How You Can Invest in the "Wave Pool Arms Race" with Surf Lakes
- Cash Lambert
- Nov 7, 2023
- 7 min read
Updated: 7 minutes ago
Founder Aaron Trevis and newly-named Ambassador Tom Curren talk surf entrepreneurship & the future of wave pools
Our beloved sport of surfing is at the precipice of a new frontier.
With higher airs, more rotations and stronger turns, surfing is more progressive than it has ever been. The World Surf League gave the mid-year cut, well, a cut, and revised the schedule to end where it should — at Pipeline on Oahu’s North Shore. (My opinion? Both of these moves are bound to re-engage surf fans they’ve lost). Surfing having a seat in the Olympics has given the sport a boost in non-endemic popularity. Technology is improving all facets of the sport, from equipment to training.
But more than all of that: the wave pool arms race.
Let’s be honest: in years past, wave pools & surf parks weren’t given much consideration from the surf collective. The quality wasn’t good (Tom Carroll won the 1985 World Title in less than stellar and sloppy waves in Allentown, Pennsylvania). The creation of one was expensive (remember the incredible hype around Florida’s Ron Jon Surf Park, only to spectacularly fail during the 2008 recession?). Beyond all that, surfing was, well, meant to be in the ocean. That could never be replicated, it seemed.
But in the last decade, everything has changed. The wave quality has boomed (we all remember the viral video of Kelly Slater’s first wave at the Surf Ranch), the technology has become affordable, and the 20+ wave pools that exist today are not just surf destinations, but a resort-type experience with surfing as one of the draws.
The wave pool business is booming — surf parks grew from 2 in 2018 to 20 in 2024 — and with Surf Lakes, you can be a part of it as an investor.
As Surf Lakes founder Aaron Trevis puts it, think about investing in Vail before it became what it is today: one of the most popular ski resorts in the world.
But that begs the question: how do you invest in Surf Lakes? What’s their business model? What’s the risk? What makes them unique in an ever growing surf park world?
And above all, is the new frontier we’re entering one where surfers are entrepreneurs?
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Surf Lakes — both the company and the technology — began in the most unlikely of ways.
In 1995, Aussie surfer Aaron Trevis had the idea of an endless point break around an island. It was more than an idea: a year prior, he had a near death experience and converted to Christianity, and to him, the concept felt like an assignment. Despite the fact that he wasn’t in the wave pool sector — he was a mining engineer — he began to sketch out a few designs, but without much more inspiration, he tabled the idea.
Years later, as he was skimming rocks on a lake bank with his children, he dropped a boulder into the water for pure fun. What was a simple outing turned into the inspiration he needed.
If you drop a weight fast enough into a body of water fast enough, it can create surfable waves, he thought to himself. "Nature was the inspiration because we wanted the waves to be as natural as possible,” he said.
But, with his career taking him to work with a ministry — after his near death experience, he was given a Gideon Bible that served as the starting point for his Christian faith — he tabled the idea again and joined the Gideon cause.
A few years later, he felt a nudge to stop tabling the idea and instead, give it his full time attention. The prototypes and R&D began.
In 2014, an Indiegogo campaign helped him fund a series of tests at the scale of 1:25th, starting in a backyard swimming pool. Two years later, he moved his scale to 1:10th on a farm, producing a contraption that could generate decently shaped waves, shifting to a 1:5th scale model.
Aaron was in full entrepreneurial mode. He remembers "eating oranges and pies from a gas station, drinking Red Bulls, and working 7 days a week trying to figure it out.”
When one investor wanted to see his prototype, it subsequently failed, requiring him to “run buckets up from a dam to prime the pump.”
When he thought of quitting, he was sustained by his faith. “God took me through these impossible moments time and time again,” he said, feeling as though he was being urged to keep going.
The tireless work, prototypes and faith paved the way for the full scale prototype in Yeppoon, and when it was released to the public in 2020, it went viral.
In 2024, Surf Lakes came to the US, announcing a soon to be project in Austin in addition to its planned development in Australia's Queensland.
This year, with their ambassador roster already stacked, consisting of Mark Occhilupo, Barton Lynch, Ben Player, Mark "Mono" Stewart, and Sam Bloom, they added Tom Curren.
