Warning: Defective
At long last, Defect, a full length team surf film by FORMER, is landing.
In 2024, I remember hearing word (hushed between Craig and Austyn in the back of a van like creepy little schemers) that a major project like this was in progress, and how happy I am to know that what I heard while hiding under their seats has turned out to be true. Watch the trailer above, and read a letter from our friend and FORMER team rider Shaun Manners, below.
Hello friends of FORMER,
FORMER team rider Shaun Manners here. I’m writing to you all to address… or better yet explain, what has been happening behind the scenes in the making of the new FORMER team movie (release date June this year).
This film, which has been a long time coming, features Dane Reynolds, Craig Anderson, Ben Howard, Jake Kelley, Jay Davies, Kaito Ohashi, Gabe Morvil, Dion Agius, Dillon Perillo, James Kustino, Timo Simmers, Matt Hoy, Kai McKenzie and yours truly. Quite the line-up of athletes you might be thinking to yourself, why’s it taking so long…Now listen. It’s not as easy as you tradesmen 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 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 tailed 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 snapped his ankle and punctured a lung, on two separate occasions. Craig did his knee so bad he couldn’t walk, and then suffered a broken wrist. Dane recovered from the injury I mentioned above, then broke his foot on a more recent swell chase. And me? Well I’ve been dealing with some annoying little tears here and there over the past 12 months, and now find myself managing some pretty serious concussion recovery after I managed to knee myself in the chin while pulling into a 3-foot backside tube in Europe. It’s always the small ones that get you. A few months down the track, and I’m reduced to surfing only small and “fun” waves, while a full recovery is slow but on the horizon.
With all that said, let me make this clear: NONE of these injuries will be used as excuses for a low-quality surf film or a sub-par delivery. This team will provide the goods. There has been a cut-off date for filming put in place, and Dane has been locked in the warehouse with Hunter piecing it all together.
This will be our first movie since System Is Yours back in 2022. Sure, we’re older but like a good wine, we’re better. Prepare yourself for something special from a line up of surfers who you know will bring it.
Until next time.
Shaun.
