How could George Greenough go from surfing kneeboards with no buoyancy to prone on airmats with such high buoyancy? I cant get my brain wrapped around that one. Curious- thanks
Both are very fast and flexible and offer many of the same feelings although obviously different. What I know from my own surfing experience is that there are many different feelings surfing can give and sometimes it’s easy to appeciate more than one. I’m known for riding standup boards but I LOVE bodysurfing just as much. I still rarely wear a leash because when I loose my board I don’t see a downside. Sometimes I’ll just stay out while the board is flopping around in the shorebreak for an hour.
Was surfing one epic day at first peak at Sebastian with Jeff Crawford. We were the only two out and it was 6 feet and perfect. I lost my board and body surfed one in. Stuck my board in the sand and went back out for some more. Crawford then lost his board and we ended up body surfing perfect first peak for over two hours. The boards were just in the way that day.
Bruce , GGs kneeboards were made for good waves , as crowds caught up with George he started to surf more B grade spots and the mats are just more fun in junk surf. There more alike than you think, very low to the water.
THE MAT:
why? lowest center of gravity augmented surfing [body surfing is un augmented without fins]
who? anyone bored with the posturing and questionable sincerity of motive about 'wave riding" i.e.
baggage incured with stand up surfing: gotta have a 5’10’',squaretail J 422 quadraphonic dual quad
fishbank triloxicarbo bladee chingasso madrone too be cool enough
when:? whenever it blows out
and conditions are not optimum
for trans scholastic eclectodelic transgressions
into unheardof creativite speed
downt he line rubruns
to bust unbelieveable rotational bmx skate air reentries
revlutionalizing surfing as we have come to know it…
how? shed the ego based know ship attitude aquired over years of peck on me
peer group attitudes boxing the creative spirit into
narrow parameters of enjoyment and quantum quest
where? at the spot less tread by the affected herd mentality questing assumptions
poorly proven.clustered within battering range driven by a competitive ethic
also poorly assigned to the communional act of ‘SURFING’
as Shared with the world by the waikiki beachboy conciousness
…NOW!..
being sold world wide
as repackaged formulaeic version that now valuated can be
coveted and marketed to well intentioned buyers dreaming of
‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’''SURFING"“”“”“”“”“”"
wether or not they have an oceanic body capable of producing natural waves
stepping off the soapbox,
mat surfing is graduate study in wave riding
allowing acces beyond contemporary surfboarding…
…ambrose…wishing you well
He kneerides his kneeboards, lays down on his mats…
I ride surfboards, boogie boards, and windsurfboards in the waves. used to ride kiteboards too, but haven’t in 4 years.
Why get bored and stale doing the same old thing? Life is full of choices, you can get your adrenalin rush from any of the above, or motocross, hangliding, waterskiing, jumping, playing football, basketball, driving wild and crazy, running from cops, whatever.
Life is full of choices, you don’t have to do only ONE thing!!!
Advanced mat riding is done at lower inflation levels. Duck diving and manipulating by the rider and/or the wave with no constant rocker shape are common advantages of each .
ambrose- you did yet again! your reply pretty much summed it up,as usual…in of course, a most unusual way…don’t ever hold back…!
There is a FEELING you get from riding a flexible spoon that surfers and kneeriders don’t experience(foam sandwhich and little flex).
The spoon however is extremely limited in its flex and ability to mold/contour to the wave compared to a mat. The mat then is the next step in FEELING the wave while still riding something.
I think the title of one of his movies said it all - “The Innermost Limits of Pure Fun”.
Quote:
from Paul Gross:
George’s motivation as a designer was disturbingly simple. Having fun in the water was the only rush he ever craved, and three decades of subsequent media manipulation in surfing haven?t been able to generate the influence he wielded with the sword of his own innocence. You can’t help but wonder how long would it have taken for surfing to change had it not been for the mind-rattling example of shortboard surfing Greenough gave us. Scores of surfers had ridden smaller-than-normal boards since the turn of the century, but it was George who first captured our imagination, then reprogrammed it. In that context, even leisurely snapshots of the first chords struck by the godfather of rock-and-roll surfing have meaning.
So the answer to the original question might be “to have fun”.
There is a FEELING you get from riding a flexible…
let’s stop right there…what a huge gap