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Bryan: This is the future Mike Goldus. Right welcome. So the the other thing is after we're done, and we say goodbye. Stay on the line.

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Mike: Okay. Okay.

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Mike: Yep.

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Bryan: So welcome to the wave pool. Mag. Podcast. My name is Brian, my very special guest today is Mike Goldis, a man who has surfed, possibly more wave pools than anyone around. We're going to dig in and find out, Mike. Welcome to the show.

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Mike: Thank you, Brian. Thank you for having me.

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Bryan: Yeah, it's good. We've chatted a few times. I know we interviewed you a couple of years ago, just because you were on your mission. You've served a lot more wave pools since then, and most recently we had you on our Friday sessions show, which was a customer feedback for those who have served a lot of wave pools and just generally generally sharing knowledge. So give us a little background about you. Why wave pools

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Bryan: like, how did this? How did this bend in your in your Psyche come about to surf

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Bryan: as many wave pools as you can.

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Mike: Let's call it trauma, because.

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Bryan: It's going off.

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Mike: In Baltimore, Maryland. That's 3 h from the nearest surfable wave which would be Ocean City, Maryland, or along the Jersey shore.

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Mike: and I had 2 older brothers that started surfing. They pushed me into my 1st wave at 10 years old.

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Mike: and I've I've born and raised in Baltimore

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Mike: and was there until I graduated college. So from 10 years to my early twenties I was just obsessing over surfing, and I had this little in my peripheral, like magazine coverage of typhoon, lagoon, and all these surf professional surfers got the access and got to shred this perfect back in the day, perfect on demand, artificial wave.

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Mike: and it blew my mind. And I, just, you know, obsessing again over surfing and not being able to go practice and progress except for random weekend day trips, or during summer break, the family would take us to Florida to surf. So just this obsession grew over the years. I finally got to get my 1st taste of surfing in a wave pool

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Mike: around 2,009.

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Bryan: Okay. How? How old were you then.

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Mike: Jeez! That was I like right in early early twenties before I moved to

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Mike: across the country to California. So.

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Bryan: Okay. So you had already done your grommet hood, with the occasional, you know, weekend trip out to the out to the coast, and here you found something that was consistent. Tell, tell us about that.

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Mike: Right to this day. It's 1 of the most magical experiences I know. It sounds cheesy, but just the the clear blue water, the the atmosphere that's created. And and well, Typhon Lagoon is not a dedicated surf park. It's a wave pool, you know, during the day for

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Mike: visitors to come and splash around, and you know, less powerful waves. But they rent out private sessions before and after public park hours at this water park in Orlando, Florida.

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Mike: So I got invited. And you know, back then especially, it's like that amount of money to book. It is over a thousand dollars that you know, for someone who's working at a restaurant. It was like difficult to fathom being able to go to this. Wait! Well, I gotta save up, and someone invited me you split the cost. You get very limited amount of waves, but just that just being able to have that experience

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Mike: really kind of set. Set this path forward where it's like, wow! This this is a possibility. Like, you know you, you get to have all your buddies in a way, for other fellow surfers are obsessed with this lifestyle.

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Mike: You take turns, you cheer each other once a completely different culture than out in the ocean where you're competing for waves. Here you have your turn. You get that opportunity. Whether you you miss it or not. You have to get back in line sometimes that's frustrating, but just being able to have buddies music playing in the background of your choice, and you get that right, left or split peak is just blew my mind.

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Bryan: Okay. So so after after you had this kind of spiritual awakening with Typhon Lagoon, when was your next wave Pool adventure? Were you just like bent on. I got to get back there. I got to get back there or tell us what happened next.

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Mike: Sure there's some years went by, so I I surfed it a couple more times as invited, because again couldn't, couldn't afford to just like rent out and have my own private session. So it had to join groups as they committed to booking these private sessions. So it was, you know, I moved to California

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Mike: from the East coast. It was the dreams of working for a surf company which

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Mike: from California back to the East coast. So I packed my little car up and drove and stopped at a couple of different places, and as I was driving across the country I was like. There's that there's a wave pool and land like Wave Garden didn't mean anything to me back then, like so weird. But I'm going to be crossing the country. I have no real rush. I have my surfboards in the car, you know. I'm just gonna stop in Austin and see what this is about. So as I'm driving. And

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Mike: it's like it it could. It's comparable to Typhoon lagoon. There's nothing.

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Bryan: My.

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Mike: Crazy, impressive about the quality of that wave, the wave garden. 1 point. Oh, technology that the 1st generation.

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Bryan: Yeah.

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Mike: Yeah, and just like a experience to me back back then was like, this is amazing. And now I know there's talks of Waco back then. So there's going to be other wave pools like this. This is becoming

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Mike: a reality. These waves on demand like it's no longer just typhoon lagoon as a novelty. There are wave pools with dedicated technology for for surfing.

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Bryan: Right.

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Mike: The second experience is like, All right, all right. This is this is starting to amount to something in the world of surfing.

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Bryan: So so when you had this sudden kind of like, okay, I can go to inland. Those are, I mean kudos. Those are 2 like Og wave pools. That you know people are, you know. That's wave pools 1.0. I mean, I guess we're into wave pools 2.0 now. And I want to ask, what is.

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Bryan: can you walk us through? How many wave pools you've surfed today.

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Bryan: and where around the world that's been. And also what's your usual protocol for a trip? I mean, everyone's got their their way. They do trips like.

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Bryan: I guess that's a two-part question. So go ahead and list off the pools that you surfed. Mike.

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Mike: 3rd to date. I checked off 23 different wave pools.

