Re-Branding!
Hello there mat fans! We are going to be making some changes to the site over the coming months, starting with one pretty big one.
Andrew Stephen Buck - Photo: Will Adler
UK Mat Surfers has been in existence since 2009. Originally, established as an online forum to bring together a diverse band of weirdos hiding in various corners of the UK. That first matmeet at Polly Joke (AKA the spiritual home of UK mat surfing) was amazing! 5 mats in the water together... Imagine that!
It fair to say we built a really tight crew of close friends who have stayed tight for nearly a decade. It's also fair to say that the face of mat surfing has changed enormously over that time too. Surfmats have have become far more widely recognised as a valid means of riding a wave in the mainstream. We've seen a number of pro stand-up surfers and bodyboarders take up mat surfing (with varying degees of success!) and surf shops now stock what previously involved a degree in IT to find on the internet!
Henry Marfleet - Photo: Mike Holland
Graeme Webster - Photo: Anon
All of this has been amazing and over the years the UK Mat Surfers site has expanded it's reach being a favourite resource for mat surfers from all over the globe. The site has moved on from being a forum. This is a shame but the technology just outgrew it (although we do have the Facebook Group) and today it is a really broad resource with lots of info on equipment, tech stuff about mats themselves, surf forecast for wherever you are in the world, online store and, of course, amazing interviews with mat surfers from around the globe.
Ella Scott Photo: Ella's Mum
And that's the point. The interviews are from around the globe, 2/3 of the UKMS staff are from the US and, to be honest, with the way the world is right now, there's a really strong case of opening up the boarders, not drawing attention to them!
Jamie McClellan - Photo: Anon
So, with all that in mind, UK Mat Surfers will be getting a bit of a re-brand over the next few days. Nothing will change in terms of using the site and the group, etc, but we will be launching a new name that reflects the site as it is today.
We will also be freshening up some of the content as time goes on.
Stay tuned!
Scott Matthews - Photo: Seacraft Supply Co
