Mat for a UK Legend!

I am stoked to have been able to build a 5 Star General for one of the legends of surfing history, Dennis Cross. Dennis is the man who founded Gul Wetsuits and contributed so much to the development of cold water surfing (so a man close to my heart).

For those unfamiliar with Dennis, here’s a wonderful film about the early years of cold water surfing in the UK and the influence that Gul had which can’t be understated on a UK and international stage.

Enjoy your mat Dennis and thank you!

Cheers

G

Happy Halloween?!

G-Mat 205 (AKA “Pumpkin”) is a RB-JMC heading to Noosa Heads in Australia. I am super excited to be sending this mat down there too because she is on the way to hook up with James Dylan Tanner. James is one of those people (that us mere mortals hate) who jump on anything and click. What makes it worse is he’s a really nice bloke…

What a c***! 😂

I jest of course but what I said about James other than the insult is true. Really solid mat surfer.

So on to Pumpkin. As mentioned, she is a RB-JMC. Super-Free-Breather with a negative rocker. Slightly unusually, Pumpkin is a 200/70 because James wanted a mat that is easy to spot should he lose it, but this 200d has quite an open weave and is certainly not as heavy as the 200d black material.

This is also the second mat in a row that I have built with clear grip using ClearFix. I have used this in the past but tended to stick with clear Sikaflex EBT just for consistency but the clear EBT formula feems to have changed with it being thicker than it was. The ClearFix works into the weave really well.

This mat is one of two mats that I am going to be doing for James but the second will be down the line once I have caught up on my backlog. I’m really looking forward to the feedback on this mat and am pretty sure she’ll tide him over until the next one.

Have fun down there JDT!

Cheers

G

PS James hosted Phileas in Sri Lanka and NZ as people may recall but HERE’S A LINK to take a look. He’s also been enjoying the delights of his G-Mat RFT down in Oz as you can see below.

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Django Pour Cloclo

The latest out of the workshop is an RB-JMC for Clovis Donizetti. This mat has all the sexy speed and glide ingredients with a neg rocker, 70/70 construction and super-free-breather venting. She has a Hestered valve to protect Clovis’s rugged looks too.

You might notice that Django looks a little familiar, She was inspired by a mat I built for myself named Night Rider. In reality this similarity is a bit of an illusion. The studio pics of Night Rider make her look like she has deep red grip, it is actually pink.

Not so with Django. Django is full on red. That’s taken a lot of pigment so a slow cure but looks very nice.

On to Clovis briefly. I was introduced to Clovis by mutual friend, Andrew Buck. ‘Cloclo’ is an extraordinarily talented longboarder hailing from Biarritz in SW France. He is noted for having a super smooth style, not wasting an iota of effort. The epitome of functional style and stylish function.

I was honoured to hook Clovis up with one of my Raft G1 mats for promo shots which came through courtesy of Thomas Lodin. Unsurprisingly, when Clovis jumped on a mat he looked like he’d been at it for years.

Clovis riding a Raft G1 Surfmat - Photo by Thimas Lodin

People often think bodyboarders are the natural cousins of mat surfing but the reality is that coming from bodyboarding is a steep learning curve with a lot to unlearn. Talented longboard/mid-length surfers tend to make the transition far more easily and when you think about it that makes sense. Attention to nuance, micro-management of trim, finding flow and working with the wave rather than working to impose yourself on it.; So when you’re talking about a longboarder with Clovis’s talent, no wonder he has found a home on the mat.

Clovis riding a Raft G1 Surfmat - Photo by Thimas Lodin

Django is en route to Biarritz as I type and should be there by the middle of next week. Let’s hope she and Clovis get some swell.

Bon voyage!

G

Quiver Completed!

Well, it's taken up a lot of my free time but I finally have a quiver consisting of every model I build. Of course I could go with different deck weights, venting and rockers with each model to really set myself the task of creating a massive quiver but that's just getting silly!

In order of appearance we have:

A RB-JMC called Night Rider.

