"I'm black, I’m female and I surf. When I paddle out at a spot where people don’t know me, I’m met with stares, silent curiosity, whispering and, ultimately, smiles. Those reactions used to unnerve me when I first started surfing. Over the years, I’ve gotten to the place where I don’t always notice the reactions of others when I enter the water. Then I started riding a mat. (Cue every surfer within a 200 yard radius turning to see who I am and what exactly I think I’m doing out there on that inflatable pool toy.) It’s difficult to know where to begin a conversation about mats. Does one continue to invoke the name of George Greenough, only to be met with blank stares from those who don’t know their surf history? Or does one just tell it like it is, knowing that those ubiquitous blank stares will always accompany the allure of the “magic towel”? Simply put, I find riding the mat experientially more engaging than riding a surfboard. It’s difficult to explain, but I will make a feeble attempt at enlightening the uninitiated. (Yes, I know my education is showing. I’ll put it away now.) Whenever I’m on a mat, I can’t help but think, “This **** is so much fun!” The mat is a game-changer. When my favorite winter spot decided that it wanted to fill itself with thick beds of kelp that prevented anyone from going left at all (which is a nightmare when you’re a goofy who had always celebrated collecting all of the lefts since most people who surfed there felt the right was a better wave), I was heartbroken. The rights soon became a crowded mess; paddle battles became the norm for a right that was surfable, but littered with kelp nonetheless. It was that spot that turned me into a bona fide rider of surf mats. After trying to surf a board at this spot a few times this winter, I publicly lamented the situation there (“publicly” meaning on Facebook, of course). A very smart man said, “Ride your mat.” Ride my mat? But the lineup is too far from the shore. I’ll never make it out there. And I don’t even know how to really ride this thing. People will laugh. My excuses were many. ...." http://www.theinertia.com/surf/dont-laugh-at-me-and-my-surfmat/
