Episode 14 - Damon Tudor
On this episode of the Beyond the Ocean podcast we’re joined by Damon Tudor. Damon is the CEO of URBNSURF and joined the business at the start of 2019. Having successfully led the completion and launch of URBNSURF Melbourne, the group has now commenced construction on its second location in Sydney. An experienced CEO and General Manager, Damon has spent over 25 years in a range of consumer-focused industries across goods and services, delivering several transformation projects, holding key executive roles with African & Eastern Middle East (as part of AB Inbev), Nakheel Middle East and NRMA in Australia.
In this episode of Beyond the Ocean, Damon and our host, Chris Kluesener, talk about the uniqueness of the URBNSURF experience and URBNSURF’s new Sydney location. They also dig into lessons that Damon has learned and best practices for surf park operators.
Episode 13 - Matthew Hyslop
On this episode of the Beyond the Ocean podcast we’re joined by Matthew Hyslop, Associate Director of the Destination Consulting Group at Colliers, one of the world’s largest commercial real estate firms. Matthew helps create successful destinations by consulting owners, developers, investors and operators of visitor-facing businesses. He has worked in the surf park industry for many years, most notably with the Surf Snowdonia project in the U.K. Surf Snowdonia, the world's first inland surf lagoon, located at Adventure Parc Snowdonia, and that’s powered by Wavegarden's Lagoon technology.
Episode 12 - Shaun Tomson
On this episode of the Beyond the Ocean podcast we’re joined by surfing legend, former world champion, environmentalist, and motivational speaker Shaun Tomson. The keynote speaker of Surf Park Summit 2021, Shaun Tomson, was the keynote speaker of the first-ever Surf Park Summit in 2013. In this episode of Beyond the Ocean, he and our host, Chris Kluesener, talk about the surfing revolution, the “surfer’s code”, the future of surf parks, and the importance of sustainability and safety. This is a conversation with one of the surfing greats that you don’t want to miss.
Episode 11 - Bryan Dickerson
On this episode of the Beyond the Ocean podcast we’re joined by Bryan Dickerson, creator, and editor-in-chief of WavePoolMag. Bryan and Beyond the Ocean host, Chris Kluesener, take a trip through Europe, as Bryan shares insights about the surf park experience in different European countries. Bryan tells of firsthand experiences throughout Europe while discussing the future of surf parks and wave pool technology. This episode gets in-depth, as Bryan and Chris get into the nitty-gritty of surf park and wave technology, and discuss where the industry is going.
Episode 10 - Sunshine Makarow
We’re back with Beyond the Ocean podcast with Sunshine Makarow, a former member of the US Surf Team, WSA Women’s West Coast Champion, and Founder of Surf Life for Women magazine. Sunshine sits down with host, Chris Kluesener, to discuss her unique focus on surf training, development, and progression from a pro level. Sunshine, as a former professional surfing athlete, has spent more time than most on training and coaching in surfing to improve her paddling, turns, and even her mental game in the water. This episode gets into the fun details about how surf park operators and developers can consider the impact of coaching for guests, including the unique needs of female guests who may have varied preferences from traditionally male surfing consumers.
Episode 9 - Fred Hemmings
On this episode of Beyond the Ocean Fred Hemmings, a living surfing legend deemed the "Father of Professional Surfing" and co-founder of the World Surf League. Fred and host, Chris Kluesener, take a trip through the history of surf culture as they look towards the future growth of the culture with regard to the impact brought by surf parks. Fred offers his first-hand account and behind the scenes insights of iconic and defining surf culture moments as he draws comparisons and differences to what he sees happening now with the rapid development of human-made waves.
Episode 8 - Shane Beschen
Listen in as Surf Park Central’s Chris Kluesener and Jess Ponting sit down with Shane Beschen. The group discusses surf park culture and Shane provides insight into Wai Kai, an upcoming surf park he is helping to develop in Hawaii that features City Wave technology. Shane also shares about another new development that he is involved in, Revel Surf, located in Mesa, AZ.
