“I’ve always wanted a spaceship,” says Dave Hagewood, owner of Galaxy, a 56-meter Benetti megayacht that was recently renovated. “I’ve always wanted to feel the liberation of space travel because my father worked on the Saturn V rocket for the space program. The more time I spent aboard ships, the closer I thought I was getting to feeling that way on land.
Hagewood, a first-time owner, has frequently relied on his ongoing desire of independence to guide his actions. When I was younger, I dreamed of a time when I could do anything I wanted and go wherever I wanted, but I also understood that in order to achieve that, I would need to be incredibly wealthy and successful.
Hagewood, who was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, spent his first fifty years of life working in business and building a successful career in the video gaming sector. He continues, “I quit college because I was so enthusiastic about the internet. “I paid for my schooling in game design and development myself because I was so passionate about gaming. This was the starting point of my philosophical development about “creating the life you want.”
In 2001, he established the San Diego-based video game studio Psyonix. We created a company culture that emphasizes having fun at work because, he argues, “if we’re not having fun, how can we make a product that makes people have fun?” This turned out to be one of my plan’s strongest points. Because it was such a great place to work and they were involved in it, people rarely left the organization.
The business achieved success in 2015 with Rocket League, a football video game in which players control jet-propelled vehicles. Gamers embraced it right away. It was first released for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4, and it was afterwards ported to additional consoles like Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.
Hagewood “wanted a change” and sold Psyonix to Epic Games in 2019 after Rocket League solidified his reputation in the video game business. “When I sold the business, the first thing I thought about was my desire to live on the water,” he claims.
Danielle, a local of Fort Lauderdale who grew up tubing or snorkeling with her friends after school and sailing on her family’s boats, became his partner at this period. Hagewood was motivated by Danielle’s independence and love of travel, and the two of them started sailing around the world together, starting with a catamaran trip in Puerto Rico. He describes that period as being similar to a rebirth. “Everything happened all at once, like a Big Bang,” says Danielle. “Danielle was a part of it, travel was a part of it, and selling the company was a part of it.”
The couple had rented two yachts, a 27-meter catamaran named Maxi Beer and a 28-meter yacht named Yvonne, and were sailing them across Europe for three months when they realized they were some of the few Americans left on the continent. Hagewood continues, “During this period, we came to the conclusion that we liked yachting and that we wanted to make it a lifestyle. We intended for it to be our sole source of income.
When they got back to land and started browsing, they came upon Galaxy, a 56-meter Benetti that had been delivered in 2005 and was a well-liked charter boat. “It was older than some of the other boats we were considering, but it was so well-kept that it appeared cleaner than some of the newer boats,” says Hagewood. In order to have a strong base from which to build something authentically “us,” we also liked the concept of spending a little less money than we had planned. It was the perfect circumstance for us to build our own fantasy since, in contrast to the preferences of the typical yacht owner, we had some quite radical notions about how we wanted our boat to look and feel.
The yacht’s design was inspired by Hagewood and his partner. When not sailing, the owners go to Burning Man and music festivals. The yacht’s ambience and design are a reflection of the festival’s focus on originality.
Compared to most yacht owners, we are more honest. We wanted the yacht to be a venue for our friends to get together and have fun because our lifestyle is quite social, says Hagewood. Due to their design for entertainment, boats are excellent for fostering community.
Hagewood collaborated on the refit with Marie Soliman, Albin Berglund, and Sarah Colbon’s Njord by Bergman Design House, situated in London. Hagewood asserts that Galaxy was his choice for a spacecraft. “The designers are aware of our needs. They suggested so many ideas that I had never thought of when we mentioned that we wanted it to feel like a galaxy. They nailed it.
The yacht fuses the ethereal allure of space with Burning Man’s mystique and ingenuity as well as the practicality of a “floating venue.” The main deck has been transformed into a lounge in the style of a nightclub, complete with cutting-edge DJ gear, personalized furnishings, and bright artwork, such as paintings by Camille Hannah and wall covers created by digital artist Dylan Cole, who is best known for his work on Disney’s Avatar and Maleficent. Within his ethereal settings, Cole has hid supernatural beings and extraterrestrial aliens. The Thinker, an extraterrestrial sculpture by modern artist Joseph Klibansky that was influenced by Rodin’s famous work, dominates the room.
There is a 12-person dining and seating area on the upper deck, which is intended for relaxation. The boat also features a master stateroom with a distinctive design, as well as guest cabins with planet-themed names and decor. The ceiling depicts the owners’ favorite constellation, and the headboard of the bed is transformed into a platform for stargazing that features the star signs of the owners and their friends.
Given Hagewood’s eagerness to embark on his next chapter of life, Njord by Bergman Design House finished the project in just five months. The Monaco Marine yard in La Ciotat, France, handled the refit.
Galaxy will act as Hagewood’s primary abode, unlike the majority of megayachts. “When renting a yacht, you try to squeeze every second out of each day. Hagewood continues, “We’re taking a more relaxed approach and trying to make it more of a daily reality. It feels more impressive than a house because of its size and stability. And having a whole staff take care of all of your needs is very comforting. Due to the fact that we travel so regularly, the traveling lifestyle is really more practical aboard a boat because we are constantly packing and unpacking at home.
Hagewood, unsurprisingly, is still interested in space flight. I seek for possibilities to invest in or become engaged with every day, he claims. “It would be amazing to see space flight develop into a tourism sector, open to everyone, not just astronauts and rich people with $20 million to spare. I would adore to travel in space, encounter zero gravity, and go to a space station.
He is satisfied in his own little world on board Galaxy in the interim. I like the fact that Galaxy is a self-contained universe populated by individuals that constantly work to make it the most cozy and ideal environment for us. It represents the peak of existence. And the most amazing thing in the world is that every day I wake up somewhere new.