From Bryan

 

Hi Paul,

 

I've been having a lot of fun on my Fatty. I'm about a half dozen sessions in and getting the hang of it as a new surf mat rider. I had a really fun session last night mid-beach OBSF in what I'd normally consider unspectacular conditions. I attached a video clip of one of my better ones that the surfline cam captured.

Hope you're having a good week!

Bryan

From Hula Surf TV

 

From Joe

 

New England Mat Meet Up

From Nolan

 

 

Hey Paul,

Here’s the flyer, and quick description of us & the show. Thanks for posting!  

Possum makes stuff: magazines, photos, videos, product, phone calls, installations….half publishing house and half art department for hire. It's a concept that Hayden Brosnan and I, Nolan Hall, don’t put much time in trying to define. What Possum is depends on the project, mostly, it’s a place to make what they want with the people they want.

Keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming release of their newest issue of Possum. An all San Francisco issue, guest-edited by Jeff Canham.

'Water World' is a celebration of the parking lot. Talking story about waves, boards, characters, and trips, whether on this astral plane or others. Part art installation, part yard sale In the gallery, a group show featuring original works and surf paraphernalia by some of our favorite artists and personalities within the community.Out back, a yard sale offering prints, stickers, original pieces, zines, books, and shirts by the artists featured in the show. You’ll also find boards by some of our favorite shapers, swim fins from Yucca, surf mats by Paul Gross, Tanner Gudauskas will be offloading VHS tapes, surf fins by True Ames, and Buddy from Stitchbox doing some wetsuit repairs. Drinks from Juneshine. Come hang out and talk shit.

Nolan

From The Tusked Beast

Hey Paul,

 

Hope you're well. Here's something for the blog, if you like...

After a demonstrably AWFUL year of surf, we finally got some fun waves in San Francisco! Nothing epic, but good, lined up south swell, and lo! the sandbars that were pulverized by the winter/spring rains seem to have organized- we've been getting those beautiful A-frame peaks in out little summer cove.

I've had a couple of surfs with the Lotus, and have been (as usual) impressed by how perfect the craft is for the varied wave situations, linking flat spots to set up for fast reforms, handling both steep and sloping drops with ease... squeezing every bit of speed from imperfect waves!

It feels soooo good. Looking forward to a great fall! 

From Decker Brandts

 

Surfmat Stud from Pantopia Studios on Vimeo.

From Social Media

 

From Surf Sister

Some Fun Stuff ...

 

From Jim

 

Howdy Paul,

Check this out. That's me, winter before last, all systems go. Textured surface with mat gliding half in half above the water, fin helping to hold in place, readying for bottom turn to set up for inside section. 

(Photo by LB)

From Andy

 

It appears Beach Grit has come across our recent post regarding the 4GF Omni stolen by an Otter. Not sure where they get their current surfmat price structure -- they claim Omnis run $500 -- but they do acknowledge that there is such a thing of a high performance surf mat! 

Another similar interaction between a surfer and otter in the Santa Cruz area... here.

From Steiny

 

Dr. Dave had his 4GF Omni stolen on Saturday in Santa Cruz ... by an otter.

Apparently, the otter has been behaving aggressively towards surfers in the lineup, and authorities are looked to relocate the spirited fellow.

Dave wasn't able to retrieve his mat. If any locals have found a stray Omni along the coastline, let us know.

From Mr. Hughes

 

Good morning,

Well, I’m packing my bags for my taxi ride to Huatulco.  This is the last day of my surf trip to Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, and I’m afraid there will not be one of my patented sleep aids (videos) this time around.  For one thing, the surf wasn’t all that pumpin.  Secondly, my guide was no photog, and preferred to hang in the shade as much as possible.  That shows his superior intelligence, as it is feckin hot.  Far more intense heat than Pavones, which I find strange, since it’s far further north. 

I brought the GoPro, but the waves didn’t really merit its use.  Not that I didn’t have fun, mind you.  I surfed every day, three days a double session.  That’s a lot for me!  This area is famous for its sand-bottom barreling point breaks, which was naturally quite appealing for me.  If you look up, hmm, perhaps Punta Chivo or Escondido you’ll see some scary looking stuff and some square tubes with very thick lips!  I was hoping for something a little more tame and got it.  There wasn’t enough swell for the points to really turn on, but the tweener spots were super fun.  Oddly, my best two back to back days were at Punta San Diego!!

How’s that for an odd coincidence?

