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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, Julian Cez here and welcome
to another exciting episode
of Padel Smash Academy.
And today we have The Bespoke
Club and Joseph BenLolo.
We are all things Padel.
Joseph, welcome to the show.
Thank you.
for having me.
Yeah, I want you to talk a little
bit about yourself and the company.
Sure.
Um, well, the Beastbowl Club is,
uh, we do tailor made clothing.
Uh, it's a funny story how we started.
I mean, I've been passionate
for fashion all my life.
What I've always thought, um, that
it's a difficult business, I thought,
you know, like, imagine having to
have, like, all these products and
all these sizes and, like, and I
always thought, like, wow, like, it
should be, you know, such a difficult
business and then, like, Funny story.
My wife got, um, she was, she
just graduated from college.
She needed somewhere to
work, um, because of the OPT.
I'm not sure if you guys
are familiar with it.
Um, and a friend of her, um,
offer her, uh, these jobs.
She started working at the baseball
club, which Um, which is the
brand that we actually own now.
Um, I ended up buying the brand.
I, I, I tried the product.
I love the product.
Um, I met my business
partner today, Simone.
He's Italian.
He was, he was the head behind everything.
Um, so yeah, I love, I loved it
and I ended up buying the place.
So, so you said you were
always, you know, love fashion.
What inspired you to You
know, love fashion and kind of
like pursue it as a business.
Yes, I was saying like I thought it
was such a difficult business, um,
but then this is tailor made clothing.
So we started, you don't need to,
you don't need to have all the sizes
because it's everything is tailor made.
We do measurements and then we
produce every piece for each client.
So I was like, okay, that's that's
one of the things that um, maybe
kind of kept me away from it.
So I was like, okay, this sounds good.
And then coming from my family
background, we did, um, we have, well,
my family and myself, we have salons.
Well, we have hair salons.
We started in Venezuela and
we grew all over the globe.
We have some salons.
Are you originally from Venezuela?
I'm originally from Venezuela.
Yes.
I grew up here in Miami.
I came here when I was 13, um,
with my father and my mother.
My father passed away in
2007, so a long time ago.
But we kept, we kept on with the
business, um, and we had that background
from service and from franchises.
You know, we've had, um, 14 hair
salons around the, around the globe.
So when I saw the opportunity, I
thought, well, this is something
that we can franchise very easy.
You know, it's like, you don't need
inventory, you just need a nice place.
And then if you, if, and then you can
replicate this around, around, around.
Smart.
So I, I got into, I started working
with the previous owner of the company.
He actually, he was, he was the
one that started the project.
And he brought his best team to the U. S.
to kind of grow into the U. S. market, so
So now your wife was working there first.
My wife started working there as an
admin, so something like very, very
So how did it happen where you started
getting involved with that business?
How did that happen?
That was a funny story because she
was the one, she ended up doing like
all the numbers for the company.
And I just went there like
trying, you know, I got a suit
and, uh, and I love the product.
And then I told Simone, which now is
my partner, he was a big boss there.
He was like the main guy.
So I told him, look, why
don't we do an event?
And then we did like, uh, since
I have my background from hair
salon, we did something like
with barbershop in the showroom.
So we did an event and
it was a great success.
So I kind of liked it.
And then my wife started, she
started telling me like, look, I
think there's problems with the
company, you know, sometimes there's
not enough money, this and that.
I was like, wow, why?
Because I saw that they had traffic.
So then I started looking into the
numbers and I was like, wow, well,
um, I'm a businessman and all.
Like I have different types of
businesses, but I have hair salons.
I'm also in real estate.
I like to say I'm, I'm the visionary of.
Of all the businesses.
I'm not involved like in a day to
day operation, but I always put
like a team in place and then, and
I come up with the crazy ideas.
Creative.
Yeah.
That's what I create, right?
I come up with crazy ideas.
So, and then I, I have my partners that
believe in those ideas and make it happen.
I'm always like, so you
invested into that company?
Yeah.
So I, I, um.
I started negotiating with the owner.
