Link From Spence

With the occasional mat rider giving waves pools a try -- much to the consternation of some -- we now present another slice of the same perverse spectrum.

(And wave pool haters, take heart...demons are starting to haunt the dystopian dreams of the WSL.)

From Christine

Like a lot of mat surfers 'round the world, Christine began mat surfing out of necessity...then got hooked!

Memorial Day Mat Riding Bonanza !!!

Adrian Siebert Pic: Yves Schuhmann

From the SCUMM boys down unda...

Tips From The Pros: How To Add Buoyancy

Philippe Cracks UAE Wave Pool ...

Hi Paul,

I hope all is well. You’re mat is still going places!

This time I tested the waters in UAE in a wave pool… Unfortunately I got to go on only one wave but it was a blast! 

Best

Philippe

Taco Bell Resort !!!

(No word yet on the performance of their inflatable pool taco.)

From Raw Story...

"In a state known for fresh vegetables and real Mexican, the fast food company Taco Bell is opening its own resort. The food site Delish reported Thursday that Palm Springs will be the location for the company’s latest project.

The company is calling it the “biggest expression of the Taco Bell lifestyle to date,” though it doesn’t clarify what exactly the Taco Bell lifestyle means. It can be reasonably assumed it involves a lot of cheese, however.

The resort will have a pool filled with Taco Bell swag, floaties, fluffy bathrobes, and plenty of food. The resort also plans on offering food that will only be available at the resort.

Aside from possible floating tostadas, the hotel and resort will offer a salon that can do “Taco Bell-inspired nail art” as well as fades and a braid bar. They’ll also have a gift shop that will be decked out in Taco Bell brand apparel.

The resort doesn’t include how many rooms will be available but they are slated to open in June and all vacationers must be 18 or older to stay.

Earlier this year, Taco Bell began the lifestyle experiment with a Slide-Thru ski resort in Ontario Canada and a Las Vegas Taco Bell chapel. They also began a partnership with GrubHub to ensure Taco Bell can be delivered to inebriated customers and others uninterested or unable to drive to the establishment."

From Sam

Hello again, Paul & all...

Photo was tagged as Huntington Beach, 1960s. Confirmation or correction welcome. Any of your readers know what brand those mats are?

Sam

Redux'd Crystal Voyager -- May 30th, UCSB

"David Elfick’s cult classic Crystal Voyager (1973) is a love letter to surf in the Santa Barbara Channel and a portrait of George Greenough, one of the sport’s great innovators. Written and narrated by Greenough and filmed at the height of surfing’s transition era, when riders and shapers were experimenting with new kinds of board design, the film chronicles the construction of a sailboat capable of reaching the uncrowded breaks of the Channel Islands. Along the way, Elfick and Greenough document surf from Rincon to The Ranch in the company of World Champion Nat Young and local shaper/surfer Richie West. The Pollock Theater is proud to present a newly restored digital version of this pioneering example of surf filmmaking. Crystal Voyager transcends the travelogue, as it sets out to capture the embodied experience and ecological intimacy that make the sport so captivating.

Director David Elfick and author Garth Murphy will join moderator Alexander Champlin (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) for a post-screening discussion."

Details here...

From @rowe

 Photo: "Rage"

Hey Paul!

Just forwarding you a new shot...The standard held well in the conditions!

Thank you for the joys.

©rowe

What Sort Of Man Reads Surfmatters?

Images: Maria McCall

Early Inflatable Surf Mat

This is from a beachwear fashion shoot, 1925. Mat appears to be a thin, 7 pontoon, round nose design.

The photo is by Edward Steichen. Steichen (1879-1973) was a Luxembourgian American photographer, painter, and art gallery and museum curator. He began by studying pictorialist photography and his early work expressed the romanticism of the early 20th century with artful, dark, and foggy images of the countryside.

From Matt

 

Hi Paul!

Loving my mat!!!

Here’s a pic for your site.

Kindly,

Matt

From 'Moili'ili Or Bust'

Holy crap!! That picture of the West Side is rare photographic evidence of a kid "mattress bagging," or at least running out of the water afterwards. It's a white whale for sure...

As a kid in Town I heard rumors of mattress bagging. Never saw it in town though. Sandys was too heavy so never saw it there, nor at Makapu'u. Decades later a friend I grew up with brought some hard-procured twin mattress bags when we met up on a trip to the Ranch near(ish) Lazero Cardenas. I laughed when I saw them and went out for a try. No deal. I was out on a twin mattress bag and after one barely inflated half-ride the thing filled with water. Swimming in with a twin mattress bag full of water was miserable but there was no way I was going to let it stay in the water. Life's full of lessons, right? We decided that the whole thing _was_ a myth. No way a kid could hack it in the water at even mellow Makaha trying to get around with a big bag of water we figured.

Now I see the error of our experiment — kids on the West Side were _futon_ bagging! In the '70s and '80s everyone on O'ahu had a folding foam futon in a closet for a single, unexpected guest; most still do. The kid in the picture has a bag the size of a futon! Thanks for solving a mystery, the futon in my closet today has long ago lost its bag and I'm not going to seek one out but if one happens to pass my way... It's nice to know I'll die with one less unsolved mystery!

Moili'ili Or Bust