Lee Wood has spent more than two decades immersed in surf culture in the colder climes of the world. He’s coached, kicked off a tour business and now, as Surf Operations Manager at Lost Shore, he’s interpreting the artificial wave experience in Edinburgh in a way that feels as close to the ocean as possible.

Wood, a native of Scotland, first picked up a surfboard in the late 1990s. He quickly became part of the country’s growing surf community, running the Edinburgh University Surf Club and eventually turning his passion into a career. For 16 years, he operated Narosa, a surf business on Ireland’s west coast that expanded from a small van-based operation into a thriving surf school, retail store, and lifestyle brand.

Returning to Scotland for a New Challenge

When the opportunity arose to return to Scotland, Wood saw Lost Shore as a perfect fit.

“I absolutely love Edinburgh. It’s an amazing city, and I knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of something that could change Scottish surfing,” he says. “The only thing that was going to get me away from the Atlantic juice was some consistent waves again on the east coast.”

At Lost Shore, his first challenge was building a team from the ground up. In just four weeks, he hired 33 staff members, including surf coaches and lifeguards, refining a training program to fit the wave pool environment.

“We had hundreds of applicants, but we needed a solid, cohesive team,” Wood explains. “We brought in a mix of experienced surf coaches, upcoming high-level local surfers, and an incredible lifeguard team. It’s been amazing to see how quickly they’ve developed.”

Adapting Coaching for a Wave Pool Environment

Drawing on his experience in ocean-based surf instruction, he worked closely with Wavegarden to adapt coaching techniques and session flow to the controlled conditions of the Cove.

“You wouldn’t take ten to sixteen people out on a reef break and line them all up,” he says. “But in the cove, we had to figure out a way to make it work—so we combined technical coaching with their operational system.”

One key adjustment has been fine-tuning the wave settings. With Scotland’s relatively young surf population, Wood and his team pushed for more beginner-friendly wave settings.

“We’ve got this small, beautiful knee-high roller from Wavegarden we call M0 or M0 Light,” he says. “It’s perfect because it doesn’t generate much current, and it allows kids and first-timers to just play and enjoy the experience. It’s like the kiddies’ corner of the wave pool.”

While Lost Shore offers advanced settings, including powerful barrels, Wood sees just as much value in providing a space where newcomers can progress.

“We’re welcoming a lot of brand-new people to surfing,” he says. “This isn’t like the U.S. or Australia, where surf culture is saturated. We have to create that here.”

Overcoming Challenges in a Fast-Paced Launch

The challenges of launching a wave pool operation have been real. The team had to work through booking system issues, staff training timelines, and the complexities of translating ocean-based coaching into a mechanical wave environment.

“You get this shiny new toy, and ideally, you’d stretch out the time you have to test and tweak everything,” he says. “But in reality, we had to get up and running quickly. We didn’t have infinite time for training.”

Despite the fast-paced rollout, the transition has been smoother than expected. One of the biggest rewards, he notes, has been the team itself.

“The positivity in the surf ops team has been incredible,” he says. “Even from the first training sessions, we saw people progressing quickly, and that’s been reflected in the customer feedback.”

The Future of Surfing at Lost Shore

Looking ahead, Wood sees huge potential—not just for Lost Shore, but for artificial waves in general.

“For high-level surfers, we’re working on refining our turn settings, figuring out exactly how many waves we should push before currents start, and how to tweak the breaks between sets,” he explains. “It’s really exciting to see where this can go, not just for beginners but for competitive surfers as well.”

For Wood, it’s about more than just running a wave pool. As an avid surfer he loves to get barreled as much as any other capable human.

“One of the magic moments we had here was seeing the Wavegarden testers surf our barrels,” he says. “These guys have tested every version of Wavegarden, and they came out saying this is the best thing they’ve been able to achieve. Even some of my pro surfer friends, who were initially skeptical, have come and gone, ‘This is legit.’”

And that, for Wood, is what makes Lost Shore so special, building something that’s not just about wave pool surfing—it’s about expanding the perimeters of surf culture in Scotland.