Lazer Breathing Dragons is…it’s different. Cinematically, parts of it look like 1987’s Masters of the Universe swapped out Dolf Lundgren pointing his Power Sword toward the sky with Tom Curren strumming a fire and lazer-shooting electric guitar from the hood of a Jeep. Oh, and since the word “dragons” is in the title we can’t forget that there are dragons (the ghost kind) flying overhead while the former world champ takes a break from selling soup to riff that magical guitar.
Since I know I have never seen those things or had to write that sentence while summarizing any part of a surf flick, yes, Lazer Breathing Dragons is different — a 15-minute short featuring Curren, Steph Gilmore, and Mason Ho on Rip Curl’s The Search. Then again, filmmakers Nick Pollet and Vaughan Blakey paint outside the lines as it is and welcoming new styles and creativity into any kind of filmmaking is a net-positive.
Behind the visual aspect of it all, however, is the opportunity to share at least part of Gilmore’s story this past year. The eight-time world champion did just walk away from the CT in 2024 only a year removed from her most recent world title. It’s fair to ask what any 36-year-old athlete has left in the tank when it comes to their will to compete. Gilmore made her first CT appearance in 2005 as a wildcard and won her first world title just two years later. It’s actually amazing that after those two decades at the top of the sport, this season away from the world tour grind presented its first real opportunity for the longtime Rip Curl athlete to take part in the company’s signature campaign, The Search.
“I said I was taking a year-long sabbatical from competition and I still have hopes and dreams on that side of things, so the plan is to come back in 2025 and see where I’m at,” Gilmore told The Inertia back in June.
The film doesn’t press hard for a new answer or for her to go into more detail about her 2025 plans, only giving a few soundbites of Steph assuring that she’s enjoying this new chapter.
“All my life I’ve surfed with primarily one major purpose. To go fast with fierceness and style. That was my purpose,” she says. “I don’t know what is next for me. I don’t know what is next for my surfing. But I’m very excited about it. That is my Search.”
