Discover the surf pool at the luxury club opening on Thursday in Sao Paulo

The pool is exclusive to members and cannot be used on a daily basis. Created by JHSF, a group targeting high-income people, it has membership titles for sale for R$1.25 million (family method), plus a monthly fee of R$3.3 thousand. Future apartments in the annexed buildings, estimated at R$45,000, will not automatically give the owner the right of ownership.

GLOBO tested the pool and got to know the gym, which was built in a six-story building at the water’s edge designed by the Fasano Group (which JHSF bought in 2014).

What’s it like surfing in a pool?

Surfing in a pool is a lot of fun, but it’s not as easy as it looks in the videos. The sensation is completely different from surfing in the sea. First, the surfer waits for the waves a few meters away from a concrete wall, and the strangest thing is that he turns the wave towards that wall.

Moreover, there is almost no time to rest. While out at sea, it’s common to take a few minutes to catch your breath after a wave, as sets there are timed and have short rest periods. After surfing and returning to the starting position, the surfer has a few seconds until the next action. The mechanism also causes unexpected currents, making the experience more tiring than expected. Finally, the difference in density of the water itself causes some strange things, as the panel may not react as expected in certain situations.

After providing the necessary caveats, it remains to say that the experience is very satisfactory. São Paulo Surf Club’s pool uses a North American technology called Perfect Swell. It is the same JHSF pool located in Fazenda Boa Vista, within the city of São Paulo. The other DC club, Beyond The Club (more info below), uses a competing engine called Wavegarden. It is the same as Praia da Grama (also inside SP) and Garopapa pool, in Santa Catarina, Surfland.

Is it “all weather”?

World champion Italo Ferreira, a partner in the project, stated in promotional materials that the pool can be enjoyed “without depending on weather conditions.” But, just like at the beach, wind affects wave quality during urban surfing. The direction of the São Paulo Surf Club pool favors waves in which the surfer goes to his left side. This is because the common winds there blow from the southern quarter. On days when the wind is northerly, the waves are better to the right.

Sessions last an hour and usually involve around 14 to 18 riders, with sets of 4 or 5 waves and a 30-second break between sets – all of these parameters are adjustable, including, of course, wave size. The pool will be open from 6am to 11pm, every day except Wednesday. Members book sessions on an app where the agenda is posted weekly. JHSF does not disclose the number of members, but it has already stopped selling individual (non-family) titles to calibrate the volume of users.

“We do not specify a specific number of addresses from the beginning, we will monitor the process and adjust the limit when we feel the demand and utilization of spaces,” says Augusto Martins, CEO of JHSF. “The focus is on ensuring the quality of the experience.”

On the banks of the pool is the luxurious, six-story Vertical Club. The project, with ribbed wooden walls and artistic images of surfing, was designed by architects Sage Bergamin and Murilo Lomas and PSA Arquitetura. The structure is very complete: tennis courts (clay and hard), pickleball courts, multi-sport courts, swimming pools, gyms, sauna, spa, massage room, beauty salon and other facilities. It also has a bar and a restaurant, all with the usual Fasano set polish.

The club also has activities for surfers, such as a room where staff store boards (extra R$200 per month), a video analysis space with surf technicians (also paid) and a training area with equipment simulating the sport.

On the other side of the pool there is also an artificial beach with white sand, kiosks and services. You can also go into the water, on the edge where the waves don’t reach, to cool off.

São Paulo is changing so quickly that it is easy to overlook the importance of some of the transformations. Until 1996, that area did not have Roberto Marinho Avenue – previously an area occupied by slums and a polluted sinkhole. In 2008, the famous Estiada Bridge was built at the end of the avenue, over the Pinheiros River. The river itself, once an open stream, has been cleaned up reasonably well in recent years and its banks have been transformed into a linear park. Now, across the street, the São Paulo Surf Clube pool is now open.

While surfing, it is almost automatic to notice the surrounding landscape, an invitation to contemplate the city’s constant renewal.

The JHSF buildings, four towers containing 154 apartments, have not yet begun construction. Work is scheduled to begin in the first half of the year, and is expected to be completed within three years. The apartment will come with all finishes, a full kitchen and carpentry in the suites and bathrooms. The company estimates the average square meter at R$45,000.

Even, as a partner in JHSF, an attached condominium will be built that guarantees the owners’ membership in the complex.

Not far from there, on land further south where Hotel Transamérica once operated, is the Beyond The Club wave pool, which was already in operation. Soft opening In recent months. Created by KSM Realty, Realty Properties and BTG Asset Management, the club is now open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, while the club is under construction on the other days.

The club also has a high standard, with a project signed by the aflalo/gasperini office and addresses starting at R$810,000. It is expected to have about 3,000 members, and more than 60% of places have already been sold. It will contain structures such as a ski and snowboard simulator, an indoor skate park, beach tennis courts and a 2,200 square meter gym operated by Bodytech.