Matt Kechele
Wunderkind of the 1980s Florida surf scene, Matt “Kech” Kechele remains one of the most renowned surfers of his era. He is a lifelong Sunshine State resident, who grew up surfing in Cocoa Beach. Inspired by local heroes Rich and Phil Salick, Greg Loehr and Jeff Klugel, Kechele adopted an aggressive style and began competing in the Eastern Surfing Association (ESA) at age 13.
As an amateur surfer, he competed in several ESA Championships, often battling East Coast rival Wes Laine in the finals. He went pro at age 16, bringing a new approach with him to the circuit. An avid skateboarder, he was among the first surfers to adapt his airborne skating maneuvers to the water. The rest of the surfing world would be slow to adopt the approach. “They had no idea what we were doing,” Kechele once recalled to Surfline.com. At the Stubbies Pro at the Inlet in ’81, where Kechele performed a handful of aerials and went on to win the event, locals spray painted on the bathroom, “Kech, tricks are for kids.”
Undeterred and riding his own boards, Kechele continued his aerial experimentation, pushing free surfing beyond the preordained constraints of competition. With a strong concerted effort to surf well in Hawaiian waves, Kechele was a presence internationally and dominant in his home region. Kechele won events up and down the East and Gulf Coasts, earning the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) East title in 1992 at age 30. In 1986, he experienced a career highlight when he defeated then-World Champ Tom Curren in the Record Bar Pro in North Carolina.
Kechele is perhaps best known for his tutelage of Kelly Slater, widely regarded as the greatest professional surfer in history. Around 1981, Kechele witnessed a nine-year-old Slater pull three backhand 360s on a single Cocoa Beach wave. He took the young sensation under his wing, shaping his boards and touring the coast with him under Sundek sponsorship.
It was during these trips in Kechele’s VW bus that Slater first absorbed contest strategy and got a taste of quality surf. “We caught this insane day in Hatteras when it was breaking like Kirra, and Kelly was only, like, 13,” Kechele once recalled. “I was encouraging Kelly and his brother Sean to stick their arm in the wall of the wave and start pumping in the tube. I watched him learn how to ride the barrel that day. He blew me away for sure.” By the time Slater left his mentor at age 16, he had acquired the competitive knowledge and barrel riding skills that helped him go on to win 11 world titles.
Kechele transitioned well into an industry position with a 30-year run as a Quiksilve hire doing grass roots events including surf camps, pro and surf shop events, and created a number of inventive marketing strategies for the brand such as King of the Peak and King of the Groms. Today, Kechele is a leading industry board builder as Matt Kechele Surfboards ranks among the most established and respected surfboard companies on the East Coast. Along with his wife, Diana, they also produce and sell Freak Traction.
A current resident of Melbourne Beach, he is close to his beloved Sebastian Inlet, where he remains one of the best on the peak.
