Shell Yes!

Here's a mat heading to the US Virgin Islands for Mariah Ernst.

Mariah is a mat surfer of long standing who knows how to ride a mat well. She is on the team at Emocean Magazine and has a close effinity with the ocean and natural world, so no surprises then that Mariah rides a mat!

Having recently hung out with Andrew Andrew Stephen Buck talking mats, Mariah was pretty clear that she wanted an RB-JMC super-free-breather with negative elastic rocker and, a particular Buck influence, an animal theme. As Mariah has always had a fantasy of skimming across a wave face on a giant clam shell her choice was simple and "Shell Yes!" was born!

Shell Yes! is a nice addition to the quiver for Mariah. Over the years she has had a Nouveau Racer and a free (flat) rockered RB-JMC that has more restricted venting so Shell Yes! will give a very different ride to both. Very technical and very fast. Perfect addition. Shell Yes! also has one of the new low profile spring valves so I'm excited to hear how Mariah finds it.

So, shell yes will be heading over to the US Virgin Islands and I can't wait to hear and see how she goes.

Have fun Mariah.

Cheers

G

PS Mariah also recently picked up a G-Mat Mini from my partner Tom Jennings She says you should definitely get one too.

Joni

Say hello to Joni, a G-Mat RB-JMC built for Aussie mat surfer Madi Farrelly.

Madi has been riding mats for a while now and is a very accomplished surfer. Madi is mates with our Antipodean RFT Series stockist Johanna Brebner (to be fair, Jo seems to be mates with everyone) and chatted to her about what to get.

Of course, Brebsy recommend a 70/70 RB-JMC super-free-breather with negative rocker. Fast and lots of glide... Perfect fit for Madi's style. Madi also had colours in mind. After a bit of acid dye fiddling (the colour on the pot and what comes out aren't always the same) we have a kind of mint bottom with teal deck.

The mint was meant to be more like the teal, but was so nice that the combo was a must! I have pigmented the grip too, to match the bottom a touch, and it's really made the logo pop. All in all, Madi is happy and so am I. Madi has also gone with a bung style valve to keep things simple.

Here's what Madi had to say:

“I named her Joni, after Joni Mitchell and her album Blue. The mat itself isn’t strictly blue, it’s a blend of teal and sea-glass, like the ocean under changing light. But this colour has been following me like a ghost lately. I see it everywhere, and I find myself drawn towards it, in the ocean, in the clothes I reach for without thinking, even in the music that drifts into my days. Maybe it’s just a colour, but it lingers, and feels strangely familiar …”

— Madi Farrelly

Lovely stuff! I'm really looking forward to hearing how Madi finds the ride with Joni. I really enjoy building mats for skilled matsurfers as the feedback is priceless.

It's been a fun build this. Have fun Madi!

Cheers

G

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

Pacific Express

Choo chooooo! All aboard the Pacific Express!

This mat is a G-Mat RB-JMC built for Mark Garcia. Mark lives in Southern California and is a pretty experienced mat surfer. A while back, Mark picked up a couple of RFTs (200/70 and 70/70) from Mollusk and had been trying for a custom for a while.

Mark was pretty clear on what he wanted having fallen in love with the 70/70 feel and managed the snaffle up the last of my olive green 70d fabric to boot!

Mark said:

“I honestly feel like the mat riding has clicked more with each mat I’ve got. 200/70 to the 70/70. The craziest thing about the 70/70 is I’ve had insane sessions in the shitiest spring surf.
I came home from sea ( May is the worse time of year for surf in San Diego) and had some good and memorable mat sessions. Had one with Dane, Osprey Surfboards (one of the best local surfboards) where I was really in the zone. And even he was asking about the mat.”

— Mark Garcia

So then, Pacific Express is something of a step up again. PE is a Super-Free-Breather so pretty much completely unrestricted air flow internally. Mark has some long empty point breaks lined up so I was super excited to hear about how this all turns out and Mark has had his mat for a couple of weeks. I reached out via email as it turns out Mark has had his Instagram hacked.

