The editorial was written for the introduction of The Wine Hour #17 with Egon Müller.

A few days ago, the surfing legend Kelly Slater made sport history.
6 days from turning 50, and 30 years after his first win at Pipeline, he did it again. He won the Pipeline Masters in Hawaii, in the most epic conditions. Besides having won 11 World Titles, what he did is unheard off in the whole world of sports.

Beyond the sporting greatness, something struck me as he spoke right after winning the final. He said “This is the best one in my life” and he added: “I hated loads of it”.

This is brutal. We all know he is on a planet of hist own; gifted beyond imagination. And all we see is the glory, the successes, and all that crap as he describes it. But to get to such place, the hidden side is grueling. Whether you are a Kelly Slater, or not.

There are sacrifices to get to the best of our abilities. Yes, there is perseverance but also the doubts, the moments when we want to throw it all away. Because the mind cannot take it.

Yes, we are no Kelly Slater. In our work, we all faced such moments.

We know that at the end people will enjoy the fruit of our work, the bottles, the memories.
But in those dark moments, it’s hard to remember. Don’t forget why you are doing this, don’t forget that they are peope to support you, there are those safe places where you can go.

So hats off to all the Kelly Slater of the world. To make things happen, even in the hardest times.