Surfing's Expanding Universe: From Cox's Bazar to the California Desert
It's been a wild few weeks in the surf world. We've got teenagers defying cultural norms in Bangladesh, windsurfers sending it at Cloudbreak, and a brand-new wave pool firing up in the Coachella Valley. Whether you're a photographer chasing the next great shot or a surfer hunting new walls to hit, there's a lot to unpack. Let's dive in.
Chasing the Dream in Cox's Bazar
First up, a story that reminds us why we fell in love with surfing in the first place. Over in Bangladesh, a crew of young surfers from the Bangladesh Surf Girls and Boys Club are training for the sport's debut at the Asian Games in Japan this September. Their headquarters? A weather-beaten white shack on Cox's Bazar — one of the world's longest beaches, stretching 75 miles along the Bay of Bengal.
For 16-year-old Fatima Akhter, stepping on a board means freedom. 'The moment I step onto the board, I forget everything else,' she told AFP via The Daily Star. 'When I successfully ride a wave, I feel happy and fulfilled. The feeling is impossible to describe.' In a Muslim-majority nation where girls riding waves faces intense stigma, Fatima's persistence is its own kind of victory.
Then there's Mohammad Mannan, 25, who started out selling seashell jewelry to help his family. He found skateboarding first, but the water called louder. 'I was mesmerised by surfing, because it was connected to water,' he said. His parents wanted him to focus on studies, convinced there was no future in the sport. Mannan refused. 'I believed surfing would eventually grow. Surfing isn't a lucrative sport in Bangladesh now, but nobody can say it never will be.'
He's not wrong. Mannan studies John John Florence on YouTube to refine his technique, has competed in India and the Maldives, and knows the gap: 'Surfers from other countries are different, because they have better boards, bigger waves, and travel frequently to different countries. It's impossible to understand an ocean if you've never surfed there.' That line hits different for any photographer who's chased swells across coastlines — the ocean teaches you in ways no screen ever can.
Maui's Wind Warriors Own Cloudbreak
Halfway across the Pacific, Maui's own Bernd Roediger and Morgan Noireaux just put on a masterclass at the Fiji Surf Pro. We're talking 13-foot Cloudbreak — the kind of reef that demands respect and rewards commitment. Roediger took the win with an 18.07 final score, which is even wilder considering he competed on a strained ACL and hadn't windsurfed in over a month. 'It's like a blessing,' he said. 'So many things have to go your way.'
Noireaux dropped the highest single wave of the event — a 9.5-point missile — but inconsistent winds kept him from a backup score, settling for third. France's Antoine Martin slotted into second. On the women's side, Australia's Jane Seman ran the table, winning all three finals and reclaiming the Cloudbreak title she first took in 2022.
The event chewed through gear — four rigs destroyed, one competitor with a broken foot. That's Cloudbreak for you. As Maui News reported, World Windsurfing Tour Director Simeon Glasson called it a showcase of the sport at its limit. For photographers, it's a reminder: the best frames happen when athletes push past comfort zones.
Desert Dreams: Wavegarden Fires Up DSRT Surf
Closer to home for our US crew, Wavegarden just cut the ribbon on DSRT Surf in the Coachella Valley — the company's second operating park stateside after Virginia Beach's Atlantic Park. This thing is a machine. We're talking 1,000 waves per hour, a catalog of 60+ wave types, including a dedicated aerial training setting pumping ramp sections every 30 seconds, and a barrel called 'The Twister' that's 'powerful, wide, and technical.'
Jacob 'Zeke' Szekely, who tested it, didn't hold back: 'I never imagined I would be testing aerial waves in the middle of the desert. Wavegarden has about seven incredible waves for turns, five for barrels, and around 12 variations for aerials. It's the best wave pool in the world.' John Luff, co-founder of Beach Street Holdings, added that the barrel 'is so long that it actually gives you time to take a conscious breath in there.'
Sessions are expected to start around $60 an hour — notably cheaper than Palm Springs Surf Club's $100 entry point. Public opening is slated for 'late summer,' which could be any day now. The Inertia has the full breakdown.
What This Means for Us
Three stories, one thread: surfing keeps growing in directions nobody predicted. A girl in Cox's Bazar finding flight on a five-foot wave. Wind specialists reading Cloudbreak like a book. Engineers in the desert dialing in the perfect barrel on demand. For photographers, each shift opens new visual languages — cultural documentary, high-performance action, architectural play with manufactured waves.
For surfers, the map just got bigger. The Asian Games will put eyes on regions we rarely see in surf media. Wave pools mean consistent practice for inland crews. And Cloudbreak? She'll always humble the best of us.
Stay salty, keep shooting, and we'll see you in the lineup — wherever that may be.
