Documentary examines the financial rise of pro beach volleyball
A new film from a St. Louis production company details how the sport evolved from a casual pastime into a multi-million dollar industry in the 1980s and 1990s.
By Larissa Shah ·
Kings of the Beach, a new documentary produced by St. Louis based Coolfire Studios, is now available for digital purchase and rental.
The film examines the rapid commercialization of professional beach volleyball between the mid 1980s and the mid 1990s. It follows the trajectory of the sport from a recreational activity to a major media property.
Producer Johnson stated that the project aims to attract an audience beyond dedicated sports fans. He said, “We could go and tell the entire history of beach volleyball, but I wanted to make it accessible to fans of the business of sport, greed, big egos, and personalities, because that’s what this story had.”
The narrative highlights the sudden wealth generated by the Association of Volleyball Professionals. Players who previously competed for informal rewards, such as pitchers of beer, began earning hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars. Johnson described the shift as “a story of the dog who caught the car.” He noted that athletes were “playing for hundreds of thousands, millions of dollars doing something they would’ve done for fun anyway.”
A central theme of the documentary is the unique governance structure of the league. Unlike most professional sports organizations, the AVP was managed by the players themselves. The film focuses on how these athletes handled the financial complexities of running their own league.
The production also covers the international expansion of the tour and the sport's inclusion in the 1996 Olympic Games. Johnson believes the success was driven by a specific cultural moment. He said, “It grew in such an organic and authentic way that I don’t think it could ever happen again.” He added that the sport effectively packaged the California beach lifestyle into a desirable product for consumers.
Kings of the Beach is accessible on Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Fandango, Google Play, and YouTube Movies.
