Ginebra - Blazing the Tail

Say hello to "Ginebra", a 70/70 G-Mat RB-JMC with super-free venting and neg rocker built for Gonzalo Sanchez. Gonzalo is a mat surfing pioneer in Southern Spain. He says:

"I am a guy born in a small town on the coast known as the island. I have spent my life on the beach. And I work as a diver and fisherman.

It is in the south of Spain, I work along this coast that is just in front of Morocco. I always liked surfing, starting with bodyboard corks, then with one-keel boards, and for a few years I have been focused on surfing without fins and mats, the best.

In winter we have good waves, and if not, then the boat from my town to Morocco takes only 30 minutes. Portugal is 3 hours away by car.

I'm the only one on these shores who surfs with Mat, haha I am very grateful G, since I have the RFT, I get in and out of the water very happily, now with this new mat I am going to fly!"

What a place to live! I'm really stoked to have been able to build a mat for Gonzalo. Now he has a loaner too so perhaps we'll see a few more matsurfers down there!

Have fun!

Cheers

G

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FEEDBACK - 6th APRIL, 2022

Son of Bruce

I would like to introduce you to Son of Bruce, a mat for Mike Janich.

Mike and his wife Kathy are friends with my wife Becky, our son Joe (Webbo) and me so I was super-stoked when the opportunity came up for my to build Mike a new mat. It’s taken a while to get this mat done with one thing and another but here we are, and Mike and I are both pretty pleased with her.

 G-Mat 223 (AKA “Son of Bruce”) is an RB-JMC. Mike likes a more stable mat so we have gone with a 200/70 configuration and free-breather venting. Mike also opted for free elastic rocker. 

As you can see, Son of Bruce is quite distinctive. Mike wanted to honour the Spitfire/Flying Tiger planes of WWII. We took time planning this with acid dye work on the bottom in a pale grey (it looks white in the pics but it isn’t) and then forest green/brown camouflage on the deck to match the spitfire. The tricky bit was the mouth. This was stenciled in black and white. The original also has a red tongue and lips but honestly, we decided to quit whilst we were ahead as the black and white really pops! Finally the grip consists of three white stripes as a nod towards the wings and then a clear strip up the middle to show off the camo pattern.

Son of Bruce will be heading off to Mike once the grip has cured. This has been a really interesting project to get stuck into and it’s been an honour to build a mat for Mike.

Have fun Mike!

 Cheers

 G

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FEEDBACK - 28 FEBRUARY 2022

El Matador - A Surfmat for Torren Martyn

Here's a mat that's been on the to do list for quite a while but we finally got around to it. I'm very excited to be able to build a mat for the super talented Torren Martyn.

For those unaware, Torren is a notable surfer who has been the subject of a number of surf/travel films created with his friend and amazing film maker Ishka Folkwell. The latest of these being the fantastic Lost Track Atlantic series. Torren's smooth surfing, open mind and eye for subtlety suit him perfectly to mat surfing which he has been quietly getting on with, with his 4GF from PG.

This mat then, named El Matador (can you believe that's not already taken?!) is a 70/70 RB-JMC with standard negative elastic rocker and set up as a super-free-breather. A very light mat with an eye on down the line speed and glide. Given Torren's penchant for the low key she is black on black which is always a winner.

Right now, El Matador is sat in Stanstead Airport, near London, waiting for a spot on a plane. Torren is currently in the Rincon area so that's where they'll hook up. Not a bad wave for a mat try out eh?

More to come. 😎

Cheers

G

The 70/40 Experiment Goes On...

The experiment continues and I am very excited to send this mat off to her new owner.

As a mat builder I have always been a believer in testing things out before imposing them on the general public (or ‘going to market’ I guess if I want to sound fancy).  I believe I am a reasonably good mat rider but certainly not the best and aside from anything else, it is important to get things under the bellies of talented mat surfers who are able to give me detailed feedback. That’s no different for this 70/40 construction.

So far, Andrew Stephen Buck has an RB-JMC built with these materials. He’s had a few waves as Rincon has had the worst winter you can imagine but the feedback to date is “best yet”. The next test pilot is Kiwi James Tanner.

