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Padel Smash TV is the media arm of Padel Smash - a platform dedicated to the people, stories, and innovation driving the growth of Padel worldwide.
On this channel you’ll find racket reviews, player interviews, club features, industry conversations, and original shows that explore both the sport and the business behind it. Our goal is to spotlight the players, brands, entrepreneurs, and communities shaping the future of padel.
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Together, these pillars connect content, community, education, and equipment to support the continued growth of padel.
Subscribe and follow along as we cover the sport from every angle.
Hey, pa, we're here at Rocket Eggs.
Hey everyone.
We're here, rocket X, and we are the Bos.
Stand one of the most iconic American
iconic brands, uh, apparel brands.
It comes, uh, all the way from
the eighties, as you can see.
Uh, that beautiful, uh, what is it?
Corgan?
Uh, sweater Knit sweater.
Yeah.
Table.
Table, neck sweater.
Beautiful.
We have Ian here.
Ian, why don't you tell us,
uh, all the great things that
they're coming out new with boast.
Well, yeah, boast is coming back,
um, after about a, you know, 10,
15 year hiatus from the US market.
Uh, we're coming back strong since
the new ownership took over about
18 months ago with, uh, Matt, er,
that is the primary owner of Boast.
Now he is an avid tennis guy, loves
the game, and wants to see the brand
come back into the marketplace.
That said, we've got a whole
new line of men's products as
well as women's products, um, on
court and off court as well, but.
More importantly is our activations
in the marketplace to get the brand
out, then to get it to be seen.
Obviously, racket X is a, is a good
example of us being out there, being seen.
But furthermore, we've made some big
investments into, uh, cliff Drysdale
tennis and Peter Bur wash tennis.
We're gonna be outfitting
their pros on court.
I'm a strong believer in grassroots
play, like connecting with the consumer
at their pace of pay, uh, play.
And so with tennis pros on court, they
influence those consumers, you know.
More so than maybe putting a, a, a
pro player on tour in our gear, which
does help us with that one-on-one
interaction with the Teaching Pro.
That'll get us further, um, you
know, interaction with them.
We're also, we've bought, uh, quite a
bit of time on Tennis Channel this year.
So during Q2 and Q3, um, when the two 50
and the 500 tournaments are on, when that
avid tennis consumer is watching tennis.
They're gonna be watching the tennis
channel, and they're gonna see Bos
popping up with 32nd ads, 15 second ads.
It's all to get the consumer aware of the
fact that we are back in the marketplace.
The theme of the commercials
are gonna be boast is back.
And not just, we're not just back,
but we bought a quality of product to
the tennis consumer, which will, which
will give 'em a great experience on
the court as well as off the court.
So this, this year you guys had,
uh, shirt specific for paddle.
You know, it's pretty amazing.
How many do you have in the collection?
Yeah, so we, we put together, um, a little
t-shirt collection for paddle, uh, focus.
There's about seven or eight
t-shirts in the collection.
Um, true story.
We, we put it line yesterday and we
bought it out on the show on Friday.
And, uh, we sold out.
So it was good.
It was good news.
Our key accounts saw it online.
They called me up and said,
Hey, we need to be part of this.
And so the, the the limited
number we bought in, we've already
sold them out, which is great.
It means we've gotta make some more, which
is a good, good problem, but it, we just
wanted to dabble into it and see is the
attraction for boast in the padell world?
We think there is.
And so with this success, we're gonna move
on and start opening up the line a little
bit more and maybe doing some specific
shorts with this new, uh, Padel by Boast
logo As far as the rest of our line.
Yeah, we, we have a tournament
collection coming out because we
have players on tour right now.
Uh, JJ Wolf, Michael Venus,
Yuki, AMI, guys that are in the
top 20 in the world in doubles.
We're gonna build a collection for them.
So we're gonna have a tournament
collection, which you're gonna
see the boast script being
used a little bit more on tv.
So the consumer knows
that was a boast product.
Sometimes a logo alone is
not enough to, to educate the
consumer on what that product is.
A good example of that was Nike.
The first 25 years Nike came into the,
to the world of sport, they always
had their script with their logo.
So people knew what that logo meant.
Obviously they could drop it after
a while 'cause they did pretty well.
But we're in the same mindset.
We need people to see our, our script
to understand what our product is about.
Fantastic.
I mean, we love the brand.
Uh, we're here to support it.
And, uh, Ian, we wish
you the best of luck.
Thanks very much.
Thank you.
Appreciate you dropping by you.
Thank you, man.
Thank you.
Hi, thanks.
I'm Chad Phillips.
I'm the owner and CEO of Rally Republic.
We make licensed and custom pickleball
and petal rackets for consumers,
but we also do a lot of business
with country clubs, racket clubs,
and company corporate opportunities.
And that's why I'm here today.
So we really specialize on doing
things very custom and logos.
So we're not really competing, uh,
with the more performance brands here.
But we make a very high quality,
uh, product that is used for
events and trophies and, um,
for member guest rentals.
That is so cool.
And how, um.
Rocket X help you help rally
Republic to, to be re recognized to.
Yeah, it's been really, um, great because
this brings together facility owners,
country club owners, uh, other brands.
So I've had the opportunity to sell to,
um, country clubs, racket clubs, and
then there are quite a few, um, companies
serving the facilities who want to buy
our paddles for corporate giveaways.
So.
For me, it's been a great, uh,
opportunity to meet a lot of
people in the industry and connect.
And, uh, exciting to see what's next.
Hey, paddle is welcome to Paddle Smash tv.
We're here on location at Rocket X
and next to me dear friend Daniel
Meez, also co-owner of the Exon Cup
1111 Team, the Exon Cup, it's on fire.
Uh, Danny.
We known each other for such a long time.
Why don't you tell us all the
juicy, uh, stuff about the Exon Cup?
How are you Julia?
It's nice to see you again.
It's been a while.
Yeah.
The ex cup is, it's growing.
Uh, as you know, we just
had the third edition.
