Lilo Trip

So then here's the last mat in the current run, a G-Mat RB-JMC built for the very talented Ryan Akins. Ry is currently riding a prototype super-free-breather RB-JMC I lent him. His new mat, named "Lilo Trip", is the permanent fixture for that slot in Ryan's quiver.

For those who know Ry, he is a super talented artist with a very individual style. In particular, he has documented his Surfmat journey through his creations, including contributing a piece named Lilo Life which is available as a tee and hoodie in the G-Mat Apparel clothing range and shifted a lot of tees when it dropped and remains a favourite:

https://gmatsurfmats.teemill.com/product/lilo-life/

I asked Ryan about his matsurfing and art and he said:

““My first encounter with surf mats was when I was living in Byron Bay 13 years ago and I was out longboarding the pass when I noticed somebody surfing a mat. My first thought was… yeh that’s rad and looks fun and that was about that.

Fast forward in time and I was having a coffee with my friend Huw Beynon at his house and he was really keen to show me his G-Mats. Straight away I was super stoked on them! and as I left his house I couldn’t stop thinking about mats for day’s.

Ever since that day surf mats have been my main craft in my quiver and I just can’t stop surfing them!

I’ve been recently surfing a RB-JMC Super-Free-Breather and man it’s like going into another dimension! The feeling is unreal.

Mat surfing is an extension to my art, a vessel. The feeling, the speed, the style. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had in the water.

Mat surfing is art.

.RY.””

— Ryan Akins

Nicely put man!

As you can see, Lilo Trip is acid dyed in teal and features pink logo and trademark zig zags. Other than that, she matches the mat Ry has been riding. We're planning a surf together to hand over Lilo Trip. I'm always stoked to be there for someone's first ride on a mat I've built them.

The other thing I'm excited about is that Ry has given me another piece to add to the G-Mat Apparel range! The design is also called Lilo Trip is available in my clothing store now:

https://gmatsurfmats.teemill.com/product/lilo-trip-white-print/

This is available in black or white prints and mens and women’s tees as well as unisex hoodies.

Stoked to have built this for you Ry. Have fun mate.

Cheers

G

El Duderino!

Here's a mat for mat surfer Sebastian Pleuse.

Seb is a German matter hanging out in SW France who got in on this run of custom mats. We took a bit of time to think about what would suit Seb best. Seb was keen on a stable and versatile ride, so we settled on a Ute (that's two Utes in a row)! We went for a wheezer to help with stability (plus always a good option for a wide range of conditions) as well as a 200/70 construction. As you can see, Seb went for an orange deck with blue logo and grip, a navy bottom skin and a bungee to give the he leash option for the more out of control days!

This mat has a free elastic rocker to keep things versatile.

Seb also had a mat bag and a G-Mat Apparel hoodie, which he is stoked on.

I spoke to Seb about his journey into matsurfing, and he said:

“I’m in my early fifties and have been a surfer for more than 30 years. Four years ago I first heard of mat surfing while watching random videos on Youtube. I love to try all the water sports so I could not resist and ordered my first mat. I really loved mat surfing from the first wave on. Being so close to the water on the mat gave me an unknown feeling of speed, which I never had on a bodyboard. And with the mat being so soft and comfy it was so easy on the back at the same time. Just like surfing a sofa, really. Pulling into little close-out tubes I could never have taken on a surfboard, I felt happy like a little kid. It was so good!

When my first mat gave out on me, I looked for a different manufacturer and found G-Mat. I finally made it into one of the slots. Lucky me!

You’ve done a wonderful job building my new „El Duderino. During the process, we exchanged several emails, and I felt really heard with my wishes and questions. My new toy has finally arrived. It looks super cool, and the build quality is outstanding. Unfortunately the ocean is flat at the moment. I can’t wait for the next swell to take this stunning mat for a ride”

— Sebastian Pleuse

Stoked to hear your happy Seb! With swell in the Atlantic now hopefully you'll get some!

