Ode to Kelly Slater

It's about time the mainstream media loved Kelly Slater as much as I do (and have since I was about 12). He is currently on the cover of Outside Magazine and GQ, an issue featuring the Top 25 Coolest Athletes of All Time. Kelly is one of the few who got a solo cover, along with Arnold Palmer (I mean, the man has a drink named after him- pretty cool), Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady (despite his attitude, playing style, haircut and overall personality... not to mention Kelly dated his wife) to name a few.

Kelly not only was the youngest World Champion surfer when he won in 1992, but is also the oldest to win a World Championship- number 10 finding its way to his trophy shelf this year at the age of 38. In addition to being a surfer and musician, he's also an amazing golfer with a 2 handicap.

With all these accomplishments, I wonder why Sports Illustrated and ESPN Magazine have not put him on the cover... ever. He just received his second Guinness Book of World Record for most career wins in his sport, he's dominated for multiple decades and is rated by most to be the #1 best athlete of all time (over his colleagues on the other GQ covers). Maybe it's because ESPN and SI don't consider surfing a sport? On Espn.com surfing barely even falls under "More Sports",  you can find it by hunting through the action sports tab.

Next on my to-do list is to figure out a way to get him on the cover. I'll have to see what PR tactics I can utilize to make this happen.