In the collective unconscious of surfing, there’s a big void where people like Edward Pong dwell. Digital surf media is 90% pros and superstar groms doing impossible things. It’s not reflective of the majority of the world’s surfers. True, no one wants an Instagram feed of bogged turns and dug rails, but we have to acknowledge at least some reality here.

Today WavePoolMag is bravely venturing into the intermediate surfer void, a place that only exists among real-world humans. You will not find Italo or John John here. But you will find surfers like Edward, working hard to improve anyway they can.

Last year we ran an article with Edward talking us through his improvements under the tutelage of Martin Dunn. This year Edward dropped in on Zoom with Jessie Carnes from Surf Simply. He says the coaching format and immediate feedback were helpful and allowed for swift, understandable interaction.

“My biggest improvement was learning to surf more off-center which translates to being more on rail for my turns,” said Edward.

He also told us the most helpful advice was learning to extend his front leg on backside turns. By learning to lead turns with his hip he was able to perform a quicker turn in a shorter arc.

“The combination of practice, Carver surf skating and coaching helped elevate my surfing. The benefits of a wave pool cannot be understated as I enter my third season at BSR surf resort.”

Edward chronicled his advancements through the below video. Starting in June 2018, you can see where the then-novice has advanced through hard work and repeated sessions at the Waco wave pool.