No. 10 Matt Chonasky Art of Trim ~ Sublimation of surf culture

Matt Chonaski is not only well-versed in classic longboard riding, but also in the history and culture behind it. He has gone beyond being a logger and has recently been boldly charging big waves, while also being active in shortboard and junior contests as a WSL commentator.

For the memorable 10th episode, we will be featuring MR. WAXHEAD, an Australian who owns classic cars and lowriders and is a lover of SO CAL - California style.

(Narrabeen Photo: Ian Bird)

Since last year, you've been away from your hometown of Sydney, Australia for a long time and seem to be traveling all over the world.

I came to Central California at the end of November to commentate on a WSL (World Surf League) QS event and hit some amazing waves at a secret spot. Then, over Christmas, I headed to El Salvador with my fiancée and her relatives, where we encountered some amazing waves with a rare south and west swell for this time of year. Then, I chased the same west swell back to California and surfed the massive Rincon, said to be the biggest wave in decades. It was probably about 20 feet . At the start of the year, I went to the North Shore of Hawaii and surfed some decent-sized waves at Sunset Beach.

( Sunset , Jan '24 Photo: Dani Toro)

Your epic sessions at Rincon and Sunset have been posted on your Instagram. What prompted you to go beyond longboarding and charge into bigger waves recently?

I think the world has changed dramatically due to COVID-19, including the way the world works, but my own lifestyle has also changed dramatically since the pandemic, and it's given me an opportunity to reevaluate my life.

I competed in three WLT (World Longboard Tour) events in 2019, and placed 7th in the first event of the 2020 season in Noosa. After Noosa, I went to a wave pool in California, then to Malibu. I was pretty confident about my performance in Malibu, so I focused on the competition and the World Title. But then COVID-19 hit and the world went into lockdown. In Australia, people were banned from traveling more than a 5km radius from their homes, and even traveling abroad was impossible. This inevitably meant I spent more time at home, but as a result, historic big waves hit Sydney every day, and I experienced the best conditions of my life for two years. Swells over 10 feet came every two weeks, and they never dropped below 2 feet.

Up until now, I'd been into longboarding and loved big wave surfing, but I didn't have much experience. During the lockdown, I stepped away from competition mode and explored my own potential with a new approach, riding big waves at home on various board styles like single and quad guns, and even getting into huge barrels on a longboard. At that moment, I reached a level I'd never been able to reach before! It was a moment that made me realize how glad I was to have pursued surfing for so long.

COVID-19 has brought the world to a halt, and people may have lost a lot. But in the end, it's made me realize the importance of the things I love, like classic cars and surfing, and it's given me the opportunity to step into the world of big waves, just like Bob McTavish and other pioneers pioneered the world of big waves in the 1960s and 1970s .

Are you currently in California again? You've been to California quite a bit outside of contests.

I'm currently in Oceanside as a commentator for the WSL World Junior Championships. California is my birth of cool , and it inspires me a lot. With its classic cars, surf style, and the city's rich surf history, I feel like I've traveled back in time every time I come here. Of course, times change, but there's something about it that connects me to it. Of course, I love Australia, where I was born and raised, and it has a great surf culture. But I really think I'm a uniquely Australian. (laughs)

Do you continue to run your family's car business while traveling around the world? What cars do you own?

Yes, the name is Taylor & Botham Bodyworks , and they do things like restoring old cars. Currently, they own three cars: a 1971 VW pickup trap, a 1961 Chevy panel van lowrider, and a 1971 Ford Econoline surf car.

How did you get into commentating for the WSL and how long have you been doing it? You're involved not only with longboarding but also with shortboarding.

It's been about five years now, I think. Starting in 2022 , I'll be getting serious about surfing and participating in more WSL events. I've always loved the history and culture of surfing, and of course, I love surfing myself. Personally, I don't necessarily think of surfing as a sport, but as a performance art. I enjoy listening to the surfboards used in post-heat interviews and sharing stories about their backgrounds. I think I'm able to show a different side of professional surfing than others. Since I'm involved in the competitions, I want to make them more enjoyable by participating myself. I don't want to just watch and complain from the outside. As long as the WSL and everyone else find my perspective interesting, I'd like to continue collaborating.

You also coach longboarders at competitions, right? Why do you specialize in women?

The reason is that I'm still competing in contests, even though I'm teaching strategies to my male opponents (laughs). Over the past five or six years, I've coached not only young Australian surfers, but also many champions, like Chloe Calomon from Brazil and Honolua Bloomfield from Hawaii. They have knowledge of surfing and are well-versed in the culture. For me, that's everything, and I can't coach someone who doesn't want to feel that connection. Riding the wave means different things to different people, but it's definitely a spiritual dance. If you can feel that connection, whether it's competition or free surfing to improve your own skills, surfing becomes more worthwhile. Ultimately, I want to create a better surfing environment.

(w/Chloe Calmon)

What got you into longboarding?

My parents were originally immigrants from Poland, and I grew up in a non-surfing household. We lived right by the beach in Sydney, so I joined the junior lifeguards and started surfing with my dad. My first board was a chunky 5'6" thruster from Hot Buttered in the 80s , which was the perfect board to start surfing on.

