WATCH: Cocoa Beach Native Kelly Slater Launches ‘Freaks of Nature’ Sunscreen Brand

Space Coast Sports Hall of Famer

 

(PEOPLE.COM) – Kelly Slater is hopping on the skincare wave. The 11-time world champion surfer spoke with PEOPLE exclusively about the launch of Freaks of Nature, his new skincare brand inspired by his active lifestyle — and hours spent under the sun.

“I was looking for a good SPF that would last a long time [but] I’m really particular about what I use,” Slater, 52, tells PEOPLE exclusively of how the brand came to be. It consists of three products: the Deeper Dive Moisturizer, the Daily Defender Sunscreen, and the Peak Performance Sunscreen.

The professional surfer says he’s in the water “all day long,” so creating a product that he could “trust” would protect his skin from the sun’s strong rays was at the forefront of this concept.

Slater’s commitment to skin protection wasn’t always a priority for the Florida native who grew up with Cocoa Beach in his backyard. The surfing pro admits he “didn’t worry about it” in his younger years, despite “getting killed by the sun” while outside.

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11-time World Champion Slater is regarded as the greatest competitive surfer of all time, holding nearly every major record in the sport, including 11 World Titles, 56 CT victories, and being both the youngest and oldest World Champion in men’s history. He’s had a huge influence on the sport through his progressive surfing, competitive nature, and wave system technology.

Slater’s incredible career started with winning Rookie of the Year in 1990 and spans more than three decades. He won his first World Title in 1992 and his most recent Title in 2011.

In 2022, Slater claimed his 56th CT victory at Pipeline, just a few days before his 50th birthday. Now at age 52, Slater is in search of adding yet another World Title and a provisional Olympic qualification to his name.

Cocoa Beach is Home

Born in 1972 and raised in Cocoa Beach, where he still resides, Slater learned how to surf in the Atlantic waters at Fourth Street North with his older brother Sean and his younger brother Stephen.

In Slater’s opinion, Cocoa Beach is as good a place as any to develop the fundamentals and skills needed to be a championship surfer.

“It breaks farther out,” he says, “so it’s easier to learn. If I had the choice of learning in Florida or Hawaii, I’d choose Florida. You don’t try to run before you can walk.” Sebastian Inlet is still one of his favorite surfing venues.

As a perennial amateur champion, which included six Eastern Surfing Association and four national titles, Slater and his brother Sean started to appear in board-shorts ads in the mid-80s, and when he was ready to join the pro ranks in 1990, he was one of the most recognizable athletes in the sport of surfing.

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