For those who don’t know him, James is one of those watermen who just hit the flow whatever they are riding and that’s no different with his mat riding. James has a really dynamic style getting a mat right onto it’s rail and really defining S-turn surfing, without losing an iota of speed. He has an RB-JMC in his quiver but we talked about an Ubercat given his style so we’re both excited to see how this mat named “Chinook” goes.

The 70 denier deck is dyed salmon pink with the bottom and I-beams being cut from orange 40d taffeta. Chinook has an elastic bottom hiving a natural inclination to create a smooth progressive curve into turns. Perfect!

So lets see how she goes. My 70/40 RB-JMC has been surfed 15 to 20 times. She has developed a super-slow leak. It doesn’t affect inflation when surfing but it is there. I think this is due to a scrape with a reef but I can’t be 100% sure. This is why we test... to see what happens over time with different mats, different riders and different conditions.

Exciting though!

Cheers

G

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FEEDBACK 25th JANUARY 2022

Rat the Mat - A Fit for Chet

The last mat of 2021 here is a 70/70 RB-JMC built for Californian, Chet Taylor. Chet is a skilled mat surfer with a penchant for pointbreaks. He's currently riding a G-Mat RFT-M which is pretty small for him truth be told as Chet is 6'4"!

"Rat the Mat", as Chet has named his new ride, is scaled to be a much better fit for him. The grip is Chet's own design. The red is actually a deep pink (cameras ). I think it looks good and am looking forward to hearing how she goes. Rat the Mat is in good hands.

Back to Chet please do follow him @chet.taylor.chet.taylor

on Instagram. He is a super talented artist who's work I'm pretty sure you will all appreciate.

So there we go. That's 2021 all wrapped up. Wishing you all a great 2022. We are working on some exciting projects moving forward into next year so stay tuned!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Cheers

G

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FEEDBACK - 15th JANUARY, 2022

Kamoenahoʻokalakupua

Hello all and a happy bit between Christmas and New Year to you all.

Here is the latest RB-JMC to go out of the workshop for Anthony Olayon over in Hawaii. This is the first of 2 for Anthony although we have agreed a few months between the 2 so that he can get the feel for this mat, a 70/70 super-free-breather with free rocker named Kamoenahoʻokalakupua which translates roughly ot Magic Towel.

Anthony and I were discussing his mat surfing exploits. He has one of my AirPlanes (stay tuned on them and the RFT's by the way... honest!) as well as a collection of other modern mats and was keen to get onto the RB-JMC. Here's a bit more about Anthony:

“I come from a bodyboard background surfing the imperfectly perfect slabby waves of Hawai’i island. Bought my first mat around ten years ago. Was hesitant to ride for fear of losing the mat and it washing up the lava lined shoreline...and honestly never quite figured out the mat riding technique a hundred percent. Fast forward to 2018. Volcanic eruptions covered our home surfing spots. That was pretty depressing as the waves lost were what a lot of us built our lives around...uncrowded waves and a tight knit crew. I lost motivation to surf and bodyboard for a good year and a half or so. Eventually started dusting off the mat and really got hooked on it and figured out how to properly ride over the last couple years. The past two years I’ve ridden the mat far more often than the bodyboard and other surf craft. Just love the speed you get on the mat and the weird comments people give you when they first see you.”

— Anthony Olayon

Sounds like the perfect time to get on this mat then!

Kamoenahoʻokalakupua sets sail tomorrow, despite being built before Christmas. We just didn't want to take the risk of shipping with over-stretched couriers.

Have fun Anthony!

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FEEDBACK - 8th JANUARY, 2022

Jason Stanson - 2 of 2

2 of 2 for Jason Stanson is a mat named "Pink Panter". This slinky pinky is the quiver mate to Ghost Rider, Jason's RB-JMC and is built with a mind to surfing the OC beaches and hollow wedges.

Pink Panter is a G-Mat Ubercat. With her positive elastic rocker and narrow beam, as well as deep concave and rail hooks, Pink Panter will transition from rail to rail easily with hold and drive through tight radius turns. She is also a free-breather to keep things responsive.

I recently built a similar mat for a very notable mat surfer who fedback that "it comes off the bottom real well and when the wave has some power it really goes". Just the ticket then eh Jason?

Pink Panter and Ghost Rider are on route so I'm hoping to get word of their adventures in the not too distant future.

Have fun Jason.

Cheers

G

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FEEDBACK - 7th JANUARY, 2022