He wasn't doing that good, but the full
amount for the whole thing, or just
for part, I bought the whole thing and
I gave Simone, which is my partner.
He came with me with the percentage of
the company, so he's when it's funny
because he's a proper Italian, like
perfect, like dress dress suited, like
not even one hair, like out of place.
And then like me, you know,
more casual and stuff.
And then After a while, um, another
very good friend, very good client
of ours came into the group as well.
His name is Angel Nicolas.
He's one of the top, he's one of the
top ultra luxury real estate agents
in the, in the So, so what changes did
you make to turn that company around?
Because it seems like that company is
a little distressed, uh, and so they
needed an investor or somebody to buy it.
What changes did you make?
Yeah.
It wasn't just me, I have to say.
Mm-hmm . Was, it was, it was the team.
It was a team effort.
And also it's like everything this
happened like organically and I'm,
I'm a big believer when things happen
organically, I just have to go with it.
And then this just happened organically.
Like, like I said, I trust, I,
I tried a product, I loved it.
They weren't, my wife was there.
I could see the numbers.
Yeah.
It was, I got a, I, I did an event.
I had a great relationship with Simona.
And I was like, yeah, if
all, if it's happening like
this, let's just go with it.
So in the beginning we, we teamed up,
we started doing, I know a lot of people
in Miami cause I grew up here in Miami.
So like I started bringing people, Simone
did a great job and then pandemic came.
So when the pandemic came, we were
about to launch, which I think, I mean,
I got into the business and I started
seeing like, okay, what's the deal?
What can we do?
My original idea was to do
franchises around states.
And then I was like, when I, when I, when
I started looking into it, I was like,
I don't know, retail is not, doesn't
seem like it's, that's where it's going.
So I started looking, where
can we go, what can we do?
We came up with this idea,
we built a, a membership.
Because I started looking into our clients
and it was like, it's not that big of
a clientele, but you can see like, the
different types of clients you have.
Some, you know, buy two or three suits
a year because they need it for, events.
Some work with suits, so
they buy four or five.
Some just love suits
and they start buying.
Some just dress like me and
they just buy like casual.
So we started making like,
um, memberships for them.
So how does that work?
That model of memberships?
So we did different tiers and
we started, um, what's the cost?
We started looking into our
customers and we started saying
like we did different tiers.
For example, one of it, one of it was,
Let's say 350 a month and then you
would get like every month you would
get something tailor made like wow, but
during the year So you can get 12 pieces.
And what does that include?
Just pants and a shirt?
It depends on the tier you get, but
you also, everything is bespoke,
so everything is to your needs.
Let's say, you're like, okay, for
example, for yourself, you guys have, you
guys, you guys have the podcast, right?
You guys want to dress well for it.
We're like, okay, let's do a
membership that is specific to you.
So you'll pay 350 a month, let's say, and
we'll, we'll send you, first, first month
we'll send you pants and a shirt, second
month we'll send you a couple of polos, so
you guys, you guys can have, third, third
month we'll send you a whole suit, and
then at the end of the day, you're, you're
basically, you're buying, our clients
are buying what they would buy, okay?
During the home, during the whole year,
but they will only pay a portion of it.
The idea was brilliant because what it
builds, it builds customer relationship.
So it's like, for example,
we do tailor made clothing.
If you go, if you're walking in
the mall and you see something
that you like, you're like, I'm
already paying for this membership.
I'll just send a picture to him.
We have your measurements.
We'll send you something like that with,
you know, let's say with your initials.
And then, you know, like, so
that was, that was our big pitch.
But then pandemic came and I was
like, wow, you know, this is, maybe
it's going to change everything.
And now you do the membership.
Yeah, we do the memberships now.
So how many members do you have?
Now we have, I would say we don't
have much, but we have like 30.
That's pretty good.
Like 30 membership.
But it's nice because it keeps the cash
flow and then it's Yeah, projectable.
It's projectable.
So, and Joseph.
Uh, how's the, the tailor
made process works?
So I, I, we come in, you take
our measurements, uh, We do a
posture, a suit, suit, whatever.
How, how, how the process works
and how long does it take?
