Dern Brothers Talk Going Pro, Pushing Limits, and Why They Trust Remind Insoles in New 'Dialed In'

The Dern brothers have been ripping for years, pushing each other to go bigger, skate harder, and keep the session as fun as possible. As our newest team riders, we recently caught up with Dalton and Kanaan Dern—two of the three Dern Brothers—to talk about turning pro together, their experiences skating with Bam Margera, and how Remind Insoles have kept them rolling strong—both on and off the board. 

Whether they’re tackling some terrifying terrain, breezing through long sessions, or just keeping their feet feeling right day to day, these brothers know firsthand the difference the right insoles can make. Dive in and hear what the brothers have to say about their pro journey and why they trust Remind to keep them going.

For starters, what are your favorite personal video parts that you’ve put out? If you need to pick two, that’s fine!

Dalton: 

I’m torn between two parts. My first one, which is probably the one that’s most brought up, would probably be Daylando—I consider this my first video part I really filmed and worked on for a few years with a lot of good friends growing up in Florida. TJ Gaskill filmed and directed the whole thing. We had parts from Blake Carpenter, my brother [Kanaan] had a part, and a few other dudes. But that part was when I felt like I really started doing it and was taking a lot of my go-to tricks to the streets. So I’d say that one.

Going down the road a little further, the one that I probably worked on the hardest and put the most into was Lifeblood’s  “Service for the Sick”—I was sponsored by Lifeblood Skateboards out of Portland, Oregon for a few years and came out with two different video parts with them. But that one, I was definitely trying to raise my personal bar with street skating. I was skating 20 rails and even got a 33-rail in that part, which is still my record for rails. So those two parts definitely mean the most to me where I saw the progression. 

Kanaan:

I’d probably go with my 3Chip video part. It came out when I was 20 years old and I felt like that was the first video part where I kind of gave it everything I had and want to say “put me on the map” a little bit. A lot of people saw it. Jamie Thomas actually saw it and liked it so much that he actually ended up making a re-edit of the part as my first video that went on Thrasher. And also my “Painkiller” part was my first legit Zero part, so that one means a lot to me. 

On the heels of that, what are one or two of your most memorable clips you've secured from the past year or so? I know this one might be hard to choose. 

Dalton:

Going off the ‘Encinitas Sign’ for our Dern Brothers Spot History video—that was a game-changer day, like we really felt the magic of a video being made. And that video took off for us as well. It was around the beginning of when we started really getting the ball rolling on all these things and then all the stoke that I got from the skateboarding community—and the world—on that one was major. Plus, I just always wanted to go off that sign. So definitely that. 

And then anything from the last few years of Swamp Fest has been something everyone always loves asking me about. And it seems like going there has always been good for my career, all the coverage I get out of that. I’ve been filming these new parts the last few years, too, so I can’t wait for all the big stuff that I’ve been working on to come out. 

Kanaan:

Let’s go with the rainbow rail I did in Hawaii. I got a really sick slam—in fact, the slam might be better than the make, in my opinion—but yeah I got that slam and was like I gotta land it now, so these can go together [laughs]. My back truck slipped out of the 5050 and I just flipped into the water. I was always stoked on that one. And just being in Hawaii was amazing, too. 

You both obviously skate super gnarly in your own unique ways—what are your favorite Remind insoles and what are a few of the benefits you’ve found by using them?

Dalton:

Definitely just the noticeable difference from when I walk around with just stock insoles compared to Remind, it’s a huge game-changer. They not only help my feet, but my back as well—from head to toe, they’re aligning me with comfort and helping me take more blows and jump off things even more. I also started noticing that when I’m hurt walking around wearing Remind, I heal a lot faster. I’ve actually been testing all the new ones right now, just trying to see which ones work best for me, but lately I’ve been stoked on the Cush. I have a really high arch and I’ve noticed over the past few years that my feet will just be aching like crazy in the arches. So when I use Remind insoles, they help alleviate that pain, and I didn’t realize how important that was until trying them. It’s just been a game-changer. 

Kanaan:

My favorite Remind insoles are the Cush Impact—the 7mm, they’re the thickest ones—and for my skating that’s what I need. I’m jumping down stairs and jumping off stuff all the time, so being able to walk away from a session without a heel bruise is so important. I wanna be able to skate every day, so having Remind insoles is super beneficial. Comfortability is key, I love wearing them. The only time I’m not wearing them is if I’m walking on the beach [laughs]. 

I know you guys have talked about this a lot, but how rad was it turning pro together? Were you both genuinely surprised? Did you have any idea the surprise was going down?