A Nouveau Racer called Chunky Monkey

An Ubercat called Pocket Rocket

A Ute called GI Go!

An AirPlane mini mat (doesn't have a name as its a stock mat)

A Rubber Bucky called Dippy Hippy.

"Night Rider" - RB-JMC

"Chunky Monkey" - Nouveau Racer

"Pocket Rocket" - Ubercat

"GI Go!" - Ute

AirPlane

"Dippy Hippy" - Rubber Bucky

The job now is to not keep selling them /giving them away! 😂

With regard to the bungees, I injured my arm last year and couldn't hold a mat. It's recovered now but does flare up. In addition to that, I’ve been surfing a bit at night so definitely need to be able to attach a leash. They are horrible though and I barely use one.

Anyway, with a mat meet coming up at The Wave in Bristol, it is good to have a bunch of mats with leashes to loan out too.

Cheers

G

Moonlight Matting

I have been excited about building this mat for a while. This is the latest in the run of mats I’m currently doing for some fine people. The latest in that run is Peter St Pierre. For those unaware, Pete is a legend in the So Call surf industry. A true master craftsman in every sense of the word and, to be honest, a legend who’s name spans far beyond his locale. I’ll let Pete tell you about himself in his own words in this Local Legendz video from Korduroy TV.

So on to Pete’s mat. Pete told me that her likes a mat that goes rail to rail easily with decent hold. Also something very lightweight and fast. That perfect combo eh?! Well, an Ubercat sounded like the perfect fit for these qualities. Pete has been riding a 5 Star General he got from Ken McKnight a while back although this is a little over sized and is a different mat to the Ubercat.

Rental (as Pete has named this mat) has a 70/70 construction. She has been built as a free-breather to up the speed and has a positive elastic rocker to help to drive her through tight turns.

Rental is certainly different from anything else in Pete’s quiver but I’m sure she will fit in nicely. Pete is a vastly experienced surfer who has embraced the way of the mat for years so I’m pretty sure they will get on well with each other.

Have fun Pete!

Cheers

G

Transmogrifier

Ladies and Gents please say hello to G-Mat 199 (AKA "Transmogrifier"). She is a 70/70 G-Mat RB-JMC built for @agentholmes over in Santa Cruz, US of A.

Ryan is the latest in this run of orders I'm working through for people who have helped me out over the years. He has been smitten with mats for some time and is a really good mat surfer, most recently helping out with promo shots for the RFT (Raft) mats.

Ryan is a fan of going fast and knows how to hold a line right on the edge of slipping so what better ride for those kelpy reefs and points than a 70/70 neg rocker super-free-breather RB-JMC? Like me, Ryan is into making use of the full moon and so has had a bungee fitted for a leash attachment when needed.

Vroom vroom!

Transmogrifier is en route to Ryan right now and should be with him within 24 hours of this post, all going well.

I'm looking forward to photos! Fun mat Ryan... Enjoy!

Cheers

G

PS I also did a valve repair on a very interesting Dale Solomonson mat for him. More on that later as I find it out.

Pocket Rocket

I have a number of models in my range but have never owned them all. As I am currently working through a batch of mats for people I who have helped me out, I am working through a quiver for myself of all of my mats (in my own time).

This is the latest named “Pocket Rocket”.. She is a G-Mat Ubercat with elastic rocker which combined with the narrow profile of the Ubercat gives a mat that performs tight turns assuredly on the rail. Perfect for wedgy hollow waves.

Pocket Rocket has a deck made from 100/70 twill which was sent to me by Paul Gross (4th Gear Flyer) several years ago. The bottom and I-beams are 70d taffeta as always so I guess this mat is a 100/70/70!

The other thing you’ll notice is that Pocket Rocket has a leash bungee attachment. This is for 3 reasons: firstly, I injured the tendons in my right forearm a year ago which flares up on occasion. Secondly, I am developing an interest in full moon surfing and don’t want to lose a mat into the darkness. And finally, I am planning a matmeet on my birthday at The Wave, Bristol so getting a few mats sorted with leashes means I can loan them out to meet the rules of the Wave.