He said:

“I got to ride the mat a couple since this last week and had some great sessions on it. So lively and responsive. It just seems to bend into the waves and fit the curve of sections. Can’t wait to get it down to the longer Baja points.

I gave my 70-70 RFT to my good friend Adam Burns to try. He’s a really stand out surfer here at the cliffs and has been riding mats for a while. Anyway he was so stoked on it after one session he reached out to Tom and ordered a 70-70 for himself.”

— Mark Garcia

Pretty stoked on that!

Have fun Mark. And have fun Adam!

Cheers

G

Florence

A mat headed to Oz for the super-mat-stoked and very skilled Johanna Brebner. Jo is a Kiwi who frequents the breaks around Byron and Noosa and surfs boards and mats to a very high standard. Jo took Derek Hynd's mat, Donald Campbell out for it's maiden voyage and texted full of joy, particularly because she was on the list to get a mat herself. Certainly made the design job easier... Just build that!

OK...

So this is Florence. Like Donald Campbell, Florence is a 70/70 RB-JMC. She has a negative elastic rocker and is a super-free-breather. In other words, an unrestricted, highly responsive mat designed to fly like a dementor guided by the subtle manipulation from an intuitive surfer... Perfect.

Jo was particularly taken by a mat named Selin built for Helen Derici and opted for the same colour scheme. A lovely choice for sure.

I stopped short of signing off with a daisy and in the name of individuality opted for a fat Yellow and white mats just seen to demand such things.

Anyway, Florence and Jo will be hooking up soon. I can't wait to see how they get on.

Have fun Jo.

Cheers

G

9-2-Go

I was going to wait for my special day but sod it. This is a mat for my birthday named 9-2-Go. She's an RB-JMC Ultralight 70/40 Super-Free-Breather. I was planning to build myself one of these having given my old Ultralight away to Jamie McClellan but I hadn't meant to do it just yet.

I'm just getting through the last few mats before the next run and I did a little experimenting with dye techniques. I asked everyone in the remaining bunch if they wanted this deck skin and they all said no, politely letting me know they thought it was horrible so here we are!

Anyway during the horrendous weather we've had over here of late I took what would otherwise have been play days to weld up and grip 9-2-Go. Ultralights are a build you probably only get out of the mat bag two or three times a year but summer is on its way allegedly and I adore the featherweight feel of these mats. So fast too!

9-2-Go is wrapped up ready for me to open on my birthday.

Anyway... Cracking on.

Cheers

G

PS Birthday matmeet at The Wave, Bristol, UK: 20th April 8am Expert Turns on the left. All welcome so get booked

Unburdened & Becoming

Here's is a mat for Mark "Tom" Underwood that I built during a week off in February.

Tom has been after a mat for a while and with the upcoming Wave meet coming up on April 16th (still a slot or two available by the way. Advanced level, 11am on the right) he was keen to get a mat with a bungee set-up for a leash. Also handy for long-swim avoidance on some of the sketchier reefs on big days. Tom is a big fan of the 70/70 neg rocker RB-JMC having been riding one exclusively for some time. He's a fine mat surfer (fine everything surfer to be honest) and really does fit the performance of the RB-JMC.

Tom has called his mat Unburdened and Becoming saying:

“It’s a song lyric line by Bon iver. A band that me sons all went to see live. It resonates with me. It’s positive and life affirming, like matting.”

— Mark Underwood

Tom has been out and about with Unburdened and Becoming in his local area of South Devon and South East Cornwall on the seemingly endless run of swell we're having. With this cold snap the Arctic camo grip is pretty appropriate!

Have fun Tom!

Cheers

G

Warchild

Here's a mat for Joe McEachern over in New England on the East Coast of the US of A. Those with eagle eyes might spot that Joe got in on the last round of builds and I was pretty surprised to see his deposit roll in. What are the odds?! Well it turned out he was stood at the beach with Ryan Kleinert when the email dropped and Ryan clocked it! Joe jumped in on the act and there you go. If only he'd been quicker. I could've shipped his and Ryan's mats together!

