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

Ruby

Ruby Ruby Ruby Ruby! Aaahahhahahharrrahhgh!

Yes this is Ruby, a G-Mat Ute built for Newquay based Neale Bergman. Neal won the raffle at the recent Fringe Film night hostel by Stevo and Helen from The Temple of Fringe Surf Shop. The night raised stacks of money for Stoked Stroke Survivors and I was honoured to play a small part in that.

So on to all this... Neale doesn't have a ton of mat surfing experience but he's an absolute hunk and body surfs as well as riding bellyboards so has what it takes. With that in mind a mat that is relatively straightforward to jump on to and get going was the best bet and a 200/70 Ute was the perfect choice. The Ute is the basis for the stock G-Mat RFT that Tom Jennings builds and is a perfect all rounder working well in pretty much any conditions. Like the RFT, Ruby is a wheezer which helps keep things feeling stable.

Of course being a custom, Ruby is built to be a perfect fit for Neale. The red deck, white bottom, white grip combo looks super clean too. I really like this mat.

We were hoping to do a personal delivery and get a wave but the surf looks appalling so Ruby is in the post. I'm going to be down in Newquay at the beginning of August for the showing of Innermost Limits of Pure Fun being hosted by Andy Fielding, so plan to get in with the Newquay area mat crew then.

It's been a fun build this. Hopefully Neale's partner Hayley will grab an RFT now 😎

Have fun Neale!

Cheers

G

Queen Gwyn

I went to the amazing The Temple of Fringe Surf Shop fringe surf film night weekend before last. It was unreal with so many amazing people. One notable absentee was Gwyn Haslock. Gwyn is a veteran of UK surfing and has been a stalwart of the lineups in Newquay, Cornwall for very nearly her whole life. Gwyn has reached the point where hard boards are difficult to manage and Sally Parkin of Original Surfboard Company recommend a mat. I was beyond honoured to be able to build one for Gwyn.

The mat was a surprise so naming fell to me. Queen Gwyn was the only choice. Given Gwyn's previous experience I wanted to give her something easier to manage and also familiar so I went with a design I've done once or twice before. I call this the Retrocruiser but it's basically an old style Merrinesque build. It's also a 500/200 construction (the I-beams are 70d). I've roughed up the cordura deck a little for more grip. This isn't a build I would ever go with normality and I'm not really into heavy materials like this but for Queen Gwyn it's the best option.

I'm so stoked to be able to play a part in keeping Gwyn in the water. ALL HAIL QUEEN GWYN!

Cheers

G

Pilot Pyle

Here's a mat built for Clarence Martin.

Clarence is a 12 year old who surfs boards well and is looking to expand his quiver. His mum said:

“Clarence surfs Rincon and Malibu First Point. He loves to boogieboard and wanted to try a mat that would allow more speed and mobility. Watching Buck ride a mat on days that Rincon was too big to log was the biggest contributor to his interest. Andrew [@aslbuck ] and Chet [@chet.taylor.chet.taylor] made it look too fun, he couldn’t resist wanting to try one.”

— Jen Martin

They certainly do make it look fun! I'm hoping to spend a bit of time surfing with then this summer!

So on to the mat. Clarence and Jen spoke to Andrew Buck who knows Clarence well and felt he is ready to jump in the deep end so the mat (which he has named Pilot Pyle) is a 70/70 RB-JMC super-free-breather with negative elastic rocker. Given Clarence's age, we have scaled a little large to give some growing room.

I'm really excited to see a young lad coming to the mat and am excited to see how Clarence develops as a mat surfer.

Have fun mate!

Cheers

G

Bleu

A 70/70 RB-JMC named Bleu built for James Tanner has winged it’s way with a mat for Johanna Brebner named Florence. I have built a few mats for JT including a 70/70 RB-JMC free-breather named Crumbs.

We have gone with full on super-free-breather venting with Bleu and also "Hestered" the valve as we will be doing this as standard on our stock mats moving forward. We've also gone pretty sparse with the grip to maximise the malleability of the mat.

Fast and sensitive.

I'm excited to see James surfing Bleu. I'm pretty sure he's gonna dig this mat.