In Madrid, uh, they moved it to
Kamar where the a TP 1000 is.
Yeah.
So we put, uh, 40,000
people there in five days.
As you know, all the best players
in the world are, are involved.
We have, uh, two, two men, two
women and the next generation.
And now it's growing there.
We'll announce soon, uh, but, uh,
from one event a year that it's
been, uh, the last three years,
we're gonna go to four events a year.
Uh, there's, uh, new investors
there that are big ones.
I don't know if I can say yet.
But, uh, go for it, for it, you know,
you know, like it's, it's, uh, middle
East people and the premier paddle, so
it's, it's gonna, it's gonna be great.
Everybody's very, so Danny, how, how did
you get involved in, in, in this, uh,
hexagon Cup, you know, with the team?
11. 11. And where, how did
you guys come up with a name?
11. 11. So, yeah, the, the founders are.
Good friends from Spain, from, we used
to play Paolo when we were juniors,
so Enrique Ra and then also the
Formula E people are the ones that
started this venture and they called
me that they wanted a, a US team.
If I could, uh, come in with some,
uh, some big names, celebrity.
And as you know, with Eva, RIA,
I'm very close to her for 20 years.
She's a big paddle fan.
And uh, and I call her and she said.
Let's do it.
So, so it was that simple and that simple.
You know, as soon as I call, I had to
deal with all her, her people, her agents.
Agents.
Did, did she know what Paddle was or No?
No.
Yeah, as I said, like she has
a core in Beverly Hills Wow.
For 10 years.
And she's a big fan.
She has a house in Marba with paddles.
So, and then the 1111, it was,
uh, a superstitious number that
she loves that, that number.
It's like, I want to call it 11.
11. So say, go ahead.
How does she play seeing her play?
She's, you know, she's, she's
getting, she's competitive.
She plays.
As much as she can with her
husband Pep, who also is with
us, and uh, yeah, she loves it.
So who do you have on the team?
So this year we have Habi,
Garrido, and Oliva and the female.
We have Paola, Jose Maria and Ali Alonso.
So we are a great team and in the
juniors we have capta, ro, and Cudo.
Wow.
So, so why, why don't you explain
to our listeners and viewers how is
the format of the of Vegas gon cap.
So as I, as I was saying, it's one
male player, I mean, team female,
and then the next generation that
they cannot add more than 40 years.
So we have URA that eats
what, 17, 18 and, and Cudo.
And then you play as a team and
the, the men and women add two
points and the next generation won.
So at the end of the, of the week, you
add the points and whoever has more
points gets to the final and the third
and fourth, and then so on and so forth.
Great.
So LA last year there was always one
time a year that you were doing it.
Now you said four.
Where's it gonna be?
All four in Madrid or are you gonna
have different parts around the world?
No, they wanna expand.
So there's gonna be one in
Madrid in January, and the
next three are gonna be around.
So they want to come to the us.
They wanna come to Middle East
and another one in Europe, they're
talking about London, France.
So the organization will announce
some, I say by the end of April,
but probably this year as it's
just happened, it won't be four.
So hopefully two or three.
But from next year it'll be four
and even five sofa Premier gave
us those four or five dates not
to, you know, uh, go against them.
Right.
So that's, that's, that's green news.
So do you see the Hexagon Cup
ever coming here to the us?
Definitely, definitely.
And when do you think
that was gonna happen?
I don't know if we'll have time for
the end of the year, but you know,
there are conversations with, uh,
with cities for the end of the year.
And where do you think that would be?
Here in Miami?
It has to be Miami, New York, la Right.
The big cities.
So, yeah, you guys know, know, know better
how the, the expansion of the sports in
the US but hopefully other, other states.
So, so talk to us a little bit about,
uh, the changes in the franchisees.
Uh uh, any.
Uh, any changes when it comes to, uh,
with, with the players, with the structure
and you've been there from the beginning
and what has changed through the years?
So you have, when we signed, uh,
the first, uh, year, you have the
franchisee players for three years.
So I had Bella, Bella, Tein and Paula.
And unfortunately, after the
second year, Bella retired.
So I had to choose another,
uh, another, um, franchise.
And it's Javi.
Garrido man.
So, so how does that work,
um, through your contract?
That means that they have to play
in Hexa Cup three years, correct.
Right.
So how, and you go on a draft
to choose your second player.
So I went on a draft the
first year to choose Velain
player, and I took Lucho Capra.
That year Bella got injured.
So we got Chin GoTo as
a, as a franchise player.
Gotcha.
And then the second year, uh, we got
team only back with Bella, and the
third year we chose the same one.
So you go on a draft and you
choose your draft players.
And with the next generation the
same, we all, all the teams, team
owners, we got on a, on a Zoom call.
And we're going to draft, depending
on the ranking, you know, the, of
the points of your franchise players
and you choose first, second,
third, it's like an NBA draft.
So you don't have the option to
really reach out to the player.
You have to go through the draft
process pretty much Correct.
So you can get a really, uh,
Paquito or a, or a LeBron or it's
to kind of make it fair and it's
kind of more the American way.
Well, you have all the players
that subscribe to Hexagon and
obviously everybody but Glan.
And, uh, and LeBron from the top guys.
And then you choose your franchise.
Right?
And from there, depending on the, on
the points that your, the rankings
points that your franchise male
and female at you go to the draft.
Oh, okay.
So if I have the number one male
and the number one women, I'm gonna
be the last one choosing the drop.
Right.
Oh, okay.
Yeah.
Great.
So, so why know LeBron and Gani?
Is that because a contractual
agreement that they can play and
also Ulu is not there, or, or it is.
Lio is with Team Bea, which is
the team for Puerto Rico, but
no, Gana and LeBron decided that
that week they wanted to rest.
I heard it's that week of preseason
right before the season starts in Right.
And in February.
And they decided that they, but I
heard that they're in conversations
and maybe they, they want to join.
Sure.
So as, as an investor.
What's the end goal?
Uh, especially when it
comes to the investment.
