Pat Gudauskas And Wade Goodall Provide Hope For Your Late-30s

Some people believe that “Dad Strength” is a real phenomenon— arising from a male body’s response to their partner’s pregnancy, resulting in more muscle mass to defend the offspring from predators.

The science on this is inconclusive, but if you’ve ever tried to arm wrestle against your father (who has never even stepped foot in a gym) you will know what I’m talking about.

Pat Gudauskas is the father of two, and one of the collaborators — alongside his brothers — of the Channel Islands Surfboard model known as the “G Skate”.

The Gudauskas Brothers, alongside Britt Merrick (who just became the winningest shaper of Stab in the Dark) set out to create a board that skated through flat sections like a groveller but then clicked into its high-performance when the wave steepened back up. They achieved this by shortening their typical shortboard rail line by 5” and adding curves and contours in key places that would keep them on top of the water and not hinder their turns in any way. Adding a 2 + 1 (twin plus trailer) fin set-up tied the whole concept together.

In this edit, Pat Gudauskas linked up with Wade Goodall to track down waves in the Northeastern part of Australia for a week. These Millenial men also linked up with Gen-Zers Jordy Lawler and Kalani Ball to exchange generational wisdom and get a larger sample size to put the G Skate through its paces.

“This was the first time I’ve ridden this board with Spinetek construction,” Pat told Stab, “It was enlightening for me. I wasn’t sure how this board would work with Spinetek but I really loved the pop and feeling it had.”

One of the key takeaways for me in this clip is that your late-30s aren’t something to be feared. If you keep yourself in shape it appears to you can retain your surfing ability. And depending on who you ask, male peak performance output can pervade until age 40 anyways. There is light at the end of your 20s, friends.