Matt Matoon

Matt Matoon, a Cal­i­for­nia surfer, cre­ated the first organic surf­board wax. Deter­mined to find an alter­na­tive to petroleum-based waxes, he invented an eco-friendly alter­na­tive that is good for both surf­ing and the envi­ron­ment.

What was it like grow­ing up in Cal­i­for­nia?
I enjoyed grow­ing up in California—having the ocean acces­si­ble as well as the moun­tains. Santa Cruz was such a great place with so many diverse waves in and out of town. The air is always a bit salty and being so close to Ano Nuevo was one of my favorite spots. I also enjoyed being able to have fresh pro­duce for all our meals from my grandmother’s farm.

When did you get your first surf­board?
I got my first surf­board when I was 9 years old. It was a Her­bie Fletcher sin­gle fin long­board. It had a blue arrow on the front and was all white.

What was the feel­ing you had when you first stood on a surf­board?
I first started surf­ing at Cowell’s Beach in Santa Cruz, which is a great spot to learn. It was an instant feel­ing of want­ing to be con­stantly in the ocean and feel­ing the free­dom of being able to be so lucky.

Who did you look up to and admire when you were a young man?
Surfing-wise, I admired Jason “Rat­boy” Collins because I was always impressed with his abil­ity to do airs. I also was always a huge fan of Yvon Chouinard and the Patag­o­nia brand.

Of all the inter­est­ing places you have trav­eled to, what place in par­tic­u­lar stands out? And why?
I really like the sim­plic­ity of Mex­ico and I enjoy the food and peo­ple a lot. Sayulita stands out for me as a won­der­ful town with great waves and friendly locals.

Explain how the idea for Matu­nas came about.
Matu­nas came about in 1998 when I started notic­ing that the gro­cery stores were con­vert­ing to organic pro­duce. Since we had an oper­at­ing farm and I was major­ing in envi­ron­men­tal chem­istry at col­lege, I wanted to have a wax that con­tained no chem­i­cals or petro­leum prod­ucts. I felt that I could invent a wax that could use all the ingre­di­ents grown from our farm with­out com­pro­mis­ing the quality.

Why do you feel it is nec­es­sary to explore alter­na­tives to tra­di­tional wax?
I think hav­ing the option to pur­chase a surf wax that is free from chem­i­cals and petro­leum gives surfers the choice sim­i­lar to shop­ping in a super­mar­ket choos­ing organic ver­sus con­ven­tional foods.

Who/what inspires you?
I think peo­ple who are try­ing to make our soci­ety a bet­ter place to live, whether from a small prod­uct to devel­op­ing new ideas, are cru­cial for the greater good of our envi­ron­ment and humankind.

What is the great­est thing you have learned in your life?
That you can never achieve per­fec­tion and learn­ing is a life­long process.

Do you have any regrets or wish you had done some­thing dif­fer­ently?
I wish that I had learned more lan­guages, so right now I am study­ing French.

What are you most proud of?
I am most proud of being able to live my dream of doing Matu­nas and the oppor­tu­ni­ties that have arisen from fol­low­ing my passion.

What mean­ing does surf­ing hold for you and how has it changed your life?
Surf­ing is a long jour­ney of learn­ing about your­self, and it opens new doors for trav­el­ing and places that I would have never gone. Surf­ing has made me a more under­stand­ing person.

What brings you the most hap­pi­ness in the world?
Good food, fam­ily, friends, and a sunny day at the beach in warm water with fun waves.

Who are some of the indi­vid­u­als you feel are shap­ing the path for surf­ing today?
I am look­ing for­ward to watch­ing surf­ing go into a new level with Dusty Payne, Julian Wil­son, and Owen Wright. I think Kelly Slater is still one of our best ambassadors.

What is in your cur­rent quiver? What is your favorite board?
A 5’10” rounded pin, 6’0” pin­tail, 6’2” and a 6’4” squash tail and a 9’0” sin­gle fin. My favorite board right now is the 9’0” sin­gle fin since the waves have been a bit smaller in front of my house.

What’s your favorite meal?
It has to be mashed pota­toes, a medium rare steak with horse­rad­ish and, for dessert, a piece of banana cream pie.

What are you cur­rently lis­ten­ing to on your iPod?
I don’t own an iPod yet, but I lis­ten to Sina­tra and the Doors.

What causes/projects/organizations do you sup­port?
I am a strong sup­porter of organic farm­ing, and also of inno­v­a­tive ways to find new sources of energy. I think any project that helps bet­ter our soci­ety or our world is a step in the right direction.

What’s next for Matt?
At Matu­nas, we are doing research and devel­op­ment for new prod­ucts that are cen­tered around sus­tain­abil­ity. I have been focus­ing on new devel­op­ments in the ski and snow­board world as well. But for now, it’s a shave and a shower.

Find out more about Matu­nas Organic Surf Wax here.