Evil Twins

Having just taken deposits for the next 10 builds, I have quickly slipped in a couple of mats for Derek Hynd as Australia slides into winter. We went for a quiver of two to cover all bases.

This is mat number 1 named Evil Twin F. She is a 70/70 RB-JMC free-breather with negative elastic rocker.

Derek puts a lot of pressure on his mats, taking late drops in solid waves. We talked about grip patterns and opted for diagonal strips to give grip both length ways and across the mat, whist still maintaining maleability as Evil Twin F is Derek's all-rounder out of the 2.

Mat 2 of 2 for Derek is Evil Twin M is the gun of the quiver, ready for the solid winter swells at The Pass.

Evil Twin M is a Nouveau Racer; a mat with a lot of hold. As is standard for this model, ETM is a 200/70 wheezer, meaning the ride is stable with the mat holding it's shape more. It also means that when cutting back you have air in the outside rail (when in trim) for longer when you make the turn, giving more hold. The narrower, rounder outer pontoon, more acute curve in the rail and rounder corners also help with hold.

I personally think the RB-JMC and Nouveau Racer are pretty much the prefect quiver combo. I'm looking forward to the feedback on the Evil Twins.

Have fun Derek.

Cheers

G

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

Marellen

Here's a mat for @therollonforever over in California. @therollonforever values his privacy so I won't share his name but he has said his Insta handle is fine.

The mat is an RB-JMC named Marellen. Unusually for an RB-JMC, we have gone for a 200d deck but this is certainly in line with @therollonforever's tastes, plus Marellen is quite a big mat so the influence of the heavier deck is mitigated a bit.

@therollonforever opted for free elastic rocker as he is keen get the balance between turning and out and out speed. We spoke about venting and have gone for my standard free-breather set up. Having only ridden wheezers, it will be interesting to hear how @therollonforever's finds a less restricted mat. I think he'll dig it from our discussion.

Here's what @therollonforever had to say:

“So I ordered because I’d only ridden stock mats up to this point. As a tall, 6’5 rider, I’m hoping this size is what I’ve been missing with a custom fit. I’m looking to boost my mat riding to its pinnacle. I’d say I want to be more serious about mat riding, but that defeats the “fun”of it. So I’m looking for a more serious effort toward fun: making sections, perfecting the cutback, and because it’s red— fast down the line trimming.

The mat name which combines my mother’s name and my youngest sisters name is a tribute to the women in my family. The name Marellen is a variation of Maryellen, which is a combination of the names Mary and Ellen. Mary, of Hebrew origin, means “bitter” or “beloved”. Ellen, of Greek origin, means “light” or “torch”. Therefore, Marellen can be interpreted as “light of the sea” or “beloved of the sea”.”

— @therollonforever

@therollonforever has gone for a bungee up-front for those occasions where a very long swim is the consequence of losing his mat. He's also gone for a mat bag.

Finally, @therolloforever has ordered a G-Mat Apparel Tee. Lovely stuff. As these are printed to order (with sustainably sourced materials and eco friendly ink) I am always stoked when I get to see one in person.

They're ace! You really should get one!

https://gmatsurfmats.teemill.com/collection/products/

Anyhoo, the grip is about cured so Marellen will head off to Cali tomorrow. I'm looking forward to hearing about her adventures!

Cheers

G

The White Tiger

Here's a new ride for Aussie mat surfer Gavin Knowles. Gav lives in Byron Bay and has been riding mats for some time. He has an RFT and got in on this run of customs. We spent a bit of time thinking about options, before settling on a 70/70 RB-JMC.

Gav was keen to make this an all-rounder and opted for free-elastic rocker. As he has been surfing wheezers, we have loosened it up with less restricted air flow. The other thing Gav wanted was to leave the middle pontoon free of grip. I literally wrote "leave the middle!" on the tube of sealant and STILL started to mask up a middle panel. Thankfully my reminder worked!!!

Gav shared a few words:

“Simplistic-Technical, subtly nursing your ride with that grin from ear to ear is why we all mat ride . We have come along way from the old canvas that stripped off your titties and thanks to G and the builders before him we are all blessed to have such beautifully built airbags under our bellies .

With a stroke of luck I got on the short list and here we are the Rb-Jmc built for the east coast point breaks here in Aus!