Where do you see the return at
as all the, all the team sports,
you know, the valuations of
the, of the teams keep growing.
The first year obviously has a,
a valuation, but it keeps going
up and that's going very well
and obviously expanding that.
But, but how do you leverage that?
Because that's just on paper and
meanwhile you have to, expenses
every single month are very high.
With the, with the number of events.
That's gonna help a lot.
And all the sponsors that are
coming into gon, you know.
And, and the ticketing matching.
Doing it in Madrid, we're lucky that
we can put 11,000 people on Friday,
11,000 on Saturday and Sunday.
Right.
So that's the, that's the, the
goal to do it with other countries.
You know, that you cannot do that in
Miami or New York putting 11,000, but
you, you, do you think the franchisees
are there, uh, uh, still investing or
do you think they're at that point right
now where they're breaking up even?
Or at what point do you
think they'll be profitable?
Every team is different because
you, you live off your sponsors.
Right.
You know, so I can tell you from ours
that we're, we're lucky to have great
sponsors, international sponsors, but I'm
sure every team it's, it's profitable.
Obviously the first three
years are the hardest.
But we see now as a big opportunity either
to invest, you know, your own money or
to bring investors and, and, and, and
dilute yourself a bit of equity, which,
but you have a lot of people interested.
So that's, so how, so from the
beginning to now, how do you
see the cost for the players?
Has it.
Up a lot.
And do you see it continue going up?
That's another issue we're gonna have.
We were lucky that we signed those
players for three years and it was
to go for five, my friend for 10.
And you guys know how much money the
players are making in those exhibitions
and not in prize money in the tournaments.
But also something important to
know, this is the the most prized
money tournament in the world.
There is $1.5 million price money, so
the players are making 60% of that price
money and the teams are making 40%.
So those players are making more money
than any other Premier major, you know.
So do you think from the World
Paddle Tour to now Premier in the
structure, the changes, the more
freedom that they have and also
the new tournaments that they have?
It, it is good for the players
and increase their, their pay.
Yeah, obviously the, the players
wanna be, feel free, right?
And, and, and be able to play
exhibitions and go to these
countries, the upper common countries.
And, and Premier is allowing them,
obviously the first year gon had
to negotiate because we had a week
that they wanted to have a Mexican
tournament there, like a premier.
And at the end of the day, that's why
they made a deal now and they gave
them four dates of this year, and
hopefully next year, four or five.
So you have to go along with Premier that
are, you know, as in tennis, the a TP,
the the, they're the ones that rule the,
the calendar for the players and how many
franchises are there are, are they gonna.
Are they gonna allow more
or is there demand for more?
So there are eight franchises this year.
There was gonna come one more, but
we decided to stick with eight,
uh, between all, uh, all the,
the team owners organization.
But it's gonna, it's gonna
go up a little bit more.
I don't know if they said max to 12.
But yeah, the idea is to, to
bring a couple of, of teams.
Yeah.
And, and the rule for, for the
franchisees, from the franchisees,
it's to have a celebrity on the
franchise, or how does that work?
Not really.
The, it was, you know, one of the points
at the beginning they mentioned, but
Team BEYA for example, doesn't have a, a
celebrity owner, uh, gon CAP has his own
team and they don't have a celebration
owner, even though they always have.
Raul, for example, Madrid was
kind of their ambassador this
year, but not necessarily.
You don't need to, but
it helps for sponsors.
You know, guys, you say it's true.
At the beginning it it was exposure
that they were looking for, right?
Correct.
Yeah.
For to expose, you know,
for the, for the game.
It's, it's so helpful.
I mean, valor, it's been so helpful.
For the, uh, for Paddle Worldwide and
now Al with his academy and Maribel the
sister, El Doki soccer, uh, Andy Moray
with Anthony Joshua, uh, una with esi.
So obviously when you have those big
names that are involved with the sport,
right, uh, that are really helped.
And how often do you guys get together and
like, play with within the celebrities?
Well, during that tournament we do a
celebrity event, you know, that's cool.
Uh, and then they do like a legends from
soccer players and ex battle players.
And then during the year we
try to do a couple of events.
You know, Maribel has been
very helpful with the academy.
So they're host some events.
We wanna do one in Miami,
another one in New York.
So it's, it's, it's starting to grow.
Well, Danny, you've been very, very busy.
You know what I'm saying?
Congratulations.
Thank you, Danny.
Well, great, great information.
We love it.
I mean, we wish you the best of luck
and, uh, we'll see you around my friend.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Congrats then.
Floki is biomechanical compression gear.
Our most popular product is the
no strain sleeve that supports
your elbow while you play paddle.
Okay.
That's so great.
Um, and how is, um, rocket X is
helping you to get more awareness
of your brand and all of that?
There's a lot of clubs here this year
at Rocket X, and a lot of them are
interested in carrying in the pro shop,
so it's been a great event for us.
Hey Paddles, we're here at Rocket
X, uh, the Blanca Paddle Rackets.
Stand with Andrew.
Juan, uh, we've been chasing you for
the past three years, or you Yeah.
Finally we get to interview
him here on our channel.
Uh, great looking rackets.
Very minimalistic.
Uh.
How did you, well, how did you
come out with this crazy idea to
start a, a paddle rocket brand?
Yeah, like we're all, we're
all paddle addicts over here.
But, uh, September 22 of 22, I founded
the brand in, uh, San Diego, California.
Um, it really started, uh, through COVID.
I was playing pickleball actually.
I posted a story and a girl I was seeing
long distance in Spain said, oh, I didn't
know they had paddle in the United States.
Clearly they shouldn't play either sport.
But, uh, there he was.
The algorithm took me every which way.
I started seeing, you know, Ali
Golan, LeBron running outta the court.
Played tennis all my life.
I was like, whoa, what is this sport?
This is amazing.
Luckily for me in the backyard,
I had tactical paddle in
my backyard at that moment.
And uh, during COVID they had a,
a free clinic that they're giving.