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Mike: So 23 different unique wave pools around the world. So it's across 8 different countries, throughout 21 different cities.

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Mike: So you know, siphon lagoon was the beginning, then, obviously Endland in Austin. And then I was able to book sessions to Bsr. Back in the day now known as Waco Surf.

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Mike: And new ownership

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Mike: and then, without, you know, I won't go into too much detail unless you'd like me to start breaking it down. But

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Mike: the way I thought process is all right. It's not so much about going to the same Wave pool twice. I do do several sessions when I visit one. But I had this obsession with trying all the different kinds of wave technologies. So at 1st it was traveling waves only like I was what I would call back then, like a purist like, what are those standing waves? No interest.

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Mike: So I was checking off. I got to around 8 different

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Mike: or 7 different traveling waves. And then I went to Switzerland with the goal of surfing Alia Bay, the Wave Garden, 2.0 technology. And I was like. Oh, there's this city wave thing in Switzerland, too, like I'm not going to be surfing Alia Bay every day, so I may as well go try this the standing wave and that completely changed my perspective. Based off that experience.

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Mike: Is it? Iwana is the name Iwana Ag, which is in Switzerland. And just. It wasn't only because of the surfing part. It was how they treated me as a customer, and that's really kind of how this all started to come together, too, and a larger view like it's like this is more to this, these experiences at a wave pool than just

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Mike: surfing like how they treat me before during after. There's different factors like rental equipment. And it's like this, this is all something I wanna acknowledge and kind of share.

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Bryan: Kind of yeah. And and that's what I want to hear from you. And our audience does does, too. So before we go into that your experience, and how you're treated, and the whole vibe and everything, how what portion of your, how many wave pools, traveling waves, and how many wave pools, standing waves. Have you served.

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Mike: That that'll take some some quick math.

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Bryan: I see you checking your computer screen.

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Mike: Right right. And you're.

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Bryan: Wearing glasses, so I can see a little reflection in there, and I'll try to read.

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Mike: Right? Right? Right? I can give you. I can recite this in in a second, because I'd be part of you know, being a self, proclaimed surf, partner. It is the the stats, facts and figures of this whole journey.

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Mike: So yeah, I can

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Mike: pull that up. Sorry. It's so. 14 out of 23 different wave pools. 14 of those were traveling waves, and 9 of those were stationary standing rapid waveles, whatever you want to call them.

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Bryan: Okay. Deepwater. Stationary wave. Yeah. Deepwater standing waves. Oh, wow! That's awesome. So more to the Traveling Wave family, but still plenty to the Standing Wave family as well, and it sounds like it was your 1st experience in Switzerland

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Bryan: that was really positive and kind of got you into standing waves, because I know they're they're pretty tricky. If you're a traveling wave surfer and you go to rapid surfing, it's a totally different beast and takes a while to get going. Do you want to break down that 1st rapid wave experience for us at that particular surf park?

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Mike: Sure with. So again, which is, is inside of a Mall Mall, Switzerland, in the middle, roughly in the middle of the country, which is also obviously landlocked. So it's just funny. I had. I had really little expectations.

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Mike: Just ironic leaving that experience and having a completely change perspective. But just. I booked 4 sessions to one day to the following day and figure it out. See if I can get used to it. See what it's about

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Mike: rented boards, which, again, is a different experience, is like, yes, it's still a full size surfboard. But you're riding a much shorter boards. A lot of power behind these standing waves.

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Mike: So just everything from me reaching out before I showed up to a different country. During I had some interesting experiences where I broke the rental equipment, and they were super lax about it.

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Mike: which you know I did have to pay to, you know, for the replacement fan, but they weren't like hounding me the whole time, and follow me around till they got the. You know Swiss francs that I owed them, and all all that, and

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Mike: accumulated to like a real positive feeling like, yeah, they wanted me there as a customer. I felt like I was a valued customer, even though I'm a nobody, no name non professional surfer. They wanted me there. They, you know, the locals that were surfing in the sessions with me were hooting holler and cheer me on, even though they were way. Better way.

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Mike: higher skill level in this, anyways, than me. They were giving me tips, and I was asking them questions. It's just a completely different vibe that I didn't expect.

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Mike: I just thought I was gonna go in there, give it a try, have some funny wipe outs and leave like, Yeah, it's not for me. But wait a minute like it's.

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Bryan: So it's a.

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Mike: You know.

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Bryan: So it does show that the experience, the consumer experience, can kind of change your view of surfing and surfing rapid waves in your case, and I know a lot of the Ceos and people who work in the surf park industry that we speak with. You know they're always striving to do that customer

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Bryan: service. Sometimes it comes across better. Sometimes. You you have a park. Where? What? Okay? What would be? You don't have to name the park. But what would be an opposite experience to the joyful, rapid wave surfing that you had in Switzerland.

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Mike: I mean. Just so when it comes to the travel waveles, I do. There's there's some instances where I don't feel as welcome. I feel like just a customer, the very customer that I am like, you know. Give a kid

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Mike: book your sessions, let's get your money. Get in, get out on to the next

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Mike: I do spend a lot of money, and I'm not independently wealthy. I had to work full time and save up for these trips. So when I'm spending a couple $100 is what it can amount to for a single 1 h session. I hope that it's a good, you know a fair experience overall not treated

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Mike: special with the red carpet, but, for example, rental equipment. I all right. I'm going to pay the price to book this session. I get it. It's state of the art technology producing these barrels. But I'm also going to pay an extra. Add on fee for

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Mike: Yeah, I mean the local currency for premium board rental. What it? What it? What makes kind of like dampers that experience is when or you get a little ding in the board. I'm of course, going to pay for that, you know. I rented your equipment, but to be escorted to the

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Mike: front desk after I'm done my session to make sure I pay for it.

