12 Fins, 6 Boards And Matt Meola In The Maldives

Twin fin enthusiasm is spreading, almost as fast as the hydrofoil. The difference is you’re 37x more likely to own and operate a twin fin than a hydrofoil, and 202x less likely to lose your head while riding one.

Matt Meola’s just got back from a trip to the Maldives, where he spent the enviable task of sampling six twinnies on user-friendly lumps.

The result is an unlikely pairing and enjoyable viewing.

Stab: What board went best? 
Matt: There were things I liked about all of them. As far as high-performance the SUPER was probably best. The SOS would be the best in tubes and bigger waves. The KT drew super long drawn out turns, and the Infinity just went so fucking fast down the line. 

We were only allowed to ride twins on the trip.

One of those is a Matt Meola shape. Have you taken up shaping, or was that just a way to throw your keys into the punch bowl? 
I wouldn’t call myself an experienced shaper or anything. I just go to my buddy Marlon’s house and we make files together on his computer then finish them. His dad, Jimmy Lewis is a legendary shaper on the island and has been teaching us for the past couple years. I’m super into it. But I still get tons of boards from other guys cause I don’t have the time and experience to make everything I need.

Are twins a part of your everyday quiver? Was it weird removing the fin from beneath your backfoot? 
Before this trip, I don’t think I owned a twin. I had used one of Asher’s boards in the past and thought it went insane. When I heard about this trip I was all over it. I have been riding weirder stuff just to keep surfing exciting. The speed you get on a twinnie is crazy. You don’t have quite the control you do on a thruster but sometimes that’s a good thing. But if I was going out to try and get my best clips possible, I would ride a thruster.