Anyway, Joe's first mat, Red Rider was a 200/70 wheezy Ute which he has been having a blast on. He wanted to move things on this time and "Warchild" was conceived. A 70/70 RB-JMC free-breather cut with neg elastic rocker. Perfect stable mate for Red Rider and I reckon a mat that will open things up for Joe.

Joe tells me Warchild is from the movie Pointbreak. (I watched it about a million years ago and thought it was rubbish so don't recall... Deal with it! )

So Warchild is off to the US East Coast. A pretty healthy mat scene growing over there you know. Great to see!

Have fun Joe!

Cheers

G

Bucca Dhu

Wazzon ‘ere then bey?!

Bucca Dhu is the Cornish God of the winter and the dark. So what better name for a mat for the Cornish Lord of Darkness himself, Ian “Piskian” Wraith. Ian is a fine mat surfer and one of my oldest mat riding friends. A mentor to me when I first started out in the journey of flaccid flow. Bucca Dhu sports Cornish black and gold colour scheme with the 15 balls of the Cornish coat of arms on the rail. All in all, pretty Cornish this mat!

Ian is a fine mat surfer and one of my oldest mat riding friends. A mentor to me when I first started out in the journey of flacid flow.

So what’s the deal with Bucca Dhu? Well, I’m building a handful of prototypes to send to a few people to test. Two in Oz and then Ian. These are 70/70 ULW (40) construction; Standard 70 denier deck, 70d ultra lightweight bottom skin (very thin TPU coating) and 40d I-beams. Also a super-free-breather with negative rocker.

I have already built myself one of these proto’s (see G-Mat 238) and it goes great. Feels similar in weight to a 70/40 although a little crisper but also so far, no leaks at the seams although it is early days.  This is why I am sending out a handful to different riders who ride mats well but also very differently and in different conditions.

Ian is coming back to the UK from Japan where he lives with his family in early November so he can grab Bucca Dhu in person and we can share a few waves. It’s been too long so I’m looking forward to that!

Cheers

G

Jambo

Say hello to “Jambo”, an RB-JMC built for mat obsessed Scotsman, Gary Villa.

Gary got into mat surfing a couple of years ago or so along with his partner Helen. A very experienced surfer of many years standing, Gary is a man after my own heart… Find something really hard to do that you know other people do well and then commit hard to learning it.  It is a route to fulfillment in the end to my mind. Picking the high-hanging fruit.

I’ve surfed a few times with Gary as he lives in Cornwall these days. Each session I’ve had with him I have noticed a significant improvement in his mat riding ability and when he managed to get in with a deposit after several attempts it was clear that there was an obvious choice of mat for him. To be honest, had Gary got in earlier he would have had a less advanced mat than he has now so maybe fate (but more likely luck!)

So, then onto Jambo.

We discussed what Gary was after and a burgundy(ish) dye job top and bottom was the go. The end result was more purple but that’s the joy of acid dyes! The photos took a fair bit of editing to get the colour right. I don’t know what it is about this colour but it was hard to photograph. This is a close  enough match. With Gary’s level of ability now it was time to step up from his 5 Star General.

Gary rides his mat with low air and likes the sensitive feel so a 70/70 was the go. Gary was initially being a bit cautious but I talked him into going all out with a super-free-breather and neg rocker and when we met to get him and Jambo together (all be it in very small waves) he had no problem getting Jambo going and he really noticed the difference.

Always stoked to build a mat that I will see ridden in the flesh. Have fun Gary. Let’s hope we get some proper waves soon!

Cheers

 G

Mehve - Glide On

Here is a mat named “Mehve”, built for Aussie mat surfer Ben Zubkevych.

Here is a mat named “Mehve”, built for Aussie mat surfer Ben Zubkevych. He has chosen to name his mat “Mehve”.

According to disneyfandom.com:

“The Mehve (also known as the Möwe) is a small and fast one-person powered glider that appears in the Studio Ghibli film, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. ”

— disneyfandom.com

All in all I’d say that’s a pretty apt name!

