was a table of ten, and I made it 11. (You got to love a friend who makes room for you at their already-full table, right?) The seat that opened up was next to Slater. He, like everyone, gave me a warm hello when I sat down and then he said, “I’m Kelly.” We chatted back-and-forth a little over the course of the meal: Me, asking him, “Where did you fly in from?”* And him saying “Hawaii. How about you?”*As we were breaking, my friend’s husband leaned into me and whispered, “You know which Kelly you’ve been talking to, right? Slater? He’s the winningest athlete in any sport ever. His is surfing. He also plays to a 0.4 handicap in golf.”
I’m telling you, CRUSHes, Slater was understated, soft-spoken, light, thoughtful and fun. A contributor to the group’s conversation who didn’t try (or need) to be the center of attention. He was also super hot.
And now (and I am not alone here) I have a major crush on him.
Slater is 53 and retired from competitive surfing. In addition to dinner, I bumped into him a few times over the next couple days while going in and out of the clubhouse to play golf. His style is ‘of a piece’ with his personality. Relaxed and sporty, soft-spoken, not at all flashy, leaning toward an updated, unfussy classic aesthetic. Whatever preconceived notions I might have had about how surfers dress, they were washed out. Because Slater is casually elegant. I’d go so far as to say that he’s got a very modern gentleman’s look.
In fact, my impression is that Slater is very much a gentleman, in manner and appearance.
But I bring up Slater earlier than I had intended for a reason. To introduce you to the upcoming Summer Men’s Style Letter and to ask: got anything you’d like to throw in the mix? What will you (or your male squeeze) be wearing this summer? Sunglasses, watches, jeans, sneakers, shorts, hats, t-shirts, boxers, summer suits. Where do you shop? Favorite brands? Any favorite style sources (instagram/mags/newsletters)? Really, nothing having to do with men’s looks is irrelevant.
PS: Here is Slater’s Instagram post about his trip to New Zealand — the very one where I met him over dinner (and when they arrived later, I also met his girlfriend and their baby).
*My question to Slater, “Where did you fly in from?” was ‘meh’ on PIP. Meaning it wasn’t great social energy, but it was okay. I wrote about PIP in Lessons In Good Social Energy, or ‘PIP.’ I’ve made strides since. If you care about your social energy, you might want to check that piece out.
