Matt Argyle
Matt Argyle
I have been windsurfing and surfing since I was 14 years old, the windsurfing died off when I moved to Swansea in the 1990′s and I did nothing but surf. In 2006 I was thinking about returning to competitive longboarding when I saw a picture to Laird Hamilton paddling on a stand up paddle board into a wave. I thought I had to have a go at that. In 2007 we had our first contest in the UK and on the beach between heats the foundation was laid for the British Stand Up Paddle Association (http://www.bsupa.org.uk). I competed in the first nation series in 2008 coming 9th surfing and 6th in distance racing overall. In 2009 I completely changed my training routine and it paid off getting 2nd in both the surfing and the racing categories on the BSUPA national circuit.
I am also the editor of Stand Up Paddle Global Magazine (http://www.supglobal.com) which aims to bring the best stories from around the world to our readers.
In 2010 I am planning to compete again, but also to raise money for Surfers Against Sewage by paddling across the English Channel (http://www.supglobal.com/stand-up-paddle/sas-channel-crossing-blog.html).
I have been using Kialoa paddles for the last three years and this year I have switched to the Methane, which is a fantastic paddle for both SUP surfing and distance racing. I used Kialoa because, as the editor of a SUP magazine, I get to try every sort of paddle that the market has to offer, while some other brands produce some excellent paddles, I have not found any with as good build quality, value or performance as Kialoa.
