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About three, four years ago discovered
paddle, like most people probably
here in the us discovered on in,
on Instagram, on social media.
I was like, oh, this is,
what the hell is that?
Yeah.
I was like, this looks cool.
People running out and getting balls back.
So Kevin, why don't you tell us a
little bit, uh, your paddle background.
How did you get involved into the sport?
So I grew up playing tennis.
I have a, uh, rackets background, played
as a junior player, played in college.
Started coaching after college.
So I was a director of a tennis
academy, ACE tennis academy here in
Atlanta, uh, for about 15 years or so.
Um, I also was the, uh, assistant
coach at Emory University, uh, for the
women's team for about eight years.
So six years volunteer, part-time coach,
and then two full-time years, um, about.
Three, four years ago, um, discovered,
uh, Pata like most people probably
here in the US discovered on in,
on Instagram, on social media.
I was like, oh, this is,
what the hell is that?
Yeah.
I was like, this looks cool.
People running out and.
Getting balls back.
And, um, I played a little bit
of squash as well in college.
Uh, so, you know, they kind of all the
racket sports and everything just to get
another racket sports be addicted to.
So, um, there was a, uh, a
private court here in Atlanta,
um, at, uh, someone's house.
How did you find that out?
Uh, it was, you know, word gets out
a little bit and, uh, the, the owner
was very friendly and so that's
kind of how a lot of the paddle
communities here started first.
Wow.
And from there.
Andrew and I were talking about it one.
Andrew is the owner of
the club, uh, Andrew.
Sorry.
Andrew is my business partner.
Okay.
Um, so for, for the paddle for, uh, BATL.
Yeah.
Paddle.
Yes.
Um, he currently lives in New York.
Um, so we were teammates back in college,
so stayed friends over, over the years
and about three years ago we were out
on a, a cabin trip for his birthday.
And, uh, you know, we're celebrating,
had a few drinks, and after a few
drinks, you have some, uh, some business
ideas that never come to fruition.
Right.
'cause they're all ridiculous.
Mm-hmm.
And, uh, this was the one that actually
kind of made it outta those conversations.
So we kinda like this kind of a funny
story, but, uh, we're both, uh, big
rack enthusiasts and so we fell in love
with the game and, uh, a few months
later, um, you know, this was born.
Now, where are you originally from?
Uh, I was born, born and
raised here in Atlanta.
Okay.
So I've been here all my life.
Uh, my parents, uh, came from
China, were born and raised there.
So how was, uh.
I know they play badminton, right?
Yes.
How is paddle there?
I know that we have a large
audience in Indonesia.
Mm-hmm.
And, um, Asia in general, but
how is the growth there in China?
Or does it exist and it's a little bit
slower I think, I think in Southeast Asia,
uh, to your point, Indonesia, um, I think
the, the growth there has been quite big.
Um, uh, I do know in Shanghai
particularly, 'cause that's
where, um, some of my family live.
They have quite a few facilities.
They're starting kind of
grow and, and get started.
So I think they're kind
of just on the forefront.
Have you visited there
and played there yet?
Uh, I played once.
I have played once.
There's one on the rooftop of
a mall, which is pretty cool.
Ah, it's sick.
One in an office complex.
So they're kind of putting these
things wherever they can find space.
That's the level there.
Were you able to find some decent players?
Uh, I did not, uh, get
to do that too much.
Okay.
I got my dad out there and we hit a
few balls around just to check out
some of the facilities, but I think
it's starting to kind of grow there.
I think that, and pickleball, I think both
are growing there simultaneously, but you
know, as, as this starts to become more
and more popular, I think, I think the
growth will start to keep on climbing.
So you started with three
battle forts, right?
So how did you get the community to grow?
Because it's fairly new battle, correct?
Yeah.
So, but uh, fortunately there's
already tennis players and pickleball
players here, so I'm sure you kind
of pulled a little from there.
But you know, at the end of the
day, you have to kind of create
your own community, right?
So with the, uh, four paddle
courts that we do have, um, yeah.
At first it started with a lot of the
Latin European community that came out.
'cause they're, they were,
they're looking for it.
They know it's your foundation.
That's your foundation.
Exactly.
And then also from the group that,
uh, was playing at the private
court, um, lot came from platform
tennis or squash or tennis as well.