I started playing, got addicted to the
sport, joined a 500 person WhatsApp group,
and there it was off running, but I was
like, why is this equipment so expensive?
Why is a can of tennis balls with
less pressure, you know, $12 retail?
Why is a a racket, 300 to $500 us?
It doesn't make sense.
My background is in
sourcing and development.
Uh, basically consulting other
businesses how to manufacture products.
So I started with balls.
I really brought in a case of blank balls.
Blanca Blanca markup blank
balls to the United States.
A hundred cases of it for my friends
guys, you know, everyone comes to play.
It's like, oh, we wanna stone
and focus with za, right?
We don't wanna play with brand new
balls right when we wanna play.
So I brought in balls, the same balls
that are FIP certified, exact, exact same
factory through my sourcing channels.
And, but big, big shot me.
Now what do I do with these
a hundred cases of balls?
I gotta sell them.
So I started going to a few clubs and
they, they said, Hey, the balls are great.
We could do some co grounding on it.
But how about rackets now, because
we're buying rackets at wholesale
for $300, rents give for $10.
Beginners are breaking
it every month or so.
The economics are working out.
So help with brackets.
So then I started with racks and
the margin there was like kinda like
20 x. So, and I was like, uhhuh.
Okay, now we're gonna start
a little business here.
And I started with three rackets.
Uh, so the first three rackets here,
see La Jolla, which is still produced.
La Jolla Del Mar, and Coronado, named
after San Diego Cities homage to where I
started the business, um, from New York.
So we got Manhattan over here.
Uh, Queens.
So plan words, uh, built for more for
women, uh, flushing planes that us show
site Dumbo, like Dumbo, Brooklyn, like
the, the Dumbo dizzy character as well.
And releasing here at racket
X. This is Brickle, right?
So I moved to St. Petersburg, Florida.
So I did something in Florida.
St. Pete didn't have quite the
ring or Tampa quite the ring yet.
It's growing.
There's a lot growing there, guys.
So what's your retail prices on, um,
uh, average on some of these rackets?
Most of my rackets are
less than $200 retail.
This is the first racket where we're
going above 200, 2 50, but I literally
packed all the latest buzzword
technologies all into one racket.
Even from the design, you see
the latest designs a little
more sharp around the edges.
You have holes on the side here,
these little wind channels.
They call it detachable, uh, wristband
Kevlar frame, so you've got a
bulletproof material, Kevlar frame.
Super durable.
12 cape carbon fiber.
You got your whole pattern now, which
is smaller towards the sweet spot,
larger around the, the, uh, the, the
edges, uh, osa like sand texture.
So I threw everything in
one racket, $250 in detail.
So you kind of designed
this rack the way you want.
I designed the racket the way I wanted.
Wow.
Absolutely.
Uh, did it take, how many tries
did, did it take to get it right?
Well, luckily, this was my first bulb.
We're gonna tweak it a little bit
more and modify little things, but I
tried it first time here and my, my
mini chord, uh, at Rack X, and we've
been here for three consecutive years.
And, uh, it's been, it's been
wonderful, been very great.
Host us.
So your price point is, is
right on the sweet spot.
You know what I mean?
One thing is to spend, no, not, not all
the people can spend 400 bucks in a row.
The 200 markets.
We always talk on the channel, you know.
Right.
That's people, what they're looking for
and they're looking for the quality too.
Quality, yeah.
Quality.
So what is your marketing strategy
there, there besides the, the, the
price point marketing strategy there?
Um.
For me, it's like I like to
collaborate with as many like
key partners as possible.
Off the glass being one of them who are
gracious to provide this mini court.
But I also refer them about 30
courts of business, which is great.
But we're gonna have partner up together.
The US Court manufacturer, you got your
US paddle, uh, company over here as well.
Uh, also releasing here our clothing.
It will be made from,
uh, born living yoga.
Born.
So as part of their born court series,
um, they're making all their clothes,
five generations of making clothes.
They're basically the Allo Yoga of Spain.
They capture the market over there.
They're starting to sponsor Tamara Icao.
They got Alex Re Sanjo and our
top 50 premier paddle player.
So talk to us about that partnership.
How do, how does that work?
'cause I see a nice, I
see great apparel there.
Yeah.
So it really started because, so
last year I, I sponsored Julio Polo,
who's top 50 premier paddle player.
Right.
So just to prove to, to the public
that these rackets are of quality, you
could buy the same racket that she has
for $180 retail and she's dedicating
her life to it at the highest level
and playing with this racket, right?
So, but through mutual connections,
played at Manford Paddle, a coach
over there, Marco, shout up to you.
Uh, connected me to the owner of Bourne.
Um, and then he was looking for
a minimalistic, uh, racket brand.
Immediately.
We connected, we hit it off.
We started playing together.
Of course, paddle.
You gotta do business there.
And then, and here we are.
So we we're starting a relationship.
I, like Julio was traveling.
That's just what happens.
Julio was traveling in Germany.
She says, Hey Andrew, I need
like jackets and like Fache Lake.
I need like vests, I need like pants.
I need anything that I was like, I've
got a top, I've got more skirts for you.
Like, what do I do?
We could like white label other
things or I could partner with Bourne.
So when did that, uh, partnership start?
I guess the courting started
happening, uh, let's see, maybe
October of, of last year or so.
Kind of kind of blank.
So how, how's it going?
How are people, uh, receiving it?
Well, I mean, you, you feel
the clothes over there?
Yeah, I do.
Yeah.
Really nice.
It's, it's spectacular quality.
So, uh, for clubs as well.
If you're out there, you wanna do other
key partnerships like wholesale pricing
for, for, oh, we got a pink club ball.
Nice.
Um.
And, um, so we'll be
releasing close there.
But for, for my players and stuff,
look, they, they're pros at closed.
They capture the market.
I wanna answer the Spanish market further.
They want to come to the
United States and Paddle.
So it was just kind of
a, a great win-win there.
Wow.
So let's say where, let's two things
where club owners can find these
racket to bring into their clubs and
where customers can find this rocket
to bring it, to start playing with it.