As Seb said, he has named this mat El Duderino. Why? Because f*cking cowabunga is why!

Cheers

G

Bulgy the Whale

It's Bulgy the Whale Kids!

Surfmat supremo Andrew Stephen Buck is heading over to the UK and having only palmed off protos to him in recent times we agreed it was high time we did something just for him. People who have seen his previous mats (Fluffy Sunshine, Comrade Napoleon and Mick Dundee) will be aware of his penchant for animal pool toy themed mats.

With that all in mind Bulgy was born! Bulgy was an actual toy inflatable whale so the perfect name for this ride!

Bulgy (this one) is a 70/70 RB-JMC with negative rocker and super-free-breather venting. I stepped up the venting in the super-free at the beginning of the year and think Andrew will appreciate it. Bulgy has been painted with acid dye and then mouth, eyes, fins and blowhole stenciled. A time consuming build but I'm super pleased with the result.

You might also notice the bungee up front and be thinking "WTF?! Buck with a leash?!" Don't worry, no such nonsense. Andrew is coming over to the UK and we're meeting up at the Wave pool on July 4th of all dates! Hopefully someone will get some footage.

We're hoping we'll get some actual real waves whilst he's over. Maybe a flight down to Newquay airport is in order

Anyway... Bulgy is a thing now.

Have fun ASB

Cheers

G

Zawn

Here is a mat built for west Cornwall-based mat surfer Matthew Geyman.

Matt surfs way down west getting into some of the short, sucky beach breaks down that way so wanted a mat that would get in and get hold quickly. Matt has a 4GF Omni from PG so we settled on a Nouveau Racer to concentrate on hollower or bigger days. Matt opted to name her 'Zawn'.

Matt says:

“Zawn is named for those secluded places along the Far West’s remote North Coast. Coves accessible only via a scramble, or by canoe, are a treat to explore. Packing a mat on a summer coast path walk, in the hope of spotting an unexpected wave is real treasure hunting. Originally a temporary way to stay on the water after a back injury, mats quickly became a source of joy for my whole family, often replacing more traditional craft: boards and hand planes. Because a mat’s so easy to transport, its rewards were multiplied.

Our closest break (a lesser visited spot in the far west) has waves better suited to short craft and bodysurfing. We snag treasured family memories here: daughters hooting and skidding on mats down the face of Christmas Day growlers, with no other soul about.

‘Zawn’ joins a stable including a 4GF Omni, Catherine’s G-Raft (a birthday gift when she fell out of love with surfing), and a behemoth Redback with chunky handles that the kids love (a great summer mush machine, sent by my brother from some godforsaken town near his home on the east coast of Australia). A mat’s joined the annual Morocco pilgrimage a few times in 20 years, but usually stays rolled up as it’s unlikely to replace a board for the long paddle out to Killers. Zawn will feature more heavily and it’ll love Cathedrals.

After a life in the water, it’s only a surfmat that makes me giggle uncontrollably and I’d do anything to keep the maniacal cackle factor.

Cheers n gone

Matt”

— Matthew Geyman

Zawn is a 200/70 Wheezer. We had some debate around elastic rocker versus free rocker. The new red material kinda made the choice for us being pretty inelastic. I suspect this might loosen up after a surf or two. I'll be checking in with Matt. Matt has also gone for a bungee for long Moroccan swims!

Have fun Matt!

Cheers

G

Towlie

Say hello to G-Mat 285, a Ute named "Towelie" built for fellow Cornishman, Graham Bracegirdle and my last build of 2023.

Bracey is a pretty well known figure in the UK surf scene having worked in the industry back in the day. He was always known as a charger with his son Joe picking up the mantle today.

More recently, Bracey has spread his sights further afield and a cursory glance at his yard overlooking his rock strewn home break in South East Cornwall will reveal a wide array of weird and wonderful contraptions in various states of repair.