Okay, um, you come in, we take
full measurements of your body.
Okay.
And then we design.
You design with, with, with one of
the eyes, you pick the fabric, you
pick the buttons, you pick everything.
The style.
Um, if you want, if you want
a skinny, if you want a loose,
what type of stitching you want.
And you have somebody consults
you there to let you know, Hey,
look, this is good for you.
You have a stylist that he'll
work with you and he'll tell
you what, what do you want.
They know, like, why do
you want the clothing for?
Like I said, like, for example,
for yourself, I would do polos and
something a little bit more casual.
Let's say if a lawyer comes in,
then you want something more like
navy and you want more suits.
So it's like, so they design together.
And then we send the measurements,
everything, to Italy.
They create the piece
and they send it to us.
And then we have a second fitting,
where you come in, the piece is there,
we take measurements again, we make
sure that everything is perfect.
If we need to do any
alterations, we do it in house.
And how long does it take, that process?
A month.
It takes a month.
Wow.
So, it's about three
fifths, you're saying.
And so, that would be, you know, a
little under 4, 000 a year, right?
So, what would you What would
you accumulate within that year?
How many pieces would you gather there?
What we did is, what we did is, we
offered, that was the first year.
First year was 4, 000,
which we did in 300.
And that We, we offer for our
clients that spend 5, 000.
So we give them a 20, 20 percent discount
for that, for you to spend it monthly.
And then, that's what we do.
We also have a tier, you pay 1, 500
a month and you get a complete, a
complete suit every month to your house.
That's if you need a suit, right, right.
So you have different plans.
I have a client, I have one of my
top clients, he has, he's been,
he's been getting a Loro Piana
suit, which is our best top seller.
That's what we do the most.
Because, I mean, we'll get back to
what you said about what we did for
the business, but like, we're one of
the top sellers, Loro Piana fabrics
in the U. S. So that's, that's,
that's one of the things we did.
Can you explain what that is?
You mentioned?
Yeah, Loro Piana, it's the
top fabric and one of the top.
Oh, it's a brand.
It's a brand.
They do, it's a brand.
They do clothing.
Yeah, they do clothing.
They do ready to wear.
They have their own brand, but they
also one of the top producers of
fabrics in the, in Italy, in the world.
They're the best, the best
fabrics come from them.
So, That's one of the things we did.
We focused on Loro Piana,
and we pushed that product.
And then we started getting
better deals with them.
We started doing events with them.
Actually, we did, when it comes to
Padel, we did the prom tournament.
It was sponsored by them.
Oh, that's right.
So we gave, we gave Loro
Piana suits to the winner.
We gave Loro Piana suits to
the, to the exhibition guys.
So it gives us, it gives
us a better, you know.
Uh, it, it helps us a lot, helps us a lot.
Okay, so let's go into Padel.
How did you get involved with Padel?
How did you, were you
introduced into Padel?
Yeah, actually I was introduced
with a friend of mine.
He invited me one day.
That here?
Yeah, here, here, here.
I grew up here.
I've been here for years.
So this was like three years ago.
Um, he, I invited him to a
game and it was so much fun.
And I asked him, like, like, I need
to learn this, how do I learn this?
And he introduced me to Peter
Alonso, which was the best
thing that could happen to me.
He taught me from the beginning
exactly how to play the
proper way you should play.
And I started doing that and missing
a lot, losing a lot, which I still do.
Actually, we've been watching you, and
you know, your skills are pretty well.
I mean, pretty good.
I've gotten better.
Even though today you lost
that tight match, you know.
When it comes to tournaments and
stuff, I'm not used to competing.
With racket sports, it's tough.
Your arms Did you play any other
racket sports before Padel?
No.
I mean, I tried to play tennis
when I was a kid, but like, I've
been a soccer guy for all my life.
And then I had my friends that played
tennis, but they were too good.
I could never play with them.
So it was like frustrating for me.
So that's what I love about Padel the
most, that I can start playing with those
with my friends from since I was a kid.
They were tennis players.
And they play Padel now,
so I could play with them.
