The Vans x Drag Collab is Garishly Good - Stab Mag

Live Now — Episode 3 Of Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico

412 Views

The Vans x Drag Collab is Garishly Good

Flames galore.

style // Feb 18, 2021
Words by Alistair Klinkenberg
Reading Time: 3 minutes

If you’d told Drag they’d be doing a Vans collab when they started then guaranteed they would’ve laughed.

Probably still are. Surfing tried so hard for so long that it’s not surprising that a “company” (for tax purposes) based on fun came along and made people take note. This Vans collab is just the latest installment.

Flames have been in and out so often we might as well accept they’re here to stay.

The link between north Wollongong industrial estate soft board specialists Drag, and the fourth biggest shoe manufacturer in the world, is a curious one on paper. But it absolutely works, coming about organically through the Drag family’s longterm friendship with Vans rider Harry Bryant.

“Yeah a bunch a plebs from the Bellambi housos designing a range with a top tier footwear label is pretty fucken wild,” says Drag overlord, know only as “Maddog.”

Trunks you’d get away with sporting just about anywhere.

Whilst we’re on the subject, a personal bravo to Vans for continuing to throw cash at an eclectic bunch of surfers, like Harry, who act as touch points for the more relatable aspects of professional surfing for us mortals.

Stab nor Vans condones chain sawing in slides, but Drag says go for it.

The collab features some Drag takes on Vans classics (flamey sk8-Hi, long sleeves that look like they fell off the vintage rack) and some more bespoke items, fit for hunting slabs in the harshest climates (legionnaires hat for maximum sun protection in and out of the water, booties for clomping over the rocks/fishin/surfin/boatin etc.).

Vans x Drag legionnaires and booties = rock shelf tested gear.

Sure you’ve had a gut full of us praising the Vans surf booties, but I texted Ryan Sewell (the gent pictured above) out of Stab-context and asked whether they made him go faster and he said, “Aye bra, yeah they’re real sick!” So there you have it.

Haz cast.

When pushed for his pick, Maddog points to the Vans x Drag Ultrarange EXO, or the “Junkie Sports Shoe,” as he calls it. “We couldn’t believe Vans let us make that,” says Maddog. “Was kinda nerve racking pushing the button on it, potential full The Homer moment, but dero chic is big, especially in Italy. They’re designed for quick getaways with flatscreens on your back.”

The “Junkie sports shoe”.

If you want to get your hands on the swag then head to Vans (if you’re in Oz, try Drag or your nearest quality surf shop)

Comments

Comments are a Stab Premium feature. Gotta join to talk shop.

Already a member? Sign In

Want to join? Sign Up

Advertisement

Most Recent

Correction: J-Bay All Foreplay, No Climax

Slim pickings on Day 1 of the Corona Cero Open J-Bay 2025.

Jul 11, 2025

What Do Hollywood, Surf Lessons, Michael Jackson And Traction Pads Have In Common?

A Stab Interview with Teva Dexter, the man behind surfing's hardest new hardware brand —…

Jul 10, 2025

Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico: Episode 3

"The tribe has spoken," Dane Reynolds pronounced, and a surfer's torch was snuffed.

Jul 10, 2025

How Josh Ku Nearly Died Trying To Cross From Ulus to G Land by Hydrofoil

“If someone finds me dead at least they can find my phone and know what…

Jul 10, 2025

Expect No Kiss, All Climax At The “World’s Most Perfect Pointbreak”

A Corona Cero Open J-Bay 2025 preview.

Jul 9, 2025

SEOTY: Liam O’Brien stars in ‘Friction of Perception’

"Hopefully I don’t come across like too much of a peanut."

Jul 8, 2025

10 Shapers To Watch In The Next 10 Years — Part One

“It’s like a drug empire, man. Cut the head off the snakes, and more will…

Jul 7, 2025

Mason Ho Joins Ritual Vision, Releases Remix Of Greatest Hits

Dion Agius riffs on the eyewear brand’s U.S. expansion, Ritualistic Tendencies, and the new stars…

Jul 7, 2025

Is It Time For A New Judging Format?

We have a modest proposal — a WSL head judge disagrees.

Jul 7, 2025

Luke Thompson Turns Last Year’s Priority Disaster Into Ballito Gold

+ earns himself a wildcard into Jbay.

Jul 7, 2025

Fiji Has Its First Professional Surfer, And He’s Unbelievable

16-year-old James Kusitino’s incomprehensible tube lounging leads to a deal with Former.

Jul 6, 2025

Laird Hamilton on The Limitations of Being a Purist, Invention vs. Ownership + Why He Never Had a Sticker Deal 

Untold stories from his How Surfers Get Paid interview.

Jul 4, 2025

When Surfer’s Eye Is Actually Cancer

Erin Campbell's brutal journey from surf camp dreams to chemo drops, cryotherapy, and surgical horror.

Jul 3, 2025

Surfing’s 2025 Q2 Report

An assessment of surfing's vital signs throughout the second quarter of 2025.

Jul 2, 2025

What Actually Happened to Occy’s Mad Max Plunger Pool In Yeppoon?

Surf Lakes’ brass talks: internet hecklers, the unplugging of the plunger, and the Tom Curren…

Jul 2, 2025

Poor Goofy Foots 

Data shows that the world is stacked against goofs — they even make 15% less money than…

Jul 1, 2025

Britain’s First Wavepool Has Closed — What Really Happened?

Bankruptcy, social media hackings, debts unpaid — and yet, reopening looms.

Jul 1, 2025

Watch: Was Matt Meola’s Air Actually Better Than Hughie’s?

Watch the full Swatch Nines highlight reel and decide.

Jun 30, 2025
Advertisement