Best Sections of All-Time: Dane Reynolds in "Sweet and Tender Hooligan"

As the story goes, Dane Reynolds found the surfboard featured in this part in a heap at the Channel Islands factory. It was an old Rob Machado experiment from back in the day with two large side fins and a small trailer. Pulled in tail, round in the middle and narrowed out the front. It wasn’t exactly pretty either. It was brown and yellow and full of dirty wax — an experiment abandoned.

Dane took it home and the results would alter surfboard shapes for a good decade. In the process, Dane probably ruined more styles than he saved, but it sure was fun to watch him on them. We all tried one of the misfit shapes in the MTF, Dumpster Diver and Neck Beard collections. They were boards that were really fun and springy to ride but kinda…choppy on they eyes. You felt like you were ripping, but only Dane was really ripping.

When this particular part came out it changed my entire outlook on surfing. It roughed everything up. He Bukowski’d surfing. And maybe we needed it. The embarrassments in our quiver moved to the front. From here on out we all looked for our shittiest “toast-oid” in the garage and took them out in any and all conditions, blasting obscure songs by bands like Tickley Feather, Modest Mouse or early Grimes and we’d always throw a couple Coors Lights in the trunk and troll the lot after.

We’ve all grown up a bit and cleaned up our act and some of you even ride sophisticated mid-lengths that cost 2k and have gloss polish I’m sure, but part of me is starting to get the itch to hack the tail off my board and snap a cold one and take the pressure off a little. Never forget. Didn’t hurt that he found a sneaky good song from The Smiths that fit the part perfectly. —Travis