Have fun James!

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

Ambrosia

OK then... A quick replacement for the super-talented Chris Cravey @cat.chinwaves after his RB-JMC named Nepenthe was disemboweled by a scaredy-cat logger who turtle rolled right in front of him at his home break, Steamer Lane, Santa Cruz. Thankfully Chris wasn't disemboweled too but a close call!

With the same theme in mind, Chris has named this mat Ambrosia. Other than replacing black grip with clear, the rest of the build is the same with Ambrosia being a 70/70 free-breather with negative elastic rocker and an extra bit of fairy dust. Having seen how much versatility Chris gets out of the niche Ubercat model I'm drooling to see what he does with Ambrosia.

Have fun Chris and watch out for the looks!

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

Zawn

Here is a mat built for west Cornwall-based mat surfer Matthew Geyman.

Matt surfs way down west getting into some of the short, sucky beach breaks down that way so wanted a mat that would get in and get hold quickly. Matt has a 4GF Omni from PG so we settled on a Nouveau Racer to concentrate on hollower or bigger days. Matt opted to name her 'Zawn'.

Matt says:

“Zawn is named for those secluded places along the Far West’s remote North Coast. Coves accessible only via a scramble, or by canoe, are a treat to explore. Packing a mat on a summer coast path walk, in the hope of spotting an unexpected wave is real treasure hunting. Originally a temporary way to stay on the water after a back injury, mats quickly became a source of joy for my whole family, often replacing more traditional craft: boards and hand planes. Because a mat’s so easy to transport, its rewards were multiplied.

Our closest break (a lesser visited spot in the far west) has waves better suited to short craft and bodysurfing. We snag treasured family memories here: daughters hooting and skidding on mats down the face of Christmas Day growlers, with no other soul about.

‘Zawn’ joins a stable including a 4GF Omni, Catherine’s G-Raft (a birthday gift when she fell out of love with surfing), and a behemoth Redback with chunky handles that the kids love (a great summer mush machine, sent by my brother from some godforsaken town near his home on the east coast of Australia). A mat’s joined the annual Morocco pilgrimage a few times in 20 years, but usually stays rolled up as it’s unlikely to replace a board for the long paddle out to Killers. Zawn will feature more heavily and it’ll love Cathedrals.

After a life in the water, it’s only a surfmat that makes me giggle uncontrollably and I’d do anything to keep the maniacal cackle factor.

Cheers n gone

Matt”

— Matthew Geyman

Zawn is a 200/70 Wheezer. We had some debate around elastic rocker versus free rocker. The new red material kinda made the choice for us being pretty inelastic. I suspect this might loosen up after a surf or two. I'll be checking in with Matt. Matt has also gone for a bungee for long Moroccan swims!

Have fun Matt!

Cheers

G

Black Pearl

So here's the third in the run of three monochrome mats; a G-Mat RB-JMC named "Black Pearl".

This badgeresque beauty is a 70/70 super-free-breather built for California based matsurfer Johno Ross who lives around San Clemente.

I asked Johno about his journey into mats and he said:

“I got into surf matting because I like to go fast! The quality of ride seems to be in the 8-10 point range all the time. An eighteen inch wave is essentially overhead. You can fly on the water and still do extreme maneuvers. It is cheating! I have never had a bad session on my airbag; I believe that is impossible to happen. You can still feel the speed and glide from simply going straight. Hydroplaning in big waves is incredibly fun. I love riding my mat, it’s the best!”

— Johnathan Ross

It is the best mate. No argument there.

Johno is a good mat surfer and was keen to get on a RB-JMC. We have gone for the neg rocker set up to maximise speed. A lightweight and technical ride.

He's up to it.

As I've said before I really do love the clean lines of monochrome mats. Reminds me of my days as a black wetsuit, white board kinda guy.

Black Pearl is in transit as I type. I'm looking forward to hearing how Johno goes.

Have fun mate. Arrrrrrr!