Let’s hope Covid restrictions play ball with that plan. Could be an amazing day out!

Pocket Rocket has been out on a local wedgy peak a couple of times now and is just what it needs. Easy to get a high cuttie back into the pocket and back out. Perfik!

2 mats left to go in my self-care project then. A Rubber Bucky and a Ute.

I just need to stop moving them on!

Cheers

G

Dragonfly

This is G-Mat 198 (AKA “Dragonfly”) built for Matt Simon over in Carpinteria, California. Matt is another of the Rincon crew and an all round fine wave rider who I have had the pleasure of being in the water with at Rincon.

He certailny loves mat surfing!

Matt riding a G-Mat Ute named the Rincon Rental Raft. Photo by Matt’s friend George.

So then on to Dragonfly. She’s a G-Mat RB-JMC with the usual unusualness of neg rocker and super-free venting. Being custom of course she is tailored to be a perfect fit for Matt and we’re both pretty sure he will dig her. That’s how I took his response anyway.

“Wow G!! I don’t know what to say. It looks amazing and i can’t wait to give it a go! Riding the G-Mat is quite often the most enjoyable way to ride waves. I always have a huge smile on my face when i’m flying down the line.”

— Matt Simon

There’s a good crowd of talented mat surfers around Matt’s part of the world who put the effort in (and have the perfect waves to boot) to really master the art of low inflations surfing on light wight mats. That part of the world is historically so important in the development of mat surfing and the tradition certainly seems to be continuing.

Anyhoo, Dragonfly is already in the US and should arrive with Matt later today so lets wait and see. Hopefully the amazing run of swell on the US west coast continues.

Have fun Matt. And George… Get your camera ready!

Cheers

G

---

FEEDBACK FROM MATT:

“She really flies! I can tell a big difference in instant speed and turn ability. Not too difficult to adjust to, just flew right off the bat. I’ll definitely be rinsing with fresh water and keeping her happy and healthy. The Cartwheel was yummy! I’m usually a bit sceptical when it comes to jelly in sweets but it wasn’t an overwhelming amount of jelly and I scarfed it down so fast I barely noticed it.

It’s an honor to ride a custom mat from a master craftsman! We have a big rain storm starting here now. Expecting 4 inches coastal and 7 inches in the mountains now through Friday. Sometimes fun raft waves pop up from the storm’s south winds so I have my eyes on the beaches out front.”

— Matt Simon

Nymphidius Sabinus - Stay Away from the Sewers!

So my run of mats for those who have supported me continues with a new mat for Andrew Stephen Buck. This is Nymphidius Sabinus (AKA Mick Dundee). She is a RB JMC built for Buck. The same model seen in that recent video that went crazy on Instagram!

A video that wowed the world turning thousands on to mats in one day. ASB surfing Rincon, captured by Log Rap. Visit https://lograp.com

For those who don't know, Andrew has a thing for animals... Or animal mats anyway, as you can see from the gallery at the bottom of this post. Nymphidius Sabinus is a Croc design. The facial features took some doing to get right! I have the mats a bucket dye job in Kelly Green too get the mottled effect of crocodile skin.

As you would expect, Nymphidius Sabinus has been made very light and very freely vented. The neg rocker also adds to the speed. She's on her way to Carpinteria to get stuck into some point waves.

Lets see how she goes down…

Cheers

G

I'm a Movie Star!!!

And I’m deeply honoured to be featured in the latest FringeSurfer.tv episode.

I proudly present Graeme Webster in "The Intricacies of Mat Surfing ... in a Nutshell". As a UK based surfmat-builder, Graeme hardly needs an introduction as...

Thanks so much to Tim Ciasto for this. Head over to fringsurfer.tv to see more.