And I was like, wow, I
can play with these guys.
It's so cool.
And I'm competing sometimes.
So now, do you guys make, uh,
clothing for athletes for sports?
Not yet, not yet.
But the idea is to, to start bringing,
um, we want to start doing collaboration.
Well.
We want to start doing collaborations,
and also we want to, we're starting to
make a ready to wear collection, something
that we can sell more like to online
and stuff like that with, with sizes.
So you are going to get into the
Padel, into the athlete sports.
Yeah, I want to.
I'm waiting for a collaboration
with a, with a, with a brand.
Okay, let's talk about collaborations.
I know you do some stuff with Reserve.
How does that work?
Yeah, I mean, I love Reserve.
What Wayne has come done with
Reserve is, to me, is amazing.
You know, like, I mean, let's talk about,
so Lamia, what do you think about Somia?
So Lamia is the best facility
I've seen in my life, you know?
Yeah.
It's crazy.
Like, well, I mean, I've never been
to facilities around in Spain or
where I've been like for training.
This is just perfect.
I mean, she has everything, you know,
the saunas, the cold blanc, everything.
Yeah.
And not only that, I think, um.
The community he's built, uh, the
approach to the sport, like his passion
for it, the way he plays, like, um,
it's something that is, for me, it's
exciting, you know, it's like, and I've
been a member of reserve and I love
it, you know, we did the, uh, we did
the pro tournament, which Pablo and
Peter, they helped me, they helped me
organize it and it was, it was amazing.
Yeah.
Uh, you guys were there.
It was so much fun.
And we did that with Loro Piana,
with this fabric that I told you.
And the idea is to do something, start
doing more collaborations with it.
Hopefully we can get into
Reserve Cup, that's my main goal.
So, where's your store?
Where's your location?
We're located in Brickell, in
Brickell Heights Business Club.
Um, um, Business Center, right
next to To Brickell City Center.
People can go and look at your
clothing, or is this by appointment
only, or how does it work?
It's by appointments only.
Okay.
It's by appointments, but
um, we do alterations as
well as something else we do.
We do alterations for all the big brands.
We have the best tailors in
Miami, so we do alterations for
Yves Saint Laurent, Prada, Gucci.
So let's talk about your collections, and
what styles of clothing you have, okay?
Let's just start with more casual, and to
the obviously the suits and professions.
Well, I mean, the thing
is, is Taylor Mason.
We basically can do anything.
We can do anything.
So what's your best seller?
What do you sell the most of?
What are people?
We sell the most here is we saw like
kind of like suits, but like with
pants that are, um, with the strings
is kind of like more casual suits.
That's more Miami style, Miami
style with little piano fabric.
So he's very breathable.
It's very nice.
You can wear like just the pants
with the, with the t-shirt.
Well, I love your shirt, man.
And what, what material is that?
This is, this is the fabric
is is lot of pin as well.
We have, uh, yeah, I lo I mean this
is the way I dress all the time.
I kind, I kind of, you know, mix it up
as I was saying like wear three partners.
Um, um, we have the Taylor
Simona, which is Italian.
He's the proper guy.
And then we have Angio, my other partner,
he came into it a little bit later.
But he's a great guy.
He has his own style.
He's very good looking.
And then we have me, which I'm more
casual, and I would say more streetwear,
whatever you want to call it.
And then it's funny because
that's what we, that's, that's
what we bring to the table.
You know, it doesn't matter your style.
It doesn't matter.
You can always, you can always make
a piece that is slow fashion, that
fits you perfectly, that makes you
feel well, and that is durable.
You know, something with good fabric,
you know, instead of just purchasing,
you know, Five pan from just, you can
just, you know, if you purchased a
couple pan and you make it the way you
like it, the way you want, and st once
you start doing it, it's addictive.
it's like Padel
. I think you, you have the, the
perfect trifecta, uh, because you have
Padel is becoming a very lits sport.
You know what I mean?
All, all the high earners, I
mean, they just wanna play because
it's a super cool sport and it's
becoming a super elitist here.
Uh, reserve.
That's their target.