Sure.
I mean, obviously, uh, on our website,
www dot blanca paddle uh, dot com, uh.
Gotta pass around.
Yep.
www.blancapaddle.com.
Um, we work with a few distributors, rack
Central, uh, being, being one of them.
Um, we sell with some distributors
in Indonesia, but if there are
any distributors out there as we
opened up other countries, holler
at me, andrew@blancapaddle.com.
You're talking to me, Mr.
Blanca.
So that's it.
So how'd you come up with that name?
That's, that's Blanca As I, as I kind
of, uh, you know, kind of noted, uh.
Blanca is a play on minimalism.
So black and white without black is a
white without white is a black, right?
Also, our first balls that I
brought in were Blanca Marka.
They were white labeled
products with zero logo on it.
Um, so Blanca means, uh, it's a Spanish,
uh, you know, it's a female's name.
Uh, it could be a half
note in a musical score.
So it's also a curiosity play as well.
So what do you see new for Blanca in 2027?
Are you gonna introduce new products
and things, or even this year?
Well, that's the thing.
I don't.
So on the, on the theme of, uh,
minimalism, as I approach the business
as well, I don't wanna overload
it with too many racks as well.
We've got nine SKUs of rackets and
I, I'm still keeping from three
years ago the same La Jolla racket
and Del Mar and Coronado rackets
of that 'cause people love 'em.
And honestly, as the market grows,
people are finding our brand
organically through the year.
So there's really no need to change the
racket constantly year by year, by year.
And, uh, coming from tennis.
So I remember it's like year one.
I would love one racket of this model,
but you couldn't find it in the next year.
So for folks that, that don't like
love one racket and are gonna buy
tens, twenties, hundreds of that
same racket, I'm gonna keep it the
same unless I absolutely need to.
And you're gonna prove like some
sort of technological difference.
An actual technological difference.
I'll switch the racket.
So pretty much the racket, the apparel,
the balls rack, and some accessories
rack, and some accessories, you know,
some lifestyle, um, some technical gear.
Uh, we do collabs.
Uh.
We do collabs, uh, on racks.
So here we have, you know, ballers in
Philly, we did a collab on the racket.
Oh yeah, there a fantastic use
case of, uh, of our rackets.
Paddle nine, San Diego.
You guys are there as well.
Yeah, do some balls.
Uh, more tolu, uh, MPAs coming
out, so we're making their
rackets and balls as well.
We did a collab with Addison
Reserve, a country club.
So, um, so yeah, anything and everything's
on the table and we've got so much real
estate on our, on our paddle rackets.
That I'm open to, to collaborate,
but with the, the right key
partners, of course, that would
make sense with the brand alignment.
Thank you so much.
And, uh, let, let's see if
we can work together somehow.
Yeah, let's go play the mini piece then.
Lizzo.
Yeah, let's go.
Yeah.
So Harold, we're, uh, a squash brand.
We've been around for about 25 years,
and in the racket sports space, uh, we,
uh, obviously had to get ourselves into
Piel and, and what a better place than
racket x. Um, with so much support from so
many different brands and manufacturers.
So.
Um, you know, we decided to come down
and just to learn more about the game,
show off some of our new paddles, um, and
just talk to other people in the industry
and talking about Rack X, um, how Rack
X is helping Har to get more awareness
and get more like clients and all that.
Yeah, I mean, I think if you are in
the Padel space right now, you want,
want to be here for this weekend,
um, just to be able to talk to
people who are putting courts up.
Who are running, uh, uh,
running pro shops, um, who are
building the courts themselves.
And the manufacturers even.
Um, and just meeting with other
people about, about their paddles.
Um, I think just from a learning
perspective, you get more
information about everything.
Um, and yeah, and you get to
see some old faces and, and
have a good dime down here too.
Everyone.
We're here with punk Paddle, the
new kid on the block, on paddle
gloves in the United States.
So excited.
We've been following them.
They've been running away from
us, but now finally we get them.
Enrique, you are the visionary, the
brains behind this, uh, project.
I wouldn't say I'm the brains.
I'm the hardworking aunt.
I come out with the crazy, stupid
ideas and they put me to work.
It's, uh, I have some great partners
that are behind all the execution of it.
So tell us a little bit
about what Concur final is.
We are a group of paddle enthusiasts.
We, first of anything, we're a group of
guys that love the sport, that believe in
the sport, that believe in the potential
it has and that are betting our lively,
uh, and we're doing this full-time.
Yeah.
We're, we don't, we don't hold
other, their jobs or their businesses
and we're trying to grow it.
And make a business out of it.
So talk to us a little bit about it.
I, I see a franchise opportunity.
How, how does that work?
Uh, are you selling
franchises for, for clubs?
Um, do you guys find the location first
and then what, what, what, what services
do you provide with that franchise?
Because I see franchise opportunity, so
you talked to us a little bit about that.
So we're basically a partner.
Okay.
That helps franchisees from.
Finding locations.
Okay, so real estate?
Yeah, real estate.
A OI Negotiations.
Okay.
Lease negotiations and execution.
We help design the clubs.
We help.
Uh, so, so talk to me what's trending
right now with, with the, um, with
the leases, with, uh, with the, the
terms of the leases because, uh, we
see a lot of business plans, we see
a lot of different types of terms.
What is something you aim for when
you're looking at real estate?
We're looking at at least five year
with two five year, uh, extensions.
Yep.
Yep.
Uh, ideally you would
want a 10 year lease.
Okay.
Yeah.
And we're looking at a better rent.
Uh, we're looking at how much, what
percent do you think and is it higher
as a small as a lower, uh, is depending
on how attractive the location is.
Ideally we would wanna
start at least five months.
After permit.
Right.
Okay.
We know.
Do you see a lot of pushback from that?
'cause you know how like a year and a
half, sometimes some, you never know.
Right?
It depends on the market.
Uh, on Utah, we were supposed to
be one month for permitting, and
it was over three months, right?
Yeah.
