Dane Reynolds, backlit nosepick, Hawaii

As was noted here, Dane Reynolds is in Hawaii with the top down and his ears pinned back, kinda quietly having a serious dig at the Triple Crown. Or not, who even knows? “It’s pretty tough being a wildcard out there,” said Mr Reynolds after winning his Haleiwa heat. “Not so much in this event, but in the WCTs because you’re going up against the top seed first round and its pretty daunting. I was actually thinking out there after the first couple exchanges… I’d get eaten alive on the WQS, because I’m so bad at positioning and paddling and that is such an key element in competing in four man heats.” Whatever Dane says, errbody knows he can do it if he keeps tuning back up after his injury, as he has been. But let’s pull focus on this moment: “I was having a hard time lining up with Dane,” says Laserwolf, who shot this. “I’d shoot the right, he’d go left. I’d swim over to the left and he’d go right. The afternoon light was pretty harsh but I finally kinda lined up with him on this one. Dane’s been at the super sand bar grovelling all week on some funky short board that he probably shaped himself while the rest of us were playing around on soft tops and long boards. He seems fired up and it would be rad to see him do well out here this year.”