One of the primary complaints, in the burgeoning world of wave pools, is homogeneity. Whereas the ocean provides a unique canvass like a fingerprint, in the pool, the waves are all the same. This leads to fatigue, desensitization, perhaps even boredom.
The good thing is: No two wave pool operations are the same. And all the major players in the synthetic surfing biz have a “menu” of wave options.
And, as the wild west of wave pools continues to progress into a full-fledged industry, more operations are continuing to emerge – both big and small. Speaking of the smaller side, there’s a crew in northern Europe, who have created a manmade wave setup at a top-secret lake location. Check it out below.
“I went to Portugal with the family, and saw all the grandparents teaching their grandchildren how to surf on a flat day,” explained Atso Andersen, founder of Artwave Surf, about the inspiration for his manmade wave creation. “I realized that we have cross-country skiing in Finland; they have surfing in Portugal. Our ocean is dangerous, but we have lakes and we should do something.”
Related: $15 Million Private Wave Pool for Sale in Arizona
Unlike a lot of bigger wave pool businesses, which use pneumatic systems to create the waves, this pool is more akin to the Kelly Slater Wave Company. They use a set of “wings” underneath the surface of the lake, which are pulled by a winch, which creates the wave.
Also, this operation is moveable. But the prototype in a Finland lake? That’s top-secret.
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Recently, we covered another, more DIY wave pool project. This one was out of Arizona, dubbed The Wave Source, and after the world got its first glimpse at the proof-of-concept site, via surf vloggers Blair Conklin and Ben Gravy, the guys behind it decided to put the wave and land up for sale for $15 million. Read more about that one here.
So, what do you think? Will the future of wave pools be like skateparks, where there’s a public one in every town, then folks building backyard mini ramps as supplements?
Time will tell.
Related: This DIY 200ft Backyard Wave Pool Is Actually Insane (Video)
This story was originally reported by Surfer on Oct 6, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Surfer as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
[SRC] https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/surfers-build-top-secret-diy-180331967.html
