Greg Norman's Shark Wake Park Opens In South Carolina
Shark Wake Park, a full-size cable watersports park, is the brainchild of Benjamin grad Greg Norman, Jr '04. Norman says he was inspired by his father, golf legend Greg Norman, to open the park.
“I have been able to witness and learn directly from the source on how to turn an athletic career and love for your sport into a thriving business,” Norman says. “He has been labeled as one of the most successful athletes turned entrepreneurs in history, so I would have been a fool to not pay attention.”
Shark Wake Park in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina has been fully operational since June 2016. Norman has plans to break ground on another location in Palm Beach County in 2017. Norman says the Florida location will have two full-size cable systems, beginner two tower systems, a Pro Shop, Shark Shack for concessions, floating inflatable obstacle courses and an adventure ropes course.
“We wanted to create a facility where all can participate and have a blast. The two full-size cable systems will allow multiple riders to wakeboard, waterski and kneeboard all at one time without the need for a boat. The Aqua Park is great for team building, exercise or just a fun time on the water on a hot summer day for all ages.”
Norman says his life has always been balanced between two worlds: sports and business. He says that balance was something he juggled during his days at Benjamin and then at the University of Miami.
“Benjamin taught me how to write proficiently, read with intention and speak articulately. I never realized it at the time while attending, only later when I went to college did it really become apparent when college seemed almost easy.
“These skills were imperative when it came time to step into the big leagues of business. When I was searching for my first location to build a park, my job was to go into government and pitch them. I had to convince a group of politicians that leasing their land to me to build a wake park was a good idea. I had to be able to articulate my intentions, think about all possible questions they would have for me and how to respond to them, write a business plan, and read up on as much as I could about how public private partnerships work.”
Norman says the life of an athlete can change in a heartbeat, which is why it’s important to always be running parallel strategies.
“While I was in sport, I was learning from the industry and working on building something out of those teachings. This is what my dad did. He knew that his time as a competitive golfer would come to an end. The secret is understanding and applying that knowledge on how to leverage your current position to make something that can far outlast being a sportsman.”
So what advice would Norman give to current Benjamin students or alumni with entrepreneurial ambitions? Learn how to fail successfully.
“Learning a new trick hurts, but it takes many crashes to finally stick something new. I’ve torn my ACL, MCL and meniscus. Broken my collar bone, femur and tibia. I have had a far too many concussions. On the same side of a different coin, being told no at a pitch meeting or seeing numbers fall in revenue really hurts. Hurts your ego. Hurts your motivation. Sounds cliché, but learning how to take each one of the beatings, getting back up, understanding where you went wrong and attacking it again is the whole battle.
“That is the secret that any entrepreneur or athlete will tell you. It doesn’t matter what sport or business you are in; you won’t make it unless you can take a beating, learn from it and go head first in again for what could be another crushing blow. The knowledge and skill sets on how to win are only learned this way. No business class or coach can tell you the winning recipe. It will all come down to how badly you want it. But when you finally win that tournament, land that new trick or new contract - all that pain becomes completely worth it.”
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A premier PK3 - Grade 12 independent, coeducational day school with campuses in North Palm Beach and Palm Beach Gardens. Since 1960, The Benjamin School has provided a challenging college preparatory education to a diverse student body in a structured, nurturing community environment.