Padel Smash Academy

Discover the story behind VOLT Padel with Founder Pedro Brito e Cunha, as he reveals how this premium adel brand became a global favorite by redefining quality and style. Tune in to see why VOLT’s distinct design philosophy and relentless innovation have set it apart from the competition!

In this exciting episode, Cesc and Julian sit down with Pedro Brito e Cunha, the visionary Founder and CEO of VOLT Padel. They dive into the origins of the brand and the unique philosophy that sets VOLT apart in the competitive world of padel equipment. Pedro reveals the story behind the name "VOLT" and shares insights into the brand's journey, emphasizing their mission to create a perfect balance between quality and design. VOLT Padel, founded in 2016 in Porto, Portugal, has gained global recognition with its top-quality rackets and signature clean, premium aesthetic. Now available in over 45 countries across five continents, VOLT is committed to continuous innovation, driven by a passion for research, development, and delivering unparalleled Padel gear that truly stands out. Don’t miss this inspiring conversation about building a brand that’s both loved and respected worldwide.

Buy Volt Rackets at: https://www.padelsmashacademy.com/

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Hey Padel enthusiasts welcome to Padel Smash Academy, I am Cesc and I am here with Julian and we're all about Padel! Whether you're new to the sport or an experienced player, you've come to the right place. Our goal is to provide you with the best tips & tricks, news, and weekly lessons to help you improve your game and take your Padel to the next level. So grab your Padel Racket and let's get started with all things Padel on Padel Smash Academy.

Hey, it's Cesc & Julian here from
Padel Smash Academy and joining

us today all the way from Portugal
is Pedro from Volt Padel

We are All Things Paddle.

Welcome Pedro.

Hi guys, very nice to be here.

Great, great to have
you here at the podcast.

Um, we really Are amazed how good
of a quality the vault rackets are.

I mean, vault, the vault 800
is one of my favorite rackets.

And we want to learn about the
whole history of vault paddle.

How did you come up with the idea?

Where are you from and all the
juicy details about the brand.

Okay.

So that, that could be a long story,
but I'll try, I'll try to make it short.

So first of all, very nice to be here.

And it's very nice to start with
such kind words from your side.

It's usually, I say that it's the
biggest motivation for ourselves

is to hear people saying they like
our products and they understand.

What we dreamed, uh, 10 years ago
around, more or less around it.

So I'll start, uh, from the beginning.

Um, I, I have, I have myself a
background on marketing and international

sales in completely different area.

I worked in a wine company, a Portuguese
wine company, the biggest Portuguese

wine company exporting to all the
world, but I'm a sports fanatic.

I've always did all kinds of sports.

Uh, and, um, I did
tennis when I was young.

Uh, And I stopped and I did
a bunch of other sports like

soccer, surfing and other sports.

And about 10 years ago, uh, I was with
this Addiction, uh, called paddle.

That's all of us know
pretty well what it is.

And Portugal was actually one
of the early starters, uh, in

Europe after Spain, of course.

So I started playing paddle, I
think around 11, 12 years ago.

And, uh, more or less around 10 years
ago, uh, I come up with a very simple

idea, which, which I basically, uh, Had
a feeling that something was missing,

uh, from a consumer perspective.

So when I was trying to buy a
racket, I felt that something was

missing or some things were missing.

Uh, I first, it was all about the design.

I couldn't identify myself with any of
the designs of any rackets in the market.

and of course, things
have evolved until today.

So at that time it was pretty different.

Uh, and for me personally, I didn't
like the statics of any racket.

They were very noisy.

Visually, they had a lot of
things written, a lot of colors.

Um, so the basis of the idea was
let's say, Come up with something very

clean, very premium, but with very
good, good taste in terms of design.

And of course, if we want to
make this premium, we need

to find high quality rackets.

And basically that was the key idea of
everything, of how everything started.

Putting myself in the, in the, in the,
in the, in my own shoes at the time.

For the thinking about the
process, I had to buy a racket.

There wasn't nearly any option
to buy a racket in physical

stores in Portugal at that time.

So I was buying them online
from Spanish, uh, online stores.

And the, the, the purchasing
process was also very difficult for,

for, especially at that time, we
didn't have a lot of information.

So it was confusing.