"For me, it's really big to be involved," Curren said, noting that he likes how the company is also focused on having a sustainable footprint at its locations. "The potential of bringing surfing to the interior of this country with Surf Lakes is big."
Curren also said touched on the fact that the technology, thanks to its years of R&D, has had its issues worked out.
"Growing up in Yappoon, in Central Queensland, I'd watch guys like Tom Curren, Occy, and Lynch surf," Aaron said. For it to come full circle, having them on the team and surfing Surf Lakes waves, is the craziest thing ever for me. It's such a blessing. "
From Curren to Occy, Lynch and more, they all share the same sentiment: the wave that Surf Lakes produces is really good.
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What drew the likes of Occy, Barton Lynch, and Tom Curren to Surf Lakes was both the quality of the wave, yes, but also the uniqueness of its format.
No, Surf Lakes isn’t a pool where a wave comes in every 60 seconds. They use a central plunger that creates five different wave types — for someone who's never been on a surfboard before to a pro looking to get in some practice laps — at the exact same time, creating 2,000 rides per hour, catering up to 200 surfers at a time.
Its bottom contour mimics a lakebed, allowing for it to produce head-high barrels in some areas, and a gentle sloping wave in others.
If you've been in a wave pool before, you may have felt the turbulence caused by rebound energy; that isn't the case with Surf Lakes, given it was strategically designed without walls.
Let's take a look at the numbers. According to data provided by Surf Lakes, their competition can fit 20 to 50 surfers in a pool per hour. This, tallied at $100 revenue per surfer, can range from a gross revenue of $24-60,000 per day — which can range between $8 to $21 million per year.
Now, with Surf Lakes, their tech and designs can fit 200 surfers per hour. At the exact same price point, this equates to $240,000 revenue per day, and an $87 million annually.
If this data proves correct when Surf Lakes opens their doors, there's no doubt about it: they will have one of the more profitable business models in the surf park industry.
This business model makes Surf Lakes unique, not to mention the fact that they're allowing surfers to join in as equity owners.
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The concept of a surf entrepreneur has been growing in the last few years, but for many, may seem like a pipe dream.
John John Florence's Marine X, Jamie O’Brien’s surf vlogs & surf school, Nathan Florence and Magic Mind, the Smith brothers and Koa Rothman’s Sunrise Shack on Oahu ... If you’re an everyday surfer like me, here’s the good news: you don’t have to be a pro or have millions of followers to be a surf entrepreneur.
All you have to do is get involved with the opportunity Surf Lakes is providing. So, how does it work?
It requires a minimum buy in at the USD share price $1,047.80, and if you are an accredited investor, you can buy in for more than $100k.
Since this type of equity is considered "Class B Common Stock", shares cannot be easily traded or sold.
So how can you ROI on this?
You can receive a return on your investment if the company gets acquired by another company, or if the Company goes public (makes an initial public offering).
In these specific instances, you receive your pro-rata share of the distributions that occur (in the case of acquisition) or you can sell your shares on an exchange.
According to DealMaker, keep in mind these are both considered long-term exits, taking approximately 5-10 years (and often longer) to see the possibility for an exit because it can sometimes take years to build companies.
As with any investment, if the business fails, there will be zero return. If Surf Lakes does not reach their minimum funding target, all funds will be returned to the investors after the close of the offering.
And yes, you can cancel your investment at any time, for any reason, until 48 hours prior to a closing occurring.
There are other non-monetary benefits, including:
Invitations to opening milestones
The ability to test pilot the waves
VIP Launch invite
Discounts on Surf Lakes purchases
and more
Business & entrepreneurship doesn't favor or discriminate based on your surfing ability. So, just like John John, JOB, the Smith brothers and other surf entrepreneurs, it's up to you decide if it's a sound opportunity for you and your finances.
Aaron likens it to the ski and snowboard industry: "Skiers used to be fringe athletes, climbing up mountains, jumping into powder until the ski lift was invented. It democratized and opened the sport to the entire world, and now there are 6,000 resorts around the world. There's 22 surf parks open, and in. my opinion, there's going to be a thousand in the next 20 years. So this is a chance to have a piece of the surf park industry in its infancy. So yes, it's risky. But like everything in life, the riskiest thing to do is nothing."
Learn more about investing in Surf Lakes by visiting their site.