From Adam

 

 

Hi Paul,

Hope all is well mate! Your packaged arrived the other day, many thanks again for your generosity & speedy delivery ......so STOKED!

Finally had a chance this morning to share a few small waves with just Paul and myself, not bad considering its a long weekend, so pretty chuffed to share a few and swap mats , even the wind played ball and didn't blow us out to sea. Love the feel and size of the Lotus, and with these mats being Super Sport models, their broken in and ready to roll straight off the bat.The forecast looks good for tomorrow at our favorite, so hopefully have 4 of us out testing the mats out in larger & longer running waves.....stay tuned to the Bat channel .
 

A nice comment on-line from Mr Dirk explaining what the Super Sport models..

We noticed that it takes a while to break in a new mat, but when it gets more supple it's more responsive and swift. So PG worked out a way to break-in the material before he builds. His explanation -- "Super Sport versions of the 4GF models are built of pre-broken in fabric...which means they "go" from the first wave. I've done this for several years on my own mats, so I can quickly test prototypes more effectively. We now make them available for customers. Being labor-intensive, they cost $300."

Vale my Omni....from a couple of months ago. We were surfing another one of our favorite reef/cove breaks, whilst doing the walk back round, jump off the point , I decided to film Paul leaping from the rocks, and didn't quite take enough flipper steps back , when a couple of rogue sets washed thru, knocked my flippers from under me, and I came down , bottom of mat first , and rip 2 big holes to the underside of the mat...so these new mats are a welcome addition to my surfing equipment!

Many Thanks again Paul!

Regards from Oz

Adam

From Mike

Hi Paul,

I finally was able to get my Fatty out in some waves over the weekend.... North Carlsbad State Beach.... small and windy and closing out. I had a blast !  Surfline did an article a ways back... "10 Reasons You Should Own A Surf Mat" and reason #1 was FUN CITY! True dat. 

 

Been surfing since 1964 (Bruce Brown's Mom was my 4th grade teacher growing up in Long Beach) and I can say with the utmost assurance that THE STOKE IS BACK! Thank you so much for making my Fatty Mat.

All The Best, 

Mike J

From Rob Spielberg

Check out this video I made with Splice:  get.spliceapp.com

Just playing with the GoPro footage I got the other day! Please excuse the look on my face in the intro 😂, there was a brutal glare. I will get better at this with more experience.

Super Stoked,

Rob Pollard

From Ryan

Hey Paul,

It just hooks up on a sweet line here!

I’ve tried some other mats this summer and had a lot of fun on them too, and then went back to the Fatty and the borrowed Lotus I have from Steiny. I have to say your mats seem to do exactly what I want them to do and allow me to be creative and extemporaneous on the wave contorting trying different things etc. without causing me to wipe out or make “mistakes.“

Thanks for changing my life. I’m not exaggerating since getting my first surf mat on June 10 or so I’ve probably been in the water 90 days and caught over 1000 waves in one of the flattest Summers any of us have ever seen. I’ve gone from being a guy who checks it and has fun maybe three times a week and stresses on whether or not I’ll get my wave, the crowd will be too thick, or I’ll be on the right board to, “I’ll check it from the water“. I’ve lost 17 pounds out of sheer exuberance at age 45, we all know how hard that is to do. I love surfing in the way I never have.

Ryan

From Rob

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paul,

Chris got a couple of pics this weekend before he joined me as the Maria swell started to show herself on our breaks! On shore winds, but that didn't stop us from flying!

I also pulled a couple of stills last week from our mat session with 4 mats in the water! I'm still working on the video edit 🐌. Mat surfers are Khristian, Chris, Ryman, and Ryan.

I surfed some of the biggest wave of my life yesterday on the Standard. Chris was with me and we both surfed Standards. I caught a very large set wave outside in sloppy choppy conditions and set a high line almost as soon as I released off the lip! I don't know what gear I was in but I've never felt Speed like that before! She the mat for this mission! Three waves, all bombs, but the last one was a monster! I don't know how big she was exactly but it felt like I sliding down the side of a building! We almost didn't paddle out because we watched a couple of surfers get denied for 30 minutes, but damn am I glad we did! Chris caught three as well, and we paddled in shot out with adrenaline, and pumped for the day!

I plan on taking Tuesday off work with Chris this week to chase Maria swell on home turf!  Man these mat changed my life! Thank you so much! Keep Spreading the Stoke! Lots of Positive Vibes and Healing Energy coming your way!

Super Stoked,
Rob Pollard

Tips From The Pros: Tail Punch Take Offs

As a wave approaches, you slide back on the mat and sink the tail as deep underwater as you can manage.  When the wave gets to you, you slide forward and allow the buoyancy of the tail emerging out of the water to give you a nice little energy surge. Often times you'll catch a wave that might otherwise pass you by. (Tossing in a giddy grin, as demonstrated by the mat rider above, also helps!)

George Greenough executes a subtle version of this technique...

From Oily

G’day Paul,

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.

Well mate I'm loving the Omni. Think I’ve found my place on it, or should i say ‘Dabolt’ as i have dedicated this mat to the legend that is Matman.

We’ve been pretty spoilt lately with swell and conditions and have managed some great sessions with Adam , Neal and Phil at our premier mat wave in our area that is Gillligans Island..  Its always good to hear from a stand up surfer ‘you guys are having the most fun and waves out their’  .. haha

Anyways mate here;s a link to a short youtube video and some happy snaps of an early session last weekend.