So many, uh, types of rackets, so
many formats, so many materials,

so many concepts around the racket.

So it's, it's.

So, uh, one, one thing that we had
clear since the beginning also was

we, we want to have, um, a small
portfolio, which is very easy to

understand and very easy to explain.

So this would help not only final
consumers, but also, uh, small

stores, especially in paddle clubs.

To explain this easily.

And that was also where we focused.

It was on the, on the, on the paddle
clubs, on the pro shops, on the paddle

clubs in Portugal, um, offering them
this small collection of high quality.

So it, it also demanded from them a
high, uh, not a high investment initially

because we had a small collection and
it was easy for them to understand.

Easy for them to explain.

And at the same time, we We protected
a lot the positioning of the brand and

the prices, so they weren't having that
competition that at the time was very

aggressive, still is, from the online.

So when someone was interested in
buying a racket from our brand, they

didn't have the competition from other
online stores selling the same item.

Very, very cheaper, much more
cheaper than what they were selling.

So this was the basis of the idea.

So, uh, we, we started, uh, with, with,
with these three concepts, especially

in terms of brand concept and commercial
proposal, uh, and then we went from there.

So why don't you talk to
us about the development?

Like, uh, at one point you're
just, um, a player, right.

And you see that there's a need there.

How do you get to that point?

Uh, okay.

So I'm going to develop my
own racket because there's a

lot of things involved, right?

It's like number 1, who's going to,
who's going to make them for you?

Are you going to have
your own special mold?

Are you going to have what
materials you're going to use

the characteristics of that?

Of the, uh, of the record, the
research and development of the

record, how did that whole process go?

And how long did that take you
before you, you know, before

you got where you were satisfied
with the collection that you had?

So the whole process, it took
around 1 year and a half.

two years, uh, from the moment we,
we, we had the initial idea until

we, we, we launched in the market.

And I think it started as, as most
business started as like a, it's almost a

silly idea or almost a, uh, Uh, thought,
uh, of course, I had this dream of having

my own business, especially having my own
business connected to sports because as

I told you, I'm really a sports fanatic.

Uh, so everything made sense, but I had
no idea if this was, was going to work.

I, I didn't understand anything
about, uh, the, the, the production

of a paddle racket at that time.

So I did.

What most people do in this situation,
I Googled it and I Googled it for,

for, for, for where to make paddle
rackets, where to produce them.

But I went deep and I got
to a few options, which,

which we made a connection.

Started doing some prototypes and then
started, uh, we spent a lot of time

testing them, uh, and testing them,
uh, with, with, with advanced players

at the time, because since I was
coming from tennis, I knew most of the

best players in Portugal at the time
because they all came from tennis also.

Uh, but not only with, with advanced
players, also with, with more beginner

players or people not with so much
experience, because in the end, those

are your true customers because pro
players, they don't play for rackets.

So, uh, our, uh, we, we targeted all types
of, of, of, of people and we, we started

recording all the, all the feedback we
had from the different suppliers, the

different shapes, the different materials.

And we, we did this around six months, uh,
uh, with, with, uh, about 15 to 20 samples

from, from four different suppliers.

And by the end of it, we, we, we had a
very easy conclusion because, uh, the,

the one, one particular supplier, which is
the same supplier where we still produce

until today, uh, nearly eight years, uh,
after we've started, uh, was, uh, the,

the, the biggest winner by far, uh, in
terms of all the choices people made, uh,

and at the time we, what we felt is that.

These particular rackets at a different
touch from the rackets that were common

in the market because they were a little
bit harder than the rackets existing in a

market which were much more softer and The
feedback we had from people is that being

these a little bit harder the feeling of
the ball was much more Real for people who

play who played with with those rackets.

So We, we kept that, that feeling,
uh, uh, of the racket until today.

So that's something that we try to do,
is to have this feeling of not very

soft rackets, a little bit medium hard
rackets because we believe that this is

a better feeling when you touch the ball.

You can feel much better where
the ball is going to land and when

you are going to position the ball
if you have a much softer racket.

Um, so this, this process went, uh,
for a long time and this was the

part we didn't control, uh, at all.

