Matt Gallagher is a Berkshires-based logger, arborist, mushroom cultivator, Gentleman farmer and an all-around nice guy. A passionate surfer, his logging work keeps him anchored to the Berkshires in the winter, far away from the sea. This past winter was one of record snowfall in Massachusetts, and cabin fever set in hard and fast. With his garage crowded with carefully stacked cords and wood scraps leftover from various work jobs, Matt came up with an idea that would help him feel connected to the ocean he missed. He’d build himself a surfboard out of reclaimed wood and once the spring came, he’d drive out to the east coast to meet the first big swell.
Matt built his surfboard out of eastern red cedar repurposed from one of his horticulturist girlfriend’s clients, and luan sheets and oak flooring leftover from the her parents’ house. (Which was built from scratch by a relative. The 100-mile approach to sustainability is more like 10 miles in the Berkshires.)
Setbacks set in while Matt was waiting for the fiberglass to arrive. A particularly rainy spring made the wood swell, which pushed the surboard’s deck up. Undaunted, Matt set about pushing the damn deck back down.
Matt is currently in the process of building his second surfboard using commercial grade ½ inch plywood leftover from a roofing project on his own house, along with a repurposed collection of wood culled from other projects.
Matt considers his surfboards as “rideable recyclables.” His boards are also an experiment in memories reclaimed—composed as they are from the scraps of other people’s projects. His favorite place to surf is three hours away on the coast of his native New Hampshire, and the next time he gets out there, he’ll be riding on the remains of a cedar closet, a credenza, and part of his new roof.
For information on placing a custom order: info@pulplab.com
