A few days before Kelly won his 9th title, I interviewed Bobby Martinez. I was hoping to put together an article on "Is Kelly's Dominance Good For Surfing?" The article never came together - partly because most guys dodged the question. But Bobby is his own man; he did not dodge the question.
Lewis: Do you feel like Slater’s dominance in ‘08 is bad for the sport?
Bobby: For him it’s cool, for us it’s boring. Same old guy, and he’s so much older than us. I honestly don’t think he’s surfing the best out of the previous years he’s been on tour. He’s surfing the best, but he surfed the best for him personally years ago. But now he’s winning more than ever. I don’t understand it, especially when there’s all these guys like Andy, Mick, and Joel, who I think personally are just as good as Kelly. But somehow he’s just been able to win every event. It blows my mind, with so many people right at the level he’s at, for him to dominate like that is weird, and for me, it’s boring to see Kelly win again… I know Kelly is loving it, but for just fans, I think it’s boring.
Bobby Martinez, Spain. Photo: Gio
Is it good for the ASP to have Kelly be so dominant? Do you ever feel like the ASP is pushing him towards that dominance?
Yeah, I do. Sometimes I do. I mean, sometimes I really do and sometimes I really don’t. I feel like people want him around because he’s a big attraction for our sport, but he’s good enough, he’s gonna stay around. He always does this thing, like, “Oh, I may not do it…” We all know he’s gonna do it. He ain’t got nothing else to do. But he’s just saying that because I feel like he wants people to lure him in. I don’t know if that’s true, I just feel that way. And I think he knows that there are so many good guys like Mick and Joel, that if he doesn’t win, he wants an excuse to say “Oh, I don’t know, I wasn’t all there anyway.” Because I honestly think he can’t commit and then lose like he did against Mick…
Or like he lost to Andy in 2003…
Exactly. It breaks him. It breaks him. That’s what I think. But shit, there’s so many good surfers, his time has to end eventually. He’s gonna be exiting from this sport sooner or later. So I think it’s kinda weird. We’ll see what happens next year because everyone knows he wants to go for 10 and now he’s admitting it. So now there’s this pressure. I think it will be a whole different ball game.
Bobby in Chile. Photo: Pierre Tostee
I might put the rest of this interview up later. Meanwhile check Surfline for a new interview with Bobby concerning 2009.
I am surprised that bobby thinks everyone at the top is on the same level… joel, mick, and bobby surf the same as they did in 2003 ( except fewer airs and less exciting overall) Also- these guys all have a noticeable weakness in their surfing. even andy doesn’t do that great in small or weak waves anymore. slater may not always look the smoothest but it is pretty clear that he is the best surfer in almost all conditions. I think bobby is trying to cover up the fact that his window of opportunity is closing…
Bobby has amazing backside skills. Many would probably call him the best backside goofyfoot since Occy. This year on tour is going to be a dogfight, and not because of Slater, Joel, Mick, or the loss of Andy. The tour’s younger standouts,…Adriano, Flores, Dane, Jordy have matured and will win more heats than in 09.
Tateman,
You sir have no idea what you are talking about. Jordy Smith, as stated in the prior post, clearly has the best “backside skills” on tour. That is if you don’t count Alana Blanchard.
I don’t like Bobby backside stance, it’s too tight. He surfs almost like Donovan F…
Bobby is a cruel man: “He ain’t got nothing else to do.”
To say this is almost funny, Kelly is kind of a celebrity now, i bet he can CHOOSE what he can do next, and this guy that had a section in “Kelly Slater In Kolors” is saying this whole bunch of cr@p… It’s nice to see how things comes and goes around…
bobby can comment on that stuff when he wins a world title, but i dont think he ever will, kelly is better than everyone, including mick and parko. he oputsurfed mick in the snapper final last year
I think Heitor Alves is faster on his backhand than Bobby Martinez. Heitor’s style is more like a third Hobgood than another ticky-tack Brazilian.
Do we really need a third Hobgood?
I thought I read that Bobby is looking for a sponsor now - is it a result of this interview?
Give Bobby some slack for speaking his mind. At least he speaks honestly. There is no doubt Kelly is the best in the world, and there is some envy from Bobby Martinez. But if we were on the professional tour as Bobby is it would probably be boring to watch Kelly win again and again. Bobby has all the tools to win a world title, and it would be great to see any one of the top 45 give Kelly a real run at the title this year. My predictions is Bobby will stay in the top 10 but Bede Durbridge is the hungriest of all the surfers. You can see it in his surfing and his mental attitude.
Surfers need to speak their minds and there’s validity to what Bobby is saying. He is an honest hard-working professional and he deserves to be on the top.
I agree with most the comments. Kelly is one of the best surfers in the world—possibly the best. As his world-titles near the double digits, it’s clear he is the best competitor. However, as amazing as he is, I agree with Bobby, it’s boring to see him win over and over and over. Slater’s “I’m not sure if I can do the tour anymore” line is stale also. I have a lot of respect for Bobby speaking honestly about his thoughts on Slater.
Bitter Bobby…. I appreciate his candor, refreshing in the homogenous corporate surf world. Oh right, he’s operating outside that world now…. hence the bitterness. The other surfers he mentions have flaws, the only guy technically on Kelly’s level is Taj. Kelly dominated the “Momentum” generation with ease and has crushed the “Coolie kids” with equal ease. The hiccup with Andy was not about talent, it was about attitude. Andy was on a roll and Kelly had to raise his mental game to Andy’s before ability mattered. Once he did, Andy retired. As far as the tour pushing K all one has to do is remember that heat in Tahiti where Kelly fell into a layback, super deep and got spit out with a perfect 10. NO ONE else could have pulled that. And he outsurfs Bobby at Rincon every day he is in town. Not a fan, but the guy deserves his success. And now he’s going to smoke the clones on his 5′4″!!!!!!!!
everyone posting these comments is retarded, which includes myself durrr
Kelly has earned everything he has won.
Bobby has been given everything and is still complaining.