Waco Surf's Wave Pool Success Sparks 400-Acre Desperado Community

In the latest episode of The Building Texas Show, hosted by Justin McKenzie, Waco Surf co-owners David Taylor and Luke Schock detailed the remarkable turnaround of their Central Texas wave pool and unveiled plans for Desperado, a 400-acre surf-anchored ranch community. The episode, published May 27, 2026, highlights how Waco Surf has become a year-round sold-out attraction, with 99% of its visitors being Texas families who have never surfed in the ocean.

Taylor and Schock acquired the facility in 2021, originally known as Barefoot Ski Ranch, which had piloted American Wave Machines technology in 2018 under Stuart Parsons. The customer base has since flipped from 99% professional surfers to 99% Texas families, driven by a focus on accessibility and community. As Schock explained, "It's a community for people that want high access but not high walls. That's because we believe that the magic happens when you're sitting on the beach talking to the guy that, you know, it's his bucket list to come there."

The Desperado masterplan includes a second surf pool, a 13-hole golf course, a hot springs resort, pickleball courts, and dirt-only roads. Unlike other surf communities that adopt private, gated models, Desperado will be open and inclusive. Deposits on homes are overwhelmingly from Texas-based families, with one exception: a Hawaii native whose family lives in New York and wants a centrally located meeting place.

Taylor and Schock also discussed Waco's resurgence, citing the 1952 tornado that derailed the city's bid to become Texas's financial hub and redirected growth to Fort Worth. They pointed to the Hippodrome on Austin Avenue, where Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin once performed, as evidence of the city's pre-tornado vibrancy. Today, Baylor graduates are staying to open restaurants and buy real estate, alongside the Magnolia-driven influence of Chip and Joanna Gaines. Taylor noted that Tony Hawk occasionally shows up at the local skate park at 7 a.m., films himself, and draws 200 people within fifteen minutes.

Waco's central location between Dallas, Austin, and Houston is being repositioned as the heart of a new Texas surf culture. The episode is available now wherever podcasts are heard. For more details, listen to the full episode of The Building Texas Show here.