Andrew Buck, a longboarder and surf-mat aficionado from Carpinteria just south of Santa Barbara has an ability to catch sets at Rincon on an inflatable mat and generate speed that has won him fans all over the world.
A recent clip of Buck that appeared on Encinitas filmer Ryan Cannon’s Instagram account LogRap, generated over one million views and almost one thousand comments from surfers and non-surfers, many convinced there was a motor attached somewhere. From Beach Grit
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Video not available, bummer.
Thomas, it’s there – you just need to click on the link and it takes you right to the instagram vid.
There’s a whole underground surf mat scene scattered around the planet. I’ve been thinking of giving it a try myself. Mats are supposed have the fastest down the line trimming speed of any surf craft. Thing is they are very hard to learn but once you you do they are supposed to be pure bliss.
Here’s a couple links:
https://www.matsurfers.com/
http://surfmatters.blogspot.com/
Many don’t know this, but local surfboard maker and photographer ACE uses a mat all the time.
Cool to know. Thanks Frank.
Plus, I don’t think ACE uses fins. Maybe all that hot sand, wax, resin and foam have hardened his feet so much he doesn’t need fins. (ACE is my cousin btw.)
That’s amazing because one would need the fins (for the feet) since mats don’t have fins of their own to control them.
The modern ones don’t have fins, but they DO have parallel tubes that serve to allow directional changes by shifting the bodyweight.
Right! thanks for the reminder.
By fins, I meant for the feet, not the mat itself. Because mats don’t have fins, the rider needs them to help with control. That combined with various inflation levels and squeezing the corners with your hand is what helps them maintain trim. While boogs don’t have fins either, they have vacuum rails which helps maintain control.
To clarify, by “need them” I meant fins for the feet.
I use fins. Big Duck Feet fins. Got to have em to get I to and under waves. Mat ridding becomes very addictive. At first it is a mystery then one day you get a ride when the thing just takes off and FLIES.. You are hooked.
I used to have a pair of Duck Feet, then Churchhills, and now I’ve been reading about Yucca out of Costa Mesa. They actually sell em at Pride.
Here’s a nine year old clip of Australian rider Mark Thomson:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e6-djfp3BM
These things were invented in 1932 in Australia and first appeared on US beaches in ’43. Boogie boards eclipsed them in popularity by the early ’70s, but lately they have been “rediscovered”.
I’ve been using boogie boards (some people call them “body boards”) and fins for decades, ever since I gave up surfing in the 70s.
They were called Surf O Planes.
Here’s an old article about them: https://www.surfresearch.com.au/00000146.html
Here is a tutorial on how to ride mats. To be clear, I have yet to try this but I’ve been reading up on it: https://www.matsurfers.com/how-to-ride-a-surfmat