G-Mat 134 - Making America Inflate Again!

Meet "Glory", a G-Mat Nouveau Racer heading off to Santa Cruz. Glory is the new steed of Alan Whitsett, a mat surfer with a penchant for big and heavy waves.  Alan asked for a pretty distinctive design which, after a little collaboration, we hit bang on. 

Here's what Alan had to say about the design:

"I'm probably the happiest when I'm in the water and my humor and humanity is reflected most...it seems to me that the world needs to see that America still has goodness in it...the abstract use of the star images rather than rigid rows is whimsical...I want to be the ambassador that makes people laugh and smile, to focus on our commonalities rather than our differences." The name "Glory", ha...well it's kind of complicated...a bit personal and a bit political keeping in mind the current regime in Washington."

"My first waves were ridden on a mat in 1958...I was four. When I first paddled out last year on my 4th Gear Flyer at Steamer Lane...and caught that first wave...I remembered how glorious I felt as a four year old...sliding across the water, laughing, giggling, wanting more. The mat for me is a "new-found Glory", a "coming home" if you will. The flag design came after that realization...it just made sense to combine my sense of glory with our flag "Old Glory"

So there you have it. Pretty distinctive mat for a pretty distinctive fella. Glory is a 200/70 set-up built as a free-breather with free elastic rocker and gripped with Puraflex 40. Down the line speed is the go! 

Alan is heading off on a trip to San Jose del Cabo early next month so a Nouveau Racer seems a pretty good pick if things are firing over there. I'm sure Alan will turn a few heads! Hopefully we'll get some stories and pics.

Cheers

G

Pigmented Grip/Logos and Magic Dust...

I stuck a wee shot on Instagram a few days back but here's a bit more info on coloured deck grip. I put together a 70/70 Ute to test out my new pigments. 

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G-Mat 84 (AKA "Winston")

I've given this mat a couple of go outs, just to test out the durability. Particularly as the cure time is extended with colour added. Basically, in terms of characteristics the sealants behave in exactly the same way as normal so I'm pretty stoked!

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I've also added a new ingredient to my grip - "Magic Dust." This will hopefully increase the durability of the grip and doesn't affect the pliability.  Magic Dust also cures the common cold and gives your mat the power to fix global warming.

[NB Not all of the claims above are true]

Anyway, Winston is on the way to California to see if Mattitude can wear the drip off.

Cheers

G

G-Mat 38 (AKA "Matilda")

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G-Mat 38 (AKA "Matilda")

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G-Mat 38 (AKA "Matilda")

Something of an experiment here...

Meet Matilda, a 200/70 G-Mat Ute:

Matilda features some beyond the norm features. First off, coloured grip, which has been done before by my friend and mentor Dale Solomonson using Vulkem, but I have tried using the stink-free Sikaflex. 

Next, some people have asked about designs on the bottom of mats... Tricky...

Dye can't do this in the right way because it bleeds. Also, the sealants used for the lettering on decks aren't suitable because they would seriously affect pliability and would feel like an anchor.

So, a foray into the world of spray paint. I wasn't entirely into the idea of this initially and time will tell whether this has worked or not. Right now, it isn't something I would really want to do again but it has given an interesting effect on the bottom of the mat one way or another.

So, we'll have to await feedback from whoever ends up with this mat but it'll certainly catch a few eyes, that's for sure!

Matilda is currently up for sale and being something of an experiment is available for:

£200 GBP plus shipping.

Please email me if you would like to be the one to break her in.

Cheers

G

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G-Mat 38 (AKA "Matilda") - Spray Paint!