Dalton:

Dude, not at all! Everyone killed it so hard. Shoutout to Destin [Dern] for all the hard work he put in organizing that. Shoutout Fos, obviously, and Jamie [Thomas] for working together. It was a dream come true to go pro with Kanaan. We always kind of hoped for something like that, but we never knew, you know? I didn’t see it coming at all and never would’ve thought it’d be at OC Ramps. I thought I was gonna have to finish this Heroin part I’m working on, finish this Fallen part I’m working on—and thought it might happen at the Fallen premiere—but it just happened right before our eyes and I had no idea. 

I had a little thing planned with OC Ramps that day, but when they said they were going to make an announcement, I was like this is weird…why are they making a big deal about this? Then they said, “The Dern Brothers are going pro!” And at first I was confused. All the Zero guys were up front and I was all hyped like, “Hell yeah! Kanaan’s pro!” But then I was like, they said Dern Brothers, and then sure enough all the Heroin dudes rolled in and I saw the boards. I promised myself I wouldn’t cry but I couldn’t help it. Just wanting and dreaming of that moment for so long, I still can’t even believe it happened. Still feels like it happened yesterday. It’s given me this second push in life and that feeling is just insane. My life changed overnight and every day has been better since. 

Kanaan:

I had no idea! And I was sort of feeling down because I had been trying a trick earlier that day and didn’t land it, but it was like a complete flip of emotions, like that didn’t even matter anymore—I just turned pro. It was something I’ve dreamed of my whole life, and to go pro with my brother and knowing how bad he wanted it too, I just couldn’t imagine a better scenario for us to turn pro. Everyone did an amazing job, it was so cool. My family flew out, my friends flew out, so just having everyone there to celebrate…I’ll remember that moment for the rest of my life. 

I have to ask what it was like skating Castle Bam and building all that new stuff with him recently. And what's it like filming and skating with a legend like Bam Margera, just in general? 

Dalton:

Ever since meeting him back during Covid, it’s been like a regular thing. Sometimes we see him a few times a week, sometimes it’s every few weeks, or a month or whatever, but a lot of times our lives will just align in the same place. He’s been in California the last few days and I was just talking to him this morning about going skating. He’s actually going back to Florida in a few days and I was like, “I’m going next week, too!” So yeah, ever since Brandon Novak introduced us at his house we just hit it off and stayed in touch with him. He’s been an amazing friend to have. But yeah that whole video, we always planned on doing something like that. Over the summer, Kanaan and I were there for a few weeks and Destin ended up staying even longer getting as much coverage as he possibly could. The fire just kept going over there. Every day was just like waking up and being in a movie. Skating with him is unreal. If you were to tell me 10 years ago that I’d be doing all this stuff with him, I wouldn’t even believe it. It’s like he came straight out of the TV and he’s just in our lives, it’s insane. Super good human being. Amazing friend. He’s been skating every single day and it’s so sick to see. He’s in super good shape and just super fired up right now. I’m stoked to see where he keeps it going. 

Kanaan:

Yeah, I trip out about it all the time, like, “This is crazy…I’m skating with Bam Margera right now!?” Being at his house, too, it’s just so historic. You feel like you’re in a museum, and you’re like, “Whoa, I remember this from the show,” and all these different things. It just gives you more of a reason to go even harder when you’re there. 

Can you tell me three skaters who are getting you stoked right now?

Dalton:

I’ll forever say Tony Hawk, because he inspired a lot of my skating. And he’s just the best skateboarding role model overall. Greyson Fletcher has really been getting me fired up, everything he’s been doing at events and how big he can go. Other than that, literally everybody. All of my friends. Just seeing how gnarly everyone is getting always motivates me. 

Kanaan:

Gotta go with Jamie Foy—two-time SOTY. I love skating with Jamie. The stuff he can do on a skateboard, like first try—I skated with him the other day and he switch flip front 50’d a box first try, and I was like, “I’ve never even seen you do that before.” He’s amazing. Um, I’ll go with Brandon Burleigh. He skates very similarly to me and I love skating rails with him. He always gets me fired up. And then, I’ll go with Tommy Sandoval. I grew up watching Tommy so skating with him is a trip as well. Just seeing him still go for it as his age is super inspiring, like wow, this career can really go longer than most thought it could. 

Well, again, we're so stoked to have you guys on the team! Any shoutouts or anything else to add? 

Dalton:

Shoutout Tommy Sandoval, he’s really put Remind insoles to the test. All my sponsors—Heroin Skateboards, Fallen Footwear. Shoutout John at Remind for making all of this happen and getting the Dern Brothers involved. I’m super excited to work on my own pro insole one day. 

Kanaan:

Shoutout to my sponsors. Shoutout to John at Remind. I’m just very thankful to be where I’m at.