Once we had this, this, this parts more or
less, uh, established, uh, then the rest

of the process was relatively easy because
then it, it went, it, it came inside my

area of expertise of, uh, developing a
new brand identity, naming and all, all

the other things which take time, but
where I was much more comfortable than

of course, producing a pilot rocket.

So let me ask you a question.

Um, When, when you're developing
that, was it just you or did

you have a group of people?

Did you have a board?

I mean, or was it just you?

No, we were two partners at the
beginning, uh, and it were the two of us.

Uh, but we were, we had a lot of
help from, from friends who worked

in the business already at that time.

They were, uh, paddle
coaches, paddle club owners.

So they weren't exactly working
in the project with us, but

they were cooperating a lot.

So we had like a small group
of people helping us do that.

And now did you get an investment to
do this or did you fund this, this

project yourself and your partner?

No, no.

We funded everything by ourselves.

And one of the things that we, we
tried to did since the beginning

was, was to grow organically, uh,
without, uh, external investments.

And fortunately, it was
something that we managed to do.

Of course, in some moments, it's
a little bit difficult, especially

because of the investments you
have to do when you are kicking off

the project and also in inventory.

But fortunately, we were able to
grow organically and the business

was enough to finance the growth
we had all along the years.

So let me ask you one thing.

So do you have a group of engineers
or we just only the two of you because

what I'm you know, you feel that the
records are first of all, they're very

good looking brackets and you sense and
you feel the good quality of the racket.

I mean, maybe you can tell.

You know, if you, if you know the market,
if you know, if you're a player, you can

feel that these are good quality rackets.

How did you come up to that
level of quality and, and,

you know, and look and feel?

Okay, first, uh, we were, we were
two in the beginning, then this

partner I had actually left in
the middle of the project and then

another person joined the project.

So I was the one starting and until today.

Um, but we don't, we don't
have any engineers internally.

Uh, we, we have a small structure
and that was also something that we

wanted to have since the beginning.

So we subcontract a lot.

We have, we have trusted partners
who work with us, uh, with a lot

of expertise on that, on that side.

Um, And of course, as time goes by, we
ourselves, we, we, we, we started to

have more and more information about the
materials, the production, the quality

production and how, what we wanted to do.

So we already have a little bit more
know how, uh, uh, than of what we want.

Uh, but basically we test a lot.

That's for me.

That's, that's key thing.

We test a lot, different
samples, different materials.

Um, every time.

and try to understand how does that
feel, not only for ourselves, but

for, for a large group of people,
professional players, amateur

players, and try to understand
exactly how these, these fields.

But I would say that also the production
process is very, very important because

although it's, it is very manual to do,
to produce a paddle racket, it's a process

which from 80 to 90 percent of the full
process, it's manual in all the places.

Um, But of course the expertise while
using the materials, the temperatures that

you use to, uh, cook, uh, the, the, the
carbon fibers to put everything together.

It has a lot of, of, of, of know how
behind this and the place where we

produce, luckily, I think it's, they
are really, really good, especially

in terms of the feelings that you
have while playing with the racket.

So, uh, that was something that we, we,
we, We, we felt very important since

the beginning, and that's why we, we've,
uh, invested in keeping always the same

partner, uh, until today, which also
has evolved in this, uh, as, as is, is

has brought into this their facility.

A lot of innovation and a lot of
new equipments that allow us to

be, uh, better every everyday, uh,
uh, while producing new rackets.

All right.

So one quick question.

I mean, um, and, uh, I spent a lot
of time on the paddle core coaching,

teaching, supervising and all that.

And sometimes the students get confused,
you know, when, when you put numbers on

the rackets or names and things like that.

So why don't you explain a little bit?

What, you know, what is it?

Then, you know, why the V 800?

Why the V 9, 950?

Does the number means anything specific?

No, it doesn't.

It's basically the, the, the, the, the
brand, the brand, the brand was, was,

was, uh, brand concept is volts and
it's around energy volt from voltage.

So the, the numbers are, are,
uh, we, we thought an easy

way to identify the models.

We prefer this side than having
difficult names to pronounce.

So we thought we wanted to have a
very easy thing, uh, on how people

should associate to our models.

So this initially were, uh,
the voltage of each racket.

So, uh, in theory, and, uh, eventually,
uh, I think things will, will be, uh,

completely, um, uh, tuned to be like this.