Cheers

G

Patronus

My good friend and mat surfing veteran Matt Pierce got in line for this run of mats. I'm stoked to finally be able to hook Matt up with an RB-JMC and when he said he wanted all white my monochrome vibes got all tingly (I did say I liked it). Matt didn't just want a white mat to paddle out in hardcore lineups, cross his arms, avoid eye contact and never smile.

No...

He wanted a white mat to attach LED's and light that fecker up like a bleddy UFO for night surfing!

Lovely stuff!!!

With that in mind Patronus has a gap in the grip on the central pontoon so a strip of lights will go down there. Matt is going to attach velcro for this. He has already done this a bit with an orange Ute I built him named El Gnaranja and it looks bonkers, particularly in some of the river waves Matt surfs.

Apart from that though, Matt is a really good matsurfer so I'm super excited to hear what he makes of the RB-JMC. He's one of those reactive, controlled-chaos looking watermen who just pull rad shiz out of nowhere and brings a lot of fun to his mat surfing. I have had the honour of sharing waves with Matt and James Sowell at Doho and it was a real laugh.

Onto Patronus, she is a 70/70 Super-Free-Breather with negative rocker. I think Matt will notice and love the completely free spot movement in this mat. It's not for everyone but I really think it will be for him. He has gone for a deck valve. The grip is clear to maximise the light up factor.

As for the name a Patronus is a mythical protective creature from the Harry Potter stories. Matt says his animal is a pelican so again, perfect colour scheme.

Light shows aside, Matt is due to take a trip to hang out with a lovely long right hand point break later this year and Patronus is just gonna love that! Can't wait to see it.

Have fun Matt! It's weird shipping a mat to Idaho!

Cheers

G

(Re) Introducing the Chino Racer

Had a fun surf in the wave pool this morning with Ryan Akins which was a good opportunity to try out the reincarnated Chino Racer model. The one I'm riding here is a 70/70 free-breather named Ponk. You will notice that Ponk is numbered 300. This is the first time I've jumped forward in the numbering but I wanted to get this mat built to get the testing done, have a load of mats to be getting on with so wanted to get this one out of the way and also wanted number 300 for myself...

Cake and eat it! 🍰🙂

Anyway, as I've previously mentioned, I think it's important that builders of any kind of craft take time to properly explore the properties ofwhat they build. With mats, tiny differences in dimensions make huge differences in performance and direct experiential feedback is essential, alongside feedback from other people.

I've now ridden this extensively in 200/70 Wheezer and 70/70 free-breather and super-free-breather set-ups in all sorts of waves, so I feel I have a good sense of how the design behaves in different conditions and configurations. The Chino Racer is now back in the G-Mat range with a renewed sense of optimism and joy. 🙂

70/70 super-free-breather named Grubby Blanc (l) & a 200/70 Wheezer named Chubby Noir (R)

Here's what the description on the website says:

---

The Chino Racer is an all-rounder that gives a very different feel to the Ute and RB-JMC. Having an additional central I-beam, the Chino racer does not have quite the same level of morphing potential as the 4 I-beam/3 pontoon mats and Being a 4 pontoon mat the it feels much flatter and squarer than 3 pontoon models which means it naturally surfs much flatter. As a result this is a very fun mat that leans towards drifting turns, reminiscent of some of the older mats such as Merrin, although it is definitely a more advanced ride.

Despite this drifting tendency the Chino racer holds a line well and has good down-the-line speed. In 200/70, the Chino Racer feels very stable, particularly with a more restricted internal venting set up. As a 70/70 the drifting nature of this design is maximised and this might be the favoured option for more experienced surfers who are looking to add this style of ride to their quiver.

---

I have now retired the 5 Star General. With Tom building the G-Mat RFT range there is no need for me to be building stock mats so if you have one of the couple of hundred or so out there then you own an extinct species! (There is a one off white one somewhere that I did for Sean Starky for a Yucca raffle and a red one I built for Jim Newitt too).

Anyway, I'm going to carry on riding Ponk as my go to mat for a bit. Good fun! 🙂

Cheers

G

Yin Yang Glider

Say hello to "Yin Yang Glider", a custom G-Mat Ute built for Aussie mat surfer Richard Sandilands.

