The dog days* of summer are here in the Northern Hemisphere. Hopefully summer school is not in the cards for you and your trunks are laced up tight with the beach acting as your home away from home till that school bell rings in September. The Matix crew has tons happening this summer and we want to invite you to come join us.

*Dog Days were popularly believed to be an evil time "when the seas boiled, wine turned sour, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid, causing man burning fevers, hysterics, and frenzies" according to Brady’s Clavis Calendarium, 1813. Almost 200 years later let’s hope that’s not the case except for some boiling seas in the form of swell producing hurricanes!

The US Open of Surfing kicked off this week in Surf City USA and celebrates 50 years of history off the south side of Huntington Beach Pier in Southern California. Come on down and enjoy this weeklong affair and cheer on the Matix team as they work their way towards the finals. From 4-5pm on Friday July 24th you can meet the entire Matix surf team led by Gabe Kling, Micah Byrne, Brian Toth, Ricky Whitlock, Zander “Zoozander” Morton, Jon Rose and Jamie Parkhurst at Jack’s Surf Shop and from 3-4pm on Saturday July 25th at Huntington Surf & Sport both on Main Street in H.B.

Unfortunately WCT top 45 member Kling will not competing this week at the Open due to a severe right ankle injury he suffered back in March while competing in Tasmania. Kling has been out of the water for four months now trying to rehabilitate his ailing limb. Recently Kling has undergone a new treatment known as platelet-rich plasma therapy (PRP) which is gaining popularity with athletes in mainstream sports like the MLS, MLB and NFL.

PRP is derived by placing a small amount of the patient’s blood in a filtration system or centrifuge that rotates at high speed, separating red blood cells from the platelets that release proteins and other particles involved in the body’s self-healing process. A teaspoon or two of the remaining substance is then injected into the damaged area. The high concentration of platelets — from 3 to 10 times that of normal blood — often catalyzes the growth of new soft-tissue or bone cells. Because the substance is injected where blood would rarely go otherwise, it can deliver the healing instincts of platelets without triggering the clotting response for which platelets are typically known.

The method, which is strikingly straightforward and easy to perform, catalyzes the body’s instincts to repair muscle, bone and other tissue. Most enticing, many doctors said, is that the technique appears to help regenerate ligament and tendon fibers, which could shorten rehabilitation time and possibly obviate surgery as it’s nonsurgical and uses the body’s own cells to help it heal.

Hopefully the PRP treatments will help get Kling back in the water sooner then later. The above ad of Kling is in the September issue of Surfing Magazine and features the summer colorway of his signature trunk. You can win a pair by signing up for our Matix Monthly contest. Also in that same issue of Surfing Magazine you can win a Matix Micah Byrne giveaway by penning the letter of the month. If you can’t wait to get your copy in the mail then send your entries to surfing@sorc.com.

Congratulations to Chad Parson’s from Centennial, Colorado of the Colorado Trash Wranglers who won the Matix International Surfing Day Challenge which was the most creative branding effort using the Matix icon. The Trash Wranglers gathered to surf their local river and pick up trash and they used some of the bottles collected to create this piece of art. The old saying “what is one man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” and that saying couldn’t ring more true in this case. Chad will be receiving a big Matix package as his treasure for deeds well done. Would also like to congratulate Nick Garcia
of Albuquerque, New Mexico who won the June Matix Monthly contest and will receive a box full of goodies
as well.

This month we are giving away a pair of Gabe Kling Ventathor Kling-2 signature trunks along with a Matix/Pro-Lite traction pad. Make sure you are signed up and tell a friend so you have a chance to win one of our prize packs each and every month here at matixclothing.com
This week’s sode of Matix Mondays features Micah Byrne with footage shot at Lowers and Byrne’s home break off the south side of Huntington Beach Pier. Thanks to Shon Miller for the Lowers footage and to Marc Beaty from Surfline for the H.B. footage. As always you can catch new sode’s of Matix Mondays each week here on our site on our YouTube channel or get them delivered directly to your iTunes!