Channel Island's current leader, Britt Merrick, spoke out strongly against Slater's company: "I love Kelly like a brother, but he's a competitor, and I'd be completely happy if he went bankrupt (laughs). Is this wrong? Am I saying something wrong?" he said on the new edition of Stab in the Dark, Stab's shapers competition.

Slater was preparing to test Merrick's board, and in the Stab edition, the episode began with those statements.

This edition of Stab in the Dark features the five winners of previous SITD editions: Merrick himself, Biolos, DHD, Zouvi, Pyzel, and a wildcard for Firewire and Slater Designs shaper Dan Mann; and the test pilot is Slater.

Merrick is the son of Al, founder of Channel Island surfboards with which Slater won his eleven world titles.

Then Slater bought Firewire and founded a division called Slater Designs in which he uses various shapers, with Mann being one of the most used.

Regarding this, Merrick Jr. in Stab in the Dark recounts that there were maneuvers by Slater that he did not feel were transparent with the family, and that there were conversations behind their backs that were not well received.

Slater, looking surprised, said that he wasn't really aware of this and that he made sure his relationship with Al always remained good, that Al told him that business is business and personal matters are personal.

Britt asserted that the relationship is not 1% what it used to be.

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