Ho'onalu
/Here is a mat for Kevin Warren which he has named Ho’onalu. Kevin says “It is one of the Hawaiian words for meditation. It means literally - 'to make like or be like a wave’”.
Kevin has a really interesting story about his journey into mats and his amazing career:
“I’m 63 and grew up San Diego North county and started surfing at age 10 learning at Swamis, Cardiff and Seaside reefs as well as Del Mar and Blacks beach. Started going to Baja in my teens driving down to the legendary point breaks of the seven sisters. I also flew Hang Gliders in my teens as well soaring the cliffs in La Jolla above Blacks and in the mountains of the San Diego backcountry. ( I built a hang glider out of bamboo and plastic in 1972 for a 6th grade science fair project )
In my 20’s with my love of aviation I received all my flight ratings as I wanted to become an airline pilot. Once I was a commercial pilot I started taking friends on exploratory flights into Baja looking for remote unridden point breaks. We found many and I got good at landing on beaches and islands where there were no roads. Nobody was doing anything like this so I started a company called Baja AIrventures that offered all-inclusive packages flying surfers into spots like Isla Natividad, Seven Sisters and Scorpion Bay as well as many spots I will not name. I’ll never forget taking Tom Carroll and Mike Stewart on a photo shoot for surfer magazine in the early 90’s. I had never really seen what a body boarder could do and Mike blew me away. ( as did Tom but Mike rode deeper in the barrel )
I’ve windsurfed, kite boarded, body surfed and hand planed as well as I started recently wing foiling. My surf buddy showed up with a 4th gear Flyer surf mat and let me try it about 6 years ago. I was hooked. Felt like a kid again. Pretty pure form of surfing. I’ve done some dual sport motorcycle trips into Baja with my surf mat and traveled and matted in Spain’s Basque coast. Perfect travel wave vehicle. Fits in my carry on. Not really possible with anything else. I still own Baja AIrventures which is now Baja Spirit. www.bajaspirit.com ) 34 years later.”
With pointbreaks in mind Kevin came with a clear idea of what he wanted in the form of a 70/70 RB-JMC with negative elastic rocker. Having considered internal venting options, he has opted for a standard free-breather which allows an easy flow of air within the mat to maximise speed at lower inflations. Kevin was keen on the white mat/brown grip that Steve Halpin and Maddie Gordon have had previously. With the black logo and a black “Ho’onalu” motif added to the rail its a mat I really like the look of. If this wasn’t too small for me, Ho’onalu is a mat I’d like to hang on to!
Ho’onalu is heading over to hook up with Kevin in California. I look forward to hearing about their road trips!
Have fun Kevin.
Cheers
G