"Matt Parker seems to be a bit of a dipshit."
If you’ve ever jumped into the lap of the transcendentally sexy Jon Pyzel, shaper to John John Florence since the kid was five and creator of the breakthrough Ghost design, you’ll know what an accessible and enchanting being he is.
Therefore, when I was alerted to Jon Pyzel employing the language of the streets, of sailors and pimps, to describe another shaper, in this case Album Surf’s Matt Parker, whom you enjoyed in yesterday’s hydra-headed war with Stab, well, I had to look.
It turns out Pzyel is very sad about comments made by Matt Parker in a video interview with Tuttologic Surf, a lightly viewed, yes like BeachGrit, YouTube channel.
“I kind of wish this video was never pointed out to me because it makes me so pissed off!” writes Pyzel. “Matt Parker seems to be a bit of a dipshit. I personally shaped Jack dozens of boards and also had my crew in Oz make him boards when he was living there. Jack’s CT ranking peaked during our time together and I was stoked to see him find competitive success, as well as work closely with him to fine tune his boards to help him try to achieve his goals. It wasn’t until he decided to retire from competitive surfing that he started riding for Album. The hard part of working with Jack was not that he wasn’t a lovely person, he is, but his competitive insecurities were often laid on to me and the way his boards were working. Put simply, in his mind if he was winning heats his boards were good, if he lost a heat his boards weren’t good. The WCT level is an elite space in surfing that Matt Parker’s boards have yet to occupy and the attention to detail I get into with all of my team riders falls far beyond “here, ride this model”. I can let my team riders do my talking when it comes to elite level surfing, both in contest and freesurfing , and you won’t catch me talking bad about other shapers that I have never even met face to face. If I was him I would work on keeping my uninformed opinions to myself, rather than going on youtube and talking sh!t about me.”
When contacted for comment, Album Surf responded,
“People love to hate us The right amount of people love us. Matt his having his seventh kid. Pyzel or any other surfboard maker never comes up in our meetings. We want all the major surfboard shapers to do well, so that blank and resin prices don’t skyrocket. We have our niche. We’re not looking dominate or clash with shapers.”
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Both sound like assholes. Two different distinct assholes but equally assholey enough to make that decision.
BTW, what is with Chaz Smith in video above in smoking jacket with that stupid, cheesy pencil thin moustache, trying to talk like he’s Hugh Hefner and trying to make a point about? I couldn’t stand the SoB after 5 seconds. What a douchebag!!! He comes across as a pedophilic used car salesman on master piece theater trying to lure his victims in.
I’m surprised he didn’t used Kelly Slaters name like he does to lure in readers. I actually enjoy criticizing Chaz more than anything because there is so much there to laugh at. If you’re reading this Chaz drop the jacket, shave the ‘stache, talk like a man and for God’s sake and get rid of the limp wrist!!!
bit of a beat up , again/still…….John is a complete technical shaper who can shape anything from his guns/step ups and of course his boards go where no MP/Album would go…..the team Florence is the best in the world and John makes and designs excellent great range of Technical boards.
Matt has had an incredibly positive affect in sponsoring/ marketing great surfers, who were not making a living from surfing, and now given them the best deals/contracts going around, riding beautifully made and great look but in the Hybrid realm of surfboards where there is an ever increasing market. MP also has kept his prices very high and has contributed to us getting higher prices for our boards…..
so great design technician meets great marketing and Hyrid shaper……????
Every shaper should be thanking Matt Parker and Simon Jones for dragging prices up to something more sustainable for all shapers
So surfing is for rich kids cool
Not at all. Surfing is more accessible now than ever. Facebook market or similar is gold for second hand boards. You can easily get a great board for $300 to $500
Coastal rent/mortgage, wetsuit, $2000 e-bike, contest entry fees, less sponsors, surf coach, hotels, gas, flights, full price Rage traction, Laird Superfood, Sharkbanz, Stab Premium…..
Haha, everyday kids and adult surfers don’t need any of this shit. Board and wetsuit is all you need, the rest is just noise.
Who else did?
Michel Bourez?
Taj?
Connor Coffin?
i knew what board it was and i work at the factory..if i knew then jon certainly knew..wow matt is a wanker for talking out of his ass like that.
and i dont work in the aus. factory…
CC is that you?
The pros I’ve seen move to Album all surf worse on his boards. Marzo looks like crap now compared to super brand, his boards are too big. Freestone can’t make a lay back. Koa Smith is riding a pie crust. Kerr just slides around. Album feels like it’s a brand for pros who know they can’t cut it so hide the fact they’re falling off behind semi alt boards
Margo never looked so sluggish.
Brendan Margieson looks great on Matt Parker shapes – one cutback to rebound sequence of him can sell 100 new boards to people who wish they could lay down a rail turn like Margo
Man, 7 kids in southern California on shapers wages. Very impressive…very horny!
