PULSE Magazine | September 2019 Isssue

Written by Bryan Dickerson for Wavepoolmag.com

Is this what wave pool addiction looks like?

Symptoms. Signs. Warnings. It all started with a blurry photo of a clear plastic back full of brightly colored wristbands. The image showed up in an Instagram DM and soon we began to unpack the story: Two years that included 140 sessions, 2,000 expert waves and roughly 200 cumulative hours driving through the Texas heat. “I recently saw that someone got Employee of the Month from you guys because he had surfed the Surf Ranch 20 times,” said Steven Ward in the message. “That’s obviously insane, but I thought I could maybe beat that.” The message came after Steve Ward’s 140th session at Waco’s premier pool along with the photo of spent wristbands. “If you don’t want to believe me check with Cheyne Magnusson or Brian Fillmore.”

We took a stroll through his Instagram feed and verified that, yes, outside of the employees, he might surf BSR more than anyone else.

Ward lives in Austin and makes the 90-mile drive (145 Kilometer) drive whenever he can do multiple sessions in a single day.

“The sessions aren’t really set. If something is open I book it. But if I’m going, I do at least three sessions. No need to drive from North Austin for just one session. With BSR being open for about nine months now, I average about four sessions a week.” Ward started surfing in 1984 Orange County on a Chris Cahill Twin Fin. But adult life took him to landlocked Austin where he now works as a paramedic for the city. When the American Wave Machines pool turned on in Waco, he was on it.

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