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Mike: I'm gonna be there all week, you know. Please don't make me feel like I'm being escorted to the principal's office to pay for this repair. It just doesn't make me feel good, and the other.

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Bryan: Yeah.

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Mike: Other instance might be like the rental equipment. If it's not reliable like you're paying for that, there's a hole in it.

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Bryan: I remember a social media post of yours where there was a hole in in the wetsuit, and it was in a very, very chilly location, too.

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Mike: Yeah, yeah, not optimal area. That could be uncomfortable.

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Bryan: Well, I mean the region of the world, too. Yeah, so it was both. And then you had. So yeah, I can understand being escorted by a Mall cop to the front desk to make sure you you pay for your rental badge. But everyone damages boards. I mean.

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Bryan: It happens there was at Surf Stadium, Japan. I broke the nose off off the rental board I was I was using. I felt so bad, and there, you know, of course, paid for that, but it was. It was

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Bryan: It was a very smooth kind of experience. So I go through the filter of journalist, you know. So I don't have the anonymous consumer experience that you do, which is great, which is, you know, great to have you on the show, because you can keep it real that way, you know, whereas I'm looking through rose colored glasses most of the time. So when people find out that you've surfed

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Bryan: 23 wave pools. What do they ask you? Do they want to know the best one, the best value for the money, or why the hell are you doing this.

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Bryan: what comes up.

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Mike: Yeah. Funny question, because it's ranged all over the spectrum from this real high level. What's your you know? Of course we want to know what your favorite is. Some people have asked a hard question like, What's your least favorite? And then I'm impressed by others saying, like what you know, really what goes into your

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Mike: you're ranking when you're kind of sharing your experiences is some some, I guess. Other surfers who have experienced wave pools. Understand? It goes beyond just the wave quality. Oh, there's a sick barrel by default. It doesn't mean it's worth $212 for an hour session.

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Mike: There's so many other factors that go into that one that one experience from the moment you enter the line you get to pay to Park to go surf that wave pool.

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Mike: Are the drinks excessively expensive?

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Mike: I had rental equipment and other like

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Mike: side activities, ancillary activities. Can you know, in between my sessions am I going to sit there and twiddle my thumbs because it's not enough time to leave? Or can I go? Do you know, do a round on the pump track or go climb a wall or do a zip line? So it's people have asked me, especially through social media, and I enjoy kind of sharing. It goes way beyond just the wave itself, because this is a larger experience than that 1 h in the water.

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Bryan: Yeah. And and there is a lot to it from, you know, reading on your on your social media and and talking to you as as far as that experience goes.

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Bryan: But you have. There's this thing about wave pools, and we've talked about this before. How

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Bryan: you know my favorite Wave pool is not your favorite wave pool, because we all prefer different types of waves, you know, for

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Bryan: most people it's a Kelly Slater setup, but that's not attainable to the average surf Park visitor. But you know where you'll have. For example, like the the wave in Bristol, their expert barrel setting is is really fun for turns. But then you go to Munich and the endless surf system there, and the way the shoulder of the wave is, you know, it's just really good for carves, and really good to project out on.

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Bryan: out on, to have you found a wave that really suits your style of surfing.

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Mike: Wow ye, yeah, that's if, yeah. Just thinking about this on the spot.

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Mike: You mentioned the wave. And that's still one of my fondest experiences. It wasn't. It was like a backup trip. It wasn't supposed to be to Bristol, England to surf the wave. It was supposed to be to another wave pool that closed down a week before. So I had to adjust my plans.

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Mike: So one day, surfing at the wave 3 sessions in that day the fact that they offered in 1 h of barrels. I I can't. I really haven't come across that any of these other wave pools. If if anything, it's like a 3rd of that hour session, the last 3rd of it. You get barrels.

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Mike: So the fact that I'm able to try over and over because I didn't get it@firstst I showed up 7 in the morning at the Wave, which is like out in the middle of a farmland, and being able to try over and over and over suited me, because I don't get the opportunity. In the small Florida swells. I live here in Florida now.

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Mike: Rarely, you know. Rarely do you get those conditions where you can practice talking into a barrel. So that meant the world to me to finally get it. After an hour and get a couple.

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Mike: you know. Head dips that count to me, count as a barrel.

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Mike: So I would say, that's 1. And then

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Mike: you kind of mentioned the surf town, Munich. So I was fortunate enough to experience that last fall and the point wave the the point break wave starts from one end of the pool and ends at the other, and it's just a beautiful line where you could try multiple turns and like a mellow, takeoff kind of get your feel for it. I'm not the best surfer again. My progressive years

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Mike: 10 years plus took place when I was living in Baltimore. So like practice is limited. So I don't really feel comfortable all the time, especially in bigger waves. So it's just to have that time to think and practice different turns to kind of get my feel for how I want to look

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Mike: and re-enter the line and see if there's any other opportunities to try a little air which I'm usually unsuccessful with.

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Bryan: You do those guys? I've seen you surf, and you do those great chop hops.

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Mike: He dropped.

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Bryan: If there's any.

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Mike: Yeah.

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Bryan: But you're awesome. Those those look totally totally fun now, moving on to

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Bryan: wave pools and surf parks with dedicated surfing waves. You've also surfed. I was really impressed by this, because we've done a couple stories on it. The crew from Edmonton in Canada who are just so like dedicated. And yeah, we have a surf club, and and they could surf these waves, and it's like, I don't know knee high and 6 second intervals. It looks pretty crazy. Tell us about surfing surfing in Canada.