“if you want to make 1 million dollars shaping surfboards, you have to lose 2” Jeff Bushman…. Costco sold the #1 selling board model in history and sells more boards yearly than any shop ever. It is what it is… haters hate…. July 19th is officially hate Album Day….more as the story disgruntles itself…
fruit
Why does album keep firing all these shots lately, then when responded to/called out on all of them they backtrack and hide in a corner?
Did you watch the video? The bloke asked him a genuine question about Jack in response to Pyzel and DHD sledge in STAB video.
I thought Parker’s response was well considered and more than fair in standing up for his team rider. If Jack does indeed have a confidence issue, Parker just bought him in closer. I bet Jack won’t forget and will be on Album for a long time.
Of course I didn’t watch the video
Of course 😂😂
in my ‘too old to ghost, too young to die’ era
Daniels
LOL
I reckon if you couldn’t shape for shit but got Kerr, Curren and Machado all to surf your surfboards, you’d still make a squillion.
Curren will only ride your boards if they look like leftover pieces of heavily spackled drywall
Someone could start a surfboard brand called Shit Surfboards where all the models are shaped to look like a log turd, and perform as such. And if Kerr was on the payroll, he’d be squeezing those turd models through perfect 8ft tubes in Indo, like he does with any other board under his feet— and all the boys would want one.
7 kids??? what an idiot/dipshit.
Got to be Mormon or Catholic. Not buying a board from either.
He’s Mormon.
He’s Moron
Generally, the loveliest people, I’ve found.
They’re very good at knocking on doors
A glutton for punishment, certainly.
San Clemente is a weird place man
Goes without saying that the Chinese government is a bunch of dumb cunts, but maybe they’re on to something with the 3 children per married couple limit. Too many Matt Parker’s out there thinking it’s their duty to God to run wild on their wives. Traffic is bad enough.
If I can quote Fight Club:
I am jack’s complete lack of surprise.
I told you Mr Pyzel… Grace us with your presence and you’d be subject to endless fawning articles like this. I hope you’re ready for it.
This is a blood feud I’ll get behind. Both make unreal shapes in different spaces. The albums look so fucking good and getting guys like josh Kerr is genius. Almost feel like albums have cracked the code to the ultimate board between performance and fun. I just can’t afford one 😆.I Bought a sabotaj which is mayhems version of the ghost. Best board Ive ever had both shapers have considerable dick to swing
That album video with Kerr is really great. I got hold of a 2nd hand twinsman and predictably can’t surf it for shit. But I grew up with thrusters and twin fins need to be ridden differently. So I kept telling myself in the car park afterwards.
I’m really not sure if the Album boards are genius shapes or genius marketing. I mean the fucking things cost like $1700 bucks in Australia and about the equivalent in the states. Even with funky artwork that’s a massive premium when you could get two name brand boards straight out of the showroom for the same price.
The only thing i’ve seen sell for more are the Dark Arts boards which feel like they would go amazing but my wife would freak if she ever saw the price tag.
A plain white Album Twinsman is $1,300 AUD. The equivalent in Pyzel range is The Precious, it’s $1,200.
Album’s are only expensive if you add on the fruity one off colours.
A new PU board from any of the big dogs is at least $1k now.
Just had a look at their site. Yes, they have a few unsprayed twinsmen at $1350 a pup but with colour (even a really shit beige resin tint) it’s $1700-1900. Custom waiting list is almost a year. Good for Album but if you want one now, in stock dimensions, you gotta go with resin tint or buy two new boards from the surf shop down the road.
I got mine second hand for a grand and if it wasn’t for the fact that it was in excellent condition (probably the guy couldn’t surf it either), i’d have felt a bit ripped off.
I can’t speak to their current wait times but I can tell my experience from almost a year ago. In September I ordered a custom 6’1 Twinsman in plain white, none available off the rack. It was $1,300 and was ready in 5 weeks.
I was expecting at least 10 weeks. It was a great experience. The board is going strong, just took it to Indo.
The year before that I got a custom 6’3 Pyzel Wildcat for $1,200. Got it in 7 weeks. It’s still going strong too.
I’ve had great experiences with both companies in Oz. They both have got great customer service.
I love my sabotaj too. What fins you running?
The John Florence black and red ones
Matt Parker partnering with athletes who ride albums to carbon copy his brand aesthetic strikes me as lame. If coco ho, josh Kerr, or the many more soon to come wanted to start a unique brand with Matt I think that would be cool but all they’ve done is photocopied albums program and slapped their names next to it.
Coco has partnered with Matt on her brand.
Josh had his own thing but it looks suspiciously like Album.
In the box
Album alum bummed
Surfboard love triangle
Jack-it’s not you Pyzel its the boards you make me.
Pyzel-it’s you it’s always been you!
Matt-pyzel sounds like a big jerk and jack touches my arm just the way I like it.
Pyzel-Matt don’t you know who I am?
In the end Jack ends up alone used and forgotten. Matt keeps shaping for the trying hard to be different crew while Pyzel shapes for people that only accept the best things life has to offer.