We had a little house in Carpinteria, and I cleared out the second bedroom and converted it into a mat building shop.
![aku shaper crack aku shaper crack](https://lasopaex389.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/7/2/127277999/916971451.jpg)
I started making mats in the summer of 1983. The universe of potential has already been unearthed. But George’s paradigm as a mat surfer is truly all-encompassing. And most people don’t notice it even if they’re sitting in the water right next to you!Īs far as mat riding, what’s really neat is to see a generation of younger riders take what’s out there – the new mat designs and all the instructional footage of great mat riders – then go out and do it on their own. The style of riding between mats and hulls is so similar. I learned to surf riding a mat, so flat rocker and round rails were a natural board design genre for me to fall into. They’ve all been hull shapers at some point, so I guess that’s at the root of it. But Skip Frye, Reynolds Yater, Tony Staples and Spencer Kellogg are people I look up to as well. When it comes to shaping and surfing, obviously George Greenough and Greg Liddle. Who are your influences in surfing, shaping and mat riding? The result is a relatively small, but seriously chuffed society of mat junkies. They’re predisposed to accepting the experience for what it is, then following their hearts from there. So surfers who are willing to try mats already have an element of adventure and individuality. Obviously, there are a lot of social barriers to mat surfing, since mats don’t come off as cool to a lot of people. So mats give the purest taste of something that’s already amazing.
![aku shaper crack aku shaper crack](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WKtgvmYIiSE/Xq_Cx2c3rfI/AAAAAAAAf44/YwWhB2dXgsIO-eIMevBIPdESek82FDHjwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/3.jpg)
And surfing, even at its worst, is an incredible experience. I truly believe that mats put surfers in touch with the deepest, most honest aspects of surfing. Many surfers are extremely enthusiastic about the mat riding experience.
![aku shaper crack aku shaper crack](http://copaxearly.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/6/9/126936580/southcorner-logo.png)
In our second interview with Paul, we ask him more about his deep involvement with matting. Paul started mat surfing as a youngster in 1960, and his passion for the sport continues to this day. Paul Gross is a former editor of Surfer Magazine, a renowned surfboard designer and shaper, and the creator of the 4th Gear Flyer surf mat. George Greenough photographed by Dan Gross