Matt Archbold, Mentawai Islands, Indonesia 2009
Matt Archbold, north of the Mentawai Islands, Indonesia, playing speed games. 2009
Matt Archbold, an amazing, regular foot surfer from San Clemente, California, is one of the sport’s greatest natural talents. I was introduced to him in the mid 80s, a bashful child prodigy that evolved into a heavily tattooed and periodically self-destructive cult figure.
I've known Matt before he ever had a drop of ink on his body and before his first trip to Hawaii. From day one, he's always been a consistently good guy, and when it comes to surfing he always shows up. Ive made a half dozen trips to Indonesia with him and every time, he was the first one in the water the last one out everyday. He is definitely one of the sports most photographed surfers and always gets it done!
He entered his first surf contest at 13 and finished second in the boys division to face future World Tour surfer, Brad Gerlach, in 1980. At 16, Archbold won the juniors division the United States Surfing Championships and turned pro after dropping out from the ninth grade. Lacking the attitude or the interest for formal competition, he turned his attention completely to free surfing, and by 1988, earned a reputation as one of the world's best aerialist surfers, along with fellow San Clemente surfer Christian Fletcher. Both are greatly influenced by aerial pioneer and World Champion, Martin Potter.
To categorize him as just an aerialist is such a disservice: in small and medium-sized waves, Archbold is simply one of the best surfers in the world. He is fast, fluid, limber and innovative, with near perfect balance and the quickest reflexes in the sport. It's often been said that his raw talent is second only to three-time World Champion, Tom Curren.
Archie, it’s always a pleasure to travel with you.
This shot: north of the Mentawai Islands, Indonesia, playing speed games. 2009