So it was already a small basic
community that was already playing it.
Um, so from there.
Uh, the tennis community has
been a big part of, um, adding
on to the existing community.
Oh, okay.
Here in Atlanta, tennis is, uh,
one of the most concentrated amount
of tennis in the United States.
Yeah, yeah.
Uh, if not in the world as well.
Yeah.
So there's quite a few tennis
players here playing, so a lot
of them are starting to convert.
Uh, we started to see some
pickle ballers as well as getting
a little bit more curious.
Mm-hmm.
Um, so as that keeps on growing, you
know, I think whatever we can do to
facilitate that community, be able to
have a space for them to come and play.
Um, you know, with, with the
clinics and, and programming, um,
I think that's a good base to have.
So, Kevin, tell me, uh, why don't you
tell us a little bit about that, having
some cocktails, having a meeting with a
friend, or a chitchat with your friend.
Tell us about Okay.
You come up with idea.
Okay.
We, we wanna put some
paddle court somewhere.
So, because I think this
concept, it is brilliant.
You know, an existing tennis club Yeah.
Or record club, you know.
Tell us that process, how it
goes, you know, coming to you
say, you know, the owner of this
club, how, how that process went.
Mm-hmm.
And, and convince the owner who
probably doesn't know anything
about paddle to gimme a piece of
land to put some courts in it.
Yes.
So, and the other thing too is, is
was this bootstrap or you guys have
to raise some funds or what'd you guys
invest into this and who did that?
Yeah, it's just, uh, all bootstrapped
from, uh, me and Andrew so far for,
for this property, for, uh, Louisville.
Um, you know.
I think it's hard to take a flyer
on someone who really hasn't
had that much experience in, in
the paddle industry beforehand.
Mm-hmm.
Um, though, you know, coming from tennis
from both of us and, and programming,
um, on that side is very similar.
So it wasn't too foreign to be able to
put it into, uh, and, and to paddle.
So, um, yeah, from, from the
get go, you know, there was
that conversation about, um.
With Mazar about, uh, putting the paddle
cords here and, and helping program and
think, 'cause we were already had kind
of a headstart as well, uh, already
looking for different properties.
Um, I think it was just a
natural transition to help that.
Uh, our Louisville location, uh,
we were able to get connected with.
At the pickleball facility that's up
there, they had a little bit of space
that weren't quite being used, and I
thought it was good opportunity, uh,
or we thought it was a good opportunity
to find part with them and they
thought the same to be able to kind of
generate some extra revenue on, on some
space that they previously weren't.
So, um, it was just kind of more of
an added benefit to their existing
customers, existing property.
And I think it just kind
of married quite well.
And it was, I mean, it must have
been easier at the town hall
because it's already a racket
facility, you know, it was already
kind of zoned for sports facility.
Right.
You didn't have to create, you
know, the common, the bathrooms
'cause you have the common areas.
I mean, this could, was
probably a cinch Right.
It made it a little bit easier.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So it made it a little bit easier.
And, and also you have a,
a, the current membership.
You get 'em excited with the new
racket sports coming into the club.
So, and tell us a little bit
about the expansion here.
So you're adding three
more paddle courts here?
Correct.
And then how was that second
conversation with the club owner
said, okay, gimme, um, gimme three
pickleball courts, or how, how many,
uh, pickleball courts are you taking?
Uh, so there's existing three
pickleball courts right now.
Okay.
That's over there.
Uh, and so three paddle courts
will be replacing those.
So how do you convince
the owner of this club to.
Take away those pickable cords and
let me add some more, especially
pickles creating a revenue, you know?
Correct.
Yeah.
We, we've been paddle probably creates
more revenue, but I mean, yeah.
How do, correct.
We've been talking, uh.
About it for quite some time.
Wanted to add some more and, um, I think
he was, uh, it was definitely forward
of partly more of his idea as well too.
Oh really?
Um, I mean, we've been wanting to add
more courts too, so it's just kinda an
ongoing conversation about, you know, kind
of us starting outgrow our four courts.
So how do we.
Continue growing here.
Um, and also with Atlanta, I think
there's a growing need to have
more covered or indoor courts.
So being able to play when
it rains or, uh, yeah.
Bad weather.
Yeah.
You know, not being able to
have to take a chance that day.