Uh, the voltage should be
from the less powerful racket

into the most powerful racket.

The truth is that it's higher,
the number, the more powerful.

Yeah, it, it should be, it should be,
and it is with, with one exception

because market marketing wise, we, we,
we launched the 800 on top of the 700

because at that time it was a signature
racket and, uh, we thought it made sense.

And we won't change it for now.

But if we take that exception, because
the 800 is actually a round racket, so

it's less powerful than the 700, all
the other rackets are from the less

powerful to the most powerful racket.

So that will be the voltage.

The biggest the number, the
biggest voltage, more power.

So it doesn't mean it's better or
worse, it just means it's more on the

control side or on the power side.

Very interesting.

I love that concept.

I mean, plus the numbers are very
international, so everybody can, if

you're in Germany, if you're in the
United States, go anywhere you are.

They hire the number.

Now, when we come, they come up with these
crazy weird names, you know, the hacks

and this and that, is that good for me?

Is that good?

So I think the simple concept of
they hire the number, the more

power, it makes total sense.

And let me ask one thing.

Where is the company located in Portugal?

We are located in Portugal.

Which is on the north of Portugal.

It's the second biggest city in Portugal.

One of my favorite cities in the world.

So now Portugal is known for making
wine, but not necessarily paddles, right?

So where do you guys manufacture
your, your, your rackets?

So we manufacture our rackets in Pakistan.

Uh, actually, this is something
that we've learned with the process.

As I was telling you, Pakistan, they
have a huge tradition on working

with, uh, fiberglass and fiber carbon.

Especially because of the cricket
bats, which is their number one sport

for, for Pakistan and for India.

So the place, the place where we
manufacture is, it's, it's a big facility.

They produce for a couple of brands, not
only for ourselves, and they had this.

It's experience from the past, which
is tremendously important, especially,

uh, with the products that they,
they use to assemble, uh, all, all

the layers of the racket together.

This is a little bit where the
secret is in terms of manufacturing

a paddle racket besides of course,
using high quality materials.

Usually I say it's, it's, it's,
it's not rocket science at all

to produce a paddle racket.

Of course, you need to get, you
need to, you need to choose a good

carbon fiber, a good foam, and then
you need to know how to produce it.

Basically, that's, that's what it is.

So once you have the good quality
materials, and then you know

exactly how to put them all
together, you have good quality.

If you don't have both things,
there's always room for, for, for

less quality in terms of production.

Do you guys have any professional players
that play with VOL at this moment?

That we sponsor?

Yes.

Yes, right now, right now we sponsor
Alex Chausas, which is currently

I think on the number 27th.

He was the highest jump
on the ranking this year.

He started about I don't
know, close to 100.

And so he was the player who went up
the most is now going to play on the

World Cup for the Argentinian national
team, which was really, really good.

Uh, we also have Federico Mourinho
also on the top 50 players, uh,

off the premier, um, We have Jesus
Moya also playing on the premiere.

Uh, so Spanish, not Argentinian.

And then we, we have a long, long
term, uh, relationship with Ana

Catarina, which is known on the,
on the, on the tour by La Porto.

Because she was the first Portuguese
player to play in the circuit.

She was, uh, she was number six.

She went to number six on 2019 and
she's now around the top 30 and she's

probably the oldest player in the circuit.

Uh, I think she's 46 or 47 years old,
but she's still in amazing shape.

And she's Portuguese, so she's like
a an important flagship for us in

terms of representing us in the tour.

And now we're getting close to the end
of the year, so there's always, uh,

Some movements on, on, on, on that, on
that chapter in terms of sponsorship.

So, um, we, we should have some,
some, some news for next year.

So, let me ask one thing.

So, uh, you know, you've been
on the, on the panel scene

for quite a few years where.

From five years ago to now, do you,
are you from, from the marketing point

of view and from the brand point of
view, do you see a lot of growth?

Uh, where do you see Paddle, you know,
going in the next five, 10 years?

Well, the, the, the, the, the, the
inflection point on Paddle, it was, it

was by far for the industry, for us.

And for everybody was already
in the industry during COVID.

That was the inflection point by far
because Paddle somehow managed to

stay open in most of the countries for
most of the time and with this unique

characteristics that Paddle has of being
very accessible, very easy to play and

very easy to have fun with together
with the sociability that you have

within the Paddle, the Paddle community.