So sometimes you get
it, sometimes you don't.
And then you just put a. You, you try
to get five or seven months and try
to work as hard as you can on getting
that, because that really hurts.
Clubs sometimes do they think they're
gonna finish like in six months
or eight months and they're like
finishing in a year and a half.
You know, I have you guys, uh,
push kind of like an option,
you know, to execute the lease.
That way you can hold off
there as long as you can.
So besides abated rent, we
also go for tenant improvement.
Okay.
Uh, uh, allowance.
Yeah.
Like rent abatement.
So yeah.
So, so, so, so that helps.
Excellent.
Excellent.
It's always, uh, a little bit of a bet.
Gotcha.
So you do real estate.
What else do you guys do?
I, I seen the resources
I'm assuming with Yes.
Uh, from marketing, uh, before you open.
Yeah.
We help you open as
successful as possible.
We have to get as many.
Founding or pre-opening
members, uh, before you open.
We help with the opening event.
We help with operations after that.
We're like a consultant partner
that does not hold equity.
Okay.
So you provide a business plan,
you provide the structure, um, the
resources of the courts, right.
What to do, what not to do,
what engineers and designers.
The whole schmuel.
We, we have great.
Great partnerships because of the scale.
And we recommend a lot, we
mandate nearly anything.
We just make recommendations.
So how about if, if the, the
potential person who wants to buy
franchise doesn't have all the
funding, you help also with that?
Uh, resources?
We, we advise.
We advise.
Okay.
Yes.
We don't, we don't invest, uh, okay.
Uh, in the class, but we,
uh, provide resources.
Exactly.
Okay.
So after they do it, what is
the cost for the franchisee?
What, what, what do you offer?
What are the services
there that you offer?
For their franchisees.
The services.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Um, it's.
Everything I just mentioned
is even after, even post.
Oh, yes, of course.
Postop.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's critically important.
We gotta help them be successful.
We're, you know, we're only successful
if they're really successful too.
Right.
And so what is the fee afterwards?
It's a 7%.
7% royalty fee?
Yes.
Of the gross or the net?
It's gross.
We're all safe.
And is there initial, uh, cost
for somebody to say, Hey, I wanna
do this with you, or It's 60,000?
60,000. 60,000. That's the franchise fee.
That's great.
Now, are you mostly here or in
Europe, or where, where are you?
Only the US for now.
US for now, yes.
Okay.
And do you have any areas, any, any clubs
opening up or have opened up already?
Uh, we're opening up our second
corporate location in Utah.
Excellent.
And as far as franchise clubs, uh,
here are our first franchisees.
Oh, nice.
Uh, I think they're gonna
be the first to open in, uh.
Jacksonville Beach.
Oh, yeah.
Here, here in Florida.
Excellent.
Uh, we also have franchise
units sold in, uh, New Jersey.
Excellent.
And, uh, in California.
Oh, wow.
So Enrique, let, let, let's say
we have a lot of, uh, owners and,
and future owners listening to our
YouTube channel and, and, and podcast.
Why?
What would, what would they
choose going with you guys
instead of doing it themselves?
What, what is the big difference
going with a, with a fried chance?
Uh, you know, I'm gonna,
I'm gonna put it 2 cents.
Jules, you know this, you,
you've helped manage many clubs.
You see how much money they spend, I know.
And lose because they don't
know what they're doing.
But go ahead.
Go ahead.
Yes, we're there for someone that
wants to own a perel club for
themselves, but not by themselves.
There are many that see.
The freaking huge potential
of this, but don't have the
operational experience, don't have
the right partnerships in place.
They have no idea which course,
which booking platform, how
to do programing, right?
How to promote your club before
you open how to choose real estate.
That's what we recommend.
So basically you are the guiding
light at the end of the tunnel.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
We, we, we, we see that all the time.
That's a way we see all the time.
So let's say, uh, where can they find you?
Where can they get more information?
Our website is the best way to
start, conquer paddle.com, and
you can go to franchising, you can
learn everything about our team.
At the end of the day, you're
partnering with a team of people.
You can see, uh, you
know what we're about.
Fill out a form and we'll
be in touch with you.
Excellent.
Well, wish you good luck and bk.
Thank you.
All the best.
Congratulations buddy.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Yes.
Well, hello, I'm Daniel from Save My Play.
We are an AI powered
sports camera company.
We make, uh, AI powered sports
cameras for all racket sports.
And yeah, we're having a
great time here at Racx.
Um, well, um, how this event is
helping you to, um, show your brand
and to get more awareness of it.
Yeah, it's been great meeting, uh,
all the new clubs being built all over
the states, seeing so many new clubs
being built here in South Florida.
And yeah, it's just been
great to see everybody.
Hey panelist.
We're here at Rocket X with Alfonso, the
global marketing guru for Knox Rockets.
Alfonso, welcome to the channel.
Tell us a little bit, what is
the vision for Knox globally?
Well, the vision for Anox
globally is to become, uh.
The best paddle racket brand in the world.
I mean, uh, we started, as you know,
with Paddle, uh, in, in, in 20, uh, 2008.
Back then in, in 2020, we
started with, uh, beach tennis.
And since the last two years,
we are starting to introduce
a new pickleball range.
So we are presenting the three main paddle
of sports, uh, in the, in the world.
No.
So, but you're saying number one, you're,
you're probably somewhere in there, right?
But, but you are there already.
You have the number one player and
you have the number one racket.
Now, guys, we, we have in pan.
And in beach tennis also, we have the
number one player in the world, and
hopefully in some years we will have
the number one player in people as well.
So what is your market share
right now with globally with
Bowie Paddle compared to the Bull
Paddles and all, any other brands?
Well, it's, it's, uh, it's
around 20%, but you know, it's
a very fragmented, uh, market.
So yeah, it's 20% and depending
on the category, we are number
one or we're number two.
So in, in high range powder
rackets, we are leaving.
And also we, we did a very good job
with, uh, with shoes, which was a pretty
new le product line We started in 2021.
It's only five years.
