Kalani Robb is not afraid to speak his mind when it comes to inland wave making. Photo: Catch Surf//Facebook
Kalani Robb knows a few things about starting wave pools in the California desert. He’s learned the dos and don’ts — mostly the hard way. Ultimately, he says he was pushed out of Palm Springs Surf Club last year, a project he launched in partnership with Cheyne Magnusson in 2019.
Since then, he’s watched the wave pool arms race from the sidelines, particularly the first-of-its-kind ecosystem taking shape in Palm Springs: two public wave pools in, essentially, the same city, competing for the same customers.
When DSRT Surf opened to the public in September, a fury of negative social media sentiment ensued when potential customers saw pricing on par with some of the most expensive of ski resorts. To be fair, Robb’s Palm Springs Surf Club also received criticism when it launched after repeated machinery breakdowns.
Robb has positioned himself as the voice of surfers who want these pools to balance respect for surfing culture with running a profitable company.
I got his thoughts on the latest chapter of Coachella Valley surfing.
What’s your take on the DSRT Surf launch and the new wave pool competition in the area?
I’ve seen time and time again, with me absolutely being personally affected by this. You can’t put the numbers before the people, the community, and the human connection. I understand that mentality, but that only fits with certain things. In this world, it doesn’t. That’s proven.
I have not been to DSRT Surf yet. I have nothing to say about it except that I’ve seen the backlash on their pricing, which is exactly what our guys did. (I see) the difference when you have the numbers at heart rather than the community — actually being something that’s going to be part of an ecosystem that’s positive.
I would estimate that if their pricing was at X when they first came about, that could show you what they need to make. If their value went down and their pricing went down to Y, then that’s essentially what people who put their money in were expecting, what the people who are doing the pool were selling. I don’t think investors are super stoked on that, because they’re probably like, “Whoa, what’s up?”
So you think both DSRT Surf and Palm Springs Surf Club (PSSC) are missing the mark in that respect?
One hundred. Find your pricing. Find your way, wave pool owners, but find a different way. The people running it will always determine what it will be. Maybe they’ll read this interview.
I’m from Hawaii. When you go to someone’s house, you bring something to the barbecue. You share. You don’t just come and eat everybody else’s food and leave. If you do that, you won’t be invited back. It’s quite simple.
Right now. It’s just a story of money. It’s not even a story of surfing.
Do you think there’s room for two pools in Coachella Valley? Could both thrive in the long term?
I think there’s an ecosystem for tons if done correctly, managed correctly — water, electricity, community-based. If one pool showed what is possible, let’s say there’s going to be room for a lot of things where it could be the Mecca, one of the biggest destinations in surf.
But unless they adapt, do I think they’re gonna thrive and survive? No.
Look at Palm Springs Surf Club. No one’s there anymore. It’s a ghost town.
What should they do differently?
There are some things that can’t be bought. (Kelly Slater’s) secret sauce comes with a human-touch factor. That human touch goes all the way down to the general manager, down to the staffing, down to the people who do every single thing, every single face is every bit of the secret sauce.
If community is what’s missing, where have you seen it work?
There’s something special going on at the Virginia Beach pool, where Pharrell is one of the owners. It represents surfing well, and you can see how the effect of the pool can be great on the community. I spoke with a young girl surfing in the pool there. It gave her a job, and a new sport she loves that she can do for the rest of her life. Something she never knew she could do. That’s awesome. I saw people who got introduced to the love of surfing, which never would have happened if a wave pool didn’t supply her a job and make her think, “I should surf.”
Are you working in the wave pool world in any capacity now?
No. I’m no longer part of Palm Springs Surf Club. I’ve had some inquiries to hire me as a consultant, but nothing I’ve taken yet. I’m still weighing my options. But I’m here to be part of it, and I want to support surfing.
