It took Kelly Slater years to design his new $168 surf trunks. Now, they’re the future of his business

Kelly Slater is the undisputed GOAT of surfing. The 53-year-old has won 11 world titles—including being both the youngest and oldest champ ever at 20 and 39, respectively—and has competed regularly on the pro tour until just last year. He’s not even officially retired yet.

Slater has also built multiple businesses, beyond his endorsement deals. One of those is apparel brand Outerknown, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. It’s been a labor of love for Slater, who along with cofounder John Moore, had a commitment from the beginning to make it as sustainable and responsible as possible. Last month, the company dropped the Apex Trunk by Kelly Slater, the first-ever performance four-way stretch board short made from 90% recycled fishing nets from Bureo. 

Slater says the trunks, aimed at performance surfers, represent both the future of the brand, and a culmination of its long-standing goals. 

“We’re definitely making a move towards some very specific, little more hardcore surf stuff,” says Slater, on the phone from his home on Hawaii’s North Shore. Outerknown has largely produced apparel for the lifestyle around surfing—shirts, denim, sweaters. But now the brand is creating a line of surf-specific gear under Slater’s name, set for 2026. Slater compares the Apex trunk design to playing the guitar. 

“I’ve played music for 30 years, and you can add all kinds of things to a song, but when you make a nice, good melody, you can strip it back to the basics and you have what you need,” says Slater. “And for me, that’s kind of what this trunk is.”

It also represents a broader opportunity. Over the past couple of years, surfing’s traditional brand giants have been in an unprecedented state of flux and upheaval that has seen majors like Billabong, Volcom, Quiksilver, and more get stripped down and change ownership, with some getting acquired by Authentic Brands Group in 2023.

That has given surfer-owned and operated companies like Outerknown, John John Florence’s Florence brand, Dane Reynolds’s Chapter 11, and Julian Wilson’s Rivvia Projects the chance to simplify and redefine what the core surf industry looks like. 

For Outerknown right now, it’s all about the new trunks. 

Wave of the future

The new Apex trunk underwent more than three years of R&D, as Moore, Slater, and the brand’s designers worked closely with Bureo on the cut and materials. Slater and other brand ambassadors tested it in waves across Sri Lanka, Australia, Hawaii, and beyond. 

Slater says designing a surf trunk is more complicated than it seems. Sometimes people want a multitasking amphibian short, that performs the same on the beach as in the streets. “But when it comes to just going for a long surf session, I just need something that performs really simply,” says Slater. “And I don’t even mean to say it performs, it just doesn’t get in the way. We think of the type of string we’re going to use so it doesn’t untie, and make sure that the length is just right, so it doesn’t look too short. But if it’s too long, it’s caught on the knee, so there’s a little scallop on the side to give you a little bit more of a stretch to the side. Very simple things to get a streamlined product. But to do that, there’s years of thought and technology and ideas that go into this one product.”

Moore says that the connection between the new Apex trunk and Outerknown’s lifestyle apparel is about looking at design from a surfing perspective. “Wherever our travels take us, surfing is one part of that, so it’s about, how do we make clothes that are built better, feel better, fit better, and do it through our surfers’ lens?” says Moore. “It just feels like we’re finally at a place where we can really focus on what matters and what works, and we know who our customers are, we know what they want, and we’re getting better at making it.”

Under one roof

A decade ago, Outerknown was launched with fanfare, some surfer skepticism, and a lot of challenges. Founded by Slater and Moore, the brand was also backed by luxury brand owner the Kering Group as a minority stakeholder. Slater’s goal, inspired in part by Patagonia, was to make the most responsible clothing possible—organic cotton, fair labor practices. The challenge was making that happen when the supply chain wasn’t really there, especially for the small numbers Outerknown was starting out with. That led to much higher prices, which made many surfers scoff at $300 shirts and $170 trunks.

“The early days were super tough,” says Slater. 

But gradually, the company was able to grow its community and scale, opening eight retail locations in Malibu, California, as well as cities like New York, Boston, and Washington, D.C. 

There will still be scoffs at the new Apex trunk’s $168 price tag, but Slater says there are people who do care about a product’s provenance. “A lot of people don’t realize that to do things right and responsibly, to take care of your workers, and to use the good recycled textiles or organic products, all those things are infinitely more expensive,” he says.

For its first decade, Outerknown could be described as a surf-adjacent brand. Mostly street clothes and apparel, designed from a surfing perspective. But starting with the new Apex trunks, the brand will now be stocking in surf shops and creating more products to make that connection more explicit. 

The catalyst for that was Slater’s move last year to move his three primary companies—Outerknown, Firewire Surfboards, and Slater Designs—under one parent company roof. Surf industry vet and Firewire CEO Dylan Slater (no relation) was named chief executive of the new company. He says that the brands complement each other in some obvious ways, but also plenty behind the scenes. Outerknown is primarily a U.S.-based business, while Firewire is global. 

“There’s some really unique ways they can support one another,” he says. “We have aspirations to make Outerknown globally accessible, and we expect that to happen in the next 6 to 12 months. The brands can also collaborate around products, and have some more exposure to their respective audiences, with surfboards in Outerknown stores and things like that.”

Moore is excited to see Outerknown go directly to a more hardcore surf audience, especially amid the recent consolidation of the traditional surf brand powerhouses.

“Over the years, everything became very corporate and, I would argue, kind of a sea of sameness,” he says. “I think surfing has always been at its core about individuality and finding your own flow through life or on a wave. We’re doing it our way, and with all the evolution in the marketplace, it feels like an opportunity for us to take it to the next level.”

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