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Mike: That's fine. Yeah, that is a novelty way, for I would call it but to to in

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Mike: to their defense that's been around for years now, and their Surf Club they organized when they, when they kind of discovered that they were allowed to surf in that

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Mike: public water park by day, just like typhoon lagoon. But they said they started creating a program where they could surf after hours. So I thought about it for a couple of years and a couple of the guys from that crew reached out to me. I was like, yeah, like Edmonton's, like in the middle of nowhere. Canada in the prairies down here real far southeast, and it's not the easiest trek to get over there. But I finally gave in

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Mike: and there, and flew up there to surf for 2 nights.

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Mike: and it's it's like really cheap, especially in Canadian dollars, to surf for an hour. It's like 30 Canadian dollars, which is less than 30 in us for a full hour and a half of waves. That to your point are real short frequencies. There's a lot of waves come in these sets.

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Mike: but they are very small and very short. So this the like horse surf Group narrative. These sessions had

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Mike: 10 people, and I'm I just blew my mind because it's not like a great wave, but they made the best out of it. They get really creative with doing little shove its and

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Mike: report transfers, and they're they're

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Mike: they're hooting, hollering for each other, and you're welcoming to me. Give me the tips and tricks to make the best, the most out of these tiny little waves. So this is a very, it was a really positive experience, and makes me appreciate these other wave pools. I'm surfing because I'm like that is the smallest and the shortest wave I've ever experienced.

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Bryan: Well, it sounds like the vibes are really high, just because, you know, that's what they have. And it's on a wave. With that short an interval you take off. You have like one maneuver, and then you're you're out, or

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Bryan: how how does that work work?

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Mike: Yes, basically. Yes, you're you're getting one. If if you're lucky, you get a turn in, you take off and the waves immediately dying after the peak. So I know a lot of the surfers there. Enjoy writing long boards, because you can even just like stand up after the wave dies out and keep floating. I mean, that's how short these waves are.

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Bryan: So what? Yeah. So talking about like that crew is really dedicated. And you've been to other wave pools. Let's let's talk about the lineups.

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Bryan: How you know your your 1st standing wave

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Bryan: experience was great, and so you're super stoked on on pools and and returning, what can you can you give us some highlights and lowlights of what it's like in different lineups.

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Bryan: like examples.

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Mike: I mean, that varies greatly depending.

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Mike: I I'm not even going to say, depending on the wave technology, because truly it's up to the surf park, the venue and how they manage these sessions, what's offered, how it's organized.

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Mike: So like I had, I really do enjoy Wave Garden Co. Their new technology I prefer left. Want to get as many left as I can. But it, the how those sessions are structured are very different

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Mike: from one surf park to another, so it can feel more aggressive, more like you need to make sure you get as many ways as you can. When, for example, you have a 1 h session advanced or expert session that only offers a 3.rd The final 3rd is barrels. So there's a lot of pressure as it nears the end. So you start to feel a lot of pressure, to hurry up and get out and get your turn, or you might get more upset if someone in front of you falls, and you have to skip the wave.

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Bryan: Yeah.

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Mike: Everyone's paying unless you're a celebrity or professional. Everyone's paying to be out. So there's an there is an added element of pressure.

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Mike: you know, like at a higher. If you go higher level, travel late. To me, traveling waves have a little bit more pressure compared to the standing

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Mike: stationary waves, because those you fall you get out. It's it's more, you know, more.

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Mike: A higher frequency of tries people, you know, if they're they're not getting that long of a ride, or they'll try a trick to end their rides. They're not taking

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Mike: too much time from the rest of the customers there. So it's very different between those 2 types of way pools.

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Mike: But I mean the extreme would be the surf ranch does not is by far not my favorite way full. And it's I might surprise people. But it was an incredible amount of pressure.

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Mike: And I got really upset because we're for the group the way I had to access is through a surf camp

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Mike: that has like an exclusive experience. So I joined their group.

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Mike: Paid to be there for a day and a half 4 sessions, and then you you're doing split waves. So you don't even get the full wave. And I remember it explicitly. Happening, like, all right. You know the person you're paired up with skin the 1st half of this wave. You pick it up. Halfway at this marker number

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Mike: the the gentleman kept riding, riding, riding like. Wait a minute. He's getting closer. He's he's not getting off the wave, so I had to back out because he's about to hit me. I'm like, Wait, that was a couple $100 gone that just like it disappeared in front of me.

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Mike: and I was just extremely upset, because that's not the place to do that kind of thing.

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Bryan: Kelly's does seem to bring out the I don't want to say the worst. That's not the worst. It does seem to increase anxiety more than other wave pools, and a big factor in that seems to be the cost.

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Mike: Yep.

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Mike: Yeah.

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Mike: yeah. That's funny, because the the opposite that would be Canada at West Edmonton Mall and miss away like whatever. I'll just get back in line soon enough. There's gonna be another set, or someone they're usually cool enough like, Oh, you just go. No, you go take the next one if you miss the 1st one.

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Bryan: But I have. Yeah. And I have seen that happen in a cove, too. It where urban surf in Melbourne, where it's been totally packed like the session is just, you know, full capacity. I think it was 15 or 17 servers, so the waves at the Melbourne location. They run several waves per set. But if someone misses it.

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Bryan: you know that throws it off. You're then everyone's wave count potentially goes down.

