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During an Eastern Surfing Association contest in Cape Hatteras in the early ‘80s, legendary photographer Tom Dugan snapped a photo of a young Kelly Slater that would become the inspiration for our heartfelt homage collection to Kelly Slater's surfing career decades later.

The photo features Kelly Slater as a grom wearing a red singlet jersey. The origins of a legendary career and an image we found fitting to celebrate his unparalleled competitive career that would commence for the next four decades. So, we put it on a limited collection of tees, sweats, and hats.

We had a chance to ask Tom a few questions about his personal story and hear more about these iconic photos of Kelly as a grom.

We're featuring your iconic photo of Kelly as a grom in our newest collection, honoring his legendary competitive career. Can you tell us the story behind this photo?  
The photo was taken at an Eastern Surfing Association contest that is held every September in Cape Hatteras. I saw Kelly hanging out between his heats and asked him to move over so I could get the lighthouse behind him. Thought it turned out good and loved how his wetsuit didn't fit him. I came across this photo about six years ago when I was looking through some black-and-white negatives.

Many of the pics you sent us were from around '83/'84… Could you tell us about when and where you first met Kelly? 
The first time I saw Kelly, I was taking photos from up on the jetty at Sebastian Inlet. Our friend Matt Kechele said I should take some photos of this little kid that was out surfing. I asked him, "that little guy?"  At that time, the magazines were only interested in the men surfing, not groms like they are today.  I took a few photos and showed them to a friend who was starting a new surf magazine called USsurf, and he used one in the first issue. They printed the slide in the mag exactly the size of the real slide, and that was Kelly's first-ever published photo of him surfing.

Of all the photos you've taken of Kelly over the years, do you have a favorite? 
The favorite photos I have taken of Kelly are the one in front of the lighthouse, and by far, the one of his snapback that they used to model his statue from in Cocoa Beach.

Are there memories that stick out for you from your interactions with Kelly over the years? Any good stories?
Out of all the travel we have done over the years, there are three stories that stand out. We went to Abaco and had to get permission from his mom Judy to let him go, as he was around 13 or so. We were at their house, and she's telling us, and him, to make sure he cleans the dishes and helps around the rental house. He did, and I have a favorite photo of him washing the dishes, like Mom said. 

Another time, we drove to South Florida for a nice overhead swell, and his outside fin broke off on a bottom turn. It did not stop him at all; he kept surfing, and we got some great shots of him doing airs, and you could see the one fin is gone.

The third and one I regret the most is when I was in California for the OP Pro and we were having breakfast.  He asked if I wanted to go to the Playboy Mansion for a party, and he said that he had a limo and cart blanche to go to the mansion. I told him that I really wanted to go but had to get back to Florida to work on the next issue of Eastern Surf Magazine. I regret that decision to this day.  Hahahah

Curious to learn more about you … you've been shooting for over 40 years. What inspired you to first pick up a camera? 
I have been into photography my whole life, growing up with Life Magazine. I liked all the surf mags and thought I could get photos as good as they had in print.  My roommate in 1980 went on a surf trip to Cape Hatteras and happened to pick up a camera that was sitting on the seat of convertible and brought it back to Florida.  He sold it to me for $50.00 and I started to shoot surfing. The camera only had a 50 mm lens so I walked out on the sandbar to get closer to the surfers and got a good photo of Bob Rohmann.  I sold the photo to his sponsor Sundek Clothing, and they ran it as a two-page spread and paid me $250.00 for the shot. I thought that was insane and my career was started. I didn't sell another photo for about a year.

And you are also the co-founder of Eastern Surf Magazine. When and how did the idea arise to start your own surf mag? 
I was working in a photo lab and was given two weeks’ notice because the Space Shuttle Program was stopped, and that was my main income for the lab.  So with that coming to an end, my job was too. My partner in Eastern Surf Magazine, Dick "Mez" Meseroll, was also out of work at the time. We had seen a tabloid-style surf mag out of California, and he suggested we start one on the East Coast. We had both worked for Surfer and Surfing and made a lot of contacts in the surf industry. So, both of us being out of work figured why not try an East Coast magazine. We put some cash together, made some phone calls, and off we went for a 27-year run. Ironically, the first editor we hired was Matt Walker. His dad, David Walker, was an astronaut who was a mission commander three times on space shuttles. His dad also took ESM into outer space on his final mission.

Check out the limited-edition 'Hey, Grom' collection, which features tees and sweatshirts donning the photograph of young Kelly taken by photographer Tom Dugan, and hats featuring a graphic inspired by Taylor Steele's short film.