Prince Harry’s “Secret Addiction” To Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch Revealed (Video)

Originally posted on SURFER | By Dashel Pierson | Last updated Apr 20, 2026 5:37 PM ET

What’s a member of the British Royal Family to do when they step away from their duties of standing and waiving, lavishness, and nationalistic adoration?

For Prince Harry, since he backed off from his role as the Duke of Sussex, and married the American actress Meghan Markle, he picked up a few new hobbies. One of which being surfing. And he has a particular spot he frequently indulges in this obsession.

Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch, nestled about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, is one of the world’s first and best manmade wave pools of the modern synthetic surfing boom. And it happens to be Prince Harry’s preferred spot of choice. He’s been witnessed riding artificial waves in the massive lagoon multiple times. And he has one of the best coaches in the game: Raimana van Bastolaer. Below, Raimana tells all.

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The Tahitian-born bodyboarder, big wave surfer, and now surf coach to the stars said:

“I thought I had to say, ‘yes, sir.’ Or, ‘yeah, Prince.’ You know whatever. And, ‘sorry, Prince.’ All these things. But he was totally opposite of this. Easy-going, humble, really humble. Really humble guy. Really respectful guy. Really good listener. He’s up for anything.”

And after all those trips to the Surf Ranch, Raimana added:

“We became really close. We became friends. And I cannot wait for him to come to Tahiti.”

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It appears that the surfing fascination is something solely for Harry – meaning, Meghan doesn’t join him on his trips to the Surf Ranch. He’s also not very vocal about his surfing obsession, keeping it somewhat under wraps, with the clips coming from Raimana.

As for Meghan, Raimana is hopeful she gets hooked, too:

“Meghan never came. And I’m looking forward to her to come. Or I’m looking for Meghan to come to Tahiti. Once she rides the wave, she might have to come more often. She’ll be all over it. If you see this, look at this. [Turns his camera out his window.]”

Over the years, Harry has dropped a lot of money on Surf Ranch sessions (rumored to be $50,000 a pop). But hey, it’s paid off. He’s the only Royal ever to get legitimately barreled.

This article first appeared on SURFER and was syndicated with permission.

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