Wave Pool Mag

Rupert Hill set up "Surf Simply" from scratch over in Costa Rica. He has made a remarkable success of it, going from zero to hero in over 10 years. It's been a long hard slog but he is on top of his game now, offering surf weeks for over $6,000 per person and boasting a two year waiting list. That's an incredible achievement. Well done, Surf Simply! Nick picks Ru's brain about surfing and how the coaching aspects changes when you eliminate nature's whims from the equation. Learning to surf and improving your surfing in a pool becomes a whole lot more effective... or does it? What do you think?

Matt Gunn became disillusioned with the total lack of waves after moving out to Arizona from his native California. Being starved of surf certainly drives you crazy, but would you be crazy enough to build a wave machine AND a wave park? Matt's certainly not crazy, but he's really committed in a quiet, dedicated kind of way. Backed by a big hitters like Shane Beschen and others... well, he's bound to succeed!Good luck, Matt, it was good fun chatting to you and I'll see you at the launch!Nick

The Paris project has been a fascinating combination of public and private co-operation and Baptiste has been working as a consultant in the thick of all the agencies working hard on the project. The promise of perfect machine made waves in the middle of a large capital city hasn't been realized yet - will Paris be the first to market? These large undertakings are notoriously riddled with problems, let's get under the skin of this one with Baptiste.Interestingly "Le Vague Grand Paris" has chosen their wave technology and after initially working with one of the leaders in the industry, they switched to a newcomer. We discuss how that went down.Thanks for listening to www.wavepoolmag.com/podcast !We'll be back in two weeks,Nick

We discuss Skips background, the wave pool industry as a whole and how he started Surf Park management. Probably the best story was when he flew down to some country in Central Americat to the location of a proposed surf park and was shocked to find a sex store and a gun shop neighbouring the property. Location is pretty important! We dig into his Turtle Bay Hotel project on the North Shore of Hawaii after he did the turnaround there: ramping up mountain biking trails, helping Hans Hedeman to uplift his surf school, he brought in the APP Stand Up world tour, created restaurants and bar venues with lifestyle programming. His business partner, Kate and him met and then went to the 2017 Snowdonia Surf Park Summit. They presented their new concept of 3rd party management and consulting within wave pools and it was well received by the industry. We also discuss:Coral Mountain with Kelly's Wave and private residential projectsSurf training and a fully enhanced progression program.A deep insight into the wave park creation process and a how to for people who want to get into the space and who to call. Diversity of new technologies that are coming in to the market: wave in your backyard...

In 2014 Berlin was set to plant a Wavegarden Lagoon plow system at an old airstrip outside of town. When the plan was axed by the local council Eirik Randow got all frothy and took it upon himself to do something. In 2016 he kicked off a program to bring the new Wavegarden Cove technology to Berlin. “In the beginning of projects like that you don’t have a very good understanding of what you’re getting into,” he tells us. Find out how the phrase “When in doubt, paddle out” has kept him redlining these past four years on a project with many unknowns. Nick Robinson finds out what it will ultimately take to bring waves to Berlin.

Check out www.wavepoolmag.com/podcast for the show notes.

Brett grew up surfing in Long Island, New York and I caught up with him online to talk about the project he has been working on for over four and a half years. Apologies for the audio quality, (it's tough when you're doing these things over the web), however, you can hear him pretty clearly. Let us know on our Instagram if you have any questions about the park and we'll ask him on to answer them.Hang on for the end of the podcast where I discuss the "state of the industry" - 5 parks open, 1 imminent and 7 under construction plus another 30 or so in the planning process.

Sophie Everard is a journalist, passionate snowboarder and surfer who has worked extensively within action sports media for more than ten years and is a published writer for industry-leading snowboard titles. She has also set up a brand called "Mad to Live" through which she promotes a positive, modern message of female empowerment with original content. Attached to the content brand is a series of wildly successful women-only retreats in various places like Portugal, Morocco, Costa Rica, Bali and England.Read more on www.wavepoolmag.com/podcast

We get the full story on Andy Hadden's seven year journey in creating another jewel in the Wave Garden crown. By the time this surf park is constructed it could well be the seventh wave garden in operation around the world.Andy relates the story leading up to where he is at now - a massive journey already but still far from over. Exciting times for the wave pool industry!

Chas Smith is a smart guy. Originally from California, he moved to Oregon and commenced his surfing career at age 10. He earned a bachelor’s degree in intercultural studies (1998) and a master’s degree in linguistics (2001) from Southern California’s Biola University; Smith’s studies included semesters spent studying Arabic in Egypt and English at Oxford University. That short bio is taken from Matt Warshaw's Encyclopedia of Surf, check it out: https://eos.surf/entries/smith-chas/Chas and I discuss a wealth of interesting subjects surrounding his life and wave pools. Here are some of my questions, listen up for his answers:Establishing personal context:Which surf media publications have you worked for. How was it?Can we dig DEEP into the story of Beach Grit. How did you involvement start, was it with a call from a friend and then an office meeting, or a few whiskies in a shady bar.You wrote a book about Hawaii. Have you ever returned to the North Shore afterwards?You were a war reporter? Have you seen your Wikipedia page or did you edit that yourself?Do you aspire to be William Finnegan, surfer and war reporter  (author of Barbarian Days)?Artificial WavesLet's get into serious detail here: Chas Smith, Kelly Slater and a dislocated shoulder? What did you experience as you arrived at the gate of Kelly’s Surf Ranch before those wooden gates opened?Signing the NDA at Kelly's. What's the point of inviting press over and getting them to sign an NDA?I heard a rumour that you have a wild card for the reality TV series: The Ultimate Surfer. Is this true?Have you been to BSR? Planned a trip to Jersey?What's your take on Urbnsurf down under?Here's the deal, imagine some billionaire wires you 50m US for you to construct your dream wave park. Give me a helicopter tour. Would it be next to an airport like Urbnsurf, in a field with camping tents like Bristol, in a mall like Madrid is planned to be? What would your dream park be? What's the wave tech and why?The Future of Surfing The growth of surfing is like a double edged sword. On the one hand, you have more opportunities for people to work passionately in the space that they love, on the other hand you have more kooks polluting the breaks. How do you feel about the growth of surfing?How will wave pools play a role in that growth?A lot has been said about surfing's inclusion in the Olympics in 2020. What kind of real impact do you feel it will bring to the sport?Do you feel that Tokyo should be in a pool?If you achieve your hell bent mission on destroying the WSL, what will the BEACH GRIT LEAGUE look like? Would you employ Elo to do the content and Chris Coté to commentate?