Dane Reynolds vs Speculation
Derek Hynd's take on Reynolds in our 2010 Big Issue. Photo: Brewer/Hoover
Dane Reynolds’ career as a WCT mainstay sparked controversy recently when his commitment to the tour was called into question. The topic led Reynolds to point a finger (namely the middle one) at Australia’s Stab Magazine. “Stab=sensationalistic scummy journalism” is scrawled in sharpie on the first page of Dane’s blog, MarineLayerProductions.com, along with an explanation of why he feels his toes have been stepped on.
Stab is claiming in an article written by Jed Smith that Dane has plans for early retirement, but Reynolds doesn’t seem to like other people’s words in his mouth. Speculation may be a little intriguing, but what is more intriguing is how Dane is using his blog to combat the speculation that constantly surrounds his competitive career. There is no quoting out of context. Everything that he says is as clear as he wants it to be, and often times spelled out in bold magic markers for good measure.
The discussion of Dane’s potential and competitive future was actually sparked here in the pages of SURFER, when Derek Hynd discussed the question marks hovering around his career in our 2010 Big Issue. Dane addressed the issue in typical fashion: by putting his thoughts out into cyberspace. The surfing world can act like an echo chamber, and it was only a matter of time before Hynd and Reynolds hashed things out over a few emails.
The blogosphere today is the equivalent of a global megaphone. It is a forum that Dane Reynolds, and others, use to answer questions directly and dull the speculative roar. Although there are still many questions floating around Dane’s competitive future, we can at least breathe a small sigh of relief knowing that that’s all they are.
Dane Reynolds prepares for a finless surf session. Photo: Ellis
Dane giving Derek Hynd a run for his money. Photo: Ellis
Comments
April 28, 2011 1:46 pm
Dane’s love for surfing is without question and his abilities are beyond anyone reading this. Let him surf what he wants and compete if he wants. Either way he is sure to gain more eyes to his Free blog then Stab will to their magazine by year end 2012.
November 18, 2010 3:17 am
Amen John Johnston, at least some journalists elicit responses from their subjects.
November 18, 2010 2:47 am
Right on, Tom…actually the new issue of Surfing has a great article on Cyrus Sutton and Ryan Burch that reinforces the movement.
November 18, 2010 1:08 am
Writers writing about what someone wrote about a writer. (And now I’m writing about it) Boy, there really isnt much going on in modern surfing. I’ll check back up in a decade.
November 17, 2010 7:02 pm
The finless thing is here to stay. The fact is that they are really fun to ride in small waves! Maybe Dane is pointing a new direction for pro surfing by trying new equipment. Maybe pro surfing would be more fun if new equipment wasn’t laughed at (see the Derek piece on Dane’s blog). Free surfing is a lot more fun when riding lots of different boards. Tom Wegener
November 17, 2010 6:14 pm
Blogs. The Internet. Here’s another interesting take on the fallout: http://www.theinertia.com/business-media/dane-reynolds-quit-tour-stab-sensationalist-surfjournalism/