Chat Ed : Welcome to this evening's FAKING IT chat with STUART MATHESON! And here he is... say hello...
greg : HELLO
smfuture : alritght dude
Stuart Matheson : Hi everyone...it's been incredible watching it tonight. Thank you for all the support, I feel very humble.
BuillyUnfaithful : so have you been surfing since the programme?
bluescreenkid : so are you still surfing ???
aurora : have you been surfing since the show?
Gemma : Have you been surfing since your faking it challenge?
yenny : so have u been surfing since the program was made?
Stuart Matheson : I am yes. It's the only thing I want to do to be honest. I've been surfing about 10-12 times since the programme finished filming, which was about 3-4 months ago. I really want to get better and better so that I can enjoy my surf a lot more.
leah : did you go on the holiday you said you would go on when you got home and if so where did you go?
Stuart Matheson : Hi leah. I went back to surf about 2-3 days after I'd finished where I had my final day - I wanted to banish some demons which I did by surfing exceptionally well that day, which is just sod's law isn't it!? I do plan to go abroad and surf too though.
eddie04 : how much have you improved since the final challenge?
Stuart Matheson chuckles
Stuart Matheson : Hi eddie, I've improved a lot since then, that wasn't my best performance to be honest. I'm up and riding every time now, and turning. I've progressed more in the last 3 months than I did in the month I was there because I was pretty slow then, heh.
Katie : Stuart, I was really impressed with what you did and your attitude ... surely it would have been overambitious for anyone to have faked something as skilled as surfing in a month
colin dave : stuart, you didn't stand a chance. way too difficult in 4 weeks - hardest fake it yet - don't you think?
Stuart Matheson : Thank you very much. It was intensely difficult and although I didn't actually pull it off I feel that I achieved something really special in my life and that is that I found out that I really want to surf. All the way through the month I never actually felt that I wasn't a surfer, I felt it all the way through.
Pindsay : What was going through your mind when you weren't doing anything in the competition?
Stuart Matheson : Panic! I was very, very frustrated - just because things weren't going my way and I kind of knew it wasn't happening so that probably didn't do me any favours and I may have tried too hard. But it was fun all the same. That's just the way the cookie crumbles.
Mark : Well done Stu,i'm from the Midlands and it's a damn hard sport to learn
Stuart Matheson : Hi Mark, I'm not going to disagree with you on that one, but it's a rewarding sport at the end of the day.
Marc : You did great! How does your girlfriend like 'The New Stuart?'
Blue Eyes : I like the new Stuart, thought he was great!
Stuart Matheson : Aah! Hehe. She was a bit pensive to start off with simply because in that month my outlook on a lot of things changed. She realised that surfing was going to be a high priority in my life, which she probably wasn't 100% happy with at the time. She has been supportive though, although I probably have pissed her off a bit!
moldy : The other two seemed a little hard nosed, but genuine dudes all the same. Do you still see them?
Vanessa : hav u stayed in contact with the guys who taught u??
Sabbie : Do you still keep in contact with those guys ?
Stuart Matheson : They're my friends now, we're good mates. I speak to James constantly over e-mail. And I've seen Gus once since but we talk on the phone all the time. They weren't really hard nosed at all, they're good lads.
GuyIddon : Hi Stuart, well done on the show it was wicked; Was there anything you particularly didn't enjoy about it e.g. where there any locals who were standoff-ish?
Stuart Matheson : Not at all. The locals were exceptionally supportive of me. One of the most difficult things I had to face was the weather conditions.
Ed : Did your ribs honestly heart or where you copping out a bit?
keith : Stuart - Hows the rib's
Stuart Matheson laughs
Stuart Matheson : I was being completely honest, it did look like a cop out, but I'm not one to shy out of anything just because I don't want to do it. They did bloody hurt!
Beefy : How long did it take your ribs to recover?
Blue Eyes : Stu - you are a star now, do you realise that. How did your workmates take it?
Stuart Matheson : It took me about 2-3 weeks after I'd finished for my ribs to totally stop hurting. My workmates have been really cool, they did give me a bit of stick, but that kind of comes with the territory I think.
Toptotty67 : i cant believe those dolphins i bet that was a really magic moment
Stuart Matheson : Nice name! That was one of the high points, definitely. They are incredible creatures. To be in the sea with them was phenomenal.
Sen : Do you feel better overall now that you're a lot fitter?
