"There's a kid from back home in Western Africa who asked me if he could try it one day. I told him the prices. He thinks white people are crazy now."
In the sun-baked sprawl of Austin, Texas, Kelly Slater, 11-time world champion and undisputed godfather of modern surf tech, is spearheading the construction of his latest Kelly Slater Wave Company (KSWC) pool, called Austin Surf Club, on the same hunk of dirt that Doug Coors built his ill-fated Wavegarden back in 2016.
The new Slater pool draws from the same hydrofoil tech that powers Slater’s iconic Surf Ranch in Lemoore, California.
But as crews, which include Kelly Slater himself, pour concrete and install the wave-generating machinery, which is expected switch on in 2026, the buzz ain’t just about the engineering marvel.
It’s igniting a fiery debate over accessibility, with accusations flying that this is surfing’s ultimate gated community.
The build itself is a feat of ambition and precision. Engineers are integrating energy-efficient systems to minimise the pool’s hefty operational footprint. Slater’s team touts it as a “sustainable surf paradise,” with solar arrays and recycled water loops.
More importantly, as per a previous story by Chas Smith,
The Austin Surf Club, which promises “a one-of-a-kind surf residential community where cutting-edge technology and classic surf culture converge. It is a fusion of urban energy and coastal serenity that embraces the adventurous spirit of Austin, Texas and brings the joy of surfing to your front door” has begun selling plots and according to the Austin Business Journal, Tony Hawk and Matthew McConaughey have swung in to purchase plots. The last time we saw Hawk, he was celebrating elderly gay men with an exciting new eatery. McConaughey was helping Griffin Colapinto lose to Filipe Toledo.
Enter the backlash, amplified on Slater’s IG.
West African surfer PapaSunny writes, “Surfing in pools is for the riches. There’s a kid from back home in Western Africa at the house at the moment who asked me if he could try it one day. I told him the prices. He thinks white people are crazy now. He’s not wrong. I call it the bubble. It has a wide range of meanings that all fit in the luxury world of surfing. Make pool affordable again.”
Slater’s reply?
“They’re not cheap to build, run, fix or staff. Market dictates value to some degree as well. My suggestion is to get an invite from someone who gets to go.”
In one breath, Slater acknowledged the brutal economics, the multi-million-dollar construction, sky-high energy bills, specialized crews, while dangling a velvet-rope loophole that only the connected can grab.
No discounts, no scholarships, just a lil wink and a nod to the surf world’s oldest currency: who you know.
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Surfing is one of the least expensive hobbies there is especially if you live somewhere warm. Now get me a HamSammish.
Humble bragging to 3rd world kids , KS stoops to a new low
Cunt is standing on the rebar ….( just what nobody that ever laboured on concrete form work would do)
What a cunt.
Salema Masekela, you know what to do.
What would Miki Dora do?
fleece everyone for an extra $10k each to surf one wave with him and then disappear into West Africa w/out showing up for the sesh
What a huge fucking disappointment Slater turned out to be. Again, the 90s kids had him pegged all along. Dude may have won a million contests, is apparently super rich, but fundamentally he’s an abject loser.
KS wave pools aside, let’s say you have 72 hours (during late fall/early winter) to visit and surf anywhere in the continental US — where are you headed????
Wave pool for the guaranteed swell? NorCal so you can get your ass handed to you at OB? SoCAl so you can surf with 200 of your new best friends? Mystery New England spots?
If swell lining up, for late fall or early winter, given quality of westuits today: Hatteras. NorCal but way further north than OB. Florence Rivermouth in Oregon. New Smyrna. Reefs south of San Diego.
Good list!
Relatedly, have you seen the videos Barley is posting of Buxton the last few days??? Houses just falling into ocean one after the other. Insane.
I have. What do people expect? We’re going 3 to 6 feet of sea level rise by 2100. It’s here, and only going to get worse. None of those properties will be insurable in 15 or so years. i.e. sure, these storms always happen this time of year, and cause flooding, but that flooding is only going to get worse and worse as seas rise.
they’re going to have to decide pretty soon whether they want Buxton the inlet or Buxton the town
Sadly that’s just a short term solution, geologically, regardless. Last time we had 430ppm CO2 on our planet we didn’t have ice caps and palm trees were at the poles. Can’t build a seawall up and down the whole coast to stop 70 feet coming our way in the coming centuries, that’s for sure. Smoke em while you got em…
first surfed the groins in front of the lighthouse in 1990, back when the lighthouse was in its original spot. Plenty of sand in between the lighthouse and the break, etc. Been back a bunch since, just really unbelievable to see the erosion/change over time.
On the right day, that left that would just reel forever was really impressive.
Heard someone once describe the whole area as “galloping real estate,” i.e. galloping into the sea. Seemed pretty accurate.
There are far more crowds at OB now than there are in SoCal.
Give him a little credit here – at least he’s not wearing a hard hat acting like he’s doing any physical labor.
imagine not doing any physical labor in your life. know a ton of rich kids who larp as pro surfers and build coffee shops with their money, but never pick up a hammer.
more Billboards please..
It’s a free market. It costs what it costs. Wavegardens are really fun and priced for the every man.
Remember when Slater said, hand on heart, that tubs would democratise surfing?
Make it available to all.
Did he really? I guess he meant…access…not ability to pay. Let’s pray that ol trickle down effect ramps up a little.
Lamborghinis are democratic under that def.
Cost only going one way DR- but you had a play in it.
Need more?
If you think “democratize” means “all prexisting esoteric etiquette/gatekeeping preventing you from getting a set at pipe/padang/etc are removed in exchange for a system solely based on how much money you can pay” yeah it’s democratizing.
K.S. steelfixing. Is there anything this man can’t do ?
He can’t seem to be humble. Humility seems absent from his brain.
Its hard to be humble when in your own head you’re the perfect human specimen
Pretty nice in real life, problems began with the phone
Hahaha I could come up with heaps, but then I reckon we all could
I’ll start…put him in a 130′ boomlift full riggers belt and a rattlegun. Watch him go white..be down the road before smoko
– Say a joke without being the first one to laugh
– Shout a round
– Drink a michelobe ultra before it gets warm
– Bust out his guitar without most people in the room wishing they had done an irish goodby.
– Sell his Hale’iwa house
– Look over a fence without a stool
– Win a 12th world title
slow clap … very well done
Thanks bud.
Stay away from Finals Day in Fiji and not try and take centre stage. Have a convo or interview where he doesn’t take the topic back to what a sick cunt he is. Attend any event and not try to be the “star” of the show. Engage in internet discussions where he doesn’t come across as a fucking idiot who believes he is an expert on any topic under the sun and on and on and on ……….
Be over 5’8″ tall
Funny. Cheap. Character revealing.
Alright alright alright.