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Bryan: So it it would be more tense, not not as tense. It sounds like as Kelly's, whereas the converse of that

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Bryan: it would be like you mentioned laps at a Wave Garden Cove, which tend to be less full than the rights at a Wave Garden Cove. So a lot of times like I'm sure you experienced. You're you know you're doing laps, because oh, I can get 2 waves per set, you know, if you if you hustle.

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Bryan: And so it so going into apart from

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Bryan: Kelly's and the stress share with us like just a a great surf park experience. You had.

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Mike: Would it be? Would it be redundant to go to reference the wave again?

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Bryan: No go ahead!

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Mike: That it was just, you know, like not having high expectations is like, I I didn't really know about it when I ended up planning that trip. It was a backup to another

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Mike: Wave garden. I was supposed to visit that closed last minute. So I was like, alright, I'm gonna.

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Bryan: Of the Snowdonia. So it was right. When was it right? When Snowdonia closed.

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Mike: No, it was so in Switzerland I was supposed to visit, and then I've had to cancel 6 days before, because the pool was closed down for an emergency repair. So I was like, all right, I had this time off work. I'm gonna go instead to, you know. Uk, there's 2 wave pools there. And it's like, all right, I'm gonna check off this Snowdonia thing that's in the middle of nowhere. And and additionally, Bristol, the wave in Bristol.

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Mike: So I mean Snowdonia was an amazing experience, not because of the wave so much because of the grandiose backdrop, and I was out. I was in Wales never been there, and

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Mike: just being able to surf there. You know now that the the Wave pool doesn't exist. But it wasn't that. It was Bristol. The wave in Bristol. I had one day to opt to make the most out of surfing there. I was really nervous because it was a last minute

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Mike: backup trip. And I was like, I don't know if they're gonna have rental boards.

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Mike: You know what kind of how the you know how this is gonna work. I just need to show up. And additionally, I didn't have a rental car. So it was a bit out of the way.

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Mike: So for one day I had to walk almost an hour from the Airbnb to the wave, because there's no Ubers. It's like the way it's zoned or whatever you can't. They don't have rideshare they didn't have buses, so I just got up like 5 in the morning. I think it was to make the hour walk. Get there by 6 to check in for a 7 Am. Session.

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Mike: I mean. That was a little rough, yes, but it added to the adventure aspect of this, but they were just so nice to me

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Mike: for being again a nobody, no name person showing up just a customer. That we don't have that many boards right now, like a lot of them, are repair like we'd feel bad charging you. So they ended up. Let me use the rental boards for my 3 sessions without paying, because it's like they were. They weren't the in the best shape. They were used really. Well, so that that has, like, you know, that's cool, like they they appreciate me here as a customer, and they they're not gonna take advantage of me.

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Mike: Just everyone was friendly from the front desk to the the local surfing in my sessions, to the instructors, to the photographers and videographers. They have a program. I don't know if it's still there years later, but when I was there they had the

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Mike: I forgot the name of it.

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Bryan: Hey, Mitch, Calvin.

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Mike: Image cabin. Yes, thank you. The image cabin and that for me, someone who really values photos and videos. That was one element I didn't have to stress about trying to coordinate and hire a photographer and videographer from that area in advance, which is what I tend to do. To make sure I can get quality photo and video. They were there on site. I was able to book them for all 3 of my sessions and walk away with amazing photos and videos of my ride, so

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Mike: that the the food and beverage was great, everything just added. It came together. I was like that one day. It was amazing, did not have high expectations. I got to serve 3 different wave settings. It wasn't incredibly over like to me overpriced. It was affordable.

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Mike: even in the the pound the British pounds was like, Wow! That's like not a bad deal. I think it was 55, or 60

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Mike: pounds when I went a couple years ago.

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Mike: Yeah, I think it's yeah plus for us

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Mike: session in the Us. Right now for the same hour. So.

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Bryan: So what do you? See as you, as you go around, are there? What wave pools? Do you want to check off your lifts. It seems kind of like a losing battle, because I mean.

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Bryan: You'll be closer to Virginia Beach, which is coming?

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Bryan: What

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Bryan: are you? Just every time one opens you're going to go. Do you have a strategy. Do you let them open, work out the kinks, and visit 3 months later?

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Bryan: Tell us your strategy.

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Mike: Sure my! My budget dictates the strategy. I'm again

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Mike: I emphasize like I'm I'm not sponsored. No name, not professional, not influencer.

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Mike: It's more. It's a challenge against myself. I just want to see how many I can check off while I can. And what I learned earlier on was I wrote a magazine article that got published, and a lot of other people found that interesting outside of the surfing world. It was not a surfing magazine. So that's what kind of

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Mike: led me into sharing all these experiences through social media and people appreciated the candid feedback, not someone who's biased towards one particular surf park or wave making technology. So that's what's been keeping me going

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Mike: to your point. Yes, at the rate wave pools are opening. I'm simply not going to be able to afford to visit every single one, because it's not simply the cost of the sessions. There's travel involved, and everything else that goes along with that visit that

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Mike: I had to save up for so yes, they're going to surpass me. My strategy for now will remain. I like to mix up the different wave technologies. So I'm trying to check out another wave garden because there's a new wave pool in Scotland that I want to try out there's a lot of city waves, so I don't. There's a lot that I in the Us. Even that I haven't tried yet. There's 3 of them I haven't tried.

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Mike: but I tried city waves in Hawaii and Switzerland and Japan. So I'm like, I'm gonna you know, try to balance this out a little bit. Not just keep riding city waves simply to get my.

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Mike: You know my number's up.

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Bryan: Right.

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Mike: So it's just a mix.

