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Dr. Dion Mattison

I provide philosophically grounded, holistic, and actionable content for surfers of every level.

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Conatus Surf Club Fall 2026/Winter 2027 Updates

Dear Surf Enthusiast, If you're getting this you've signed up at some point to get semi-regular-ish updates on what's going on with Conatus Surf Club. First of all, thanks for doing that! You're on a free list. I send a broadcast to this list about 1x a quarter or 4x a year. Here are the major updates: I have heavily discounted my weekly Philosophy of Surfing Zine. It's now $25/quarter or $90/year. Hot takes and philosophical deep dives on surfing you won't get anywhere else. It's a great...

WE WENT HARD Seven days straight of swell and progress with the crew. Salutations! First of all, I'm proud of myself for getting the zine out last week at all. And on the best day of the swell to boot! Last Friday morning was also the worst session of the swell for me. I had some hunches of what would be good, and at least one of them was wrong. But the thing next door to it threw me two perfect set waves on my surf check. It looked a bit lully and easy to access with tubes on offer and there...

Screen grab from Day 2 of the Fay Swell. This was a particularly fun wave. Filmed by MG Bruno. Salve! We are deep into NE Storm Fay here in NY. It's day 4 of what will be a 5-6 day swell bender after a prolonged period of very fun, accessible baby waves (don't call it flat cuz it wasn't). The waves have not been perfect, but there is juice. Everyone who has been craving waves above chest high is relishing in it. I've been surfing Rockaway, and I did one strike to Rhode Island to surf...

Dear Friend, To continue where we left off, Sophia reminded me that new James Patterson novels have been installed in Costa Rica. Makes sense. Patterson churns them out. Andrew buys them at airports, brings them down for his trips, and leaves them. Honestly no matter how bad of prose someone enjoys, it’s good that people still be out there reading. Those all have to go (everything on lefthand shelf). We are currently culling a shit ton of books here in Rockaway Beach. We’re separating our...

Surfing Moss Landing with my brother, Andrew, in 2017. Salutations. While in Costa Rica I found myself desiring to read something other than Huizinga’s Homo Ludens, so I perused our now greatly culled bookcase at Rancho Diandrew (airbnb.com/h/ranchodiandrew). Books die fast of mold at RDA and still it is worth keeping a few in the case for ourselves and our guests. I admittedly binned Andrew’s enormous collection of James Patterson novels and not because I don’t like my brother. More because...

Back at it in NY for September and October. 3ft @ 10 seconds here. Ideal east coast coaching buoy reading. Good tidings my fellow-being-unto-death! In NY back from CR. Putting massive gears in motion. Already logged a few coaching sessions. Teeth and incisions are still healing. Definitely out of the roughest part of the woods with that health stuff. Here's a medical tourism whirlwind grand tally for you: Dental total: $2,545.00 (668.53 + 441.27 + 225.00 + 1,131.88 + 78.32) Health total...

Dear Philo-surfer, Put your reading pants on – this one is text heavy, but there's a vid at the end to reward you. I hope today’s zine finds you thriving, but I also cannot guarantee that it will. Perhaps it has been flat too long wherever you are. Perhaps you’ve had a personal or family health emergency. Perhaps the flood in Tibet/Nepal, the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Iran, and Trump’s continued erosion of American democracy are getting you down in such a way that you just want to be sad...

Salve Amici Mei, I’m supposed to be on a plane to NY right now (or back in NY depending on what time you open this email). Alas fate has different things in store. My medical tourism adventure has turned into a medical tourism dental emergency. The good news: I’m getting everything taken care of and am in one of the best places on earth to take care of it. I also know even more about medical tourism in Costa Rica, which I’ll share with you should you decide to rope some in to your own surf...

It's just toooo surf-able down here too much of the time! Dear Friend, Coming to you today in the height of my medical tourism game; or at least the beginning. I’ve actually never had a medical tourism game to begin with, so starting one at all has to be the peak. Also I’m just on a roll medically. I’m fine if we want to call this my mid life crisis. Although becoming critically concerned about one’s health in midlife before there’s an actual crisis just sounds reasonable. Let’s take some...

Salve Froth Monster! This week it's a pics and vids only edition. Next week there will be more pics and more vids, and also some more philosophical writing about play and fun and work and struggle and joy and glide and timing and judgment. And then some menus, recipes, and workouts for good measure. I hope you enjoy this visual assortment! Pura Vidissima, Dion Jose and me after the water cut out. This is a posed photo after the fact. The water went out one day and Jose and I had to go down to...