Kelly Slaters Pro Surfer

Surfing legend Machado, kids carve up waves

-- Sun-dried dreadlocks and orange reflective sunglasses. It's hard to not notice Rob Machado's presence, especially when he's on a surfboard.

The legendary surfer from Cardiff, Calif., was the featured attraction at Hurley's Rip My Shred Stick Tour contest Sunday morning at Shepard Park.

The contest was as laid-back as Machado, with kids performing everything from headstands to cross-steps to a "cockroach."

"This is fun for me," Machado said. "Some kids have never ridden a surfboard, so I like to see how stoked they get."

Later this summer, Machado will be the one who gets stoked when he becomes the 19th surfing champion to be inducted onto the world-renowned Surfing Walk of Fame in Huntington Beach, Calif.

That honor reflects a couple of decades of hard work in which he won 12 contests on the Association of Surfing Professionals World Tour and 13 others on the World Qualifying Series.

"You know, it's hard for me to call it work," Machado said, keeping an eye on nearly 50 surfers in the fun, one-foot waves. "There's definitely work involved, but I feel pretty fortunate to do what I've done, enjoying every step of the way. Anything that long, though, involves focus and traveling and taking care of yourself."

Coincidentally, Cocoa Beach's Kelly Slater -- Machado's longtime friend and onetime surfing rival -- will receive the Key to the City from Huntington Beach officials on Tuesday.

Machado was eager to see Slater's statue in downtown Cocoa Beach.

"It's cool to see him get recognized -- all over the world, really," Machado said.

But Machado gets his share of recognition, as well, much of it from a loss in the 1995 Pipe Masters semifinals. It was an epic showdown in which Slater high-fived him coming out of a huge tube, yet a heat in which Slater won by scoring two perfect 10s in a 29.7-27.3 victory on his way to the ASP title.

"That comes up pretty often," Machado laughed. "It was a pretty defining moment for both of us. The paths we took after that . . . he went one way and I went the other."

Two-thirds of Slater's once mellow-sounding band, "The Surfers," were on hand Sunday -- Peter King and Machado.

"If you ask Kelly, he'll say he was the talent," joked King, a veteran surfer with a wacky sense of humor. "But we just put a guitar in his hands, and he was just lip-synching the whole time."

Machado, 37, delayed his Father's Day celebration with his daughters Rose, 9, and Macy, 6, to surf with dozens of kids on Hurley's Florida tour, which continues today at the Main Street Pier in Daytona Beach. Joining him were surfing stars including Asher Nolan, Noah Snyder, Oliver Kurtz and Michael Dunphy, winner of this year's Ron Jon Easter Surfing Festival in Cocoa Beach.

Kelly Slater Pro Surfer Computer Game Review | Computer Game Reviews

This computer game is old! But it rocks. You travel the world, surfing all the best surf breaks and you get points for taking good pictures of yourself surfing for the front cover of magazines. Its a really cool, feel good game which is highly playable. I know the graphics aren’t a patch on the newer games today but I still think Kelly Slater Pro Surfer stands up well. Check it out in the bargin bins..you’ll probably get a copy for £5!

Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer, official strategy guide

Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer

Xbox Cheats

The Encyclopedia of Surfing

The Art of Surfing, A Training Manual for the Developing and Competitive Surfer