Being out of practice and my knee still throbbin like a mo fo, I’m really satisfied with my trip.  I would like to return on a surgical strike type mission some time, though, and see it really smokin.  OK, well, there was yesterday afternoon, when the wind switched offshore. I had a fantastic late PM go out at Punta Conejo in little 2’-3’ zippers.  Everyone was sitting outside where it was just blobbin.  I was inside all alone and lovin life. 

Hey Paul, are you still lean n mean?  I still think quite fondly of our incredibly serendipitous chance meeting at Campus!  Me, I was hoping to shed a few pounds on this adventure, but Mexican cuisine is not conducive to that.  I certainly burned calories, but chilaquiles for lunch balanced all out!

I hope this update finds you both well

Ciao fa niao

Kenny

From Julie

 

Hey Paul,

We finally held the Mat Surfing 101 for the Wahine Kai Women's Surf club at La Jolla Shores yesterday! We all had a great time and I think I've got some converts I will send your way down the line. I brought a plethora of mats, two were yours, one was a G-mat and the others were Redbacks and a Maddog from Australia. Those aren't great mats at all, but they have handles and are nice for teaching on. Those who are serious and want to gear up themselves, I am promoting 4th Gear all the way! 

I hope things are going well for you, Paul. We were going to do this event back in November, but I got hit by a stingray that landed me in hospital because of infection. Unfortunately, one of our ladies got stung yesterday too. Same spot I did. In fact, this was the 3rd time she'd been stung at the Shores! She still enjoyed the mat experience and said she'd love to do it again, just at a different beach!! 

Let me know your thoughts. And thank you so much for encouraging me especially in the beginning when I was getting frustrated. You told me to stick with the process and not give up. I'm very glad for that! 

Take care, Paul.

Julie Benn

From Nolan

 

From Pack Ratt Records

 

Hi Paul hope all is well . 

 

I've been M.I.A. for while a I spent the last month helping my mom get ready for a big move to Texas.. there just last week she moved to Houston so  I got to go to Galveston.. out on micro day and the whole beach like stopped and was watching me. I got so many questions it was hilarious people were stoked…

 

Here’s a really bad photo of me in Galveston you had a kick board. Those waves were so small, but it made such a big crowd. It was hilarious. The guy from Ohana Surf Shop came up to me and asked me where I get these things and I gave them your information also anyways have a good evening. 

Mikey

Noosa Nude Beach Crackdown

 

When Queensland police fined people for taking their clothes off at a well-known nude beach last month, they “poked the bear” that is the naturist community, Scott Rider says.

“That’s b.e.a.r.,” the Queensland Naturist Association vice-president spells. “And we’re all riled up now.”

Proposed Chumash Marine Sanctuary

 

The way Violet Sage Walker sees it, the Chumash have been stewards of the land for 15,000 years. “We welcome every culture on Chumash land,” she says. “My dad wanted people to know the Chumash like you know Hawaiians. Just as many people go to Hawaii as come here, and they don’t know about the Chumash. He wanted the sanctuary to be a way to share our stories, our culture, the beauty of our people and the magic of our homeland.”

 Full article here...

From George S

 

Hello Paul,

I now live in San Francisco and wanted to share my experience having spent about 6h in the water with my "standard" surf mat at Ocean Beach, SF. With each session I unlock more insights:

Session 1: I caught my first wave and went full on projectile-mode. Zero control, just pure thrill as was thrown forward and held on for dear life. Hard work kicking through the waves out Ocean Beach, I didn't make it out a second time.

Session 2: I practiced pulling myself onto the mat during the take-off and experimented with applying pressure to steer in the white water.

Session 3: I began to take off directionally and learned to duck dive competently. I basically grab the corners and hug the mat as I try to get my head under the wave. I can stay centered over the mat and get back to paddling very quickly.

Session 4: I began to trim down the wave and tried steering by pulling up on the opposite corner. I figured out how to pull out of a wave which gave me more confidence with other surfers in the water.

Session 5: I was trimming well enough to beat the white water and extend my ride. I remember one wave where it just kept getting better as I went. I was laughing my ass off afterwards. I must have fully engaged the "2nd gear".

So far the mat hasn't disappointed. Each time I go out I intuit something new. I think my experience with body surfing has helped a lot, trimming feels similar. The mat really amplifies the sensation of speed which I enjoy. Other surfers seem to be curious / perplexed by the mat when I paddle out and then seem to "get it" when I take off on a bomb! I hope my presence helps to spread the good word about surf mats because I've yet to see another one in the wild.

Thank you for making surf mats, I'm hooked!

 

George