Definitely.
And the Bespoke Club, that's our target.
So I think that is a perfect combination
between, uh, sports, lifestyle, and work.
I like to say, you know, when,
when, it's funny because when we
look into our clients or like our
philosophy as a company, I look at it
like, uh, maybe like a classic car.
You know, it's like anyone can have
money and just go and buy a Ferrari.
You know, it's like, Anyone can do that.
But if you have a classic car, you took
the time, you know, to take care of
the car you took, you, you, you love
the motor, the way they make it, it's
like it's a different thing, you know,
it's like, it's not like, it's not just
luxury, there's too much luxury, you
know, it's like luxury is just, it's
not, this is something, it has to be,
Like a philosophy of, uh, and I think
that's what, that's what, that's why
when, when it comes to, to sports and
Padel, I think the people that, um, they
play Padel, they have that philosophy.
You know, this is something nice, you
know, it's social, it's kind of like
the new golf, you know, it's like,
it's for the younger people because
it also more, it's more physical.
So like you can, and I
mean, I love, I love Padel.
I mean, but let me, let me
tell you something which.
I mean, says, uh, he, he's going
to love this because, I mean, for
years he's been shopping at TJ Maxx.
Yeah, right.
Look at this guy.
He will be coming back.
Better than the Salvation Army.
Better than the Salvation Army, my friend.
So he will be I'm sure you can't
find those glasses at TJ Maxx.
You can find those though.
He will be a great member, man.
I mean, that guy, he was considering
it, but you know, I don't know,
I don't know if you do all sizes.
I need to do some collaboration for you.
I got to work out a little bit,
you know, say before I go see,
like I said, we do alterations.
So if you, if you gain some
weight, we can always fix it.
I need to lose the weight.
It's easier.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
All right.
So now you talked about franchise before.
Is that still your model?
Or you could forgetting
about the franchise?
No, that's not my model.
I think, like I said, I
think retail is changing.
I think, um, uh, it's going more into the
personal kind of like when it comes to it.
We don't offer a product.
We offer a service.
We offer an experience.
Right?
So it's like, yeah.
It's like, it's like we serve, it's
like, I have clients that come to the
showroom, they make an appointment,
they come and they're like, I need
a suit, I have a wedding tomorrow.
I'm like, no, you know, if you're in
a hurry, this is not the place to be,
you know, yeah, you can go, I can show
you like there are, they're my clients.
I do alterations for, I don't
know, like all the brands.
Like I said, this is a philosophy,
you have to come with the
time, you have to enjoy it.
It's a process that you and once you
do and then it changes everything
you think it's so funny because
I think there's a void For that.
I don't think the guys
especially look at that.
They invest money and maybe in the wrong
Clothing, you know, but this is such
a I mean It's more affordable than I
thought, you know, I thought you were
gonna you know, give me crazy numbers
When it comes to suit, we start at, uh, 9.
95 is our, it's our,
it's our lowest, right?
But then when it goes up to,
it depends on the type of gig.
I'm sure.
It can go as high as it can.
But the Bespoke Club will be an
ideal place to be in all the major
cities, New York, LA, Paris, Madrid.
Yeah.
I mean, name it.
And because that's what, what, when
you have that type of people, you know.
The good thing for us, what happened
to us is that In New York is a popular,
it's a popular lot of competition.
But how about here in Miami?
Is there a competition here?
Here in Miami, I would say
we're the pioneers in Miami.
Especially, one of the things we did is
we brought, we, we, I moved the showroom.
We built a showroom in Brickell,
very nice, very modern.
when you come, when you go to the, the,
usually the tailors is like a dark,
you know, kind of like old school.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
This is like a mix, you know?
It's like, it, it has a, it has
energy, it has color, it has color.
You have, and then you feel
like, I, I would say it's a,
it's a different experience.
Experience.
It's an experience.
Yeah.
It's a different experience.
And I think that's what,
what has helped us a lot.
I mean, I think, um,
I would say we're one.
Pioneers in the city if not, um, what do
you think you can help out Julian here?