Cheers

G

Midnight Rambler

This is G-Mat 194 (AKA Midnight Ramber), a RB-JMC flying on over to Japan to hook up with everyone’s favourrite little streak of orange lightening… Ian “Piskian” Wraithj.

Many will be aware of or even know Ian but for those who don’t, Ian is a very, very fine mat surfer of many years standing., He is a devotee of riding mats at very low inflation, favouring extremely light and well venbted mats so I was eager to get him onto the RB-JMC and now I am.

Stoked!!!

This mat will be straight up his stras. Right up his rue!

As standard, Midnight Rambeler is built with a 70d deck and bottom skin. The I-beams are cut to maximise venting with crescent and breather holes arranged to allow a very fastr transfer of air. This all results in a mat that would feel like trying to wrangle a cloud for many but in the hands of a talented mat rider, gives a very quick ride.

Ian always likes a smidge more length in his mats that wouldn’t work for other mat riders. This comes from his being… erm… less concerned about bumping his head than most... As a result of his being compact, he has grown up on mats that were comparritively large for him and has developed his style around this.

Let’s see how she goes in the Typhoon swells. Have fun Ian!

Cheers

G

So.... You like long names do ya?!

Here we have G-Mat 195 (AKA “The MK1 May-y D Semi-Inflation Revelation”). It might not be concise but sums up this girl perfectly.

The MK1 May-y D Semi-Inflation Revelation is a G-Mat Ubercat built for Matt Dight, a new matter who lives in Newquay in Cornwall. Matt describes hiself as:

“Fom Somerset exmoor coast - best described cringeingly as an all round water man. Lived and surfed on the south Devon and Cornwall coasts and now living in Newquay. After new wave riding experiences and he been frothing to get a mat for ages”.

Well froth no more my rabid friend because your dream has come true! (At some expense). The MK1 May-y D Semi-Inflation Revelation is a 200/70 Ubercat,. She is a wheezer to give a more controlled flow of air internally as mat was looking for a mat to take on wedges. There is a particular one on his doorstep that will love this mat.

Matt has gon for an acid dyed deck with something of a bleached jeans effect. He’s also gone for a bungee leash fitting for those certain rare days when it might be helpful.

The MK1 May-y D Semi-Inflation Revelation has free rocker so best of both worlds. A versatile but narrower that most mat that should nuzzle into those bowling pockets just lovely.

I’m keen to hear how Matt finds The MK1 May-y D Semi-Inflation Revelation. I surf around his way on ocvcaision so will doubtless get a go on her if I play my cards right!

Have fun Matt!

Cheers

G

G-Mat RFT in Stores Now (and soon)

Hello there.

Just a quick email to let you all know that there are RFT Series mats on the way to stockists, if not with them already.

Visite the Stock Mats to find stockists.

We have another run on the way through too once these are gone.

Cheers

G

Bringing it in...

Hello there.

Moving forward the Raft G1 mats will come under the G-Mat label as the G-Mat RFT Series. This is to save on any confusion.

That makes the first run of Rafts pretty collectable then! If you have one, look after it! 😎

The next batch are being run through right now and will be in stores really soon!

PS

The Instagram account will keep going under the same tag. 

Cheers

G

The Chief

This is G-Mat 193, a RB-JMC built for Jamie McClellan by way of wages for his work on the MatSurfers.com website. This mat named “The Chief” is a super free breathing, neg rockered affair. Well, Jamie is an exceptional mat rider so that makes sense.

Jamie has gone for a hard-hitting image on the bottom of this mat as you can see below. A technically very difficult image way beyond my skills, which required Jamie to collaborate with the immense talent of Ian Jermyn from Organic Devolution.

You can see Ian’s workings and Jamie’s inspiration Ian’s Instagram post below:

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Acid dye on 70 denier TPU banked nylon - Custom artwork completed for a client in the US. The artwork was supplied and then scaled up for the fabric - 80cm x 130cm. From the client: "The bandana is my favorite (of many, I’ve got heaps ) and it’s made by Kapital Japan. The image itself on the bottom of the mat is a not so subtle reminder that in the US we stand on stolen ground and this country was built on a foundation of native genocide and slavery."