Episode 7 - Ross Hale
In Episode 7 of Beyond the Ocean, we are joined by Ross Hale. As a self-proclaimed tech nerd and avid surfer Ross shares deep insights into wave pool technology and the power behind the wave. He goes deep behind the tactical details of his experiences in surf parks. Additionally, Ross shares what he thinks the future will hold in terms of a best-in-class surf park experience for the surfer and their families.
Episode 6 - Patti Paniccia
We're back with Beyond the Ocean joined by Patti Paniccia (pa-nee’-cha), Co-Chair of the Board of Directors for the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center, joins us on the podcast to share share insights on the history of surfing to help inform the next generation of surfing in surf parks. Patti was one of the top-ranked surfers during the 70s and early 80s, and was one of six women who competed on the first women’s world pro tour in 1976. She is a co-founder of pro-surfing, working as Director of the Women’s Division, alongside Fred Hemmings and Randy Rarick, to launch International Professional Surfing (IPS) which was a precursor to ASP and today’s WSL. A former CNN correspondent, Patti is also an adjunct law professor at Pepperdine Law School in Malibu where she teaches First Amendment Law, Employment Discrimination, and Gender and the Law.
Episode 5 - Paul Chutter
In this episode of Beyond the Ocean, we are joined by Paul Chutter, Chief Commercial Officers at Whitewater West. Paul serves on the executive team and oversees WhiteWater’s global business development efforts and functions, including Sales, Marketing, and Pre-Contract groups, as well as Corporate Development. As co-founder and President of Endless Surf, Paul has been a key player in the development, launch, and rapid growth of the brand within the past year. Paul shares his insights on the future of technology and human-made surfing, as well as how business leaders in this industry can stand out and succeed over time. Launched in May 2020, Endless Surf brings the next generation of inland surf experiences to the world. With its proven and reliable pneumatic wave technology, paired with the brightest, most innovative minds in the industry, Endless Surf offers the most efficiently designed surf pool on the market that provides surf parks with unrivaled return on investment opportunities.
Episode 3 - Tony Finn
Episode 3 is ACTION PACKED with Tony Finn, one of the original inventors of wakeboarding, co-founder of Liquid Force Wakeboards, surf park consultant to BSR Surf Resort, and exclusive North American leader for UNIT Surf Pools.
Tony Finn is widely recognized as one of the most innovative and successful Action Sports Executives of the last three decades. Tony was instrumental in getting the sport of wakeboarding off the ground and traveled around the globe multiple times promoting the sport. He has had a remarkable career promoting the sport he developed across varying brands and platforms and has successfully integrated into multiple ownership groups. He was an ESPN announcer for many years and did the X Games, Gravity Games, Hot Summer Nights and multiple other shows. He has developed multiple brands, unique marketing strategies, produced and broadcasted events, and has managed multiple acquisitions and mergers. He is renowned for the outstanding work he has done for the sport of wakeboarding as the Founder of Liquid Force Wakeboards and is now an avid member and contributor to the Surf Park community as the US Distributor for UNIT Surf Pools.
Episode 2 - Ian “Kanga” Cairns
We're back with our next episode, featuring Ian "Kanga" Cairns who is a former champion professional surfer, expert coach, and professional contest director. Ian has toured many of the leading surf parks, and discusses with our host Chris Kluesener how surf parks fit into an athletes' repertoire. In addition to winning dozens of professional surfing events in his career, Ian was incredibly influential in establishing the world professional surfing circuit as we know it today including formation of the Association for Surfing Professionals (ASP). One of Ian's roles was to develop a rating and scoring system for surf events. Ian's role today is helping to democratize access to surfing via new projects we talk about in the show, like surfing.com.
Episode 1 - Guy Kawasaki
Guy Kawasaki, legendary technology evangelist, venture capitalist, author, podcast host, and surfer joins us for our first episode of Beyond the Ocean. We discuss Guy’s passion for surfing, a brief intro to the unit economics of surf parks, more on Guy’s views into surfing culture, and more about Guy’s background and career.
We’re joined by John Luff, Founder of Surf Park Central, who shares some fundamental high level details of surf park and surf lagoon technologies, how they work, and what that means for the surfing experience and cost per wave.