Is it gonna get rained out?
It's not gonna get rained out.
Right.
So, uh, it's nice to have another option.
Gotcha, gotcha.
And how much does it cost to play?
Uh, you know, per hour
and a half per individual?
Yes.
Uh, so here we have, um, on
a kind the primetime hours,
that's $20 an hour per person.
One hour.
So it's $30 for an hour
and a half, correct?
Yes.
Okay.
Um, and so that would be kind of
a general pricing with the member.
If you get a membership, it cuts it
to about half of that half of that.
Wow, that's great.
So how much is a membership.
Uh, so here to ITP, uh,
the membership costs 1 25.
And does that include all sports?
That does include all sports.
So everything's encompassing.
So with that membership, you get,
uh, unlimited play outdoors for,
uh, pickleball and for tennis.
Okay.
And then a discounted for the indoor, uh.
Indoor tennis and the Paddle
Unlimited play for 125 bucks.
Yeah, that's, that's,
it's a pretty good deal.
That's a real, and you get
the same thing with Paddle?
No, no.
Uh, with Paddle it's a discounted
men a discounted, so how much?
Half?
Half.
So you pay what?
$15 or 10?
So if you do an hour
and a half, you do $15.
Okay.
$10 for an hour.
That's great.
That's a great, great deal.
I mean, it's a no brainer if,
I mean, if you play two, three
times a week, you are Of course.
Exactly, exactly.
I think with being a new sport,
you know, you wanna make it.
As inviting as possible to try, um,
and, uh, be able to kind of capture
people and to be willing to, you
know, play a few times a week too.
And how many more members did you guys
get here when you added the paddle?
Um, that I, I am not quite
sure to be honest with you.
Okay.
All right.
All right.
To be fair with, to, to be totally honest.
Um, but um, we have seen it
grow, you know, month over month.
And a lot of times at the
beginning, you know, I recognize.
People, and now I'm starting to have
to recognize some people coming out.
And so, you know, you gain
more, more community members
into, that's a good thing.
Yeah.
That's great.
So now I gotta get to know them now.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, we, we always talk, uh, or discuss
in our channel, in our coffee and talks
that this is the perfect combination to
make paddle growth in the United States.
Yeah.
Take an existing rocket facility,
tennis, or tennis and pickleball,
whatever, add the extra component
of paddle to make it grow because
you already have the membership.
Coming into the club.
Same thing with country
clubs and all that.
Adding paddle there, it's gonna
make the pa the poor growth.
Much, much faster's also gonna reduce
the risk than just having, you know,
get a piece of land and build it.
And then you have to convince
everybody to come over to clubs.
Right?
Exactly.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Here it, it's just, I mean, it's a,
it's a. Beautiful, beautiful facility.
I mean, uh, it's, I love to
see these, these multi-sport
rocket sports facilities.
I always felt like the, the indoor,
outdoor and natural lighting.
Yeah.
I mean, it's, mm-hmm.
It's really great.
You know, that's the vibe of Yeah.
I love it.
I love it.
And Kevin, uh, what's the next move, man?
Because I know you got something
growing, you know, is it
another club somewhere else?
Yeah.
What's, what's go, what's going on?
Yeah, so, uh, you know, we announced, uh,
Charleston, oh, about a month or two ago.
So we'll be building, um, a
completely indoor facility.
Oh, we have a buddy over there.
Okay, perfect.
Tell 'em to come on by.
Yeah.
So we'll have, uh, currently a plan
to have six, uh, indoor courts.
Um, ceilings are about 35 feet high.
Oh, that's so plenty of clear space.
Whoa.
Um, and there'll be about eight to 10
feet run out on every single court.
Wow.
So, so you have the real
estate already, uh, correct.
Yep.
Everything's locked down.
How, how, how far are
you, did you get permit?
Uh, we are about to go into permitting.
So once that is done, then you
know, you kind of putting the
lipstick on the building and Right.
And you're ready after the race.
Think this is just an open warehouse
or whatever, there's nothing going on.
So, new construction warehouse, uh, right
in, um, the east side of Mount Pleasant.
Okay.
Uh, Charleston.
Okay.
Um, the facility that we're gonna
go into is gonna be a sports and
entertainment facility, so it's
about 175,000 square foot warehouse.