A post shared by Ian Jermyn (@organicdevolution) on Aug 24, 2020 at 3:42pm PDT

As someone who really cannot draw, I am always in awe of those who can and Ian is an exceptional talent even among his peers. His work carries Jamie’s message off perfectly I think. My job was the easy bit, thinking with Jamie about colour matching to fit the artwork. I really do like the effect of the brown grip and with the white logo, I think this three-way collab has landed.

The Chief is en route to North Carolina right now to get into some of that east coast goodness.

Cheers

G

Crazy Horse!

G-Mat 192 (AKA “Crazy Horse”) is a new mat for San Francisan, Josh Edwards.

Josh told me that he was looking for a mat to get in to fast barrels. Chunky Central Californian waves where getting a good line and holding it are paramount. To this end, there was only really one candidate that came to mind after our discussion.

Crazy horse is a 200/70 Nouveau Racer built with 200denier white taffeta weave deck and light weight 70d I-beams and bottom skin. The grip is Sikaflex EBT with a strip pattern. As well as looking sexy, the aim of the strips is to reduce resistance (a bit) end to end and to maximise grip laterally. In short, easy to get on, harder to slide off!

The corners are gripped and I’ve run it back a little further than usual along the rail to account for Josh possibly being back a touch on the mat in hollow waves.

Back to Josh, I wasn’t aware of his work prior to collaborating with him over Crazy Horse but through this process I came across his artwork. Here what Josh has to say about it:

“My work has been all over the place for so long, mostly because I have always tried to be more than a one trick pony. It gets a little tricky to tie it all together, but the pieces always tell a story of normality through industrial symbols.

These usually come in the form of things we encounter on a daily basis; workers, vehicles, household objects, buildings. The process in which these get created, and the people who create them, tend to fall by the wayside while the name of a brand sits in the spotlight. ”

— Josh Edwards

Amazing work.

Cheers

G

PS. I’ve added a gallery of some of Joh’s work bellow and please take a look at his Instagram feed @one.time.twice

One for the Birthday Boy!

I always love buildin mats for those who really appreciate the art and Tim Ciasto is one of those people. A German living in Sweden, Tim travels a lot for his waves and he’s riggen his mat on many-a-continent. His skill as a film maker is phenomenal as you can see from the video he put together for the last UK Mat Surfers Matmeet

Swedish mat surfer visits Cornwall and ends up in a gathering with fellow mat surfers a.k.a. the infamous UK Mat Meet 12. Filmed at Widemouth Bay in July 2014 by Christina Nüske and Tim Ciasto Music: Devil's Been Talking - Instrumental by NeedToBreathe Licensed through The Music Bed

This is his new mat, Fringesurfer, a G-Mat RB-JMC. I have known Tim for many yeas and he is an avid surfmat rider. He has spent the last few years traveling the globe in persuit of his art, documenting the off piste surf world for his fantastic web series, Fringe Surfer which you can see at:

https://www.fringesurfer.tv/

What better name for this mat then?!

Fringesurfer is a 70/70 RB-JMC. Super-Free-Breather with neg rocker. A very fast mat! As you caqn see, Tim also whanted a splash of retro colour. This is a costly business but Tim is 50 this year so this mat was his birthday present from his wife so no holds barred!

I’m really looking forward to hearing the feedback from Tim on his experiengces with Fringesurfer and I’m particulalry looking forward to seeing her in the flesh again when we caqn finally get together again, somewhere.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIM!

Cheers

G

Jungle Fever!

It’s always good to see developments in the custom mat world and for me this mat symbolizes one of those moments.

Ian Jermyn is the man behind Organic Devolution. A talented artist and mat surfer, Ian has devoted himself to the art of dying Surfmat skins, having contributed to some colourful creations over at Warpmats.