Ben has been riding mats for a while now, regularly surfing with mat maestro James Tanner over in Noosa so wanted a mat to really make the most of what he has on offer down there.

Mehve is a 70/70 RB-JMC with super-free-breather internal venting to maximise morphatasticalness on the go. The skins are cut to give a negative elastic rocker to further maximise down-the-line frictionless glide and speed. In summary, Mehve is going to fly on those endless point waves that Ben is so keen on:

“I grew up on the mid coast of South Australia and started surfing as a kid cause my dad surfed. I wasn’t super into it, as it was competitive and everyone rode stupidly narrow boards with lots of rocker (the early 2000’s was a great time for surfing haha). I still kept surfing, but mostly skated in my early teens, getting back into it through seeing some videos of people riding fishes and logs.

I first noticed matting in Thomas Campbell’s Sprout, wanted one right away, but didn’t get one until years later when I found a Krypt on gumtree for $80 in 2016 up in Noosa (where I’m living now). Actually, funny cos I realised my dad had a copy of Fantasea when I was a kid, but I don’t remember ever seeing surf matting on it!

I popped the Krypt a few months after getting it, but was already hooked. I had been bodysurfing heaps around this time at the open beach near my house, so getting on the mat at the points felt insane! The same low-to-the-water speed feeling of bodysurf minus all the drag (which means so much speed!). I got worked a lot haha, but once you get a wave where you line everything up right and just speed through sections you don’t think you’re going to make it’s pretty hard not to get addicted (and somehow spiral into collecting old swim fins etc. haha).

I’m usually riding mats at the points at Noosa whenever it’s breaking. It’s my go to for cyclone swells, but also anything over 2 foot. The points have perfect mat waves (minus the fact that it gets so crowded), but wave count doesn’t matter as much on a mat and I usually just let the waves come to me instead of hassling with everyone else. I have a few friends to share waves with, James (who has a few of your mats and is a guru and great person to learn from/get tips off), Matt (we spent a few weeks matting in Sri Lanka, which was amazing), Gus (when our schedules align haha), Joseph (who is also from Devon) and my partner Rachel who has recent been bitten by the mat bug.

If I’m not on a mat at the points I’m usually out on my free friction board or a log if it’s little, and a fish or just bodysurfing at the open beaches.”

— Ben Zubkevych

Mehve went over to Austrailia sharing a seat on the plane with Rachel Scarff’s mat “Circe”. I’m really looking forward to seeing some party waves!

Have fun Ben!

Cheers

G

God of the Sea

I’m rolling with the new hybrid mailing list/waiting list system and it seems to be going pretty well. Here is the latest out of the workshop, an RB-JMC built for Phil Cahill up in Wales.

Phil is of Irish descent and when I asked him to name his mat he replied with the following:

“Ah flippin hell, I’ve had a few names knocking about in me head but trying to decide has melted my head!

Okay, it’s going to be called Lir. Lir is s god of the sea from old Irish Mythology.

Lovely, decision made!”

— Philip Cahill

Very nice… Phil wanted to nod to his heritage without being to blatant with it and asked for green pigmented grip and orange and white logo. You’ll notice I did add a bit of an Irish Tricolour to the dedication.

On to the mat, well Phil has taken to the less mainstream ways to ride a wave influenced by a friend who has become a full-time bodysurfer. He has tried various craft, including the mat and… well… you know. When the bug bites.

 Phil wanted to go with the RB-JMC but wondered about the full super-free-breather, especially when moving to his first 70/70. Given that we settled with a standard free-breather configuration which will add a bit more stability. She’s a quick mat though and Phil is looking forward to embracing the challenge of switching to a much lighter and more vented mat.

I’m looking forward to hearing how Phil gets on. I’m pretty keen to get up to South Wales this Autumn to hook up with some of the growing mat crew up there so hopefully will get to share a few waves with Phil at some point.

Have fun Phil!

Cheers

G