FORMER PRESENTS DEFECT

28 Aug FORMER PRESENTS DEFECT

Hello friends of FORMER…FORMER team rider Shaun Manners here. I’m writing to you all to address… or better yet explain, what was happening behind the scenes in the making of the new FORMER team movie DEFECT that we just released online. Around a week ago to be exact.

This film features Dane Reynolds, Craig Anderson, Ben Howard, Jake Kelley, Jay Davies, Kaito Ohashi, Gabe Morvil, Dion Agius, Dillon Perillo, James Kusitino, Timo Simmers, Matt Hoy, Kai McKenzie and yours truly. Quite the line-up of athletes you might be thinking to yourself….so why did it take so long???…

Now listen. It’s not as easy as you think it is to make a full-length surf movie. Flight prices are through the roof, making travel close to unaffordable. The once barren lineups we used to take refuge in are now littered with intermediate-level narcissists gagging themselves with the new GoPro 13! Every swell is turning into a ‘news event’ for the next vlogger to turn into a million views! And lastly, (and maybe the most dangerous hurdle us semi-pro surfers have to jump over) the stoic local; He is finally seeing red as he spots that cameraman and the team walking down the beach ready to try lock in a section to expose to the world. The straw that has broken the camel’s back.

And amongst all that shit… injuries! Our beloved team has been cursed with them. Some of them very painful indeed. One particular incident I recall was caused by me, the writer of this very essay! After being asked if the incoming wave was a “goer,” I said “yes”, and then I watched one of my bosses, one of my idols, and one of the founders of this very brand, limp and spit his way back to the boat blood trailing behind him in the water. Dane had hit the reef quite well, and all because I told him to “Go!”

This is just the start. We’ve barely turned the first page. Jay tore his bicep off the bone defending himself from a friendly submission attempt. And once he recovered, I watched him slam into the reef one wild and windy morning out The Box, breaking his gigantic, pre-historic and what I thought were “unbreakable” ribs.

Dion punctured a lung. Craig did his ankle and then his knee so bad he couldn’t walk, and then did his wrist. Dane recovered from the injury I mentioned above, then broke his foot on a swell chase in Portugal. Fiji James headbutt the reef in Tahiti getting stitches from back to front. And me? Well I’ve been dealing with some annoying little tears here and there, and also spent a good while managing a pretty serious concussion recovery after I managed to knee myself in the chin while pulling into a 3-foot backside tube in Europe. Like they say…It’s always the small ones that get you.

With all that said, let me make this clear: NONE of these injuries were used as excuses for a low-quality surf film or a sub-par delivery. This team provided the goods. There was a cut-off date for filming put in place, and Dane was locked in the warehouse with Hunter where they pieced it all together. Then we took it on the road. All across the world. Ventura. New York. New Jersey. Newcastle. Gold Coast. Wollongong. Hossegor. Portugal. Uluwatu. Jake Kelley didn’t injure himself in the making of the film but he needed a month off just from the tour.

This movie is our best work to date. Sure, we’re older but like a good wine, we’re better. If you’ve watched it. I hope you enjoyed it. If you haven’t watched it… WATCH IT HERE… And I hope you enjoy it too.

Shaun.