The Wave’s Nick Hounsfield interview: How I built my surfing dream

When asked to name a world-class surfing spot, a field near Bristol isn’t the first location that comes to mind.

But this part of the English countryside is home to The Wave, an artificial surf lake that is one of the few in the world to use advanced technology and was the first of its kind.

The Wave is the result of the ambitions of Nick Hounsfield, a pioneering British entrepreneur who wanted to build a unique business with a positive social impact, improving the health and wellbeing of surfers and non-surfers alike.

For this special episode of the This is Money podcast’s bonus interview, Simon Lambert visited The Wave to meet Nick, be shown around and hear the story of his more than decade-long journey to get waves and people riding them.

It’s a fascinating story, not least because Nick had no background in real estate or business, but was an osteopath, who started with £500 in his bank account and managed to raise £27 million to make his dream a reality.

He tells Simon about the challenge of doing that when potential investors thought it was a great idea but were reluctant to take the risk, with the theme ‘we’ll support the second, but not the first’.

Eventually Nick and his business partners got a handle on raising the funds to get the Wave off the ground, but he says it was important to find the right people to support it: those who bought both the social impact element and money. earned.

“We deliberately talk about profit,” says Nick. “But overall, I think people in the financial sector understand how important it is to be forward-looking – from a profit perspective, but also for people and the planet at the same time and how important that is in building a brand and building brand.” a company.’

He adds: ‘From the outset, we designed our booth to be environmentally and socially conscious, as well as profitable.’

But Nick’s rollercoaster ride wasn’t just about getting a hugely ambitious company off the ground, he also dealt with a double whammy of unexpected events when it finally opened its doors.

The Wave started welcoming surfers in late 2019, but soon after, Covid and lockdowns struck, shattering plans.

Still, Nick already faced his own personal challenge, as he suffered a stroke in February 2020, forcing him to stay in the hospital for weeks and then rehabilitate at home for six to nine months during the troubling times of the initial Covid lockdown.

Nick tells the story of how he worked alone in the water at The Wave, while it was closed during the lockdown, and benefited from the impact of ‘blue health’: the idea that spending time in or near water is good for people, which is a cornerstone of his business dream.

The Wave has thrived since it was allowed to reopen during the Covid lockdowns and there are now plans for more facilities in the UK, including one in Lee Valley in north London, close to the Olympic water sports facilities.

Nick shares more details about those plans, explains more about how The Wave works and what visiting surfers can expect and need to know – and at the end of the podcast Simon – a self-described painfully average on-and-off surfer explains what it’s like. was like riding the waves.