Wave Pool Mag – Details, episodes & analysis

Philip Roberts is always in close orbit to surfing’s greatest inventors. Mentored by water park guru Dick Croul (Wild Rivers) he’s brought the ideation of Tom Lochtefeld to life while acting as the grounding cable for Boogie Board inventor Tom Morey. In the late ‘80s, Surfer Mag offered him a project to paint, as they put it, “the future of surfing.” The gig was for an illustrator to bring a floating reef concept to life. From there he expanded into futuristic wave pool designs, much of which has become the blueprint for concepts we still see today. We wanted to pick Phil's brain to learn how he consciously or unconsciously seeded the future look of surf parks.

John Philbin’s best-known movie parts were in Children of the Corn, Tombstone, Point Break and, of course, The North Shore - that classic 1980s film about an Arizona wave pooler who goes to Hawaii. In this podcast, John talks about how he landed the role of Turtle (hint: he had to audition 7 times) and the movie’s lasting effect on a generation. As a core surfer he’s also well-placed to measure changes to surfing and the “life” many have sacrificed so much to be a part of and speak to how wave pools, surfing and their overall perception have shifted within popular culture. 

“You don't you don't have to be a bum to be a surfer anymore. I was telling my friends that you can be rich and be a surfer. It's a thing that's happened. The game is out man, but it used to be like, “yeah, I'm going to sacrifice everything in my life for this feeling of riding energy in the water.” And that's what it used to be like when I was a kid. You used to have to be a lifeguard or a firefighter to be a surfer. Now, you can put in hours and be a CEO of a company and be a surfer. You look at Mark Zuckerberg or someone and you're like, fuck, you know? Are you kidding me? Yeah. The richest man in the world, what he really wants to do is ride a wave because he’s discovered what we’ve known all along.”

Can a passion project like a wave pool have blind spots to reality? Matt Hyslop from Colliers International talks with WavePoolMag about his role in conducting feasibility studies for new surf venues. Matt highlights the importance of visitor forecasting and understanding the potential market when planning for a new wave pool. He also lets slip some of the ideal locations and the different business models that work. Matt also talks about those red flags that can arise during the development of a wave pool project.

Hear Euna Kim's firsthand account of Wave Park's inception in Siheung-Si, South Korea. With her mastery of languages and a newfound passion for surfing, Euna played a pivotal role in navigating the intricate journey from vision to reality. She'll reveal how Wave Park has become a cornerstone in the evolution of Korea's surf culture and delve into the complexities behind establishing this groundbreaking surf destination. Join us for an enlightening discussion on the multifaceted process of bringing Wave Park to life

In this podcast our guest Chris Kluesener sights on the wave pool space through the Surf Park Summit lens. We touch on the newness of the uniqueness of the industry and why his company’s annual gathering continues to connect people and grow. Chris quips that the real estate industry is bustling with 4 or 5 trade associations yes, “Is it really that hard to build a house? Wave pools are much more complicated and to date we have zero trade associations.” Take the industry’s pulse with Chris and I as Surf Park Summit gets set to return September 30 - October 2, 2024. You can sign up for thier newsletter right here.

In our latest episode we catch up with 1988 world champ Barton Lynch who many of us know as the live wire WSL commentator. From our side of this interview we relished hearing an unbridled Barton expanding his thoughts beyond the WSL broadcast two-minute cap as he shares his insights into the early days of the pro tour and how that generation had to scrap hard to make the pro tour dream happen. And while he also talks about his new video game, the ongoing BL Blastoff grom comp and a few other side bites, the heart of the conversation is, of course, wave pools. From the early Allentown ASP days to his relationship with Surf Lakes to how Kelly Slater has created the only place in the world where surfers mentally will their friends to totally blow a wave.

Shaun Hutchinson is Group Operations Manager at Urbnsurf. Most of the day he’s tucked back in the office redlining in the tasks department, but we coaxed him out long enough to do a podcast. During our half hour conversation we learned just how complex and layered managing a surf park is.

We returned live to the middle of a sheep paddock in bucolic Easter Compton to check in with the new CEO at The Wave, Hazel Geary. In this podcast we explore the similarities and differences between the Leisure, Beauty and Well-being Industries and Surf Parks. Are we really that different? Yes and No. Hazel digs in with a fresh level of sophistication gleaned from years in the fitness industry. In the process we discover many nuanced learnings that our wave pool industry can benefit from.

How does one go about training a machine to recognise each and every individual surfer? Flowstate have created an AI powered capture system that records each guest’s surf experience. And the amazing thing is that it works without RFID wristbands or board stickers. In this podcast we dig in and learn how Chris, Mike and the crew at Flowstate have built a system that recognises those minute nuances that separate and define us each individually as surfers. By developing this “style fingerprint” Flowstate have created a system that provides surf park guests with keepsake video clips of their wave pool sessions. Dig into the podcast to learn how Flowstate do what many consider to be an impossible task.

Revel Surf park is the wave pool powered by Swell MFG. It is the focal point of the 37-acre mixed-use development at Cannon Beach in Mesa, Arizona. In this episode, we have a wonderfully frank discussion with Matt Gunn, who along with his partner, built this wave technology. The journey one takes from obsessing on, and then building a new technology is not for the faint of heart. Matt shares fascinating stories of real-world R&D failures, triumphs and flat-out stoke as his crew prepares to open up to the public in Spring 2024.