Pipe Dreams: A Surfer's Journey

Slater is a known local surfer. I am no surfer myself and a very casual surfer fan. After watching a few documentaries on surfing I got interested to read a memoir or a book. The book is easy to read and isn't too difficult to follow as some books can be heavy on big terms and concepts. There is also pictures to illustrate the story. If you do plan to watch him surf live it'd be neat to have him sign your own copy of his book because I feel he wouldn't bring out copies to sign. After reading the book I still have interest to follow surfing and the sport so if you hope to get a story from one the world's best surfer this book is for you.

I remember as a grommet and my idols were Tom Curren and I liked the style of Martin Potter but there was a guy, my age who was really kicking butt in surfing in the amateurs, named Kelly Slater. I remember during a surf comp in France, he was against his idol, Tom Curren and Slater won. There was a lot of talk about him but you knew inside this kid from Cocoa Beach was going somewhere. He is multi-talented but during his interviews...print or on television, you kind of see something through his eyes. Stoke when he wins a comp. But I don't know...you sensed somethings at times that you wonder how life is going for Kelly Slater. "Pipe Dreams: A Surfer's Journey" was so captivating that I couldn't even put the book down. This book is not a how-to-surf book. It's about the life of Kelly Slater and he talks about personal things that occured in his life that I must say...it takes a lot of courage and probably is therapeutic in a way to get everything out into the open for him. From his childhood, his father leaving his family and getting involved with alcoholism, insight on competitions and what was on his mind and how he actually gets pissed off (which I really couldn't imagine because he seems always calm) if he's losing a match. He also talks about his relationships with Bree (if you read any of the surf mags...you always saw a photo of them together) and the problems with that relationship as well as with Pamela Anderson and others. Also, the "Baywatch" situation and how Kelly and his co-star David Charvet got into a fight because Kelly didn't like being on the show and that was interesting. How he amassed a lot of money early on in his surfing career and then blew it all and it took a hard realization to manage it. Also, about that French stalker woman and how he almost got jumped by several guys. How he wanted to be like Tom and leave his sponsor to be soul surfer. His reunion with his father and him being a father which he kept secret from the public for two years and so much in this book that you start to learn more about Kelly Slater. Like many sports icons, you tend to see the good things. With Slater, I thought...champion, dates fine women, on the cool magazines and in the spotlight....what a life? But when you read the book, you realize that Slater really never asked to be a star, he just wanted to surf and the things that went on with his life, like most celebrities or sports icons, they can manifest to something negative but he was able to stay right in between, he never goes into a ....I'm doing so well with my life but that he made some f-up's along the way and he's making sure that he doesn't do again (or try to anyway) and continues to improve himself and try to make better decisions after learning from difficult and heartbreaking decisions. After reading this book, I respect him so much more. This book is absolutely wonderful!

It seems as if writing your bio at 31 years old either means that you fear a loss of public stature or you are pitching your ideas.The Kelly Slater notariety is ultimately used here to pitch a change in surfing's marketing. Additionally, he clarifies how he was able to win those tournaments. Consistency! The other pros would surf good in a couple of contests and then lousy in others.As one would expect, Kelly goes chronologically from youth to the present in quite a candid series of anecdotes and narrative. Portraying an everyman anti-hero (he talks about how he reacts to things which happen), Kelly shows a human side which any one can relate to. He never begs the reader's applause, yet he brings them into the reality of life, death, and indifference. He openly discusses and admits his shortcomings.I assume that the the actual text was written by Jason Borte. Style wise, the book is coherent. Frequent black and white picture complement what is said. Frequently, the anecdotes elicit a chuckle. A few occasions of redundancy do exist. On p. 114 a pair of trunks had the words "I don't even care." stenciled on the 'seat of the pants'. A previous pair of pants were refered to as 'ankle length surf trunks'. Not a major problem, but it does speak to choice of words. The end of the book has a listing of Kelly's contest achievements and a couple of "Top Ten/ Favorite" lists much like a teen magazine. He litanizes his thank-yous. This covers the bases of readership. Fellow sportsman and fan alike should enjoy what is saidIn the end, this book gives an honest glimpse into the life of a person in transistion much in the way he hopes that professional surfing will continue to be in transition. The reader is left with the impression that Kelly has learned a number of lessons and is more balanced in terms of career and family.

Finally picked up this book. If you're a fan of the sport and want insight into who Kelly is and how he's achieved so much (up to 2003), then you'll enjoy this book. Contrary to another reviewer who didn't like the chronological approach to this book, I found it fascinating to go back in time and reflect on reoccurring contests and how the results affected his ever-changing strategies - along with the insights gained through (seemingly uncorrelated) experiences that broke up his annual patterns. I'm his age and have been following the sport about as long as he took hold. So to hear his perspective and accounts of familiar personalities, events and stories was basically a page-turner for me. There are a few laugh out loud moments, and a stalker story that was pretty intense. I was a little demystified by his trajectory after reading his book; yet it also gave me a better appreciation for how he has risen, and the fact that it's actually attainable - especially after he writes his book about how to improve your surfing and competitiveness. I'll bet some of his current competition who've read this book have an edge now because of how much he shared. Finally, It's also a good (cautionary) tale for younger readers about the ups and downs of someone reaching great heights.

The media could not be loaded. Le livre sur Kelly Slater, un surfeur légendaire, est une excellente lecture pour les passionnés de surf et ceux qui s'intéressent à sa carrière impressionnante. Bien que ce soit un achat d'occasion, je suis agréablement surpris par l'état du livre, qui est arrivé en parfait état, presque comme neuf. La qualité de l'édition et les informations contenues sont de haut niveau. Un très bon achat pour les fans de Kelly Slater ou du surf en général !

Livro novo, muito bom!

Super Geschenk für meinen Freund, sehr schade das es nicht auf Deutsch erhältlich ist. Für nicht gute Englischsprecher/Leser ist es nichts.

fast delivery, as described

Bellissimo!