Uh, and we're occupying
just a little bit of that.
Oh, it's huge.
It's huge.
Yes.
So you'll have, uh, I think
there's rock climbing.
There's a pickleball.
There's, oh, it's a trampoline park.
So really, so you're going to
think, so it like a destination
here, over there, right?
Yeah.
Uh, so over there, um, where there's
not the real estate for the tennis
part of it, but there's not, but we'll
have, uh, two single squash courts.
There's two double squash courts.
Okay.
Um, the squash community
there is great, they have a, a
fantastic facility there already.
We're just trying to help them build
and grow the squash community as well.
But there's already active
sports within that area?
Uh, not quite yet, no.
Yeah, so everything, um, that's coming
into the building is gonna be new.
So the building was just built
not that long ago, so the
infrastructure's already there.
We've gotten all the designs
out and about to go permitting.
And so once that's done, we'll
put all the, so you guys,
guys bootstrapping that too?
Or you have to raise some, that one
we'll have to raise a little bit.
Nice, nice.
So, Kevin, I mean, this business,
it's, it's a very, it's a
hospitality business as you know.
You know, it's 16 hours
a day, seven days a week.
You've been here in Atlanta, you know.
Tell us a little bit how the team
structure will be when you're
expanding to the rest of the clubs.
Because I mean, it's a hands-on Yeah.
Job and you have to have
reliable, professional people
running all these facilities.
Yeah.
How are you foreseeing that?
Yeah, so as we, uh, expand to new
facilities, we'll be hiring out GM
director, uh, and coaches as well.
Um, Andrew and I will also be.
I've been traveling quite a bit to, to
some of these facilities, making sure
everything, uh, is, is running well now
or because I know he's in New York, right?
He is currently in New York, yes.
Um, so he helps manage a lot of
the Louisville facility currently.
Okay.
Um, and then as we open up Charleston.
For me, it's a little bit easier.
We'll, I'll be drive,
I can drive down there.
It'll also fly as well.
So, uh, we'll be, we usually kinda
split up our time, uh, to make sure
everything's kind of, um, goes well.
And so we oversee all these, but we'll be
hiring out teams per location as we grow.
So one of the major challenges for,
for the sport to really growth, it's
having qualified really good coaches.
How do you handle that part?
Yeah, so I think, uh.
Uh, as you probably have seen, it's, uh,
there is a, a little bit of a gap Yeah.
Right now.
So, um, with the demand being so
high, I think the coaching will
is still trying to catch up too.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Um, so yeah, I mean, right now if we
can find someone locally, it's great.
If not, we will have to go
elsewhere to go find coaches.
Um, I think coming from a coaching
background for about 15 years for myself
and Andrew as well, um, it's also, um.
Maybe easier, but I think it helps
us be able to kind of identify, uh,
coaching, uh, and also if we need to
step into coach as well at the beginning,
which I did here for quite some time.
Um, it's just, it makes the
transition a little bit easier.
So why don't you tell us a little
bit of the team that you have here,
how many coaches you have mm-hmm.
And the programming that you offer.
Yes.
So we have, uh, one
full-time coach currently.
Uh, he's our director as well.
He's a local, uh, he's
currently local, yes.
Okay.
Uh, originally from, uh, Venezuela.
So he handles the day-to-day
clinics programming for us.
What, what's his name?
Uh, Ruben.
Ruben Devar.
Okay.
Um, and, uh, we have another coach.
He's kind of helping us
out part-time as well.
Um, fantastic player.
Uh, Hendrick Eno.
Um, uh, currently at, he, he did play
in the US Open as well this weekend
and, and div one, uh, and, uh, had some
tough matches there, but, uh, so he is
helping us out a little bit as well.
Um, and so, uh, from there, uh.
You know, as we keep on growing,
you know, identify coaches and Yeah.
Having that pool of co qualified
coaches to really make Exactly, exactly.
'cause that's gonna be the big gap.
The more and more course we have
all over the country, without
qualified coaches, you can't make
the sport growth without in player.
It's the personality, the person know,
the community is that, that that mm-hmm.
You know, it's a special person.
You know what I'm saying?
Yeah.
It's something that we do look for
when we hire is, is the, not just
their skills, but also, um, you know.
Trust is a huge thing for us.
Yeah.
