How do you define style? We’ve been diving into this topic lately for an upcoming project and it’s a tricky thing to describe.

There are only a handful of names that come top of mind when you think of style. Gerry Lopez, Wayne Lynch, Tom Curren, Steph Gilmore and more recently Ethan Ewing. A few more sit atop the short list of style masters in my book and it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what makes someone’s style worth talking about but it seems to boil down to making the difficult look easy. That can be maxing No Kandui on a 5 foot something Hypto or punting in tiny beach break shorebreak — something Craig Anderson has been making look far too easy the last decade.

Since Craig’s cameo appearance in Kai Neville’s breakout film Modern Collective, he’s been mesmerizing us with his calm and stylish demeanor. He has the classic throwback fundamentals to his surfing with a progressive element that makes it a way all his own.

Not long after Modern Collective released, Craig was starring in films, featured in magazine articles, and becoming a staple in any conversation of style or really anything relevant in surfing at the time. Everyone loves Craig, and if you know him you love him even more.

With the help of Marine Layer Productions and Dane Reynolds, he began to work on his first feature film, Slowdance.

The 30-minute film also features, Dane, Ozzie, Occy, Matt Hoy, Dion and a few others, as they travel through Tahiti, India, Africa, Australia and other unassuming places. We gain a little perspective from Craig’s interview conducted by Dane.

I wanted to highlight this section from France with Craig and Dion because at times it feels like the waves I’ve been surfing around home to some degree. Dumpy little shorebreak runners breaking right on the sand.

Head down to your nearest french bakery and grab yourself a baguette and enjoy.—Brandon Guilmette

A quote from Dion about Craig after a session on a borrowed board after a big night.

“Craig had been sitting for a bit chatting with the old boy and this four foot set comes and Craig just stroked into ths thing, took off, did a little high-line to get his speed and then it was just… you know when you watch someone who’s a really good surfer feel out a board? Well Craig did that and something just locked in, right from that first high-line and by the time he pulled off Grady and I just looked at each other and said, “ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING? THAT WAS THE MOST PERFECT SURFING I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE!”

This whole wave there was not one limb out of place, there was not one pump that didn’t need to be there, if he needed speed he’d just lower his centre of gravity or push off the right rail, there were so many nuances gathering speed and doing jives that were the most functional things ever. And I’m not joking, he nearly did nothing this entire wave. There were probably five direction changes on this wave that weren’t even turns, they were like high-lines to floaters to cut-down bottom turns. It was crazy, like nothing I’d ever seen before. He just danced across this perfect left on the most beautiful day in front of these old boys that sat there as mesmerised as we were. He pulled off and I was flipping gobsmacked. Grady and I were sitting there wondering, what did we just witness?

It was the perfect line and I can honestly say I’ve never seen anybody ride a wave as beautifully as he rode that one. He was feeling out this board and the wave was the perfect mix of speedy and slow and he was magical, he didn’t do anything but every movement was so in tune with the wave and the board and it blew me away.”