MATSURFERS.COM NEWS - September 2020

Welcome to the September, 2020 Newsletter. We have a blast from the past, a blast from the future and another offering from the Fringe Surfer Series to get stuck into , as well as our usual Photo/Video of the Month.

MATS HIT THE WAVE

After much toing, froing and negotiation, G of G-Mat surfmats managed to get a mat onto the Wavegarden pool known as The Wave, Bristol. The issue was that all craft must have a leash. As luck would have it, G has a mat built with a leash fitting for night surfing.

So what is The Wave like?

“We rode the left and right on the Advanced setting. It was essentially a fun small summer session wave. Really fun day out and weird to be surfing in chlorinated water with someone telling you when to go like a water park!

I’d really like to see if we could get them to agree to a couple of mat only sessions, one before lunch and one after perhaps, so that people didn’t have to wear leashes. We’d need 15 people to be up for it but it’d be a really fun mat meet!”
— Graeme Webster
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That does sound a fun day out! Let us know if you’d be interested. If we get the numbers thewn we’ll approach The Wave.

MYTH BUSTERS

THis came up in conversation the other day and we thought it would be worth another share… 9 yeats later! Click the pic to open.

FRINGE SURFER - NEW EPISODE

The next installment of FRINGESURFER.TV is out now as Tim hooks up with London Surf Film Festival and Approaching Lines guru Demi Taylor.

PHOTO OF THE MONTH

There’s been a fair bit to choose from this month but we’re decided to go with this pic of Steve Halpin of Real Surfing Magazine/Karma Surfshop who has recently found the mat and is absolutely smitten!

Is there anything better than that moment when it clicks for someone? Welcome offboard Stevo!

As always, we welcome your feedback and contributions.

Thanks

MatSurfers.com

MATSURFERS.COM NEWS - August 2020

Welcome to the August newsletter. We have some exciting things to bring to you this month with Tim Ciasto’s amazing new project, news on the Phileas Project, the launch or Raft Surfmats in our store and, of course, Photo/Video of the Month.

FRINGESURFER.TV

Tim Ciasto is a film maker and mat surfer. You may have read all about him in his Here & Now Interview with Kendog back in 2014: https://www.matsurfers.com/tim-ciasto

Tim has been busy since then travelling the globe interviewing a number of people on the fring of surfing. People we all know but the mainstream will almost certainly not. He is documenting his antics in a Web Series called Fringe Surfer. Episode 1 features Jon Wegener and Episode 2 is the first mat orentated episode featuring Warren Pfeiffer.

Tak a look at what Tim Has in store for us at https://www.fringesurfer.tv/ and give him a follow on Instagram @fringesurfer.tv

RAFT SURFMATS


Just in case you missed it we have Raft Surfmats in our store now. These mats are essentially the G-Mat stock surfmat, the 5 Star General. Built with the same materials as G-Mats. The mats are individually hand welded by an experienced welder in the UK and finnished at G-Mat central by G’s team of mat pixies.

G-Mat RFT Surfmat (200/70)
sold out
G-Mat RFT Surfmat (200/70)
£240.00

 These mats come in 3 sizes and are a great way to get hold of a G-Mat!

We have a handful left after the initial run on this first batch.

THE PHILEAS PROJECT CHILE?!

Speaking of G-Mats, the old lady of low inflation, Phileas, is still on the move! G uploaded a video today of her trip to Chili… Knda….

Word is that Phileas has now landed on the West Coast of Ireland. As summer turns to Autumn/Fall in the northern hemisphere, that is a mouth watering prospect!

PHOTO OF THE MONTH

And finally, photo of the month for August 2020 is Chad Stickney at Puerto Escondido. We’ll let the picture tell the story.

VIDEO OF THE MONTH

Yeah, we’re kinda cheating here making the Photo/Video of the month a photo & video of the month but this from James Taneer is just too much fun!

So there you go. Lots on in August. 2020 has been a pretty crazy year but not all bad.

As always, we welcome your feedback and contributions.

Thanks

MatSurfers.com

Raft Surfmats Are Coming!

You may well have noticed that a Surfmat brand has popped up recently and been wondering what is going down. Well, we are very pleased to announce that we are launching our own brand of stock surfmats under the RAFT SURFMATS label.

