Kelly Slater Lands Surfing's First 540, Confirms He's A God

Kelly Slater just proved -- yet again -- why he is the best surfer the world has ever seen.

On Friday, a lay day during the Moche Rip Curl Pro Portugal, Slater completed 1.5 rotations in the air -- a trick never accomplished before on a surfboard. The massive aerial maneuver drew gasps from the crowd and confirmed Slater's status as a venerable surf god.

To quote Reddit user johnzanussi, "The guy is a freak."

The 42-year-old has been dominating surfing competitions for years; he has been crowned Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) world tour champion a record 11 times and has been awarded countless other titles.

Whether Slater's aerial is considered a 540 or a 720 is up for debate. In extreme sports like snowboarding and skateboarding, the maneuver would be considered a 720: you launch off the lip of the halfpipe and spin twice, landing in the same direction in which you began the trick. But some surfers are arguing that Slater's move was a 540 because you move across a wave in surfing, not up it like you would a halfpipe.

When asked what he would call the trick, Slater nonchalantly responded "I don't know...I don't have a name for it. It's an aerial."

Bravo, Mr. Slater. Bravo.