If it's on, Bracey is on it!

Bracey has had a couple of my early cast-off mats over the years so I was stoked when he got in for a custom on this run.

He has ridden a 70/70 Ute previously but was keen to get something a bit more stable so we agreed on a 200/70 Wheezer. The Ute Bracey has was also scaled to me so was a little small so upping the size to fit his height was needed. As I mentioned, the inside at Bracie's home break can be very sketchy so he has asked for a bungee to give a leash option on the bigger days.

As for the rest, Bracey is a Liverpool fan, same as me, so adding a Liverbird was an absolute joy and I have to say, I love how this has come out!

Black on black is always a win for me.

Have fun meht!

Cheers

G

He’enalu Ma Ka Lewa

Say hello to He’enalu Ma Ka Lewa, a G-Mat RB-JMC built for Steve Fox over in New South Wales, Straya.

Steve is a mat rider with many years experience so I was stoked to be able to build him a mat. He has been riding a mat with heavier deck material for some time so we agreed that a 200/70 would be a good fit, especially considering Steve in a pretty tall fella so has a bigger mat. When scaling mats up, every dimension increases but fabric weight doesn't. Therefore a 200/70 big mat will feel lighter and more maleable that a small mat with the same deck material.

Steve says:

“Another mat heading to Ulladulla on the South Coast of New South Wales. This is the epicentre of mat riding in Australia. On any good morning there can be up to 13 mats riders out together thanks to SCUMM and the likes of Pat and Pete et al.

I’ve come full circle in my surfing journey. Starting on the old red and blue surfmat as a kid in the 70’s and now for the past 11 years mat riding again. In between I have ridden surfboards from 6ft shortboards to 12ft Gliders, SUPS,and later in life paipos bellyboards and handplanes. When it comes to surfing the old saying “why stand when you can lie down” is so true. The fact that my hips, knees and back don’t work so well may have something to do with it also. So if your going to surf, do it lying down, and if you going to be lying down, do it on a surf mat, and the you will discover the true ‘Nirvana’ of surfing. He’enalu Ma Ka Lewa - surfing on air

I chose orange for the mat so that it is easier to find when lost. black ones are hard to find amongst rocks. The bungee is so it can be used in wave pools where a leash is required.”

— Steve Fox

Wise words from Steve. We also need to remember that the most evolved aquatic creatures are prone. Unless you want to be a seahorse of course ;) #thisisajoke

So back to He’enalu Ma Ka Lewa and we know where it got it's name now. Steve went for free rocker and free-breathing internal venting to make things responsive and flexible.

I'm really stoked to send a mat down to Oz. I was stoked to see that my courier have reduced shipping rates again too so makes it much more affordable.

Have fun Steve. Can't wait to see what you get up to on your journey of discovery.

Cheers

G

Ziran

So then first build of this run and this is a mat for Dom Davenport.

Dom has an RB-JMC already and was keen to think about how best to add to the quiver. After some discussion weighing up the benefits of an Ubercat or Nouveau Racer we settled on the latter (Dom has a 4GF @4thgearflyer Lotus Blue Streak so has that area covered).

With a trip to surf Moroccan points on the horizon the Nouveau Racer is the perfect addition. To be honest, the Nouveau Racer is the perfect partner to the RB-JMC anyway. There's a bit of overlap between the two and the Nouveau Racer extends the scope handling bigger and more critical waves better.

So onto this mat and Dom has named it Ziran which means "to push away outside influence and embrace one's authenticity, while living natural, spontaneous, and free".

Perfect.

Ziran is a 200/70 Wheezer built with free elastic rocker. Dom asked for a bungee for a leash. We are both in agreement that leashes are an absolute P in the A and should never substitute good form and keeping hold of the mat but some of those swims in Morocco can be pretty long and/or sketchy so nice to have the option.

Ziran is heading off to hook up with Dom now so I look forward to seeing how things go.

Cheers

G