Former Takes The Gloves Off, Drops First Proper Surf Team Film 

From the clutter of Dane Reynolds’ garage to center stage of the Majestic Ventura Theater, Former has come a long way since its arrival in 2017. 

In those early days, the notion of a feature length film maxing out a 1,200 capacity theater was a far cry, at best. After numerous stutter steps, product launches, inventory shortages, and Dane becoming a one-man-ecom-army for an entire year, Former is in a much steadier place. A legit surf movie with an A-grade team in pumping waves seems a fitting occasion to celebrate that.

“Those first few years we were just trying our best to sell collections, make videos, build hype around it, and get people to see the brand,” Former co-founder Craig Anderson said. “It’ll be 10 years next year. It doesn’t feel real we’ve come this far. Honestly, there’s been moments when I thought we weren’t going to work through this financially. We were in debt, Dane repurposed all this product from his garage, and he worked through all that through his dedication.”

With the surf film buzz still lingering from the online drop of Ritualistic Tendencies, Former released its first major team film last Saturday: Defect, starring Dane, Craig, Shaun Manners, Timo Simmers, Dion Agius, Benny Howard, Jay Davies, Dillon Perillo, Gabe Morvil, Jake Kelley, James Kusitino, Kai MacKenzie, Matt Hoy and Kaito Ohashi. An expanded roster and more complete package than System Is Yours in 2022. Most of the team attended the world prem inside Ventura’s downtown theater. For those at the heart of it, the moment felt like a milestone. 

“Tonight, seeing a full-length film with a group of surfers I love and care about on a big screen with a packed house cheering and hooting, I never thought we’d get to this point,” Craig said. 

Defect’s strength is its cast and the way members are compared/contrasted session after session. It does a great job pairing surfers together and showcasing differences in style and technique in real time. And despite what Dane tells us on Stabmic, it’s all done in very good waves.

Jake Kelley makes it his personal vendetta to backhand slap Barra. Timo Simmers’ light-footed and spontaneous flair complements Dane’s dogged grab-rail cutbacks (which has serious Marine Layer energy and brought the house down). Shaun Manners dodges decapitation at Shipstern Bluff and floats giant straight airs at North Point. And Jay Davies stored up enough remarkable backless barrels to have his own edit (which Former is currently working on, thank you very much).

Maybe it was the 930 $2 beers Former acquired before the show, or perhaps it was the ode to homegrown talent in the movie, but the crowd was vocal for the duration of the 40-minute feature — and there were plenty of reasons to do so.

One moment that was particularly memorable: the (re) introduction of James Kusitino. His completely original tube technique was a first for some viewers. A group sitting next to me had never seen or heard of James before and practically fell out of their seats. Even knowing what to expect from Fiji’s first pro surfer, his Cloudbreak clips were still mesmerizing. For the live crowd, expletives dropped like water from the tap. 

“It’s basically a group of friends who we respect and back their surfing,” said Dane, who was everywhere at once on Saturday night, from overseeing merch sales to running the raffle. “It’s just grown into this eclectic and cool surfing family. This is basically a compilation of everyone’s surfing over the last year they submitted to us. And I think it’s pretty insane.” 

The film had its setbacks, namely a slew of injuries across the roster. Dane’s broken foot in Indo. Craig’s busted foot in Chile. Shaun’s concussion in Ireland. Dion even punctured a lung snowboarding in the Alps. Defect playfully hints at the physical toll it took to make the film without at all feeling woe-is-we. 

“Dane’s really good at storytelling even when it seems like there’s not much of a story,” said Hunter Martinez, the film’s director and man behind much of Former and Chapter 11 TV’s creative output. “I’ve learned a lot from him, whether it’s putting in a wipeout or a guy pulling back. It tells a story. With everyone’s footage in this film, I took some notes from Dane on how to tell the story of each trip and give each person a spotlight.”

For some of Former team, their waves were the result of well-earned PTO. Jay Davies still works on a tugboat out of Perth. Gabe Morvil is training to be an electrician in North Carolina. Benny Howard is a long-haul trucker on Australian highways. When he’s not producing in Hollywood, Jake Kelley has become a de-facto Former warehouse manager, shipping merch out of Ventura next to Dane. Yet when proper waves arrive, they all sink their teeth in.

“It’s funny, in the moment it felt like we were getting skunked,” Jake said. “Looking back on it, we did get good waves. We went to Mexico twice and it felt like we couldn’t win. Wrong place, wrong time, dominated by the crowd. But I will say, there are some amazing waves in this film.”

For fans of the sublime, Craig’s last section in Fiji hits like top shelf whiskey. He rides an assortment of craft (including an asym Burch) at fast, roping Cloudbreak. The results are exactly as good as the image in your head. It’s the kind of intentional, enduring surfing that should serve as a reference point for years to come. Craig was also in high demand throughout the night. He was constantly surrounded by fans — from kids wanting an autograph to old men complimenting his single-fin sensibilities. Despite working through jet lag and a late-night evening with the team, Craig was gracious and courteous to all. 

Defect will be screening in Newport on June 18 and Oceanside on June 19. Then, live shows on the US East Coast and Australia before it drops online in August.