“We just had a baby, so…it’s awesome. It’s great. Kalani and I are super stoked. We got a little boy,” Kelly Slater grinned last year, his voice carrying the disbelief of a man still getting used to lullabies replacing the sound of waves. The 11-time world surfing champion, who’s spent decades mastering the ocean, welcomed his second child at 52 last year with his girlfriend Kalani Miller, his longtime partner, businesswoman, surfer, and now, a mom, who is pretty stoked this Mother’s Day. She’s beaming in her own right, not because of a bouquet, but because her world now starts with a tiny, toothy grin at sunrise. And she had something heartfelt—and quietly powerful—to say about it. What do you ask?
On her first Mother’s Day as a mom, Kalani Miller didn’t just celebrate; she reflected. “This year… it carries a whole new meaning,” she posted on Instagram with a pic of Kelly Slater, her boy, and her. At 10 months postpartum, Kalani woke up not to breakfast in bed or flowers, but to something far more permanent: her baby boy’s “biggest, toothy smile.” The moment she wrote was a “pinch me” realization, proof that the transformation into motherhood wasn’t just symbolic anymore. It was her new daily truth. “Thank you, Kelly, for making me a mommy.”
Kalani, who co-founded the swimwear brand Mikoh back in 2008 and who met Slater at a San Diego trade show nearly two decades ago, has built a life around independence and ocean-inspired entrepreneurship. But this year, her Mother’s Day post told of a shift — from doing to being. “I’m doing my best to be present… It’s true what they say—time is flying faster than ever.” Their son is now nearly ten months old. A fact that hit her with surprise.
Pregnancy had brought its seasons, “the changes, the surprises, the learning,” but each phase since, she wrote, has been even richer. Even the hard parts. “Of course, there have been hard moments… really hard ones… but every single challenge has been met with a hundred times more joy.” And that joy, she says, now lives in small gestures: his look upward, his outstretched hands, and his “huge, perfect smile.”
“It’s the look that is everything and happiness and perfection all rolled into one.” It’s a far cry from their fast-paced, surf-and-travel-filled past. Still, Kalani’s words never drift far from the community. She thanked her dog, Action, calling her the best girl. She also thanked her mom, “the most incredible example of what I strive to be,” as well as her younger sisters, who also became moms around the same time, making this chapter something shared.
“This season of life has been made even more special… going through it alongside you.” She cast her net wide in gratitude, acknowledging every woman who showed up. She finished her post with, “To all the amazing moms and aunties around me—thank you… Whether you cooked us a meal, answered a 3 am text, or tried to take him for a walk—he doesn’t love a stroller lol.”
There’s humor, tenderness, and a tone of self-awareness throughout. But by the end of her note, it’s clear: this isn’t a celebrity tribute to motherhood; it’s an entry into a new identity. “This truly is my favorite and most meaningful chapter so far.” And for a woman who’s spent nearly 20 years beside the greatest surfer of all time, that says everything.
Kelly Slater hasn’t named his kid yet
When you’ve spent your life listening to the ocean, perhaps it makes sense to let your child’s name come to you on its own time, and is yet to settle on a name they used till last August. “We actually don’t call him anything,” Slater had said in August 2024. “We gave him a name for his birth certificate, but as of now, we don’t have a name we call him. We’re kind of just letting him figure out what his personality is.”
It’s pure Kelly — part Zen, part wave-chaser, fully unconventional. Slater called the experience “my Olympics,” a nod to the emotional ride that comes with new fatherhood after a lifetime of competition.
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