HUGE!
Wave pools have added a fascinating element to surfing progression. We all knew they’d change the game 10 years ago when the first modern wave pools were arriving on the scene, and it’s actually quite fascinating (in my opinion) how much they’ve refined the mechanics of high-performance maneuvers.
The same can be said for shaping. So much of this, of course, comes from the opportunity to reproduce the same wave sections, the same wave shapes, the same canvas. In any other sport, analysts would consider that invaluable data.
Now put it all on film and guys like Rob Machado can analyze the finer points of a surfer’s mechanics. In this clip, he and Kevin Schulz watched a handful of clips with Schulz and Rob Kelly at the new PerfectSwell wave pool in São Paulo, Brazil.
Schulz is a little more specific in his analysis. For example, pointing out where he sees the pivot point changing on the same board with a thruster setup versus a quad. But for Machado, it’s a great opportunity to see two of his own shapes put to the test. And yes, while the video was made to highlight and promote the boards, it’s also a good glimpse into wave pools as a resource. Machado admits that riding his own shapes is a part of his process, but, like any other shaper, the feedback loop from other surfers is invaluable.
“That’s like the hardest thing for me to do,” he says. “I make these boards and I ride them and I like them, but then I’m always like, ‘Hey, will somebody ride this and show me that it works, give me the thumbs up?’ I give boards to Nick Marshall and he does cool things on ’em and flies through the air, and then to see this stuff is just more validation that I’m doing something alright.”
