When first meeting Pete Slayden, one will immediately feel comfortable around his outgoing and fun presence. It’s hard not to smile because his personality is contagious. Growing up in Pleasant Hill, Missouri, Pete was an avid wrestler. He enlisted in the US Marine Corps at 20 in 2003 as a mechanic. He worked on large Amphibious Assault Vehicles. In 2005, he deployed to Fallujah, Iraq, as a crew chief with responsibilities of recovering damaged vehicles on dangerous missions.
He added a second combat deployment to Al Assad. It was when he was stationed at Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California, when he discovered his passion for surfing.
“When I first started surfing it was a release for me, it was my me-time.” He said, “When I get in the ocean by myself, I feel like I’m disconnected from the world. I’m more worried about being relaxed and focusing on the waves."
Pete submitted an application with One More Wave and soon after he was provided with his own customized surfboard.
“I asked if I could make the board custom glass and C-foam green, because that’s the color of the inside of the vehicles I work on,” the retired Alligator Marine said. “The tail has a checkerboard pattern and an old school single fin like typical longboards. I also have a leash loop and on the bottom block instead of the One More Wave logo it’s a nautical theme of the initials CKIV, paying tribute to Charles Keating IV.”
Pete retired from the Marine Corps and spends his free time wake surfing and raising his family alongside his wife, Ashley, in Missouri.
Story by Matt Fratus