Stuart Matheson : Oh for definite. You have to be fit to surf properly. My general level of fitness has definitely improved. Surfing gives you a thorough workout for sure.
Lisa : How did it feel to go back to your day job?
oz : still with your webdesign shit?
DrK : How did you feel returning to work after filming and changing your life?
Stuart Matheson : It was hard to go back. I really didn't want to be in London I wanted to be in St Agnes with all my friends down there, but I have to earn a living somehow. The positive points of the Faking It programme have definitely rubbed off on me though, I'm more responsible and that's a good thing.
Andrea : Do you think you'd be content,, if you were earning a sufficient living surfing in cornwall or somewhere similar for the rest of your life
Stuart Matheson : Half of me wants to do that now and half of me kind of doesn't. I'm in a situation right now where I could possibly be made redundant, so if I am then I know where I'm going! Regardless of anything though, I'll still surf. I feel lucky to be able to live in London and also be able to have a bit of the surfing lifestyle when I go away.
EC : Did you keep the board?
Stuart Matheson : Yeah I did. It's the one I use at the moment. I also bought a board from Gus which is down at St Agnes and good friend of mine called Tim is looking after it for me down there.
alistair : Did you really believe that you would be able to convince the judges after just 4 weeks? I though you did brilliantly, but from the beginning I didn't think you (or anyone else) would be able to do it.
Stuart Matheson : Thank you Alistair. I did believe I could do it because there would be no point in me even attempting to do it otherwise. Unfortunately though, the surf just didn't go my way. Although the final day could have been seen as a disappointment it was possibly one of the best days I've had.
jamie and morven : did u feel the spiritual side of surfing?
Stuart Matheson : Yeah definitely. There were a lot of times when I was sitting out the back when I felt completely at ease and relaxed and when you catch a wave you don’t think of anything else - it's just you on that wave and nothing else matters at all. Nothing.
surfs_up : First time i was out i got caught in a rip and swept out. you dont relise how scary it is. Had you any scary moments??
Stuart Matheson : Yeah I had a couple actually, more humbling than scary. I was taken out into 6-7ft waves and I didn't know but I thought I was expected to catch one of them and Gus just wanted me to survive. So I tried to catch one and ended up under water for quite a while. I did panic a bit at one stage. Then I stopped and just thought I should enjoy it and that was a changing point for me, gasping for air really turned it around for me.
Sads : Having come to surfing so late (like myself) do you wish you'd discovered it years ago?
o : What was your favourite part of making the show?
Stuart Matheson : I wish I had done it before I could walk. My favourite part was just learning to love surfing to be honest. By the end of it there was no looking back; just ask my girlfriend.
Surfer Dudess : Is your chest still expanding and your groin on fire?
Stuart Matheson laughs
Stuart Matheson : I knew you'd bring that up! Yeah it was a freak accident with a box of matches and some fireworks. Oh I'm going to get some shit for that!
Hannah02 : How would you sum up the whole experience of surfing?
Stuart Matheson : Unbelievable, because it was something I would never have thought of doing in a million years before Faking It and now I can't really think of anything else.
Warren : what was the single biggest thing you have learnt from this experience
Stuart Matheson : Just that I realised a lot of things about myself... the path I was going down wasn't the right path maybe, it was something I fell into rather than choosing.
jess : good for you!
Stuart Matheson : I think I'm allowing myself to burst the bubble a bit and go and grab things which I like doing for myself and no one else.
Chat Ed : That's it! Thanks for coming and talking to us STUART!
Stuart Matheson : Thanks jess :)
o : Bye sturat well done!
Annie : Well done - top lad!
Kyle : You made Faking It good again, I was beginning to lose faith in the new series! bye!
Mikie : Stick with it - it only gets better. Good Luck toooo!!
rocky : YOU RULED STU!
bennyboy : Nice one Stu - congratulations mate
JamesMK : thanks stuart....great programme :o)
lloydyboy : dude
martysk8er : good job stuart
Briohny Fitzgerald : we loved the programme!
Dave035 : bye
Sunshine : byeeeee
ChrisStones : Best of luck!
Stuart Matheson : Thank you very much, I can't quite believe what's happening, it's been incredible, I look forward to meeting a lot of you on the waves very soon!
Chat Ed : Thank you all for coming... and for all the questions. Want a change of career and need some advice? Check out the Ideas Factory site - Ideas Factory.