Richard lives around Byron in NSW and over the years had shared several sessions hidden from the hoards in the less crowded corners. This is where he first saw GG riding a mat. Like many of us Richard bought a mat, got hooked and then suddenly realised that he hadn't ridden a board in ages!

Richard says:

“There was a small coterie of other mat surfers that gathered at Wategos most mornings in George’s orbit, a loose entourage of older eccentric guys, refugees from the more crowded Byron breaks. Sometimes Warren [Pfeiffer] would come up from Yamba and it was always fun to share the waves with him too.

And the year Jamie [McClellan] was living up the coast and would come to Byron to surf from time to time.”

— Richard Sandilands

There is a strong crew of good mat surfers around that way on the better breaks too so I always like sending a mat that way.

So on to Yin Yang Glider. This mat is a 200/70 Ute. Richard was interested in a stable and versatile mat so she is built as a wheezer which can be useful in choppy conditions and also on bigger days.

Richard says:

“I have chosen what I believe to be a versatile and durable set of specs for this mat, leaning on the more conservative side perhaps to allow for a mat that will surf in a variety of conditions here including bumpier surf especially on cross-shore days at the Pass that can confound the longboard riders and create opportunities for mat riders in what would otherwise be impossibly crowded and competitive conditions.”

— Richard Sandilands

The name came to mind for Richard based on the colour. I really do love monochrome mats. Seriously.... I proper love 'em and Yin Yang Glider is the first in a run of three of them. 🖤🤍

So Yin Yang Glider had embarked on her journey down under. I'm excited to hear how this adventure pans out.

Have fun Richard!

Cheers

G

Cliodnha

Meet Cliodhna, a mat for the final of the three very local people in this run.

Mags Harding (mother of Joe Harding whom a good number of readers will know) lives pretty close to me and is a regular long-standing fixture at the local South Devon surf spots. Mags has ridden mats a bit in the past but these have usually been too big for her (most recently borrowing a XL G-Mat 5 Star General from Alex Williams  which is basically a camp bed for Mags!)

We talked about what Mags was after and she said she wanted an all rounder that would work well in surf around 2-3ft having mulled over the options we settled on a G-Mat Ute as this will cover everything and comfortably accommodate bigger surf as Mags develops her mat riding.

We went for a 200/70 build with a pink acid dyed deck and navy bottom. Mags asked for grey grip and I was wondering how it would look with the pink... Great is eanswer!

Internally we have restricted the airflow. "Wheezers" retain their shape well offering stability, along with the 200d deck, so offers Mags the opportunity to get by the inflation down.

As for the name, Mags tells me that in Cork Cliodhna is known as the Goddess of love and beauty.. She was also a Queen of the Banshees in Irish folklore and seems a perfect name for a mat that will be screaming down the line!

We said we really must have a South Devon matmeet so putting the call out to any mat surfers hiding out there!

Have fun Mags! It's been a fun build and I'm looking forward to seeing you out there!

Cheers

G

Donald Campbell - A Mat for Derek Hynd

Well here is a mat I’ve been itching to build for years. A G-Mat RB-JMC built for wave riding royalty… Derek Hynd.

If anyone is unaware of him, Derek is one of the best surfers in the world. Having been a competitive monster back in the day, Derek has shifted his attention for many years now to stripping things back… Literally!

Derek is the master of friction free surfing as illustrated beautifully in this short from Andrew Kaineder.

“It’s jazz compared to rock ‘n’ roll. And that is a constant breath of fresh air.”

— Derek Hynd

You can see why I’ve been so keen to build Derek a mat! We have spoken about mats in the past and Derek has been intrigued by them, speaking highly of Warren Pfeiffer (who featured in Derek’s film Musica Surfica), James Tanner and of course our mutual friend Andrew Stephen Buck. Derek showed a genuine fascination in the intricacies of mats and the morphing, structureless nature of them. If you’re into friction free wave riding then why wouldn’t you dig mats?

The conversation about the mat design was interesting. By his own admission, Derek had no idea what to ask for and gave me full licence to build him a mat. I turned to Andrew for guidance…

“Build him the most advanced mat you can. He will jump on that thing and master it straight away!”