At first, I struggled to catch waves on my shortboard, but then I became fascinated by the longboarders at my favorite beach, who gracefully ridden even small waves. I didn't really understand it at the time, but that guy was 1964 World Champion Midget Farrelly. He would do one round every morning before going to work. Later, I borrowed my dad's longboard and imitated his style. I was lucky enough to be surrounded by surfing legends like Tom Carroll, Damien Hardman, Terry Fitzgerald, and Simon Anderson, as well as stars like Nathan Hedge, Nathan Webster, and Luke Steadman, all at home. But nothing quite matched the impact Midget Farrelly had on me that morning. Australia, lagging behind California and Japan, wasn't popular or cool in the '90s , let alone the early 2000s . But I was captivated by the timeless, creative style of the classic longboard.

I started longboarding seriously, first meeting John Gill of Keyo Surfboards , then Robin Kigal, and riding the Gato Hero . He was a California guy, but he was also well-versed in Australian surf culture, and he was making unique spaceship-style surfboards. That's a post- 1967 surfboard design, a time when longboarding stopped evolving. It was new age, but distinct from the later 2+1 high-performance longboards ( HPs ). I'm not a fan of HP- style longboarding at all, because I'm a single fin. The whole reason I ride a longboard is for the trim and glide, which you can't get on an HP . True longboarding is about flow, speed, trim, and glide.

How did you meet Bob McTavish, the pioneer surfer and legendary shaper who has been active since the 1960s?

I met Bob when I went to Noosa with Robbie. At that time, I was like, "Oh, Bob!" "Oh, WAXHEAD (Matt's nickname)! He looks just like my MINI ME " (laughs). About six months after that meeting, Bob's McTavish Surfboards decided to rebrand from its previous mass-produced style for overseas markets. At the same time, Robbie was handing over the brand to a fellow distributor in Australia, so I no longer needed to ride his boards. So Bob decided to make boards for me, reproducing the templates from the 60s .

A 9'3" Involvement Style, a 9'10 " D -fin gun that Bob actually rode in Hawaii, a 7'6" Tracker model, and a Matt Tracker - a total of three single fins. These are the best boards I've ever owned, and of course I still cherish them to this day. They are one of a kind, where the quality of the equipment and the purpose match up, and I've been incredibly lucky to be part of his team and be able to ride his designs for the past 13 years. I've been involved in six board designs so far, and the Involvement Style was completed in collaboration with Bob, and was one of the first designs I started riding both domestically and internationally (Note: A log of the so-called PIG style, which is currently trending).

I've worked on board designs with some of the best in the world, including Keyo , Bennet , Robbie Kegal, and Bob McTavish , and my surfboard and fin IQ have grown in terms of everything from rails to rocker to fin position, and I'm very grateful to have had the opportunity to experience the history of surfing firsthand.

(w/Bob McTavish)

What is the Art of Trim that you do?

Over the last few years, I've been riding classic single fin longboards, shortboards, and gams in a variety of conditions. Fortunately, COVID- 19 has given me plenty of time to focus on surfing, push myself to the limit, and put together the Art of Trim project.

A lot of people around the world are starting to surf, and now a lot of them contact me for information. But I don't do traditional coaching. Traditional surf schools teach you how to stand on a surfboard, but they don't teach you the culture, history, or theory. That's why I started The Art of Trim .

Rather than lecturing on the technical aspects of how to hang ten, we help people understand why they hang ten on this part of the wave and where it comes from. For example, we talk about the origins of fins from dolphins and George Greenough. By providing a variety of materials, telling the backstory, and adding a cultural dimension, people's surfing becomes a wonderful art form.

The Art of Trim is first and foremost a fan of good surfing. When mind, board, and waves come together, a beautiful sight unfolds. We are still a small-scale business, but we hope to share the wonder of surfing with as many people as possible, both online and in person.

What are your plans for 2024?

There will probably be four WSL Tour events, so I'll be participating in those. I'll also continue my work as a commentator for WSL contests held around the world. After Oceanside, I'll be heading to the Philippines. In recent years, shortboard and longboard surfing have become popular in Asian countries, and I can really feel that they are developing in their own unique ways. In the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Taiwan, surf culture is being understood and stylish longboarders are being nurtured. I'll soon be completing a movie compiling footage from the past few years, and I'd like to go and screen it in Japan soon.

What do surfing and the beach mean to you?

Freedom! For me, surfing is a means of expression and enriches my life. You only live once, so be true to your heart and pursue your passion so you don't have any regrets.

Matt Chonaski: Born in 1988, Matt Chonaski is from and currently lives in Sydney, Australia. He made a name for himself in classic longboarding in his early teens. He has close ties with surf legends and is well-versed in surf culture and history. He owns not only vintage boards but also several classic cars, and despite being Australian, he is one of those who truly embodies the SO CAL style. In recent years, he has been charging into big waves with the classic style of yesteryear. In addition to competing in WLT contests around the world, he is also active as a WSL commentator, conveying the joy and beauty of surfing across genres, from shortboards to longboards.

Instagram: @thewaxhead @theartoftrim

Interview / Kawazoe Mio Born and living in Kamakura , Kanagawa Prefecture. Graduated from the surfing club at University of California, San Diego. With a father who was a first- generation Japanese surfer, Kawazoe was exposed to overseas culture from an early age. From the early 1990s , she lived in San Diego and Malibu, California, for 10 years, experiencing the longboard revival. After returning to Japan, she became editor-in-chief of ON THE BOARD and worked on GLIDE and other magazines. Using her unique network, she has introduced real California logs and the alternative surf scene to Japan.