Rider: Jamie McClellen. Photo: Daniel Pullen

Rider: Jamie McClellen. Photo: Daniel Pullen

Raft has come about due to difficulty in stocking G-Mat 5 Star Generals. These mats have proved to be very popular when they’ve been in stock but G is really busy with custom builds so we needed to look in to other options. After a great deal of searching and negotiation, we have managed to partner with a small scale manufacturer in the UK to cut and weld mats. We have been blown away by the quality of their workmanship which is parralel to anything out there. The mats are then finished in house by us, adding branding and grip.

Rider: Clovis Donizetti. Photo: Thomas Lodin

Rider: Clovis Donizetti. Photo: Thomas Lodin

The inaugural model is the Raft G1. This mat has been designed by G-Mat Surfmats and is based on the 5 Star General. G says:

“I really want to be able to put mats out there for people to ride. Whenever I’ve run batches of the 5 Star General they have always gone down really well but it’s so hard to push through any kind of numbers with my set up. I was really keen to get the 5SG out though, but it is really important to me that it is done in the right way. Mat Surfers deserve high quality surfcaraft built to the same specifications as custom mats: built by hand with real quality control by craftspeople who take pride in their work.

I’m so pleased that Raft has come to be. It ensures people get real mats and I can see more people riding my designs and means I can concentrate on building custom mats.”
— Graeme Webster (G-Mat Custom Surmats) - Raft G1 designer.
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These mats are built with the same materials as G-Mats. The Raft G1 comes in small, medium and large sizes. The first batch will be finished soon at which point they will go on sale in our store for £210 GBP. In the future we will be looking at putting these into a select number of stores as well.

The feedback so far from the band of test riders has been extremely positive. Santa Cruz matter Ryan Holmes to to his keyboard to say:

“The Raft took zero time to adjust to riding, its somehow easy to ride yet still very high performance. It has that on demand slide I like, while still being fully capable of playing with the high line. It’s got hold and drift, super balanced! Build quality feels like a custom mat that will last too. It’s a mat you can loan to a friend to learn on but still can’t wait to steal back!”
— Ryan Holmes
Rider: Ryan Holmes Photo: Clay Butler

Rider: Ryan Holmes Photo: Clay Butler

In case you hadn’t noticed, we are so stoked to have these mats coming into our store VERY SOON! We will let you know as soon as the first batch is finished and in store.

Thanks

MatSurfers.com

MATSURFERS.COM NEWS - JULY 2020

Welcome to our July 2020 newsletter. We sinserely hope you are all keeping well in these strange times. We have a lot to tell and a lot to show and it’s great to see that as the world goes freaky, the freaky world of mat surfing goes from strength to strength.

YUCCA FINS RAFFLE - WIN A LIMITED EDITION G-MAT 5 STAR GENERAL

Yucca Fins are running a raffle and there is a STACK of stuff to win including a limited edition white G-Mat 5 Star General. G tells us that this is an absolute one off so really collectable. For your chance to win you enter the raffle by simply ordering a teeshirt or hat before the end of the month (check the date with Yucca!). They have some seriously sweet apparel so you’re guaranteed a win even if you don’t score any of the other swag!

QUARANTINE CHRONICALS - ZAK GARFIELD

Jamie is knocking out his Quarantine Chronicals like nobody’s business and this time around it’s Zak Garfield on all things salty including his mat builds (you might remember them from last month).

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A really fun read! And stay tuned on the intervierw front. Word has it that Kendog is puitting together a new Here & Now!!! 

OPERATION AIRSHIP - A SURFMAT ADVENTURE

Barry Palmatier of SoCal is a really skillful mat surfer. He has put together this wonderful video and has kindly donated it to our YouTube channel. We don’t need to write anything more… Just watch…

If you haven’t already, please do subscribe to our YouTube channel.

PHOTO/VIDEO OF THE MONTH

This month’s choice is a video. A n old clip of some fella riding a mat back in the day. This fella seems to have a knack for it…

So there you go. Good luck in the raffle, enjoy the videos and stay tuned for what comes next.

As always, we welcome your feedback and contributions.

Thanks and stay safe.

MatSurfers.com