And, uh, we are one of the top
three brands in powder shoes.
And so what's your goal?
You said 20% of the market share, your
goal is to increase that and how high.
Uh, well, of course we want to have
as much micro, but, but there are a
lot of competitors and, uh, we see
new brands, uh, launching every day.
So our goal is to be leading the
high range of the, of the product.
I mean, so, so in this, in this range
where fathers are more in $200, $300,
this is where we want to be, number one.
Always.
It's smart.
Now, what areas globally are you looking?
To penetrate into what's a hot spot?
What's a new thing for 2027?
New areas, geographically speaking.
Yes.
Well, of course, uh, the US
it's a very important market.
We, we've seen that, uh, in one year,
uh, the number of cars have increased
more than a hundred percent, which is
still small compared small to other
s because there are more, more, more
cars in Portugal than in the us.
But this will change very fast.
So how about Indonesia?
How about India?
How about those areas are really
booming in per, are you looking
to penetrate those areas?
E Exactly right.
These are complex markets.
It's, there are lot of cultural
things to do, take into account,
but for, for now and in the next
years, we are very focused in the us.
Okay.
And also the new markets that
are blooming in Europe, like uh,
the uk, which is growing a lot.
And in Germany, which are
two countries with a lot of.
Tennis tradition and now they
are discovering, uh, pattern.
So what, what is your strategy to make,
uh, nos growth here in the United States?
Well, ba basically you need
good partners with distribution
partners and, uh, you have to.
To make things a little bit different
to what do you, you do in Europe.
So of course, having the number one
player in the world and our roster
of players, it, it's very important.
But you have to work very closely
with clubs, with coaches, and
make a very good grassroots work.
Something that probably you
don't need to do in Spain.
'cause everybody knows the brand,
uh, in, in the US you have to do it.
If you talk about Pickle, you have to
do it even more because the pickleball
player doesn't know nothing about Navs.
So what are the plans to compete
with already established brands
here in the USA paddle like Wilson
Head, even baby thats from France.
How do you, how do you, how are, what
are your plans to compete with 'em?
Well, with Americans know
that brand already and they
feel comfortable, you know.
Well, of course we have to have
the, the best product possible.
So the, the good thing is that
we were born as a PAL brand.
So, so, but American
market does not know that.
So American market goes and looks at.
Had Wilson Knox and, and this first
time they played, they're gonna choose
something they're familiar with.
How do you guys now
gonna compete with that?
What is the plan that this is something
that we have seen, uh, around the world
in every country where the paddle starts
losing the traditional tennis brands.
Are there because No, they are,
they have the distribution,
they have, uh, history Exactly.
And country.
But there's always at one point where
the paddle player starts to mature.
Yes.
And they look for something specific
and something that it's, uh, created.
But can you wait that long?
'cause sometimes what happens is they
buy a head or a Wilson or something else
and they somewhat, even if they do know,
they become a little loyal to that.
Not all of them will switch over to that.
But can you wait that long?
You know, it's not that that we
are waiting, it's something that it
happens, uh, let's say naturally,
but we are pushing it by having.
The number one player in the us,
Bri Davin, who you already know.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, so so you have to push a little
bit this or than you guys have, right?
Sorry?
Or the, the youth.
Yeah.
Or you guys have, now we have good
expectation with, so tell us all
about, I mean, that's a new sign
in or Orino number one in Spain.
I think it's one of the
best players in the world.
She's only, I think it's.
13, 12. 13. Yes.
Uh, what is the projection there?
Well, uh, we have, we have a project
called The Next Future Academy,
where we are bringing all the new
talents around the world and well,
similar to tennis, academics as well.
And we put them in our facilities
in, in Barcelona to make them grow.
But in the specific case of Ella, uh, but
I don't want to put that too much pressure
on, on, on her, but, but, but, uh, the
strategy is, is, uh, it's clear we want
to have the best players in the world.
So you have to have a huge range of, uh,
young players because you never know.
They, they are too young.
Yeah.
Uh, or looks.
Fantastic.
Has a, a very promising,
promising, promising future.
But you know, they, they,
they are just teenagers.
Yeah.
And you never know.
So you have to bet on, uh, a lot
of them make a good environment
for, for them, make them grow and.
That knows, uh, what
happens in the future.
Right.
So something interesting, uh, your
number one, uh, selling racket.
It's obviously the, was in Tapia.
Yes.
And, and, and let's say, how do you deal
with, let's say last year's was Tapia.
Everybody loves it, and now you
guys come out with a new one.
It's a little bit different.
But you're still selling
the, the last year one.
How, how you still producing that?
The old model or you just get that out
of the system and, and get new models?
Yeah.
We, we combine the, the, they coexist in
the market, but there, there's the, the
product cycle is you launch a new one.
You still keep the, the last year won.
But at some point, you,
you, you, you finish.
Because how, how long do you wait?
Is it, do you guys have a,
like a process or policy or
depending on how well they sell.
No, I, I, I would say it's, uh,
like nine months, more or less.
Okay.
Because then introduce a new one.
The new one has, uh, new technologies,
new malls, new, new everything.
So you don't want to, to.
Keep the old one forever.
Yeah.
You want to compete against each
other, but, but at some, sometimes
some customers, they, they want
to have it for some time, so we
produce a little bit more of that.
But uh, of course we are always
pushing consumers to have the new one.
Right.
Right, right, right.
But I mean, sometimes, like, sometimes
somebody gets so used of one brand,
and I remember I used one brand for.
3, 3, 4 years before they,
I couldn't find anymore.
Then I had to jump over to that.
Did you ever find one collection
or model that people just love and
say, okay, you know what, we're
just gonna keep this forever?
Yeah.
We, we did it with, uh, MLT broke up.
Oh, that's right.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Broke up.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Which, uh, this is a rocket that we
cannot modify anything on it because
there's people that they have.
But, uh, 20 units during their
lives, they are always using
the same, the same racket.
So this is like our legacy
racket that never changes.
Gotcha, gotcha.
