Ben Gravy on Wave Pools and the Proletariat Future of Surfing

DSRT Surf's opening week through the eyes of its new General Manager, Michael Gerano - how he's building the team, responding to feedback, making real-time adjustments and navigating the challenges of launching a new surf park.

There are thousands of variables in pneumatic wave programming. Change one variable by a mere second and it changes the entire wave. This blew my mind. To learn more, the Wave Pool Mag podcast spoke with Chance Gaul and John Skrdla about operating, maintaining, and, ultimately, programming Surf Loch’s pneumatic wave system at Palm Springs Surf Club. The duo explain how preventative maintenance, cooling systems, valves, motors, and individual caissons support extreme wave variability. Currently at PSSC, the team has developed roughly 200 wave profiles, ranging from beginner waves to slabs and waves with air sections. The handy comparison they gave me was to visualize that programming resembles operating a synthesizer, where small parameter changes can transform an entire wave. This is fitting since John, incidently, is a DJ. Chance and John also discuss scale-model testing, CFD modeling, commercial considerations, surfer progression, and lessons from Palm Springs that are enhancing future Surf Loch facilities.

Ben Gravy talks wave pools, surf culture, The Wave Source and why artificial waves will introduce a new generation to surfing.Why Ben Gravy believes wave pools can grow surfing far beyond the coast.How guaranteed waves remove the crowding and aggression of ocean lineups.What Ben learned surfing Waco, Surf Ranch, Wavegarden, Atlantic Park and other pools.Why wave pools need to improve the customer experience, not just the waves.The latest on The Wave Source and its potential East Coast and Texas projects.

Jess Ponting is co-founder and the current CEO of Surf Park Central which hosts the annual global surf park industry conference - Surf Park Sunmmit. He is also the Director of the Center for Surf Research and Managing Director of STOKE.In this conversation we explore changing surf culture, including growing acceptance of wave pools among ocean surfers and the increasing use of surf parks as substitutes for traditional surf trips as Jess Ponting highlights the potential for wave pools to introduce surfing to new communities while teaching etiquette, heritage and environmental responsibility. We also get a sneak peek at what's on tap at this year's Surf Park Summit September 1-3 at Atlantic Park Surf in Virginia Beach.

Surf park marketing starts with a strong brand. In this podcast Stephanie ter Hürne shares 5 tips (and much more) for building destinations

Our favorite nerds from Flowstate reveal how its latest AI model analyses entire surf rides, implements automated judging and coaching, and changes the wave pool experience.

This whole podcast started as the result of a WhatsApp text exchange between myself and Baptiste Caulonque of Endless Surf. I was on deadline for a story on prices for wave pools and had asked him how much it costs to build a basic surf basin. I knew it would be hard to get a direct answer because I know there is a shopping list of variables, like soil, power access and local costs. Baptiste shut me down. "What country? What model? Full concrete or engineered soil? What waterproofing solution? I can't give you a value that I can back. And, because WavePoolMag is a reference, we will get asked to justify the prices that you quote. Even if you just want a ballpark figure.”Fair enough, Baptiste. So in this podcast of wave pool costs and considerations, Baptiste (pronounced "Bah-tiste") explains why getting a clear, simple sticker price for a surf lagoon, can be so difficult. Spoiler Alert: it’s mostly about the soil.

Launched by Adam Bonvin, Alaïa was born following a surfing trip to France. His desire: to recreate this surfing atmosphere in the Swiss Alps. Alaïa Bay became the world’s third Wavegarden Cove opened to the public. But the real story here is what happened after the grand opening. Dealing with harsh Swiss winters, pool bottom issues, and operating within a non-endemic surf culture, Adam learned harsh operational lessons early on. It’s a common theme in the surf park space as projects discover that a successful facility relies less on sizzle reels of the pros and more on how you cultivate customer experience beyond opening day. In this candid interview, Adam shares what went wrong and how the team made adjustments to remedy each issue as it surfaced - the ongoing process of which has molded Alaïa Bay into the premier surf experience it is today.

Nate Stevens started at the NLand wave pool in Austin, overseeing retail. He first learned about the Atlantic Park Surf project in 2017 while it was still in the early planning stages and followed its development for several years before working his way onto the team. Today, as general manager, he guides multi-department operations, including guest services, marketing coordination, HR collaboration, accounting oversight, and policy development, overseeing more than 65 employees across operations and coaching.

The perfect wave pool surf shop is hard to build. Go too core and casual surfers feel excluded. Go too mainstream and locals lose interest. That’s why the Lost Shore surf shop works so well.Run by Kim Travers and Keir Smith, the shop blends global surf brands with independent local labels, creating a retail space that feels authentic without losing broad appeal. Miles from the ocean, it has become one of Scotland’s most respected surf destinations.