It has been a seamless process getting this done and I can’t wait to meet the dolphin line on my new ride . Thanks for all your knowledge and input G .. Mahalo!!”

— Gavin Knowles

Thanks Gav!

Gav has named his mat" The White Tiger". Crazily, when he WhatsApped that to me, Becky and I were watching Daredevil Reborn and there was a guy called the White Tiger on the screen as I read Gav's text! Coincidence?... Yes... Still freaky though!

Anyway, the white tiger is being picked up today by the courier. Have fun Gav!

Cheers

G

Last Light

This is Last Light. A G-Mat RB-JMC built for master potter, Gus McDiarmid https://panpottery.com/

This is the second mat built for Gus and is very similar. The key difference is slightly increased venting. Gus rides some fast waves and being able to get on a high line and down the line quickly is a real help.

Gus rides mats well (see my recent post of a shot of Gus by Nashy Surf Photos @nashysphotos), and this construction and venting hands much more fine tuned control to the rider.

Last Light has a negative elastic rocker and Hestered mini-Boston valve.

So, Last Light is heading off to Oz to hit some left hand points.

Have fun Gus!

Cheers

G

Snowflake

Another rainy-day project and the next addition to my monochrome quiver is a 70/70 RB-JMC named "Snowflake".

Showflake is a super-free-breather with negative elastic rocker. I have gone fairly light with the grip as top-ups take about the same time as re-waxing a board, so no bother, and the increased maleability is worth it.

There's not much more to say other than she's the perfect quiver mate for my new Nouveau Racer named Dusty, my 5 Star General and my BodyBag mini-mat. I have a couple more in mind and have a week off with strong winds and rain in the mix so might get something done.

I've just finished a mat for that I'll put up in a couple of days. Colin shares my love of the low-key. It looks slick...

Anyway, cowabunga and all that!

Cheers

G

Pooltoy II

Here is a mat for Rincon regular Jason MacMurray.

It's been some time since I built a mat for Jason MacMurray. Jason is one of the old school (by which I mean the sold school of the new school) who cut his teeth riding Neumatics built by Dale Solomonson. Back when there weren't many of us riding mats and we all knew each other.

Jason got in on this run and immediately knew what he wanted. Being best friends with Andrew Buck, he has seen and heard all about my super-free-breather configuration in combination with the neg elastic rockered RB-JMC design and was all in! With Rincon as his local, a mat that holds a line whilst breaking out the tail and hailing ass down the line was just what he wanted. I already had dimensions for him so that was the easy part. He did come with octopuses (or octobodes if we want to get all fancy with the ancient Greek) drawn by his daughter to spice things up so stencils and dye were the order of the day.

Oh and he asked for a bungee which was a real surprise! However, you never know when you might end up in a pool so the leash option can be helpful.

I asked Jason about the name for his mat and he said:

“I think I am going to go with the seemingly uninspired ‘Pooltoy II’ for the nickname of the new white mat.  The original Pooltoy was built by Dale and was the first mat that he produced that I know of that didn’t just have the rider’s initials.  It took hours of conversations with him by both Andrew and me to convince him that he should allow us to give our mats nicknames. I’m not sure Dale ever thought Andrew and I were as funny as we think we are but we finally wore him down.

When Dale retired, I was on the waitlist for him to make me a much coveted white mat.  He had a very limited amount of a superlight white material he made a few mats out of.  I’m sure he thought I was not worthy or capable of the white mat, and he was right, no doubt, but again I wore him down.  Though my skills weren’t there yet, I think Dale knew Andrew and I had a vision of where we could take the mats and it aligned with his.

Now, roughly 20 years later the coveted white mat is finally landing thanks to you.  The mats are better than we could have dreamed of 20 years ago and I like to think I am finally worthy of such a tool.  Plus, my daughter delivered with the artwork to remind us all not to take it too seriously.  It’s just a highly tricked out Pooltoy.

Gracias”

— Jason MacMurray

That's perfect. I remember the original Neumatic Pooltoy so am personally stoked to add to the lineage.

Pooltoy II is en route as we speak so I am looking forward to hearing how things go. Maybe you'll be able to keep up with Andrew now, Jason!

Cheers

G