Tips for laning as Gnar

Ok, so I've been trying to play gnar for a while, i've read gides etc, but I just dont seem to be able to lane very well as him atall. With easily the lowest stats in the game, any champion is free the bully the crap out of you and often kill you if they don't force you out of lane, in which case you'll just be very far behind on CS. Big gnar form is useless in lane aswell, because whilst you might have more presence, they can just stay away for a few seconds, and it's gone, wasted, and you won't have it back up again for ages. The boomerang doesn't help eather as it just stops at minions.

So help me, how do people lane as such a weak champion and how can you make good use of his ult when all enemy teams know to stay well clear for the only 10 seconds you can actually use it?