When you live on the outer edge of Vancouver Island, most surf shoots involve cold water, thick wetsuits, and a lot of waiting around for conditions to line up. So when I got invited to travel to Saudi Arabia (of all places) to shoot the new Endless Surf wave pool at Adrena, I was stepping into a completely different world. After a flurry of calls, emails, visas and shifting travel dates, everything finally lined up and I was on my way to the Middle East for the first time.
My role on this trip was a little different than my normal surf missions. Usually I’m focusing on shooting still photos full-time, but on this project I was there mainly to help capture video content for the marketing team. That meant about 90 percent of my time was spent filming (whether from the water, off a tripod, or flying the drone) and whenever I had spare time between switching batteries or memory cards, I’d sneak in a few still photos around the pool for the crew. If I wasn’t shooting from the water, I was usually either shooting stills or hiding from the hot desert sun.
I was working alongside fellow Canadian videographer Nate Laverty (who created the video below), which made the trip even better. The core of the crew also included Shane Magnusson and Axel Terradillos, who design and operate the pool’s wave technology. Watching those guys work was incredibly fascinating to say the least. They can dial in custom wave settings and essentially shape the wave to match whatever someone imagines their perfect ocean wave would be. Running point on the whole operation was Tanner Wilson, who was handling the marketing campaign while also making sure the crew stayed fed, hydrated, and actually made it from point A to point B.
But enough about logistics. The surfer lineup was stacked. We had East Coast legend Cory Lopez and his two kids, Luke and Alana, who are already ripping way beyond their years. Victor Bernardo absolutely tore the pool apart, and I managed to grab some of my favorite stills of the trip while he was surfing the pool non-stop. The lineup also included the likes of Cam Richards, Yago Dora, Shane Borland, Izzi Gomez, Michelle Bouillons and Eithan Osborne. With that crew and the free range of the pool, things got pretty entertaining.
One of the wildest things about shooting a wave pool is the rhythm. In the ocean, you never know when the next wave is coming. As a lensman you’re always on edge, constantly scanning the horizon, ready to react at any second. With Endless Surf, you know exactly when the wave is coming. Depending on the setup, perfect waves will roll through every 30 seconds to two minutes. So you shoot a wave, check your shots, get back in position, and get ready again. It almost felt more like shooting skateboarding than surfing at times; a predictable rhythm where the action keeps repeating until someone lands their trick.
This was my first time shooting a wave pool, and the wave itself was surprisingly versatile. The pool can produce a wide range of setups: slab sections, point-break style walls, air ramps, and mellow cruisers. At one point, Matt Etexbarne was even foiling one of the softer custom waves that Axel dreamed up for him, while another session had Louie Marchiset hanging 10 on a longboard. It was cool to see a pool that isn’t built around just one kind of wave, or maneuver.
Another thing that surprised me was the water. The pool actually uses saltwater pumped directly from the Red Sea, which is filtered before entering the system. Swimming in it felt noticeably more natural than I expected. The buoyancy felt closer to the ocean, and as a water photographer I wasn’t constantly kicking to stay afloat like I’d imagine one might do in chlorinated pools.
But the most impressive part was watching the wave get tuned in real time. I remember being in the water with Cam Richards while the surfers were working on the air section. Cam asked if the landing could have a little more foam. Shane immediately radioed up to Axel in the control tower, who adjusted one of the channels, pushing more air through the system. Within minutes the landing zone had more whitewater to absorb impact. Seeing a wave get modified that quickly, mid-session, was pretty mind-blowing.
The final sessions of the trip were probably the most fun to watch. Shane Borland and Eithan Osborne were trading waves on what I’d describe as one of the best air ramps imaginable. They were trying tricks they’d never even attempted before, going wave after wave while the entire crew lined the pool yelling and cheering them on. It felt less like a surf session and more like watching someone try to land a trick down a massive handrail, repeated attempts until one finally gets stomped. Except with fewer cuts and bruises.
Before this trip, I’ll admit I always thought wave pools looked a bit one-dimensional in surf edits as a viewer. But seeing what Endless Surf is doing up close changed that perspective completely. The number of wave variations, and how quickly they can be adjusted, opens up a lot of possibilities. And honestly, after years of shooting surf in Canada, it was pretty refreshing to swim around in boardshorts instead of six millimeters of rubber and know that a perfect wave would roll through in under a minute.
On top of that, Adrena itself is more than just a wave pool. The park has a full skatepark, a standing wave, water slides, a wakeboard cable park, and plenty of other ways to stay entertained when you’re not surfing. The whole experience was surreal. Saudi Arabia only opened to tourism in 2019, and everywhere we went the hospitality was incredible. Airport staff, hotel workers, and locals were all genuinely excited to see visitors and welcome people into the country.
For me, the trip was a reminder of how quickly surf is evolving. From the cold North Pacific to the desert beside the Red Sea, it’s wild where a surfboard (and a camera) can lead you.
