Gary BreckaHuman Biologist & Longevity Innovator

Kelly Slater on Seeing Beaches Covered in Plastic

23 Feb 2026 · 1 min

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In this brief interview, Gary Brecka asks professional surfer Kelly Slater about his passion for environmental conservancy. Slater emphasizes a personal, non-preachy approach, stressing the responsibility to future generations and his own recycling habits. He describes the visceral impact of seeing oceans and beaches littered with plastic, noting how such scenes become unbearable and trigger a collective need for solutions. The conversation highlights Slater's personal commitment, his frustration with plastic pollution, and a call for broader action to address the problem.

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Talk a little bit about why you're so passionate about conservancy. How did that come about? Did you just build a respect and a love not just through the sport? Or was it. Did you see things going on, just kind of turned your stomach?
I don't know. I don't like to get too preachy about it because I hate when people are too preachy about anything. But we do have to think about generations after us and our kids and leaving a better place for them if we can. You know, I don't think that even needs to be explained, really. I just try to, you know, in my own life, I do my best to recycle all I can. And I hope that when that recycling bing goes, that the right thing is done with it. When you see an ocean full of plastic and then the wind changes and it all washes up on the beach, when the season changes and it's disgusting and you literally can't even walk on the beach, that's when everyone needs to get together and go, okay, we need a solution for this.