Kelly Slater asked the legendary Al Merrick to shape one more surfboard, the last of his life, for his son Tao.

As he told Stab in the second episode of Stab in the Dark, he was with the Channel Island founder looking at old boards a month before filming the content and asked him to make one more board, the last one for his son.

“I asked him and he kind of dodged the question,” Kelly says.

Merrick had retired several years ago and left the business in the hands of his son, Britt.

According to what they say, on more than one occasion the retreat went to Texas where they set up a church.

There is no information on what he is doing now exactly.

Merrick was Slater's shaper for each of his eleven world titles and is therefore the most fruitful relationship in history between a shaper and a surfer.