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Bryan: Okay.

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Mike: Different experiences.

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Bryan: Alright. So so to understand if they're you know.

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Bryan: 4 wave pools opening in the Us. This year, you have a

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Bryan: you would go, technology would help guide which one you're going to go to because you've you surfed endless surf, wave garden surf lock.

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Bryan: perfect swell?

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Bryan: So if there's new technology you're gonna or the ones that you haven't served as frequently you'll you'll be drawn to those.

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Mike: That's that's correct. Yes, but I mean, obviously, there's an element of convenience. So I know there's an endless surf that's going to be opening up a little over an hour south of me

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Mike: when it opens. I'm not gonna avoid it because I served as a couple of months ago. I will be there.

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Mike: Okay, okay, right on. I want to get let's go up to the kind of.

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Bryan: Big picture like overall. I mean, it's a it's a new space. Weight. Pools are just figuring out how to, you know. Do a business, and some are have become successful. Some are still working out kinks. What?

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Bryan: generally. What would you say? Wave pools could improve on from from your visits. What would help them be more attractive to the customer beyond, beyond the surfing.

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Mike: That, I think, would.

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Mike: You know it's you're you're asking me. And with the current

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Mike: availability of public wave pools that are open it there's for now there's there's no way to avoid it. There's an element of travel. So that means there's there's some stress when it comes to

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Mike: booking these sessions, and what I'm experiencing even this week, as I'm trying to plan. My next wakeful visit in Europe is a lot of like a lot of Angst. And I'm like, I don't know if they're gonna have sessions open. I need to plan my own Pto. In order to make my way there in advance. I can't wait till last minute, and I'm when I reach out being told. Well, we might not. You know we're not going to open sessions

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Mike: for next month until right before. And I'm thinking, what do I do like? Can I? That's the time I'm allowed to take off. I don't. Am I gonna risk it and book a trip to this country and hope that they open these sessions up. So to me, like, what's really important is communication. It sounds so simple.

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Mike: Some of these wave pools kinda shut down during the off season for maintenance or improvements renovations. But my ask would be, please, like, just be available free communication, be upfront and help guide any customers that want to make their way to your Wave pool, and as a paying customer

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Mike: to to make sure they understand what they're getting into, what the risk might be, if you know, in terms of when they're opening

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Mike: because it takes advanced planning, and I'm again bringing up that most people are having to travel because there's not a lot of wave pools open, or you know, I can go to my local Florida Wave Pool

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Mike: next week. It's not the case right now. I need to

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Mike: be able to plan these trips in advance, so please communicate before, during your visit, be be open to any feedback or communication from customer, and then, even after, because I had some great experiences, I like to

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Mike: sure, you know, write a magazine article or story, online story, or even a post, that they, some waitfuls, will follow up and still respect. You know, respect and acknowledge me as a paying customer and help me out. Some just ignore me, so

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Mike: I want them to be there before, during and after for any customer, because that could be a customer that returns

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Mike: and keeps investing in your venue.

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Bryan: Yeah, it is an interesting time, too, with social media. So if you know, someone doesn't treat a customer well, there's there's instant airing of a guest's grievances, you know, through through social media a lot of the times. But you know.

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Bryan: pools want to keep people coming back. So they're you know they're they're doing their best, as I found, but that that is interesting, because I I know with booking systems it it is difficult to be to have it that far out in advance, because you don't know if something's going to happen like the pool is going to go down. You don't know if you know you'll be short staffed, or

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Bryan: or such, but that is great great advice for the the

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Bryan: instructors. So I I wanted to ask, too, what

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Bryan: Are there any like insider tricks or deals or secrets

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Bryan: that you've discovered that you can? You can share with our audience.

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Mike: First, st as a, as a customer.

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Bryan: Yeah, yeah, like is, you know, I I know the wave. If you join their community after 3 serve sessions in a year, you, you get a discount. If you buy a same session that day.

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Bryan: it's it's great. It's yeah. It's a great pool to go to, for you know, for that reason. If you're going to be there a couple days, it's it's fantastic if you go when it's not

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Bryan: totally booked. But have you found something like that.

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Mike: Not so much because I I'm on this this dedicated mission to try as many different wave pools as I can versus I'm not necessarily returning to the same wave pool multiple times. So. But I make an easy, a quick.

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Mike: more recent tip is. There's, you know, I always talk about photo and video. There are programs now built into many of these waveles AI programs to capture your waves, for example, flow. State is one of them that. Oh, I don't have, you know, typically, I'm traveling traveling solo. I want to see my waves. That's always a backup is like, Yeah, I can

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Mike: download my flow state videos and photos. If I need

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Mike: to to relive that or understand from a training standpoint and improvement those my rides for that session.

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Mike: So just be aware that there's some different video and image capturing systems. And a lot of these wave pools. Now.

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Bryan: Okay? And and then, nearing the end of my question, have you? Have you kept track of how much you've spent on? Yes, I did. Oh, you did no way. Can you give us a number? And does this include travel? Or is just this just at the surf parks?

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Bryan: Okay, what do you got for us, Mike?

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Mike: Yeah, so this is this is a funny question or a stat fact and figure that I pulled up for presentation. I did last year at the Surf Park summit. So I do keep an excel spreadsheet of how many hours I've served, how many sessions, what cities, what countries, and local currency, and Usd. For how much I spent. So the number I'm about to make you guess first, st and then I'll share it is in Usd. Not counting travel.

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Bryan: Not counting, travel.

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Mike: Sessions. For the last since 2,009, because there's you know, I was doing typhoon lagoon back then. So

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Mike: okay, I can see.

