It’s been a month, or two, since the grand opening of Atlantic Surf Park, the first Wavegarden Cove facility to grace U.S. soil, located in Virginia Beach, VA.
Since then, we’ve seen a flurry of clips coming out of Atlantic Surf Park, with pros and average joes sampling the Spain-based wave pool tech, getting tubed in the middle of a $350 million shopping center, entertainment venue, and world-class surf spot.
And finally, Virginia Beach native and financial backer of Atlantic Surf Park, Pharrell Williams, made a pilgrimage home to visit the park. During the visit, the music mogul was joined by Ebony Beach Club, an organization spawned in Los Angeles, which champions the representation of Black surfers in the water.
One of the primary goals for the weekend was to get some kids in the pool, and teach the youth the joy of surfing. As Ebony Beach Club wrote: “A day that we hope they never forget, because the representation is soooo important in the work that we do, especially for the kids!”
Sadly, there were no photos or footage of Pharrell himself jumping in the pool. Perhaps another time. Before the weekend festivities, Pharrell dropped a line of gear, clothing, and a $1,200 surfboard under the simple brand name, “Virginia.”
Related: Pharrell Williams Hails New Wave Pool, Drops $1,200 Surfboard
And although there was no evidence of the 13x Grammy Award-winner shredding the pool, Ebony Beach Club praised Pharrell for making it all happen:
“Pharrell has done so much for the intersection of culture & skateboarding, so it was so aligned and also unreal for us to be able to be a part of his intersection of culture & surfing. Seriously grateful to P & to our whole team of instructors, friends, and creatives who made this possible! It takes a VILLAGE.”