Mr Bubble

Here's a mat for my good friend and mat surfing legend, Andrew Stephen Buck (AKA ASB or "Buck").

Andrew has played a huge part in the evolution of my designs over the years. The Rubber Bucky model was designed based on his feedback over a number of prototypes. Following this the design was further tweaked based on feedback from Jamie McClellan to create the RB-JMC, and this is what Andrew has been riding since.

You may have noticed as well that Andrew is a big fan of animal themed mats and this one is no exception. Andrew was keen to go with a crab this time around and this is the design we came up with. In consultation with his nieces, this mat was named Mr Bubble. Pretty much the perfect name for a mat!

As for all the technical jimbo-jambo, Mr Bubble is an RB-JMC super-free-breather with negative elastic rocker... About as fast and sensitive as possible. We have also gone with a low profile spring valve for Andrew to try, as well as a bungee for potential pool encounters.

Mr Bubble gets collected tomorrow and should be in Carpinteria before the end of the week so going well. Not that there's any surf by the looks of it but hey ho... The waves will be back.

Have fun Andrew.

Cheers

G

Hold & Grunt

So, Covid hasn't gone anywhere and still sucks it seams. Thankfully, after a week of feeling like death I've finally been able to do the finishing touches to this mat.

This is a mat built for my good friend Henry Marfleet who got in on the list for a mat a few runs ago and wanted to be super sure he has the right model. With careful planning I think we're there now and Henry has a Nouveau Racer named "Hold & Grunt" to round out his quiver. Henry has a Rubber Bucky and a 70/70 RFT so adding a gunnie mat is the perfect model, especially as we move into winter. Henry was also really keen to secure the number 308.

Henry says:

“I’m calling the mat “Hold & Grunt”, how this name came about, which is related to number “308” as I have two classic Australian Holden utes which both have 308 cubic inch V8 engines ……. from the email I sent to you with Build Sheet -> “if it is to have a name you can call it “grunt” as that is what a 1970’s 308 ci V8 Holden engine has…… and hopefully the mat will have enough grunt to make it through fast sections, actually maybe aka “Hold & Grunt” as should have hold and grunt!”

— Henry Marfleet

Well, the Nouveau Racer certainly has a huge amount of hold, making waves that might be tough to surf a mat in mattable. The design certainly has a bottom end to what it will go in, but in solid waves, she'll go like a greased shit so I'm confident meets the brief.

On to the build, Hold & Grunt is a 200/70 with panels of PU grip to add stability. Internally she is a wheezer (restricted airflow), again to help keep things steady and dependable.

Henry has also asked for a bungee to give the leash option for those rare days when it is needed. He's also opted for a Hestered (below the flange) mini-Boston valve.

I surf with Henry a lot and as we get properly into the Northern Hemisphere winter, I look forward to seeing Hold & Grunt in action!

Cheers

G

Blackbeard

This is Blackbeard, a 200/70 G-Mat Ute built for UK based mat surfer, Steve Holmes.

Steve has been surfing mats for some time now and is keen to take him mat riding forwards, including some bigger days. We spoke about what he was after and Steve was keen for a mat that world cover all bases. The Ute seemed a solid option as the perfect all rounder. Steve has added a bungee for those rare particularly tricky conditions.

We have gone with a wheezer with free elastic rocker so Blackbeard will really have a wide range and will keep it's shape in bumpy and chunky conditions.

Steve said:

“Looks perfect fella can’t wait to try it,

My first experience of Mat surfing was about 25 years ago, A mate and myself bought a couple of Tiki mats and surfed killers in Morocco with them, Then a few years ago when mats started re-emerging, I bought a mat which I’ve been using in North Devon on Smaller days so now looking for something to use on bigger days as well. ”

— Steve Holmes

Blackbeard is heading off as we speak and I'm looking forward to hearing how she goes.

Have fun Steve!

Cheers

G

Monk Seal

Here's a mat for Blake Snyder-Rogers named "Monk Seal". Blake lives on the Big Island of Hawaii and was after a mat "for riding big gnarly waves"... Roger that.

The Nouveau Racer is a model I worked out a few years ago. It's had some minor tweaks to the base design and we are on the third iteration. The key thing is that it feels very dependable in bigger waves, when other models might start to feel skittery. That's a pretty reassuring feeling! The Nouveau Racer definitely has a bottom end so is a model compliment an all rounder. Blake is covered on that front as he already owns a G-Mat RFT2, the stock version of a 70/70 RB-JMC built by Tom Jennings.

So on to the build, Monk Seal has a 200d deck. I only build the Nouveau Racer for big surf as a 200/70. Combined with restricted venting and the fact that the mat is narrower so the rider gets more deck coverage, this all adds to the stability of the mat overall which on a larger mat would need higher inflation levels to compensate. Blake was also keen to go with a good grip coverage to keep himself stuck to the mat. This also adds to the stability.

Blake asked for a bungee. I get asked about these a lot and honestly, leashes and mats are not a good mix. Although I heavily reinforce the front flange, they tug on the mat and get in the way. I sometimes think people have got so conditioned to just letting their surfcraft go and all in all, learning to hang on is better.

There are exceptions of course such as physical issues, surfing wave pools and, of course, "... for riding big gnarly waves" where losing the mat finds you stuck offshore with the sharks!

As for the colours, Blake asked for a grey deck (so popular these days!) with purple logo and grip. The grip is purple, despite my camera trying to convince you otherwise!

Finally, Blake asked for positive elastic rocker to help to drive Monk Seal through turns.

So, Monk Seal is heading off to the Big Island to hook up with Blake. Have fun man!

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

Dusty

So, what do you do when you wake up on a Sunday and the winds are a bit shifty, the rivers up and wind-blown and you have already knocked out a bunch of miles on the chase over the last few days?

That's right... Make something... In this instance it was welding up the new addition to my quiver: A Nouveau Racer named "Dusty".

As I've mentioned, I've had a real hankering to get back to my roots of monochrome surfing with black wetsuit and white craft. I sold my old quiver and have been embarking on replacements when I have the time. The first was the one that kicked this off, A BodyBag mini mat. When I committed to the monochrome project, my next was a white 5 Star General to give me a mat for all bases.

We've had some really solid swells so the next was something for that, hence dusty. I cut the bottom skin last week to get the Dusty Bin artwork done (google "Dusty Bin 321" if you're wondering about the reference). On Sunday, I cut the other panels and did the whole build.

I'm really stoked to have a Nouveau Racer back in my life. The confidence this mat will give me in juicy, heavy and/or hollow waves is a really important bit of the quiver.

Just to cover the techno-waffle. Dusty is a 200/70 free elastic rockered wheezer. You'll notice I have added a bungee (for those big days in spots where a swim isn't really an option and I need a kook-cord). I've also added a Cornish St Piran's Flag. I was so pleased with this that I've added flags to the 5SG and the BodyBag too and will go with it for the rest of this quiver when I get to it.

Anyway, back to the slog. A fun mat for Jason MacMurray to post next but for now, enjoy Dusty.

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