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Mike: Yes, I'll give you one guess, and I'll disclose.

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Bryan: Okay, so this is just at the surf park, food, entry sessions, rental.

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Mike: No, this is only session.

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Bryan: Only session.

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Bryan: Okay? Only sessions. I'm gonna go with.

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Bryan: Okay, getting out my calculator.

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Bryan: $7,000.

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Mike: You are off by about half. So.

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Bryan: Yeah, a little over 15,000 on surf session, 15 grand on surf sessions.

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Mike: Remember, Surf Ranch is an.

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Bryan: Oh, that's right. Yeah.

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Mike: Yes.

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Bryan: Okay. So without surfranch it might have been 10,000.

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Mike: You would have been close. If that without surf, without surf range, you would have been close.

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Mike: Okay, much sort of ranch cost. Yeah.

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Bryan: Okay? And what's our? What's our next stack? Do you have travel in there? Do you have Lattes? What do you got.

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Mike: Hours surfed in the pool.

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Bryan: Okay?

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Bryan: How many? Oh, oh, I'm gonna guess.

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Mike: Gave that one away. 100 over a hundred 108.

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Mike: Oh, wow!

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Bryan: That's great! That's fantastic. That's a lot of time in the pool.

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Mike: How about wave technologies?

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Bryan: She!

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Mike: Guess how many different wave technologies.

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Bryan: Yeah.

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Bryan: 7.

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Mike: Again, you're off by about half 15 different way technology.

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Bryan: Oh, that's right, because you did the Typhoon lagoon and then Canada, and then.

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Mike: Japan. It was like a domain one off technology.

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Bryan: That's right, Kobe Reyes. Oh, yeah, you know what? Tell us about that? I've been fascinated by that wave pool. It's a small wave.

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Bryan: They changed their their pump system to to push out the wave.

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Bryan: But it it's really like underwhelming looking, but it's very enthusiastic, and there are lots of people who who go there. What? What was Kobe Reyes like.

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Mike: Man. It's just like an eerily cool experience, because it was in the mountains and Kobe Japan. The only way I was successfully able to make it. There is by. I hired a guide for this Japan Wave Pool tour 3 different wave pools, and I think it would have been really challenging for me to find my way up to this place.

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Mike: Which is in like in in part of this resort in in the mountains. So it's it's a little shed

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Mike: that where this 1 1 like surfer dude operates, or at least is an administrator for people coming in to surf.

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Mike: The Kobe Reyes waitful, which again, I don't even know what the the technology would be called. But it's it was just rainy. It was cloudy. There's just the it makes this real loud boom noise when the machine pushes

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Mike: from the back to forward, and you see this knee high, knee high or less wave, come out of nowhere, and you're right up against the the massive steel type, or whatever that is the metal grating where the waves coming from just like waiting with your feet

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Mike: on a concrete concrete floor with huge gashes you can feel with your feet. And like I started. That's what my routine for the 2 sessions of this like, all right, I know what gash I need to put my foot in cement there and then get ready to push off when the wave

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Mike: yeah, and it's a point break. So you do right or left, and

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Mike: you share with another surfer and take turns rotating. So you go. You just.

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Bryan: Wow!

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Mike: Best you can get to the end of that wave, because it it's a small, very small wave.

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Bryan: But I had a blast like I would not take that experience back. It was just.

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Mike: Really felt really bizarre being in that environment in the mountains with this wave pool that not, you know. To me? I don't think not many people are aware of it, but I don't know how many people ventured out there to surf it.

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Mike: Japanese. I didn't no idea what I was signing in terms of the waiver like looking, you know, there's instructions. The wall. I had no idea what I was reading like. Okay.

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Mike: it was different.

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Bryan: Wow, was it? And it's not accessible by train, because I found at Surf Stadium. It was a lot of surfers from Tokyo or Chiba, who, you know, just jumped on the train and went down or or drove, because, it being a you know, everything's pretty pretty close by public transportation, or

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Bryan: our our car, but this sounds like it was way out in the

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Bryan: in the mountains, as you said.

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Mike: Right. You could make your way to the main city of Co. Kobe, Japan, but you wouldn't be able to easily get to that resort. It's up in the mountains outside in the outskirts. Because that was my original plan. I'm gonna figure this out. I'm gonna take the train to get to the main city and then find like a ride share. I don't know how realistic that would have been, because, being in a different country of the language barrier and surfboards like.

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Mike: I don't know how that would have worked out to be honest.

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Bryan: No, that's that is crazy. There's yeah cause going from she Shizunami, the main station, the bus ride. It's like 40 min, but it's the they. They have signs in English. So and Google maps. So it's not

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Bryan: totally impossible. But this sounds like you. You had a sherpa. So that's good.

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Mike: Right.

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Mike: Alright. It was an interesting experience. I'm very glad I had a guide throughout that trip, because it might not have worked out as smoothly otherwise.

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Bryan: Well, let's I'm sorry I cut you off with you were closing out your finances. What you what you spent. So we've got hours served in a pool, and we've got money spent on sessions. Do you have any other stats for us?

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Mike: We also talked about the different wave technologies. 15 different.

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Mike: There's weird are like one off technologies out there and then. I mean, I already spoke to this across so far 8 different countries. I was surfing these, waiting the 23 different ones.

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Bryan: Okay.

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Mike: I mean, you can guess number of sessions that's very similar to hours served.

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Bryan: Okay? All right. And what technologies out there? Let's close it out with, your dreams, Mike's dreams, what? Where?