Um, you know, if they're willing to
socialize or personality, have a good
social personality to interact with the,
you know, the, the players, the people
within the community, um, and then
they're, you know, just good, good people.
So when do you see Charleston finishing?
Is that next year Correct?
Yeah, we're looking to,
uh, open by springtime.
Okay.
Uh, but as you know.
Permitting is always, uh, the tough part.
Yeah.
So that's, uh, the one thing out
of outta your control as always.
Uh, so once all that goes through,
then we can start, start the build.
So we kind of got everything teed up with
the, uh, uh, with paddle galles, with,
uh, our squash, uh, partners as well.
Um, and so from there,
once it's ready, we'll be.
Constructed.
So, uh, once it's done, you
know, you could send out the
private jet, so we could do, uh,
you know, above a view there.
How's that?
We have to raise a few more, uh, a
few more dollars for the private jet.
So, so Kevin, uh, you know, uh, tell us
about the programming that you offer here,
which, because I, it's interesting for
anyone in the, you know, Atlanta area.
What do you guys here?
Yeah, so I think it starts a
lot with the introductory, um,
uh, programming, the clinics.
Being a new sport, um, especially, uh,
in a, in a new market, you know, trying
to get as many people introduced into
the sport as possible is very important.
So we offer quite a few, um,
beginner introductory clinics.
Um, and from there we have different
tiered, uh, what we call categories,
um, for different levels as well.
Um, so that we offer that,
uh, five days a week.
Soreen takes care of most
of the clinics there.
Um, and then from there.
We have, uh, social play.
So on Wednesday and Thursday and
Sundays, um, we run, uh, Americanos.
So, you know, up and down, uh, up
and down the courts, depending if
you win or lose, you get to pair
up with different people and get to
really know and, uh, get introduced to
different people within the community.
So that's a huge, uh, huge thing for us.
Because a lot of times, you know,
you have a group of friends you can
play with, but then sometimes that
group, um, some, some people can't
play and then you can't play at all.
So being able to get to know
more people in the community is
very important for us as well.
Um, and then we'll run
different tournaments and
events throughout the year.
So we have a, a, a 20 K
tournament in the summertime,
uh, with Red Paddle or WPR now.
Uh, good.
And USPA and then we just ran
A-U-S-P-A 500 a few weeks ago.
How did it go with that?
It went very well.
It didn't rain, so it went
much, uh, much smoother.
Um, we did have some
rain in our other one.
We had some tarps.
We had a, uh, luckily a lot of
people in the community helped us out
with, you know, pulling the tarps.
Me and Andrew were just looking
up in the sky to see if a
dark cloud was coming or not.
Soon you'll have that prom right?
When you put up the courts.
Correct.
Yeah.
So we'll hopefully, uh, avoid
having to roll out the tarps.
Great, man.
So where, where do you see,
now you're in the growth mode.
Where do you see the biggest
challenges in this multi-state?
Atal, you know, growth of, of, you know,
courts and paddle clubs and all that?
I think, uh, finding the locations
of the properties is always
the toughest challenging, yeah.
You know, the challenges here
in the United States with the.
Different zoning,
permitting structures Yeah.
Space as well.
So, um, you know, have, finding
that kind of, that baseline, uh,
requirements is, uh, there's a
lot of, uh, boxes to be checked.
Yeah.
I think that's one of the challenges.
Um, and then also for us is,
um, uh, bandwidth as well.
You know, with me and Andrews,
we're continue building out the
team, um, you know, not rushing
too quickly where we're kind of.
Stretching ourselves too thin.
I think that's very important as well.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You know, even though there might be quite
a few opportunities, uh, just assessing
if that's the right opportunity for us.
Yeah.
We see that a lot in cloud.
Yes, yes.
Mm-hmm.
You know, and then, you know, it's,
uh, it's just, especially you go to
new market, introducing, you wanna
make a good first impression as well.
Sure.
Yeah.
Good.
Well, Kevin, is there anything else,
else that you wanna talk about or add?
Uh, no, I think that's,
uh, that's about it.
That's about it.
Yes.
I appreciate you guys time.
Well, Kevin, Kevin, congratulations,
man, on your success.
Thank you.
I look forward to seeing that
club in, uh, in Charleston.
Perfect.
Thank you my friend.
Thank you.
Great, great having us here.