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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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So squash was quite straightforward when
it came to like Padel and even pickleball.
You know, there's a lot more different
things that have to take place, right?
Because you are playing
on a turf in Padel.
So the outsole is very
different to a squash shoe.
You know, you can't go onto a
Padel court with a squash shoe.
Hey everyone, welcome to Paddle Smash tv.
Today we have Adrian Grant, the
visionary and founder of, of Cancel
shoes, specifically paddle shoes.
Adrian, welcome to the channel.
We've been going back and forth with it,
with us, you know, for quite a while.
Finally, we get a chance to meet and, and,
and check out these new, beautiful shoes.
Why don't you tell us a little bit
about your paddle journey, or how
did you start with this idea about.
Creating paddle chips or your
sneaker journey, let's just say.
Yeah, so sneakers yacht.
My, my background is squash actually.
So I was a former professional squash
player originally from England.
Um, I was very fortunate
to reach world number nine.
Uh, won two world championships with
England and then as my body got old, um, I
decided to go into a new path of coaching.
Um, and then at that time, my sponsor,
which was another shoe brand called
Sounding, they strictly worked in squash.
Um, Thomas, who's now my partner in
Canzo, and he's more the innovator
of the shoes, um, he, we reconnected
during COVID and we saw this real big
trend of all these individual racket
sports excelling in their own right.
And as you know, with all racket
sports, they have similarities
in movement, bilateral movement.
Um, we took the opportunity of, from
Thomas's experience in shoe development,
who has 20 years my experience at a
high level of what a athlete needs.
We came together and yeah, he
has a big fascination on Japanese
aesthetics and Canzo was born
and, and Canzo actually means sim
simplicity and purity in Japanese.
We're trying to figure that out.
Everyone else.
Yeah.
So where, where was this, where was
here in the us Where you guys Uh, well
I was living in us, it was actually
during COVID, so everyone was online.
We were speaking on Zoom and you know,
he was, well, well you have an accent.
Where are you originally?
From?
England.
From London.
London, England.
Yeah.
So I've been in the US for now 10 years.
Okay.
So you were playing
squash there in England?
I was playing squash in England.
That's where I was based
in the England camp.
Okay.
Uh, but I was playing internationally.
The squash is like a, kind
of like a paddle tour.
It's a world tour.
Um, okay.
And yeah.
And then so when I retired, we, we
moved into shoes and it was ironic.
So, moving into shoes, you
said your partner was involved?
Or, or, or how did you.
Kind of penetrate into the industry.
What, what was that?
You know?
Yeah.
It was just, you know, Thomas was
the CEO of a another footwear brand.
Okay.
Uh, that was specifically squash.
Um, he wanted to move forward from that.
Um, and as I said, we discovered
there was a real big trend of
all these racket sports that were
developing in their own right.
Um, and Thomas wanted to
continue developing shoes.
You know, he has, like I said,
he has over 20 years experience,
and that's his passion.
And so we wanted to kind of
broaden our horizon as opposed
to just squash, but then also go
into these other racket sports.
'cause apart from the, you
know, the surface of the courts.
The, the movement itself, strictly
from the movement perspective,
they're very, very similar.
So you guys became partners.
How did that work?
Did you guys put together a business plan?
Did you have to, I know you have, he puts
in the part of all the, uh, I wanna say
trade secrets, but like information of
how to, I guess, go through the process of
acquiring sneakers, developing sneakers,
r and d. Uh, I know that's his part.
What did you do on, on
your part, you know?
Yeah.
Responsibility.
So my part, my part was more about
the requirements of an athlete, right?
And what the.
The tension to detail of what's needed
in terms of the specific movements.
Right.
Um, you know, like I say, it's not,
developing a, a court shoe is not
easy, you know, it's not like a
running shoe where it's designed
just to go in a straight line.
There's so many different assets
you have to, you know, the bilateral
movement, the surface, the jumping,
the stopping, the starting.
I mean, it's a very complex.
So how did you do that?
Because, uh, how did you.
Get that, like, um, that research,
how, how did you research that?
We all know that, but how do you
transform that into an actual shoe?
Yeah.
And did you focus on squash, creating
the sneakers for squash or was it, Hey,
I'm gonna go into paddle, or was it Okay,
three segment squash, paddle and tennis.
It was always going to be, uh, uh,
specific footwear brand for racket sports.
Naturally from my background,
squash war's, entry to market.
Okay.
Um, we only launched that in,
uh, September in the us It
came here September, 2024.
Um, but you know, from Thomas's,
you know, extensive experience, uh,
through footwear development and just
generating multiple contacts in the
industry, you know, 'cause we put a
lot of science into the shoes as well.
