The Pick Up: Dane Reynolds And The Most Famous 7.33 In History

Welcome to Vans x Stab‘s “The Pick Up”, this is the first of an ongoing series featuring of those bright moments in the Triple Crown of Surf you’ve, maybe, forgotten. Cue the nostalgia! 

Over the course of Dane Reynolds’ career, he’s continually redefined what is “cool” (like, for a brief moment, fanny packs), what is “lame” (surfing at 75% to win heats), and what is “progressive” in the sport of surfing.

At the 2012 Reef Hawaiian Pro, Dane changed the way we perceive the concept of a “turn”. Taking off on an inside closeout, one might have expected Dane to try an air off Haleiwa’s toilet-bowl section. Instead, and perhaps because of a prevailing down-the-line wind (bad for airs), Dane kept himself below the lip and altered surf history with a revolutionary turning maneuver. He scored a whopping 7.33. 

The turn could be described as a full-bore layback, except for the fact that Dane’s momentum never allowed him to fall against the wave face. Instead, when pushing through the lip with his back foot, Dane shifted his front foot toward the nose, thus providing a new pivot point on his board. When regaining connection with the face, Dane absorbed the landing with front foot, regained his balance, and rotated back forward as opposed to “reversing” the maneuver. Riding out of the whitewater, Dane left the surfing world in awe.

It could be argued that a turn of this magnitude has yet to be replicated, though some of the world’s best (namely John, Jordy, and of course Dane) have done noteworthy impressions. Thanks to this manoeuvre, it’s now common to see today’s kids laying into sections that were once just a means to a weightless spin. For that, we are grateful.

Thanks to the WSL and Mini Blanchard for providing the footage.