For the past 20 years, every eye following professional surfing has been focused on one man: Kelly Slater. With 11 world titles to his credit and countless other records, nobody's flown higher.

Slater has a passion for surfing far beyond the competitive arena. He has been known to show up at any coast on any latitude where the swell is solid.

Slater is also known as the man who has single-handedly kept the springsuit from going completely out of style.

The greatest surfers of all time have been the ones who show grace and poise in the most critical situations. That happens to be one of Slater's trademarks -- perfectly calm at Pipe.

Slater has nothing against frontside barrels either.

Another spot that Slater has had a long, healthy relationship with is Lower Trestles in San Clemente, Calif. In 2012, he chalked up his 50th ASP World Tour win there.

Even the best there ever was makes a slight miscalculation from time to time. Slater is about to take a beating.

So much of the conversation around Slater has involved his competitive headspace. It's something his competitors have marveled at for years, as his game is as much mental as it is physical.

He has continued to prove himself in the heaviest waves in the world, with huge victories at places like Teahupoo, Cloudbreak and Pipeline.

One of the coolest things about Slater's sport is that the playing field could be any beach in the world. Check out the local bodyboarder on the shoulder who just happened to paddle out that day and see the greatest surfer to ever put his feet on a board.

As dominant as Slater is with a jersey on, he has always pushed the performance side of the sport in his freesurfs as well.

Pipeline and Backdoor are still considered surfing's greatest venue. Slater has an affinity for this reef, with six Pipe Masters wins and a lifetime of historic freesurfs.

Competitively, Slater has an unprecedented 11 ASP world titles and 51 elite tour victories. No other surfer can even come close to that.