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Bryan: Which technology? Which Wave pool. Which country? Where would you like to go if someone gave you a golden ticket.

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Mike: That. That's an easy question, right? Based off of where we're at right now. It's you want you can't have. I would love to surf or try surf lakes in Australia. Never, never

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Mike: found a way to experience. Yeah yapun. I believe you've been there, Brian, right.

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Bryan: Yeah, yeah, it's it's yeah. It's pretty amazing. And it's definitely, if you're if you're putting pools on your list, it's it's definitely but it's it's really hard to get to, and they don't do it all the time.

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Mike: Get in with what's his name? That celebrity gets to surf all the way. Pulls Thor.

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Bryan: Yeah. Chris Hemsworth.

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Mike: Hemsworth. If I can get and go with him, I think I'll have an easier time getting to some of these wave pools.

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Bryan: Yeah. So if you get in with Chris Hemsworth, you'll be able to go to surf lakes and surf for the hockey. And Ben player is a really cool guy, too bodyboard, or just incredible surfer.

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Mike: Well, I did want to. I just

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Mike: I just wanted to speak to one other way. That's been on my radar.

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Bryan: Yeah, yeah, let's hear it.

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Mike: Your wave. So I talked about traveling waves with surf lakes. But the standing wave, your wave. Who I met the founder Ross a couple times. It's really interesting standing wave very different basin that they operate off of like a

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Mike: like a fun house material flexible. So you can really manipulate the different shapes of the waves. I mean, that's a New Zealand. It is a trek, and even I heard you know my understanding is, once you get there. It's kind of, you know. It's on his homestead, this this wave that he created and is constantly improving. And I've seen all the great

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Mike: footage through social media dying to get out there. It's just a matter of, you know, practical travel to make it to New Zealand, but I do want to call them out, because that really neat looking, stationary weight technology that I do hope to try out myself.

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Bryan: Yeah, so yeah, there's that coming up. And there's also all waves in Belgium.

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Bryan: Is really really interesting technology, too. And any others.

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Mike: Yeah, you called out, all waves. Now, well, there was. This brings up a different point, just as a customer, and someone as obsess as me are investing in wave pools that are being created. Now, that's a new stat. Actually, I need to add, today, I've lost out on 2 wavele investments. My! My money's gone.

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Bryan: No. Okay. So let's let's wrap this up real quick. Tell us about how did you lose your money in Wave Pool investments?

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Mike: Cause. I I get really excited and I want to be supportive. So I'll tend to purchase sessions in advance before the you know, is to help support the larger project, because, as they look for investors, they open up lower end. I'm by no means like a high end investor in this in the world of whatever. But I like to per pre purchase sessions, and that could be several $100. So I've done that for 2 different way pulls one in us, that since just kind of disappeared, and then one in

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Mike: the Netherlands, the egg.

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Bryan: The

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Mike: Cool.

333

Bryan: Cool. Yeah.

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Mike: Yup!

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Bryan: Yeah, it was open for a little bit, and then it closed exactly.

336

Bryan: never quite fully went went public.

337

Bryan: But it. It seemed like a lot of the old original, like pusher wave pools and surf parks were using technology that was outdated by the time it was.

338

Bryan: you know, put put in the ground. Where was the pool in in the Us.

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Mike: Atlanta.

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Bryan: Atlanta. Are they okay?

341

Bryan: Okay?

342

Mike: Yup. So I learned a lesson as.

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Bryan: That's a that's a bummer there. Yeah, that seemed like a good. Seemed like a good group, and

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Bryan: sorry to hear that.

345

Bryan: Well, well, crap. We can't end on down. Note, Mike, whatever.

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Mike: I'll end on a positive note, and.

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Bryan: Okay.

348

Mike: Something. I I it's it's really just to me. It's funny like I. When I started my presentation last fall at Surf Park Summit I. I followed Andy from lost shore. He left the stage. I entered, said, Hey, Andy, just to let you know like I am, I'm about to present, and being a customer, and, like I already pre purchase sessions to law shore. So I will see you eventually.

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Mike: People like cheered, and that is going to be one of my next wave pools I'm going to serve in April is lost shore? So really excited to to experience that.

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Bryan: That's a that's a great great setup. Are you? Gonna stay on site.

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Mike: Yup!

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Bryan: Okay, cool. Yeah, they have the cool little pods, and the cafe is great. And the way that's you know, a more recent Wave Garden Co. If you surf the barrel section, it's a little you can get a little deeper than you can on some of the other barrels, so I think there are 52 modules, but it's you'll have a great time.

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Mike: Awesome. Yeah, I've been watching the wait for Mag Youtube video to kind of get a feel for it before I fly out there. So hopefully, I'm ready to go and get wet in the cold, cold water.

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Bryan: Yeah, yeah, it'll it'll it'll start warming up soon. But the the cruise crew there is great. There's Lee Wood, the surf Ops operator, and then

355

Bryan: mark the general manager, and Andy, hopefully, you can run into Andy. He's he's a good bloke. So

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Bryan: okay, right on, Mike. Thank you for taking time out and and sharing your experiences, and I hope our listeners learn some about. You know their trip and operators, you know, potentially learned what consumers are looking for.

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Mike: For sure.

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Bryan: Okay, right on, Mike. Thank you. And hopefully see you this side of the Atlantic sometime.

359

Mike: Yup. Thank you, Brian, and wait for Meg. And yeah, see out in one of these wave pools.

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Bryan: Okay, right on. Take care, man, stay on the line.

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Mike: Yep.

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Bryan: Sorry I just. I just got like the Surf Lake.