The talk of the town last week was whether Robert Kelly Slater had taken his eco-dominion to new heights. Chas Smith on BeachGrit first broke rumours that he had parted ways with longtime board sponsor, Channel Islands and invested big with Firewire. Surf media quickly scrambled to speculate whether he had or hadn’t and then Kelly broke his silence.
“I’ll address the surfboard stuff soon,” Kelly told Stab. “It’s nothing definite until it’s finished and it’s a work in progress. But surfboards are a tricky business. There’s a certain irony to all of our environmental talk and chemical walk. That’s not to point fingers at anyone but myself. I just think it’s time to do something about my residue that’s built up. The industry focus has been on perfecting the shapes and performance of what we are all used to for a long while now. I’m fond of tinkering and experimenting and evolving. Lessening materials impact is an obligation for me. So… my partners and I are working on something.”
Tracks tried to speak to Firewire CEO, Mark Price, as soon as we heard the news. Surely some validation from the company that had allegedly aligned with the champ would shed light on the unlikely pairing. However, I got a typical tight-lipped surf industry reply.
“I did advise all Firewire staff to send incoming media requests directly to me, but unfortunately at this juncture Firewire has no comment on the situation. All parties involved in Kelly’s offer have agreed that if anything is to be said right now, it should come from either Kelly or his manager.”
To that end you can assume it’s a done deal and just a matter of days until a formal statement is provided from both parties. Probably on Kelly’s Instagram, which he’s traditionally used as a kind of message board for his big statements.
So what do you make of the partnership? It’s no secret the 11x world champion has been flying the flag of eco-warrior since parting ways with Quik last year. His new brand Outerknown presents itself as being a brand that will mesh style, sustainability, travel and he’s big on anti GMO foods. If the next frontier for Kelly in his eco-crusade is reducing the carbon footprint of surfboards then a partnership with Firewire seems like a natural progression in his colourful career. Don’t be surprised if you see Kelly all Firewired up in the next couple of months. Kelly on Firewires at the Quiky Pro? What a statement that would be