So now the Du Alonso, I think, is
that racket It is selling pretty well.
I mean, and I, I would love to get my
hands on it and try that a little bit.
What is what?
You got it, but I wanna play with it.
So what is the difference between
this one and the, that was tapia.
Well there, there are several differences.
Uh, f first of all, in the new
Augustine Tapia, we introduce
the weight, balance, uh, system.
So it comes with these weights, okay?
Oh, interesting.
You, you can, you have, uh, two
pieces of two grams and two pieces
of four grams, and how you, you
glue em or how you put 'em there.
You put it here, you have the, the
spots here to, to put it, okay.
You can use a racket as
it is if you feel okay.
Okay?
But in case that you want to have.
Higher balance because you feel that
you need it for, for smash or for, for,
or then you, you can customize this.
Okay.
So this is something that we
are introduc, we introduce it
only in the 80 10, uh, range.
And this one, and, and, and this one.
They have the differences
in the materials.
Okay.
This one, it's, uh, it's
a, uh, 12 quake carbon.
This is aluminized carbon.
So the, the feel is different.
So it's, uh, but they both are,
uh, hybrid, uh, shaped brackets.
So in that, so they're similar, but with.
Some specific differences in the touch
in the field and also in the system
of, uh, customizing the balance.
So one of my favorite
racks was the attack 18 K.
Okay.
Yeah.
Is this one?
It, it looks like the shape, but
I couldn't, is that this one?
It.
This, this one is the attack.
Yes, yes, yes.
One of my favorite rackets
out of a row collection.
You have more on the balance up here.
So they are the same racket.
Exactly the same racket.
But you have the two shapes
in case that you prefer.
Yes.
This shape?
Yes.
Yes.
How about, how about now let's talk
about different products, shoes.
I have.
Try your shoes and they're fantastic.
Yeah.
Uh, how much r and d are
you putting on the shoes?
How much you know, uh, push
are you doing with the shoes?
Well, it took us 13 years until we
launched our first shoes collection.
And that was because we understood
that we could only launch
something to the market that was
specifically developed for the sport.
So we went to the best PO in Spain,
which is, uh, Marta and, uh, the
family, the, the family, they're
very famous in, in Spain because they
work with, with football Barcelona.
They have, uh, health.
Meru, they, they, they've worked with ton
of, uh, tons of athletes and, uh, they
studied the movements of paddle and they
did all the recommendations for our shoes.
So we, we implemented, of course,
they, they didn't designed the
shoe, but, but they told us what
were the key technologies that a
good pattern should, should have.
And we, of course we.
Okay.
Um, what is the technology there?
Well, there, there are several ones, no,
uh, starting by the, the drop, we increase
it a little bit, the drop because of the,
uh, waiting, um, positioning pattern.
So you have to be always ready to go
through the net, but also we introduce
it, uh, the lateral super to avoid the, I
dunno, the, the sprain or the twist arms.
Exactly.
Exactly.
And also the, the level of, uh,
motivation because too much motivation.
It can feel comfortable, but it's
not good for, for, so, sorry, sorry.
Cushioning.
Yeah.
I'm sorry, sorry, sorry for my English.
So, a question, uh, what was this
decision, or why did you move into
the, the sneaker where, I mean,
you have a lot of big brands, huge
brands, really dominating that market.
What was it?
Why was decision to enter into
that category and what are
the strategies to compete with
those other really big brands?
Well, the fact is that we had
all the products that you need
to play paddle except the shoe.
So you are giving a space for a competitor
when you are in a retailer or a club.
If you don't have all the products, then.
You are giving the space
for someone else to come in?
Well, well, you have shoe, shoe
companies that just do shoes.
Yeah.
For racket sports and that's all they do.
And they dominate that thing.
So you guys are do rackets now
you're moving into the shoe space.
I mean, how are you gonna
compete with those bigger
brands that dominate the market?
You're talking about the, the Nikes and
of course the asics and focus on shoe.
Well that's, that's because we
are very specific to the sport
that we are, uh, operating.
Mm-hmm.
I mean, we, we, of course, we, we, we
know that paddle is growing, but globally
speaking, it's still a niche sport.
Yeah.
So, so we are specializing in this
niche sports, but we are present.
Absolutely.
But I, I am sure that at
some point, these big brands.
We'll put an eye on paddle
and they will come in as well.
Yeah.
So we have to be ready with the
right product, with the right
performance, and be in the mind of
the consumer as a specialized brand.
And you guys are gonna, um,
focus on clubs to carry these?
Or how, how are you gonna,
uh, uh, market these?
How are you gonna, uh, solve these Yes.
Shoes, you mean?
Well, I think there's no one
specific tactic that will, will work.
At the end of the day, we are,
uh, selling our shoes as something
that is good for your health.
It's not just fashion, you know?
But, uh, if I could sell it
through, I, I dunno, uh, in the, in
Spanish, the pharmacist, I dunno.
I dunno.
The pharmacies.
Pharmacies, I, I would,
I would, I would do it.
No, but, uh, and I, and I think
this, these big brands don't,
don't have this approach.
No.
It's more a massive market,
but not that specific.
No.
So we, we are always.
Uh, marketing our shoes on that, like
something that it's good for health to
prevent or decreasing the risk of having
injuries and also being comfortable.
Great.
Well thank you so much for your,
for all the information and uh,
we wish you the best of luck.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Nice meeting you.
We lead, we lead the market since 94
until today in terms of products, because
the best paddle paddles in the in the
world always were coming from our brand.
And we lead the innovation during all this
time, these three, uh, let's say 30 years.
Well, it's coming in 2026 is
what you see in front of us.
Uh, the metal bone, uh, I don't
think we need to say a lot about
that with Allegan signature model.
Um, but the surprise probably is
the CrossFit light right here.
We bring people to play paddle that maybe
had never heard of it before, and we guide
them through the journey, make friends,
and continue to play on the pro side.
As we said, we represent Arturo
coo and now we're in the process of
signing two top, uh, female players.