MATSURFERS.COM NEWS - March/April, 2021
Hello matters andf welcom into a new [insert season here depending on hemisphere].
Another 2 month gap between news letters unfortunately and this month it’s prety Insta-heavy. There are all sorts of things happening in the mat world including a lot of appearances in the wider surfing world. Good thing or bad thing? You decide!
Anyway, without further a do, here we go…
MAT RIDING IN HERMOSA & MANHATTEN BEACHES 1950’s
Hermosa Beach 1950’s postcard
We received an email from Dan Foster asking the following:
“I would ride my bike down to Manhattan Beach (near the Pier) or up to Hermosa Beach and rent surf mats during the summers of '57 and '58 (during my junior high school years). Pretty sure we rented them by the hour. I can remember surfing on both sides of the MB Pier with other mat surfers, surfboard riders and body surfers. Could get brutal at times. Do you know where I can get any info on those two beachs and surf mat riding during the late 50s?”
We are completely at a loss on this one but would love to help Dan out. Anyone with any info, pics or footage please hit us up!
UPDATE 6th MAY, 2021:
We’ve had a reply from George Leone:
A reply to Dan Foster's post. I saw that picture of the Hermosa aquarium! That was near the entrance of the collapsed Hermosa pier. So this is a rambling bunch of memories pouring out. MatSurfers, edit as you feel necessary.
That is the same time that I learned to ride a mat and catch waves, too. I was living way inland in North Carolina (USA East Coast), but my Mom was a California Girl. On our family vacations in 1956 and 1958, to Hermosa Beach, she taught me to bodysurf and mat surf (straight off, but exciting!). So about the same time Dan was in the water. There's a possibility that we were in the water together back then, who knows? My parents rented an upstairs room on the corner of the Strand and 16th Street Hermosa Beach for two weeks each time. My Dad taught me to swim, but my Mom taught me to love the ocean. Little did I realize that I would be living in Manhattan Beach by 1960 and going to Hillcrest Junior High in Redondo Beach along with Ritchie West. I started surfing in 1961. By 1966 I was working at Rick Surfboards. Now I ride a 4GF Omni plus a pair of Paul Gross surfboards and sometimes shape my own.As I remembered, the mats rented for 25 cents an hour. My parents were depression-era kids so that seemed like a lot of money to them, so I could get an hour probably once a day. But knowing my Mom, she went for an extra hour once in a while--mainly because she was riding the mat too!There were a couple of rental places a little north of the Aquarium (the postcard is looking south) near the Hermosa Biltmore hotel that had a "plunge"; an indoor swimming pool with windows facing the strand, so you could look in and see people swimming. I remember there was a mat rental shop next door to the bowling alley across the strand from the Aquarium, too. The bowling alley had "pin spotters" instead of machines at the alley, people who set the pins back up by hand. You could just see their hands moving rapidly, setting pins up. My Mom would roll a quarter down the alley as a tip after we were done. The spiny lobster at the Aquarium scared me as a 9 year-old. Every piece of kelp I touched in the ocean made me jump that summer!What a rush to go straight off on probably a "big" 3 ft. wave! Sometimes on the CA Central Coast where I live now, I'll go straight off on my board or mat and look at the water going by close to my face. It's still a rush!
OK to contact me if you want, Dan! MatSurfers you can share my email address to Dan.Thanks for the surprise!George Leone aka Speedshaper
P S Keep up the great newsletter!
Thanks George. Email has been forwarded.
MAT/SURF MAG
The Mat Surfing Society of New York. Good people. OUr kinda people. They have a Matzine out and you’d better get one or so help me….!
REAL SURFING MAGAZINE GOES INLATOTASTIC!
Speaking of Mags with mats in them, Cornish Publication Real Surfing Magazine has and article on matsurfing by Graeme Webster of G-Mat Surfmats.
It also has a lot of other great stuff in there including other probne and knee riding. The article by Bryn Dampney (no shabby matter himself) on kneeboarding is also an excellent read.
Get yours HERE.
GOGO SURFMATS
There is a brand of mats suddenly popped up in California called Gogo. We have asked them for info and have been told that they have a PVC/Nylon PUR slick deck (so definitely need wax) and a nylon bottom (looks like 200d) so a fairly thick basic mat.
The ownder says they are aimed at entry level matters and they look a good starter mat for sure. We have tried to find out who is behind them but have been met with silence….
MAAAAAATS OOOOOOOF MYSTERYYYYYYYY!
Anyway, if you want to get hold of one for the mat-curious person in your life then you can find them here:
MATMEET AT THE WAVE, BRISTOL
A bubble of matters (yes, that’s a collective term agreed upon about a decade ago and how appropriate for the present times) met at The Wave, Bristol, UK. The Wave is one of WaveGarden’s pools and is a lot of fun. The session happened on the Advanced setting (the names are a bit grandiose to be honest) and was a real blast!
There is a video to come but there is so much footage to work through it is going to take some time!
MATS HIT THE HYPEZONE!
YouTube’s Jamie O’Brien has been riding a 4GF at Newport Wedge on his latest Vlog. This is the latest in a lot of coverage mats have been getting of late. The internet is getting prety excited about this video currently so here it is.
Props for picking Wedge as a place to have your first go on a mat for sure!
There are a number of regular Wedge mat suerfers of course who are remarkable surfers. Props to you most of all boys and girls. Here’s an oldie of Chad Barba.
PHOTO OF THE MONTH(s)
This month’s photo of the month is of the man we all have to thank for getting us off heavy leathery feeling rugs and onto lightweight mats.
VIDEO OF THE MONTH(s)
This month(s) video is that boy Owen Kaestner. We love the comment from Henry Hester:
“When you can standup surf better than anyone in the water, you grab your mat.”
Perfik!
As always, we welcome your feedback and contributions.
Thanks
MatSurfers.com