He was able to can can you
explain that a little bit?
Because I think our audience.
Does don't, doesn't understand that part.
What science do you put into it?
What research?
Yeah, so there's, you do, like, how does
that transform into creating a film?
Yeah, so there's, uh, so there's
a, we have a professor, uh,
called Professor Stefan Grow.
Um, he's from Germany and he's
actually a, a football mechanic.
So he looks at all the different
components of the impact of where
the foot takes, sorry, the, the
impact on where you strike your feet.
And, you know, everyone's,
everyone's foot is different.
Yeah.
That's what makes shoes such
a complex thing to make.
Yeah.
It's not very easy.
Yeah.
And shoes are very personal.
Um, you know, people with a brand,
they will tend to stick to that brand.
So it's like, you know, we come with a
lot of education and a lot of our social
media and even on our website, we actually
have rules of, uh, professor Stefan grow.
Talking about what's needed in a
shoe and really dissects and breaks
down the shoe, uh, you know, the
complexities in a, in a more of a, a.
Less technical so people can understand.
Because even for, for me and my experience
when he speaks, I'm just kind of like
in awe of what he's saying, you know?
So you acquire somebody who has
years of years experience in the
industry and was able to help you Mm.
Uh, transform your ideas and
your goals in the shoe into an
actual physical shoe, correct?
Yeah, that's correct.
Yeah.
Right.
And so were you, um, yeah.
When you first got the shoe, were you,
was that it, it was like, okay, great.
Or did you have to go back to
the drawing board and say, Hey,
I wanted to change these things.
How long did it take you to
get the shoe that you wanted?
Yeah, I mean, for squash it
was pretty straightforward.
Again, just because of my background.
Um, and Thomas plays all
racket sports as well.
So when we're not coming at these sports
from an outside perspective, you know,
we're ingrained in the sport itself.
So squash was quite straightforward when
it came to like padel and even pickleball.
You know, there's a lot more different
things that have to take place, right?
'cause you are playing on a turf in Padel.
So the outsole is very
different to a squash shoe.
You know, you can't go onto a
padel court with a squasher,
you'll be slipping everywhere.
Did you get some consulting for that?
'cause you're a, a
squash player and battle.
I'm sure you've seen that and that's
why you wanna move into that part.
But.
Did you get some consulting from
somebody who plays and Yeah.
You know, say, this is
what we're looking for.
And then work again with your,
uh, the professor to create
that, that shoe for, for panel.
Yeah, exactly that.
So everything is based on feedback, right?
And so that feedback is
from people in the space.
People that have a lot of credentials
and have a great reputation.
And it's just a lot of, you know,
sampling, testing and forward and back.
And even now, you know, even now
that we have a lot of the top
athletes, uh, in our shoes, in
different racket sports, we still go
back to them and ask for feedback.
You know, we're continually evolving.
So Adrian.
Going back to that, you being a,
a high performance player mm-hmm.
You know, back in, back in the day when
you were playing professionally, what
are the specific things that you look
on a shoe when you're playing squash?
Is that cushioning?
Is that, uh, what, what, what is
it specifically that, that, uh,
um, an elite player like, like
you was looking for on, on a shoe?
Yeah.
So it has to be durable.
Um, you know, it has to be light.
Especially for the top athletes,
they want to have that movement
of that freedom of movement.
Um, but then you've got to also add,
you know, the cushioning, the stability,
especially in the mid part of the foot.
And then you've got the strike, right?
So the heel, which strikes on the
floor first, you know, that impact
goes through to the Achilles.
And you know, people don't, people
oversee these things because
you're just enjoying the game.
But you know, that causes wear and tear.
So what you're trying to
do is decrease that there.
If someone said there was a shoe
that will completely eliminate
any injury, that's a lie.
Mm-hmm.
You know, but you're just trying
to decrease that because again,
everyone walks differently.
Everyone runs differently.
For me, for example, when I
strike on my heel, my, 'cause
my ankle bone is quite tight.
I actually strike on the outside
and roll in what you call that.
Uh.
Supination and, and what, what is it?
Pronation, pronation.
Supination.
So when you hit on the side,
which I, I, I do the same thing.
Yeah.
What, what is that?
Supination or, yeah, that's pronation.
Pronation.
Pronation, yeah.
Yeah.
So that means that hits on the side
and then it moves in, it rolls inwards.
Yeah.
So you could actually see at
the, at the peak of my career.
You could see if you looked at my outsole,
all of this side would be worn down.
Worn down.
Yeah.
So I'd have to continually change.
Continue to change.
Now that's nothing to do with the shoe.
That's just me biomechanically.
That's how I am.
