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here's the details behind Channel Four's "Faking it" episode where they've taken a non-surfing computer programmer based in the city and attempted to convert him into a convincing surf "dude".

Here's Channel Four's take ('scuse the pun) on events and I'll leave you all to make your own comment on the forum. The programme is to be shown on November 6th, that's next Wednesday. Personally I think the general concept is quite an interesting one, whether it turns out to be a crash course in 'gnarly dude, yeah radical' or something a little deeper...well, we'll just have to wait to see the programme to find out.


Stuart before"Elan's webmaster, Stuart Matheson, is to be transformed from an IT surfer to a long board surfer when he takes part in Channel 4's hugely successful documentary series, Faking It, to be televised on November 6th. The aim of the programme was to see if Stuart could 'Fake It' as a professional surfer in front of a panel of judges. To find out whether he succeeded or not you will need to watch the show.

>Stuart, who has worked for Elan for two and a half years, had never surfed prior to the filming - and in fact was not very active at all, only playing the odd game of tennis now and again. He is now an avid surfer, travelling down to Cornwall most weekends.

Whilst in Cornwall, Stuart was taught by European Long Board Surfing champion, Guts Griffiths and James Hendy from Surfers Against Sewage. A typical day was completely different to his normal working Elan day, and was based mostly on physical exercise. This included cycling, sit ups, press ups and yoga as well as the actual surfing. Says Stuart: "Learning to surf was exhilarating but also physically tiring. Like my role at Elan, I had to work to tight deadlines and perform under pressure. Obviously it was a lot different in the sense that my work is mostly desk based, and the rigorous exercise regime was something new for me. I had to really get into the part by having my hair cut, buying new clothes and picking up surf lingo. It was definitely a sharp learning curve making me more confident and giving me the drive to develop myself more. Surfing is now an integral part of my life."

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