Yeah So, what what's that what's the
future for a bespoke well right now
we're working on Before, we wanted,
I wanted to build franchises, I know
that's not where the industry is going,
so now what we want to do is, we want
to do a ready to wear collection, and
we're going to start doing pop ups.
So, originally, you didn't want to do
that because all the stock and sizes,
and so what made you change your idea?
We're going to do a collection for
a specific, uh, type of customer.
Okay.
Um,
I like to call it like a resort
clothing, like the clothes you
buy when you're going to travel.
Okay.
Let's say you're going to,
to Europe for the summer.
You want your linen shorts, you
want your pants, and then, so
that's what we're going to do.
We're going to emphasize only in that.
And we want to do a lot of piano
fabric, which is top of the line.
So that's what we want to do.
And then only like a small collection.
And then we want to.
We want to do one for summer
and one for winter, and the
idea is to start doing pop ups.
We want to do a pop up in
Aspen during the summer.
Um, and then I want to hopefully
get something with reserve,
you know, in L. A. or New York.
Let's see, that's the idea.
How do you keep up with the fashion
trends, you know what I mean?
You know, you, you log in and
you see Sarah and they have this
oversized, everything is oversized.
I hate it.
I mean, you know what I mean?
Uh, and, and what we were just
talking about, you know, before
it's, so how do you keep up?
Does the, that, that service changes
with, with the times or with the
fashion or how's, how do you do that?
Yeah, I mean, fashion is always changing.
We go, we go to, to different,
uh, conventions, you know, like
Viti Uomo in, in, in Italy.
It's a great place.
Oh yeah, I love that.
It's a great place to see what the,
what the trends are going to be.
And we're always looking
for, for, for ideas.
And that's, that, that's what the
stylist brings to the table, you know.
We work with a lot of stylists.
With artists, so they also come with
ideas and then you kind of, you know,
you kind of get the feel of what's going
on and you try and see what is the best
option for the client, depending on their
lifestyle, depending on their weather.
That's the good thing about
us, like, we're in Miami, so
imagine selling suits in Miami.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Can you tell me?
Yeah, if you make, if you, if you
introduce to me a business plan about
suits in Miami, I would say you're
crazy, but when you come to it, it's
like, that, that, that's what we bring
to the table and people need it to.
Now, if somebody wanted to come
and get some information on, you
know, this membership or your
clothing, how would they do that?
Um, you can look us up.
Uh, look us up on Instagram.
Okay.
The Bespoke club, USA, all right.
Or, or website, the
Bespoke Club say, okay.
And there's a way there to
communicate with you or to sign up.
Yeah, you can, you can just
make an appointment and then
you come, you see the showroom?
We ex we explain everything.
You can either.
Maybe get a membership or
you can just get a piece.
The good thing is like, we're
also building like a community.
That's what I like about Reserve.
Like I said, it's like, it's a
community, you know, it's like because
at the end of the day, when you start
getting close to people that are
same, you know, mindset, mindset, it's
like everything starts to flourish,
you know, it's like, so that's what,
that, that, that's what we have built.
Like once you get, once you get,
that's what I love the most about
the concept, it was the name.
Because the Bispo club is a club,
you know, once you get into it, you
get a piece and you're part of it.
Right.
So once you're part of it, you're gonna
go to the next event, you're gonna go
to the Padel tournament, you're gonna
come because you know it's something
that is, like, your philosophy, you know?
Right, right.
And it's something that's gonna go
with your values, with, and you're
gonna meet great people that think
the same, that love, you know, detail,
that um, that they're passionate about.
The way you make something
as simple as a shirt.
Beautiful.
That's great.
Now, is there anything you want to tell
our audience before we close this up?
No, I think we covered most of it.
Thank you guys for having me.
It's my first podcast.
It is?
Yeah, I've never been on a podcast before.
No, man, it's congratulations
on this piece called Peace.
We spoke club, I think, you know,
consider being members for sure.
I mean, yeah, for you guys, for you guys.
So we'll do something.
Oh, that's great, man.
Again.
Congratulations.
Thank you coming on the show.
Thank you so much.