— ASB

I told Derek what Andrew had said and we both agreed to trust his judgement!

So on to the mat. After talk about aesthetics we agreed on a yellow and brown colour scheme up top. I really do love that combo! But this is the least important aspect of any surfcraft of course unless you’re hanging them up and as such this was an extremely brief chat with Derek far more interested in the techno gubbins do let's move on to that.

Following Andrew’s orders and further discussion with Derek I have built him a 70/70 RB-JMC. This is a highly technical model which is very loose and very fast. Internally I have gone with a super-free-breather set up so the air flow is completely unrestricted. In addition, the mat has a negative elastic rocker so when set in this will work with the concave to maximise lift.

The last part of the process of course was for Derek to name his mat. He went for “Donald Campbell”, the only man to simultaneously hold the land and water speed records.

It remains to be seen how close Derek gets to those speeds. I’m sure he’ll have a good go!

It’s been a real pleasure to build this mat. I love talking to people about all things hydrodynamic and friction free and Derek’s huge knowledge and genuine interest are an inspiration. I have learnt a lot through this and am so excited to hear how he goes on a mat. It’s about time!

Have fun!

Cheers

G

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FEEDBACK

The Prone Ranger

Say hello the "The Prone Ranger", a G-Mat RB-JMC built for musician a prone surfing obsessive Kris Simeon. Kris lives in Oxnard, California and has got into mats over the last couple of year.

When I say into mats, I mean REALLY into mats.

What's more Kris is quickly picking up the art of riding at lower inflations and when he got onto the list for this round he was immediatly on to me with waht he was after... A 70/70 Super-Free-Wheezer RB-JMC.

Before we get onto The Prone Ranger though, I asked Kris about his surfing and journey into mats but bofore that, about his brand Los Boogiemen. Kris said:

“I got into bodyboarding late in my 20’s. I kinda stopped for years. I was never that good. Mostly just terrified. The pandemic was the best time to get back into things or learn new things. I was inspired by that documentary series 100 foot wave on hbo. I figured if they could surf 30-40 ft regularly, I can probably handle 2-3 feet at my local breaks haha. Dug out my old equipment. Was paddling with some buddies. Kinda came up with a joke name called Los Boogiemen. I made the art, and that art resonated with the bodyboarding community. I started making shirts and sending them worldwide.

Being the curious person I am, it’s become more than a brand to me. It’s more like a blog where I get to share my adventures in the water. I got a mat and was pretty frustrated for months. I swore it off for half a year. Only this past summer did I get back into it and commit to it fully. Loving the journey in the magic towel itself.”

— Kris Simeon

So then onto The Prone Ranger and Kris wanted an acid dye burnt orange and a few added stenciled decals. I'm pretty stoked on the finish. I think it would have been easy to overload the mat with all of these but they sit well.

The build itself was the real challenge. I remember Dale Solomonson telling me about sub-zero temps in the Pacific North West where the ambient temps led to surprise under-cooked welds. I thought we were immune to this in the UK South West but we had a stint of -7C mornings and The Prone Ranger became the first mat I have built to suffer this fate! I always test my welds and when I heard the dreaded PING! PING! PING! I new there were wobbles afoot.

NOOOOOOOO.....

Fear not though. 3 hours of surfmat surgery top up welds with the hand iron and The Prone Ranger is ready for action! Kris was good enough for me to add my own secondary name and this mat is now known as G-Mat 286 (AKA "The Prone Ranger" (AAKA "Survivor of the Ice Age")).

Go well Prone Ranger. God speed.

Have fun Kris!

Cheers

G

Towlie

Say hello to G-Mat 285, a Ute named "Towelie" built for fellow Cornishman, Graham Bracegirdle and my last build of 2023.

Bracey is a pretty well known figure in the UK surf scene having worked in the industry back in the day. He was always known as a charger with his son Joe picking up the mantle today.

More recently, Bracey has spread his sights further afield and a cursory glance at his yard overlooking his rock strewn home break in South East Cornwall will reveal a wide array of weird and wonderful contraptions in various states of repair.

If it's on, Bracey is on it!

