Prerequisites for riding for Former: – Must be able to hang on trips – Must be willing to sleep on the floor of a warehouse That’s about it. Before you volunteer your soul, there’s also the unspoken requirement that Dane Reynolds and Craig Anderson respect your surfing. Yep. It’s alright. Sit back down.
There’s a seat here, still warm, right next to me. Since this weekly chat began, we’ve been trying to pry the story of Former out of Dane. He usually gives us a few scraps before laughing about the various ways the business nearly imploded. This week he’s joined by longtime friend and business partner, Craig Anderson, a relationship that stretches back to the Modern Collective days, before the birth of their long-running creative alliance at Quiksilver.
The pair unpack the many occasions Former almost failed, did fail, or found itself staring directly at the abyss. At one point the company was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and operating out of Dane’s garage. Despite a career spent brushing up against extinction, Former is still here today, more air in the lungs now, beating harder than it ever has. They also discuss the future of the brand, the makings of their new film, Defect, their years together at Quik, signing Elijah Berle following his online spat with Austyn Gillette, and the lasting impact of the late Dylan Rieder on the brand, the business, and the people around it. Episode 19. One of my favourites, for whatever that’s worth.