MIKE MCDOUGALL & MATT HAYMES ON THEIR AWARD-WINNING SHORT FILM, 'RE SHAPED'
WE CATCH UP WITH MATT HAYMES & MIKE MCDOUGALL—CREATORS OF ‘RE SHAPED’
Location: Warung InSalt, Balangan, Bali
Matt Haymes is the guy who made headlines in Bali back in 2021 for surfing 365 days straight during COVID, taking full advantage of all those empty line-ups.
“So many people were dwelling on something we didn’t really understand with COVID. And so I just wasn’t going to miss that opportunity to surf a lot when there were no people in the water.”
Matt’s also a really good board shaper, having shaped boards over the years for guys like Mick Campbell, Martin Potter, and Tom Carroll, to name a few. Recently, Matt teamed up here in Bali with UK filmmaker, Mike McDougall, to collaborate on the short documentary, ‘Re Shaped.’ The film explores the history of board shaping, what led to Matt leaving the industry, and why he got back into it among other things. It’s already snagged a few awards on the film circuit, and while it centers around Matt, it features familiar faces like Rizal Tandjung and Patrick Napoli as well. The first public showing was here in Bali on a huge screen at Ulu Garden on 8 September 2023. The Ulu Roots played—it was a packed house and everyone enjoyed the film.
The Bukit List caught up with the guys at Matt’s restaurant, Warung In Salt, to chat about the inspiration behind ‘Re Shaped.’
And for a bit of background on Matt and Mike…
Matt was born in the Channel Islands off the coast of France before migrating to Australia, eventually landing in Bali. Growing up in a surfing family, Matt already had guys like Gerry Lopez shaping boards for him in his backyard by the age of 12 (his mom and dad had a surfboard factory in their garden). His younger brother, Mark Haymes, was a junior professional surfing champion in the 1980s, and his parents ran Kuta’s famous Tubes Restaurant back in the day. Suffice to say, the surf lineage runs deep in the Haymes family. Today, Matt runs a great little Indonesian spot called Warung In Salt on Balangan Road about 200 meters down from Nirmala on the left. Go say hi and grab a nasi.
Mike is originally from the UK where he attended The National Film and Television School which has since led to a long and successful career in the industry. He’s worked for independent networks like the BBC and has made over 30 short films throughout the course of his career. He’s also a helicopter pilot and does some aerial photography as well. These days, Mike calls Bali home and he’s gearing up to make his first feature film here on the island which we’ll look forward to checking out when he’s finished.
Anyone who wants to learn more about Matt’s 365+ days of COVID surfs can check out Matt George’s article on Tracks here.
Check out Re Shaped in full right here.