It made it a huge success during those
years where people had no restaurants, no

bars, no discos, no place to be social.

So Paddle grew a lot during
those two years, 2020 and 2021.

Uh, I think Paddle in 2019, should
be, uh, I don't know, present,

uh, about 10 to 15 countries.

And by the end of 2022, it
was already in 100 countries.

So that was the boom off of the sport and
the industry and exactly the same for us.

We, we, we were, we started, we started
very clear with a very clear idea of,

uh, Let's make a test in Portugal,
understand if this has traction and if

people understand the concept, and then
if so, let's make it international.

But we always saw this
as international project.

We, we, we developed the brand to be as,
as you said earlier about the models,

but the brand itself to be very easy
to pronounce in all the languages, to

be understood in all the languages.

And we've always communicated in
English since, since early start.

Uh, so we always saw this
as an international project.

And in 2019.

We ended the year, I don't know,
selling 75 percent in Portugal

and we, we saw a few things for
another four or five countries.

And by the end of, uh, 22, so post
COVID, uh, we, we, we were, we

were selling to over 60 countries
and we were exporting around 85%.

So that was the big inflection point.

I think, I think battle now is, is,
is, It still has a lot of room to grow,

uh, uh, but I don't think it will grow
as fast as it did in these two years.

Uh, the, the, the, the key potentials for
me are our countries exactly as the U.

S., which are huge markets.

And still, uh, on a very early stage,
of course, then you, you have the

same other, uh, potential markets that
you have in all the business, like

China, like India, because they have
huge populations, but I don't see the

potential there as I see in the U S.

Because the U.

also has a huge culture of sports,
a huge culture of racquet sports.

So, uh, I see the big
potential coming from there.

And then you have a lot of small countries
which are starting now, started one year

ago and two years ago, and usually they
take one, two years to get to a decent

dimension and they start being interesting
in terms of, of, uh, Of market.

So there's, there, there are, you have
markets in completely different stages.

Uh, one more, much more mature, uh, other
that are, uh, finishing what I would

call the boom stage, and then you have
a very big group of markets still on the

early stage, which are very still, still
very small, but usually from one, one or

two years, they tend to grow very fast.

So, um, there's a lot of potential
and, uh, in, in most of the countries.

You see that, uh, when, when the
sport starts, usually there's no,

no, uh, there's no courts enough for
all the people that want to play.

So there's, I usually say that our
business in terms of paddle equipment

always comes after the sport.

The, the, the, the, the business related
with the courts construction, of course,

because the first you have to, you need
to have these, uh, complex to, to, to

facilities that will allow people to play.

And then the brands will can sell
because you only have rackets

if you have courts to play.

So there's still a lot, a lot of
room to, to, to, to grow there.

And a lot of, a lot of, uh, a lot of
grounds to build courts in, uh, and

then we'll, we'll, we'll come after.

So I think there's still a lot
of room for Paddle to grow.

So now is Volt entering into
any other type of products?

We, uh, curious enough, we, we, we, we, we
started, uh, uh, very, very, I don't know,

it was about one month ago, not more, uh,
we, we, we are doing a quick, uh, a small

trial in beach tennis, which is picking
up, uh, in some countries in Europe

and in South America, it's very strong.

Uh, we know there are others, other
rocket sports, of course, pickleball.

For example, uh, which is also
something that we we've been

studying and we've been testing.

Uh, so I think that within this, I
would say new racket sports, I think,

The brand can fit and is the last
sufficiently in elastic to, to cover

these grounds, but, uh, our, our strategy
and our focus is clearly on paddle.

We, we still see a lot of room
to grow on paddle and we really

want to be a paddle specialist.

So, uh, I would say that we will, we,
we, we might, uh, open our, our wings

to another, another, uh, categories,
but, uh, that I think that would.

Uh, not take our focus from
parallel where we see clearly

that we have the biggest assets.

Okay, so now United States is pretty big.

Are you going to divide that
territories for distributors or just

have one distributor for all USA?

At this moment, we are, we are
working with one single distributor.

And, uh, I think at this stage, it's.

It's more than enough.

I don't know the markets very deeply,
to be honest, because it's one of the

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