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History

OUR HISTORY

2005

Lightning in the Bottle

Wavegarden was founded in 2005 when Basque engineer, Josema Odriozola, and German sports economist, Karin Frisch, decided to combine their love of surfing with their expertise in designing and building sports facilities. For the entrepreneurs, their driving force had always been about building a platform for stoke. Living near the ocean, the founders always believed that the best sports facility was simply a beach with good waves.

15 years ago, wave-generating technologies of this scope and ambition did not exist. Josema and Karin would need to start this process from scratch. From the start, their goals were clear:

  • Develop the best wave generation technology to recreate the experience and sensation of surfing in the ocean.
  • Provide ideal conditions for everyone, especially for people in cities far from the coast, or those in coastal areas with poor conditions for surfing.
  • Offer an alternative when ocean conditions are unfavourable or threatening.

OUR HISTORY

2006-07

The prototypes

Josema Odriozola, an engineer and visionary with a passion for surfing – together with two colleagues – design, build and test the first circular and linear prototypes. The key learnings would turn out to be critical in the development of future technologies, which would later revolutionize the world of surfing.

Circular prototype Wavegarden 2005
Linear prototype Wavegarden and Josema Odriozola 2005

2008-09

     
     

A Larger prototype creates the first waves in the Basque mountains

The offices move from San Sebastian to an isolated location in the Basque mountains, where a larger prototype is built. A tractor from a nearby farm pulls a wave foil through the water to generate waves around 0.5m high.

2010-11

The first pros surf our waves

Wavegarden receives extensive media attention worldwide when videos on the internet reveal some of the world’s best surfers including Mick Fanning and Gabriel Medina, riding 1-metre waves with a 12-second ride.

2012

New bi-directional prototype with right and left-hand waves

Cementing its commercial viability, a second full-size prototype is built. The Wavegarden Lagoon technology is born, a hydrodynamic wavefoil powered by a motor system similar to ski lift, generates larger and longer waves with a shorter period, meaning more waves per hour. The bi-directional generator travels along the central pier of the lagoon every 1.5-2 minutes, producing 1.5-meter left and right waves with a ride time of up to 20 seconds.

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2015

Surf Snowdonia opens its doors to the public

Surf Snowdonia, the first commercial surf park to use the Wavegarden Lagoon technology, opens its doors in North Wales. In its first year of operation, it attracts more than 150,000 visitors and hosts the first international surfing event – the Red Bull Unleashed, the first to be held in artificial waves in more than three decades.

 

2016

WeWork invests in Wavegarden and construction of the Wavegarden Cove begins

With WeWork as a new shareholder in Wavegarden, construction begins on the first full-scale model of Wavegarden Cove. This completely new and different technology can generate up to 1000 waves per hour and will revolutionize the global surf park industry.

2017

Inauguration of the Wavegarden Cove Demo Center

The Wavegarden Cove becomes the first and only patented electromechanical wave generation technology in the world offering the largest capacity of surfers and variety and quantity of waves. Crucially, this is achieved with the lowest energy consumption in the market.

With the appearance of Wavegarden in important media such as the BBC, CNN and the New York Times, aristocrats like the Prince of Norway, celebrities like Shakira, and many professional surfers travel to Spain from all over the world to test the waves.

2019

Opening of the first Wavegarden Cove facilities

The first commercial Wavegarden Coves open in 2 different continents. The WAVE Bristol in England and URBNSURF Melbourne in Australia.

2019

URBNSURF Melbourne

Australia

2020

Asia’s largest surf park opens in South Korea

During the pandemic, Wavegarden´s assembly team was able to meet deadlines and deliver WAVE PARK on time. This is the largest Wavegarden Cove built so far with 56 modules. Its perfect waves offer rides of up to 30 seconds long and represent another leap forward in wave quality. This Wavegarden Cove contributes to developing the surf culture in a country where the sport is relatively unknown. Thousands of South Koreans are now getting hooked on surfing for the first time.

2020

       
       

Wave Park

South Korea

2021

Opening of Praia Da Grama in Brazil and Alaïa Bay in Switzerland

Praia da Grama in São Paulo becomes the first surf park with a tropical beach. The Wavegarden Cove is located inside a private condominium estate and has become an innovative success story for the real estate sector.

Alaïa Bay

2021, Switzerland
Alaïa Bay, next to the famous Matterhorn, makes headlines worldwide as it allows surfing for the first time in the Swiss Alps.

2022

Wavegarden’s new Wave Menu Is revealed, and the World Surf League (WSL) host their first QS contest at a Wavegarden Cove

Unveiling the complete Wave Menu provides a key resource to compare real data with other technologies in the industry. Unlike other technologies, Wavegarden can back up its promises with raw data and facts. 

In October, a team of Wavegarden engineers travelled to Australia and South Korea to test a new software program that creates new waves for competitions including aerials, turns and barrels. A few days later, the first WSL QS championship event took place with great success at URBNSURF Melbourne.

2022

Making new waves: The documentary

Watch the full documentary

Go behind the scenes as elite pro surfers assist our CEO Josema Odriozola and fluid dynamics team to create new air waves at Wavegarden facilities worldwide. Follow a handful of top pro surfers including Yago Dora, Leo Fioravanti, Dion Agius, Luke Swanson, Reef Heazlewood and Victor Bernardo as they work with Wavegarden´s engineers at various Wavegarden locations around the globe (Wave Park in South Korea, URBNSURF in Australia, Alaïa Bay in Switzerland and Praia da Grama in Brazil), testing and implementing the new air and barrel waves.

2023

Our second Wavegarden Cove in Brazil will open in November

Surfland Brasil in Garopaba – our second Wavegarden Cove in the country – will open its doors this November. It is the first surf resort with fractional ownership. In more news, construction works are underway in Sydney, Edinburgh and Coachella.