Wave Pool Mag

Nick Robinson chats with WavePoolMag editor Bryan Dickerson about the latest happenings and goings-on in the wave pool world including upcoming projects, rumors and pipe dreams. The two also map out what wave pool contests could and should look like...

Aaron Trevis has been tinkering away for well more than five years on Surf Lakes. He built small 1:25 and 1:10 prototypes of the plunger to see if the idea could work. It did. Fast forward to today and licensing has been fast with Surf Lakes selling territories in Hawaii, China, the US, and elsewhere. In all, the company says they have 19 projects in the works with more to be confirmed. WavePoolMag Podcaster Nick Robinson speaks with Aaron to cover the progress in Yeppoon and map out his company’s expansion into the global wave pool marketplace.

Oscar Segall is the human behind Fazenda do Grama, Brazil and South America’s first surf-focused wave pool. In this episode podcaster Nick Robinson uncovers the how and why of Segall’s master development. The Wavegarden Cove is the central component to the private development and is only accessible via membership or residency. It could also herald the arrival of wave pools replacing golf courses en mass as future real estate developments copy Oscar’s business plan.

Urbnsurf Melbourne has been open for a little more than one year. In that time the gates have been shut more often than open. By not pumping out waves to a happy public on the daily, their learning curve for building a thriving, profitable surf park has been incredibly steep. CEO Damon Tudor shares with us an accelerated master class in wave pools, outlining the company’s plans including key targets in Sydney, Perth and elsewhere in Australia. Find out how he expects to get the job done.

Surfloch is one of the larger wave tech providers having originally made a splash with the sale of the Flowrider system to White Water. Tom Lochtefeld has led Surfloch into a new era of wave creation coming up with a powerful system for creating top quality surfing waves. He has proved it in the Californian desert at Palm Springs with ex-BSR wavemaker, Cheyne Magnusson and his team at the Palm Springs Surf Club.Check out the video of their incredible few months when the test tank was open: https://vimeo.com/463513131 We also talk about lots of other things and Wisemans surf lodge down in Australia https://www.wisemans.surf/ I hope you enjoy it and next week we have Aaron Trevis with an update from Surf Lakes!Stay well,Nick

Jess Ponting relates his early days in Fiji and then working his way around the Pacific to San Diego. He ended up there for life becoming an Associate Professor at San Diego State University and is the Founder/Director of Center for Surf Research. He has an impressive resume: Dr. Jess Ponting is considered the leading academic and consultant in sustainable surf tourism. He holds the world’s first Masters and PhD degrees to focus specifically on this topic and is the world’s most published researcher in the field with 14 scholarly journal articles, 2 books, 2 book chapters, and 21 conference presentations. He is an Associate Professor in sustainable tourism at San Diego State University where he founded the Center for Surf Research in 2011 – the world’s first research center to focus specifically on sustainable surf tourism. He also co-founded Groundswell Educational Travel, a company that facilitates university students studying sustainable surf tourism in world class surfing destinations; STOKE, the world’s first certification program to focus specifically on surf and snow sport tourism; and SurfCredits, a program to raise money for non-profit organizations in surf tourism destinations. Dr. Ponting sits on the board of many surf related organizations including World Surfing Reserves, National Surfing Reserves, and Sustainable Surf. He has provided sustainable tourism consulting services in 11 countries and has advised the governments of several countries on the regulation and management of surf tourism.

Nick Hounsfield had a background in healthcare and is the chairman of Surfing England, having long been involved in the governing body. His dream to build a wave pool in a field outside Bristol has captured the attention of thousands, if not millions of people around the UK and the world. He chats with us about the highs and the lows, not just of the inception period but also about ongoing operations and the plans that The Wave has for the future. Exciting stuff!

I can picture Daniel teaching volleyball on Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro and wondering how these guys can fly in from Norway and enjoy such an amazing quality of life. So, being a man full of initiative he figured it out, jumped on a plane and moved to Norway to study. He had no choice but to work hard and get his degree, which he did. It was an incredible challenge, but he overcame it and is now a thriving member of Norwegian society and has embarked on another major challenge: creating the first wave pool in Norway.Listening to the challenges he has set himself and is overcoming them, I couldn't help but be hugely inspired. I know you will be too. Listen to the end, it wasn't planned but he has an amazing story about a world champion surfer.Check out Sunnnfjord Waves https://www.sunnfjordwaves.com/Daniel referenced this film about cold water surfing in Iceland: http://www.underanarcticsky.com/Hoddevik Surfing Beach https://goo.gl/maps/yAqitm3oDinCWmXn6

Catching up with Wavegarden is an exciting conversation. We discuss the traditional diamond shaped "Cove" and how it could be modified to fit different locations and topographies. We talk energy and how the Wavegarden is more efficient than any of it's competitors. We talk about some of the key projects that they're working on around the world and Séan lists the "next to market" contenders. It's definitely an exciting company to be working for!One point that really stood out for me was when Séan outlined some details of the Fazenda do Grama project in Brazil. Fascinating!

Scott Bass hails from San Diego and runs his own surf show: "The Boardroom Show" Check it out over here https://boardroomshow.com/ It's a solid surfing podcast and an excellent show where Scott brings people together around the stoke of surfing.We get to chat about his experiences in the following pools:Kelly Slater's Surf RanchTyphoon Lagoon in Disney WorldNLand in Texas (now closed)BSR in Waco, TexasIt's a great chat and he's an incredible personality. Thanks Scott!