The year is 2011 and Dane Reynolds is recovering from a high ankle sprain. He has yet to set the world aflame. He is very good, but he’s not “Dane” yet. Still on Quiksilver, yet to stick it to the man. So to recuperate, he hops on a last-minute flight to Salina Cruz and joins a stellar group of pro surfers who are working with Reef: Mick Fanning, Shane Dorian, Jay Thompson, Benny Bosh and … Paul Fisher?
Yes, this was before Paul Fisher became a wildly popular DJ headline at Coachella and lit up music festivals worldwide. Their trip turned into Lost Interest, an underground cult classic that springboarded Dane into the upper echelon of surf lore.
Dane just went back into the archives and published nearly five minutes of unseen footage from that trip that didn’t make the final cut. Even though the waves aren’t top notch, it’s vintage stuff: loose, fast, powerful Dane. The reason Dane pulled this out in the first place is because the Chapter 11 crew are working on a project about an old Channel Islands board model Rob Machado used to ride that Dane dusted off and ripped on in Mexico and beyond.
Dane’s post has stirred plenty of nostalgia online, mostly people saying how stunned they were by how hard Dane ripped. Jimmy Wilson, the photographer for that trip, posted online that “Even though Dane was coming back from injury, he put down some of the best surfing we’d ever seen.”Mick himself chimed in: “The only thing sore on that trip was my brain from exploding watching @sealtooth embarrass us all hahah.”
Here’s the board info from CI’s website: “First released in 1995, this design faded away over the years, only ridden by a select few MTF diehards. Rob Machado’s magic 5’8″ x 18 1/2″ x 2 1/4″ Twinfinner was hidden in our board archives until Dane recently dusted it off and brought it to life. The board Dane chose to ride in the France WCT was a replica of Rob’s MTF, minus the wings. Due to years of ding repair on Rob’s board, the wings had been filled, creating a new tail outline. When Dane asked us to re-make the magic board, this version was the result. Originally designed for smaller surf, the narrow tail and tight swallow still allow it to still be ridden in overhead waves. Low rocker makes the board extremely fast. The twin-fin setup equates to a loose feel, while the small stabilizing fins keep the board solid in the pocket.”
Catch the full “Lost Interest” clip below. I think Dane is due for another Mexico trip soon, no?