Ep 36 - Outside The Bay with Tyler Bales from Fin Match

In this episode I talk with Tyler Bales from Fin Match.  

Tyler took up hockey as a young boy and prioritised learning everything he could about every aspect of the equipment.  Skates and hockey sticks have many variables depending on the position they play as well as personal preferences. 

It was in his early teenage years when he discovered a love for surfing.  As his ability improved, the questions he had about his equipment increased.  Over time he realised a lot of his questions and sometimes confusion related to surfboard fins.

Tyler identifies a trip to Mexico as the turning point in his fin journey.  The waves were small so he decided to use the MR (plus trailer) fins in his Tomo Sci Fi 2.0.  The radical change in the boards performance had a profound and lasting effect on him.

Fast forward a few years and Tyler decided he wanted to create a resource that could clarify what various fins did and simplify how a person would select their next set of fins.  www.finMatchsurf.com was born.

Fin Match allows users to input basic information to find fins that best match there request.  It also allows users to create a profile to log their surfboard and fin quivers.  One of the highlights of the website for me was the ability for users to log their surf sessions identifying which board they rode, which fins they used and the surf conditions.  This information can then be exported to a person's shaper or coach.

Tyler and I discuss the various parts of the website, challenges people experience with fins and much more.

I hope you enjoy our chat.