2x World Champ Filipe Toledo, Wavegarden Announce Sprawling New Surf Park Project
It has been announced that two-time world champion and 2024 Olympian Filipe Toledo and European-based wave pool designers Wavegarden have teamed up to develop a sprawling new “sports lifestyle” project called Beyond The Club in São Paulo, Brazil. The centerpiece of the development will be the Wavegarden Cove technology with 62 different wave modules.
Toledo will serve as the brand’s figurehead, as well as “providing surf coaching programs and events to enhance the overall experience for guests,” reads a press release from Wavegarden.
“This is a visionary project, and I am proud to be a part of it,” Toledo in the release. “I never really imagined that technology would evolve to this level in my lifetime. But it has, and it is even being done in a sustainable way, which is great to know.”
The release points to Toledo’s relationship with Wavegarden dating back to 2014 when he surfed the first prototypes in the Basque Country. He also spent time training for the Championship Tour between 2018 and 2020, as well as preparing for events at Bells Beach at the URBNSURF facility in Melbourne, Australia.
Beyond the wave-making capabilities, the project will include a skatepark designed by mega ramp legend Bob Burnquist, tennis courts, beach tennis, gyms, a "fighting arena," "circus space," and there’s even going to be sand on the beach.
“Beyond the Club is a unique project, different from traditional options and different from anything that presently exists,” described Oscar Segalls, CEO at KSM Realty, the company behind the new project, as well as the Praia da Grama development. “Filipe is the epitome of what this project is about. It's about surfing, lifestyle, fun, and family values. We are all very happy to have him on our team and look forward to a long and meaningful relationship.”
Pioneers in the man-made wave world, Wavegarden currently has seven facilities worldwide with another 12 currently under construction. And perhaps solving the issue of overcrowding, the tech can handle a remarkable 90 surfers per hour.
Beyond The Club is currently under construction and forecast to open in early 2025. A project like this has long been the end-goal for wave pool developers, and it looks like Toledo and Wavegarden are now close to turning it into a reality.
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With more than 25 years of writing about surfing, the ocean and action sports, Jake Howard continues to share stories, profiles and issues that shape the surfing world. One of the premier subject-matter experts in the field today, he's savvy in the ways of print, digital and social media, his breadth of work is expansive. Getting his start writing Surfline surf reports and recording the phone reports for 976-SURF in the late '90s, Jake served as the managing editor for Surfer Magazine in the early 2000s before moving on to launch RedBullSurfing.com and cover surfing for ESPN and the X Games. Over the years, Jake has also enjoyed time behind the edit desk at The Surfer's Journal, as well as the World Surf League, where he worked as the Senior Editor for a number of years. Beyond producing editorial content, Jake has served as a digital marketer and copywriter for iconic surf brands such as Quiksilver, Roxy and Rip Curl. Writing thousands of pages of copy for Surfline, he has deep SEO experience as well. The surf columnist for the San Clemente Times, Jake continues to dedicate himself to the culture and history of the sport through his involvement with the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente.