Defecting Greatness
"I put the contest on mute again."
I sat there holding my 6-day-old daughter, a copy of the latest Surfer’s Journal next to me, a book ( Stoner by John Williams — a sparse, devastating read that I’m obsessed with) and as many other physical pieces of media as I could to keep me from scratching my face because I left my phone in another room. I meditated myself back to 2006.
I put Nick Cave’s 7 Psalms record on, perused my new Sofia Coppola Archive and re-upped my subscription to the Criterion Channel (easily the most valuable app your TV can have). The itches for my phone were real, but I managed to flick them off and stay in the moment with my daughter and some old fashioned media.
Inside the new Journal there are some great pieces. The main feature though is a definitive 14-page profile of Dane Reynolds by Tony John Andrews. A daunting and exciting assignment profiling our indie surf lord and savior. Tony called me months ago digging for Dane stories, and he says in the piece that I’m “the writer who has spent the most time with Dane”— two accolades that require a good amount of drinking.
The piece swerves across all the lanes of Dane’s life. Tony critically and closely examines the contradictions that make up the kind of hero he is and celebrates the accolades while pinpointing the poetic nature of independence that is Dane’s existence. It is very well done.
“He’s making things on his terms, in alignment with his vision of what surfing is — an absurd, debauched, occasionally sublime way to rip through life with your fellow misfits” reads one pull quote.
A philosophy I support much more than him investing his money in a Texas Surf Club for elites. Or starting the next Vuori or something. Two things Dane would never do and two things I don’t think we applaud him for enough. Because he’s not as spry as he was when they called him Beaver or as unpredictable as he was when he got the anchor tattoo and started Marine Layer. The dude has 3 kids, rabbits, pigeons, dogs and keeps it raw and prolific at the same time.
Remember when he celebrated his newly inked Quik deal by buying an ‘80s Volvo? The article acknowledges the contradictions that come with being Dane, because I guess it all could have been for show or something but he did still have to drive the Volvo every day…and same goes for Chapter 11. He may not need the money and say what you will about the business model, but Dane himself shows up to the shop, screens your shirt and licks the stamp. That’s about as organic as your t-shirt is gonna get.
His dream to pass on a screenprinted version of surf culture is slipping away at every other level of our industry, and I feel like it was nice to read something that reminds us all that that’s OK. He still reeks of Bakersfield and Ventura and that’s a great thing for us. I like to think we’re all a little more comfortable under the freeway at Emma Wood with Coors Lights than we are sipping a Celcius at Surf Ranch or unboxing a new e-Bike at Trestles.
After I finished the article about Dane, I had plenty to think about. I went back and checked my phone and turned the volume back up on the surf contest. Both were still on but I hadn’t missed a thing.—Travis Ferré
And such is the magic that is Dane Reynolds, I finished typing this today and found the trailer for the upcoming Former film Defect. Dane’s done it again. And again. And again. And again…