Cheers

Oily

SFFS

 

From Adam

Hi Paul,

I will share the new 4GF mats you sent with the Scumm crew, so there will be plenty of feedback!

It's funny...I think Eric would be laughing his head off at Paul and Phil. They would never try or ride his 4GF's, and now they absolutely love their Omni's ! So funny, but so good to see!

Fire and Water...

Last Friday was my RDO from work, and with the bushfire burning its head off over at Wreck Bay, Paul could not get to work, so we hit the Island for a solo session before being joined by Neal and few other friendly locals on boards, till that cross shore wind blew it out.....Zoom

Thanks Again,

Adam

From Mister Dirk

Hi Paul,

A gentleman named Douglas Duquette posted this on a California Memories group on FB.

Caption: 75 year old George Greenough, Wategos Beach, Bryon Bay ~ 2017
Photo: Sean O'Shea

Dirk

From Rob

 

Paul,

 

The surf has been fun this week! Above is a pic Chris got of me on some shore pound Saturday before anyone ventured out.

 

There where five mats in the water this Sat morning, everyone was sending it on shore pound! The surf wasn't very organized but it was super fun! I have some video but haven't had time to go through and edit it. When I realized everyone else wanted to ride mats all I wanted to do was document it 😂! I love to watch other people turn into kids!

 

Sunday was probably the best and biggest surf I've surfed at Hanna Park (Sunrise pic). I rode the inside and got "in and out" barrel, after barrel, on the Lotus! I did miss time my drop a couple of times and get murdered by the lip, large waves are a different animal. Everything happens so fast! More experience and Stoke will be gained tomorrow morning!

 

Thanks  so much for making these vehicles of Joy! I'll try to look at that GoPro footage soon. Keep Spreading the Stoke! Positive Vibes and Healing Energy coming at you my Friend!

 

Super Stoked,

Rob Pollard

Another Treasure Trove From SCUMM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Paul

Hope all is well mate! 

Many Thanks for posting the memorial paddle out video and pictures from that day #ericwouldgo  , Eric would sure have been looking down upon us with a huge smile!

I have attached some pictures and video from the past few weeks, we have shared some great waves of late with Neal, Paul and Phil , and the boys are just loving their new 4GF's. My old Omni has finally kicked it, so will need to order a replacement .

We have also met our doppelgangers last Sunday, SCUMM sub branch they say, so funny to catch up with fellow frothers and mat riders, may the Stoke continue!

Paul, I would like to order Standard & maybe the Lotus as well, how much would it cost with postage? 

Regards

Adam

From Aaron and Sean

 

 

 

Hi Paul,

Sean Johnson was gracias to share some water shots of the 4GF XL in action at Leo Carrillo. His instagram @seanjohnsonyeww.

Dirk calls my body position the Sphinx, so that must make me a sphinxter? I am tall and hang over the front of the mat...do what I have to do!

Photo 1: using inside leg to stall while leaning in to the face to set up for a tight pocket (mat is kept flat for instant speed when releasing the leg stall)

Photo 2: trimming along a dead spot by using the tip of the inside flipper as trim tab to help keep the nose down while adding some lift to the tail

Photo 3: chasing down a bowl section down the line by riding the top of the wave and gently side slipping a ballistic arc into the pocket ahead (notice the inside flipper is behind the wave)

Photo 4: grabbing the bottom of the mat and pulling up on it to pressurize the inside rail for more edge hold as the section readies to throw over, legs are lifted and back arched to add some kick to the tail for better turning

Aaron

From Bob

Cradle to grave matting!  Details here...

Mat Max's Novel

Aloha from Molokai,

The surf here has been worst-ever this summer, which opened up the time and energy to write my first book, WATERBREATHER, that is now available for free from me. Please email ''pahldixon at yahoo dot com'' and I'll gladly send you a pdf file, or if you have a Kindle an Amazon file.

Dad suggested that I could write a novel about, "The first human water breather. And name him Shark." Dad wrote SEALAB 2030, a seventies kids' novel and a Saturday morning animated show. So I decided to set the tale at an undersea habitat called SEALAB 2030. He's stoked that I actually sat down and did a decent job of it. So is Mom. This was the most difficult thing I've ever done, but well worth it. I think you'll have a good fun light read.

Cheers Mates,

Mat Max

From Sam

Crowd (mat) surfing at a UK festival!

From Anthony

Hi Paul,

Loving my Lotus. I've ridden a bunch of different mats and the Lotus is the best. I like the control I have for slight adjustments on the face of the wave, which comes in handy when sharing waves or being able to do big turns. Here is a shot of me on the Lotus!

Anthony

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A few hours later an email came in from Rob in Jacksonville, who snuck in a surf during the aftermath of Irma...

This morning, from a beach cam in Ponce Inlet, about 2 hours south of Jax Beach

Paul,

Just had an amazing session on the Standard and the Lotus! 4 hours of screamers! Both these mats fly!!!! Both mats handled the steep drops like a champ, but the Lotus made me feel like I had super powers. I would set a high line on one of these 5-7' faces, and she would respond without a slip or slide and fire me through gears.

The waves weren't lined up very well but I easily caught some 100+ yard rides. I'm going to save a little for tomorrow. Man that was a magical experience! That's definitely the fastest I've ever gone on a wave before!

Super Stoked,

Rob