Viewers of last night's (6 November) Faking It programme on Channel
4 will have witnessed Web developer Stuart Matheson's efforts to
become a long-board surfer, writes Nathalie Towner.
Every week the programme takes someone out of their everyday life
and gives them intensive tuition in a new role. At the end of the
month they are put to the test in front of a panel of experts who
have to spot the person who is "faking it". Previous shows in the
series have seen a city lawyer become a garage music MC, a kick
boxer turn to ballroom dancing and an ex-navy officer become a drag
queen.
Matheson's employer, recruitment consultancy Elan, was approached
by the
Faking It team, who were looking for Web-based IT
professionals.
"I was really interested in getting on to the programme," says
Matheson, who has been a Web developer for five years and Elan's
Webmaster for the past two and a half years. "It was not that I was
an addict of the series but it sounded like an awesome experience
and a great chance to get out of London."
To get through the selection process he had to talk about his
background and give taped interviews to check that he would come
across well on screen.
"They also made me do a bit of tightrope walking to check that I
had some sense of balance," he says. This would prove to be an
essential skill for the month Matheson was to spend in St Agnes in
Cornwall.
Matheson spent four weeks living in a beach house with one of his
mentors, a former European long-board surfing champion who goes by
the name of Guts Griffiths.
The month started out idyllically enough. "On the first day I met
everyone and did some surfing on the second, it was glorious
sunshine and I thought it was just perfect. But then it started
raining and it did not stop for the rest of the month," says
Matheson.
This was to prove a real problem for Matheson, who desperately
needed as much practice as possible.
"In the first two weeks the conditions were so bad I only spent
about eight hours in the water, whereas in the final two weeks I
managed to get in three or four hours a day," he says.
The constant rain hampered Matheson's progress and caused everyone
involved to get quite stressed. However, the time that could not be
spent on the water was spent learning about the surfing culture.
"I had the standard stereotype of the surfer, the Australian with
blond flowing locks," explains Matheson. "I found this not to be
the case at all, they were just really relaxed people who are
prepared to let everything wait."
In comparison to the local surfing community, he found working with
the camera crew far more intense. "The cameras were there every
day, sometimes they would let us just get on with it but at other
times they had an agenda, and they could also be around in the
evening," he says.
There were also difficult moments with the mentors, who were under
pressure to get Matheson up to scratch.
"One time I was injured and the mentors were saying I was fine and
should just get on with it - we ended up having this whole set-to
in the back of the van. Luckily the camera crew lost the film of
this," he says.
In Matheson's preliminary test he was up against four other surfers
and had to impress the judges with 30 minutes of surfing. It was
not to be and he struggled into fifth place, lagging behind a
12-year-old contestant.
But this was only a test and hopes were pinned on the final
challenge. Again Matheson had to surf for 30 minutes and try to
catch 15 waves. Competitors ranged from a man with nine months'
experience who had been surfing every day, to someone who had been
on the scene for 20 years. It was definitely not going to be
Matheson's moment of glory.
"The conditions were far from ideal and with the surf I didn't do
very well," he says.
All three judges picked Matheson out as the faker, but the
experience has not killed his passion for surfing.
"Three days after the challenge I tried again and I was fine," he
says. Since the challenge was completed in June Matheson has been
surfing a number of times.
Apart from developing a passion for the sport, the whole experience
has allowed Matheson to re-evaluate other aspects of his life. "I
write electronic dance-based music, and the whole experience has
given me the confidence to push this more, music is my main
passion," he explains.
"It was weird coming back, the whole experience made me realise
there was this whole other life I could lead, although I don't
think a surf life would be fulfilling enough. I think I will leave
it in the hands of fate and see what happens."
So, for the time being at least, Matheson is happy to be
a Web developer.