I dye plenty of mat skins but there is a significant difference on that front between me and Ian. I can use dye to create some pleasing, simple, designs. But Ian is a hugely talented artist who can create complex and awe inspiring pieces that you could happily hang on a wall in their own right.

So I was over the moon when Ian made the decision to broaden his business and went free-lance, meaning that anyone (including my customers) can get his artwork on their mats! To kick off it was obvious that we needed to build a mat for Ian. And given Ian’s talent as a mat surfer, it was a pretty short discussion around which mat to build him.

On to Ian’s mat then… G-Mat 190 had to be named. It has been a tradition since number 1 that my custom mats are named. I won’t even ship them until they have one! After some consideration, Ian  has named this mat Dengue.

Dengue is a G-Mat RB-JMC 70/70 with negative rocker. A super-free-breather and with a light ¾ grip in clear Sikaflex EBT with front corners gripped. After some discussion, Ian opted for a Hestered valve.

 The navy fabric has a very open weave so feels super light and pliable, and the acid dying process makes the material more supple so along with the light grip, very free venting and neg rocker, Dengue should go like the clappers!

Dengue is en route to Ian on the West Coast of Ireland to get in to some of those long, quiet points and reefs. Very much looking forward to the feedback on this one.

Back to Ian, as I said he is a real talent and produces all sorts of wonders, many of which are for sale, so take a look at his website:

https://organicdevolution.com/

Cheers

G

Bruce - Every Mat has it's Backstory

This is a mat built for Mike Janich of SoCal named Bruce. Bruce is a 200/70 free rockered Rubber Bucky. Mike is something of a Connoisseur of surfmats having a range of differnet models and brands.

When we wore talking about this mat he explained that his main rides are a G-Mat 5 Star General and a Neumatic Contrail. Civen this mix we figured that something to atend more to the bottom-end might be in order. Mike is a lover of that surfmat glide and he felt that a Rubber Bucky would hit the spot.

The extra venting and lighter weave than the black deck of Mike’s 5SG will make this a notably different, and faster ride.

So why Bruce? Well I’ll hand over to Kike for that one.

“As the story goes.... the year was 1963. November I think. Sitting in my 4th grade classroom one late morning, our teacher told us her son was coming in after lunch to show part of a movie he was making.

So after lunch her son walks in carrying a HUGE film projector, taking his time setting things up. Then it’s showtime. What I saw on the movie screen that afternoon changed my life forever for the best. My teacher’s name was Mrs. Brown, her son’s name was Bruce, and the movie was The Endless Summer, months before anyone else saw it as it was shown limitedly in 1964 before its official release in June, 1966.

In honor of Bruce Brown.... I hererby christen thee... “BRUCE”!”

— Mike Janich

Great story! I’m looking forward to hearing back from Mike on this.

Cheers

G

God on Gas

This is a Andrew Smith's new mat. A super-free-breather negative rocker RB-JMC. That's right... Another one.

Andrew has been a mat rider for a long time having scored a couple of Neumatics from Dale around 12 years ago. Andrew cares for his mats and they will last a really long time with love but everything is finite and Andrew has been trying to score a G-Mat for a while.

Andrew is primarily a mat rider and was keen to get a sensitive ride. So a 70/70 highly vented mat is perfect for him. The conversation over which model was a brief one... "I want the model that Buck and Jamie are raving about".

Roger that.

(Just a quick note on models. This is the base design. I take careful measurements from riders to tailor their mat).

We talked about what Andrew wanted to call his mat. Andrew is a football fan (soccer for the philistines) and supports Tottenham Hotspur. His favourite all time player, Glenn Hoddle, was known to the fans as God on Grass so the name presented itself... GOD ON GAS.

G.O.G. is heading to San Diego and should be there soon. It'll be good to hear how Andrew gets on.

Cheers

G

PS as a Liverpool fan I should have charged Andrew more for this! 

Andrew riding his Newmatic at the first Cottons Matmeet in SoCal. Photo by Dirk Brandts