Dan is different. The Ventura ripper grew up in a surfing family, had some competitive success, and was a regular in Taylor Steele's early videos. He had big sponsors that featured him in countless advertisements around the world. Then one day he just decided he was over it. He stopped surfing contests, chasing photos and basically being a run-of-mill pro surfer.

Since then he been working on several envirnmental projects and experimenting with board design. He was one of the first pros to trade in his standard shortboard for diferent variations of twinnies and single-fins. He also has been working with his main, very different sponsor, Patagonia, on new more eco-friendly methods of board construction. Dan currently lives in Ventura with his brother, Keith, and is still ripping on whatever he chooses to ride.