Bracey has had a couple of my early cast-off mats over the years so I was stoked when he got in for a custom on this run.

He has ridden a 70/70 Ute previously but was keen to get something a bit more stable so we agreed on a 200/70 Wheezer. The Ute Bracey has was also scaled to me so was a little small so upping the size to fit his height was needed. As I mentioned, the inside at Bracie's home break can be very sketchy so he has asked for a bungee to give a leash option on the bigger days.

As for the rest, Bracey is a Liverpool fan, same as me, so adding a Liverbird was an absolute joy and I have to say, I love how this has come out!

Black on black is always a win for me.

Have fun meht!

Cheers

G

Tiddler

So this run is an interesting one with 3 people from fairly local to me getting a deposit in. Cue cries of "fix" but it really wasn't. I shift around the timings that I send out emails each time and I think this batch just landed right for them.

Anyway, this mat is the first of the ones staying local and is an RB-JMC built for South Devon surfer, James Borne who people might know as @fringe_devon 

I see James around our local spots and he has been talking about mats for a little while. Here's what he has to say:

“So I’m very fortunate to have a few pretty decent waves close to home; one of those waves being Bantham - with its strong longboarding community. Mat surfing has been in my peripheral vision for years, with a few friends dipping in and out of riding them. But it’s only been the last few years, I’ve really begun stepping off the foam more and trying to pursue different types of surf craft as a way to avoid the crowds and alternatives to get some speed and glide.

I can clearly remember a session a few years ago, at one of the local spots, G was out on his mat. I just remember how fast he seemed to be going on a fairly average day of waves and how much I was struggling on my chosen equipment that day. Decision made, it was time to explore mats. With that, Tiddler is here.”

— James Borne

And yes this mat is named Tiddler! Named after Jamie's kid's favourite bedtime book (that time of day really is magical as a parent).

We talked about design and James was keen to jump straight in with a 70/70 RB-JMC. Tiddler is. A free-breather with negative elastic rocker so James really is going all out from the off. Fair play! He's also gone for a bungee for the wave pool option. After the last couple of summers we've had that's not a bad idea.

James stopped by to pick up Tiddler and is looking at an outing in local onshore junk tomorrow. I'm excited to hear how he goes!

Have fun and let's get a few waves mate!

Cheers

G

Football!!!!!!!!!!!

Say hello to a G-Mat RB-JMC built for Poem Surf craft shaper, Jimmy O’Brien.

Jimmy hails from Far Rockaway in New York and is a skilled mat surfer so came with a clear sense of what he was after. I always enjoy building mats for people who build surf craft. I really enjoy building mats for everyone but it is fun to talk through the concepts behind mats and the hydrodynamics with someone who spends their days thinking about it.

Jimmy came up with the name "Football" for his mat. Here why:

“Okay G, I’ve been thinking about this all day. I’m really proud to say that my wife and I are expecting a child, and we just found out yesterday that it’s a girl. I am absolutely thrilled and can’t wait to be a girl-dad. Up to this point we didn’t know what we were having, and we hadn’t really told anyone besides close family, so we referred to her as “Football” as a sort of code word and because, quite frankly, we had no idea what the hell to expect! Well, that moniker isn’t really necessary now, but we’ve grown quite fond of it anyways, so in honor of our daughter-on-the-way, I’d like to name the mat Football. Mat surfing has brought me immense joy—pushing me to unlearn things, relax, and embrace subtlety and nuance over brute strength and flash. I have a feeling fatherhood is going to be much the same. I hope the name will remind me to relax, soften myself, and keep my eyes open to whatever lies ahead—whether it’s riding a wave or living the life I am so blessed to have.”

— Jimmy O'Brien

Beautiful stuff. Congratulations Team OB!

So back to Football the Surfmat, the mat is a 70/70 RB-JMC with negative elastic rocker. We settled on a free-breather in the end as Jimmy surfs some bumpy waves at times so the slight restriction compared to the super-free will help the mat keep its shape.

That said, this is still a free-breather and football will be a super-sensitive fast ride that will get down the line quick!

I can't wait to see Jimmy and Football in the water.

Cheers

G