Mat, can you tell us what life’s like on the other side of the lens?
I have the life that I have always dreamed of. I may not be rich in dollars and cents but I am wealthy in respect to experience and happiness and for that I am truly grateful. In the past I have had many jobs, most of which were a means to an end to help me surf. Now I am lucky enough to surf and get a paycheck for it. My main sponsor is RRD, they sponsor my SUP, wind, kite, and clothing, which is a waterman’s dream sponsor. My two other sponsors are Bombereyewear and PNJcam for all my photos/video work that I do. I live a simple life and do not have a fancy car, but I do live right on the ocean and surf every day. My commitments are to my sponsors. I always work to promote them in the best way that I can and to provide feedback for research and development. I live in Vairao, Tahiti in French Polynesia (near the legendary Teahupo’o break at the end of the road) which is a remote part of the island where time moves slow and people live with only the basics. RRD is the one that pays my bills with an annual budget, and they also give me all the gear that I need. I’m lucky to have a life where when I wake up I decide what I want to do based on the weather. If there is wind, I will go kite board, windsurf, or downwind SUP. If there are waves I will SUP surf. I do most of my photography on my own, or my wonderful and beautiful girlfriend Amandina will take photos of me for my coverage. I’m very detail oriented and try very hard to get the best and most creative shots and video. After a session I work on my photos or video for the marketing part of my job. Every day I work hard for my sponsors, this is how I got to where I am today.
Life wasn’t always like that for you though right? You mentioned to us in the past about living up in the hills in a shed with rats…?
My life has been a challenging one. Here in Tahiti it can be paradise if you have money, but living here, everything is so expensive and many people are poor. I’ve had a little bit of money, usually just enough to pay my rent, buy some food, and surf. Once I was a business man for a pearl distributor where I could make money quick which allowed me more time to surf and buy all the gear I need to be a waterman. The good times do not last forever though. I’ve also had it where I have no money, and I’ve had to sell almost all of my gear in order to survive. I can remember living in the shed with rats having no money and only one can of corn beef left, thinking it was the best meal in the world, as if I was some kind of broke millionaire. At that particular time I sat there and ate the corned beef out of the can, staring outside of the shack at my favourite surf break, thinking is this the bottom or will things get worse and what will I do to get back on my feet? Hitting rock bottom motivated me to fight and work hard to get out of these situations. After losing everything I decided to move to the end of the road to surf the famous Teahupo’o break and to try to get more coverage from photographers who shoot in that area.
“ When you are at rock bottom, you never know what will come in each new day, so you live each day as if it were your last ”
I had a dream to one day be sponsored to surf and this is where it all began. I’ve been lucky to meet people like the legendary Raimana Vanbastaoler, and to have worked on projects like the IMAX Ultimate Wave with Kelly Slater. I’ve also been lucky to meet a guy who became my best friend, Martin Vari, a 3 time world kitesurf champion, and also lucky to meet a passionate photographer like Chris Barcellos who spent a little time with me to make a collection of awesome photos. Another big help has been from Yannick Salmon who has been like a waterman father role model to me, always working with me to surf and push me over the years. Being motivated to succeed, and by the help of some great people, I pushed ahead to achieve my goal of promoting a brand while living the simple life. When you are at rock bottom, you never know what will come in each new day, so you live each day as if it were your last.