I feel like your foot needs
in alignment like a shoe.
So like a car does, you know, so I,
I, you know, going back to that, so.
Every time I see a, a squash
shoe, they look very thin and
very, um, um, minimalistic.
Yeah.
Compared to a, a bulky
tennis or paddle shoe.
Mm-hmm.
So what is that, that made
that shoe so minimalistic?
Yeah, so we, we call that
like a low profile shoe.
Okay.
And a lot of people don't realize
this, that don't place squash, that
a squash called is actually sprung.
So it's actually up off the floor.
Okay.
So there's space between the wood.
The actual concrete floor itself.
So it's actually got a spring to it.
So actually when you strike,
it's not as hard as obviously,
you know, playing pickleball.
It's out on concrete, so it's a lot
more given, you know, when you go
to pickleball or even Fidel, that
can be less, less forgiving, right?
So, um, there's all these kind of
intricate things you need to go and,
and what does a, a paddle shoot has?
That is different to a squash shoe.
Yeah, so the main thing
is the outsole, right?
So the outsole we have like
the herringbone outsole.
So that's kind of like a,
this is this part right here.
Exactly.
So if you look at that
outsole, it's like a zigzag.
Okay.
And that, that actually creates the
friction on the, on the turf itself.
And with the sand, you know, some
courts obviously heavily sanded.
And what's unique about our one is that
we have kind of like a 30 degree angle,
which actually makes it self cleansing.
'cause we noticed, you know what,
what do you mean a 30 degree angle?
So if you see on the, so if you
see here it is, it's kind of
like at an angle uhhuh, rather
than going straight like that.
And what that does, it's
actually self cleansing.
So, you know, with the, with
you playing on the sand, you
can actually get sand lodged in.
And if you see like tennis players
on clay courts Yeah, you'll
see them knock their shoes.
Yeah, we do.
So that's kind of that, that's
the reason why they do that.
Right.
So.
With this kind of self cleansing element,
it actually, you know, naturally kind
of falls out itself because you have
to think as well, every time you're
striking on the floor, you know,
when there's sand or dust, you're
actually pushing in that even further.
Yeah.
Right, right.
And so that's why you have, you see
players knocking their shoe constantly.
So how important is the herringbone?
You know, the sign on the
massive, absolutely massive.
Why?
Why does it do?
It's just because it creates
more friction on the turf.
Okay.
On the turf.
So I said with a, if
you saw a squash shoe.
It would be a lot more smoother.
You wouldn't have this zigzag material.
Um, because with the wood, you actually
create a natural friction with that.
It's not like a carpet
with sand, you know?
It's a clean wood.
Um, so that's, so, so you went
from the squash, and so how did
you move into the paddle shoe?
I mean, uh, I assumed
you were aware of paddle.
Um, did you see just a bigger
market or big a growing market and
how, what was that decision there?
Yeah, it wasn't so much
about, um, the market.
You know, every racket sport has
their own market, but we just
saw the movements were similar.
Right.
And we just saw that the only, the only
key, the massive key thing is the outsell.
And I'm, I'm, yeah, totally
into the bottom part.
Yeah, it is the out.
Yeah, exactly.
That's the bottom part.
That's a huge difference.
You know, the upper, there
are some things, you know, for
example, you know, you'll see.
Um, so our pickleball shoe, you know,
it's a lot more thicker here because
you know, the drag on concrete, which
is ter shoes apart, you know, here
it's not so much, yes it's turf, but
it's a lot more given it's softer.
Um, and squash, you typically have
a, like a long to drag when you lunge
in 'cause you're lunging very low.
That back leg, you know, drags.
Level with the forward leg.
So you tend to get like a lot of toe drag
and wear and tear in this front part.
Um, but yeah, I mean, you know,
like I said, there, there, there
are similarities in the movement.
So you have sneakers for, um,
for, uh, squash battle and any
other records for, and pickle
wall and pickle and pickle wall.
Yeah.
So what's different?
Okay.
Yeah.
You just, yeah.
So that Gotcha, gotcha.
So, you know, and what we're
seeing as well, for example.
Um, you know, racketball,
we've got t ball.
We just, we signed, uh, the number
one racketball player in the world.
He uses the squash shoe.
Okay.
So you can use it.
Hundred floor.
That's indoor sport.
So we kind of make it a lot
more simple on our website.
So we have indoor court, outdoor court.
Um, so, so what's selling the most?
The, uh, the squash battle or pickle?
So, honestly like, 'cause we
launched in 2024, um, and Padel
was only last year, April.
Okay.
Squash has obviously been
an easier route to market.
Okay.
Padel is a very emerging market.
Yeah.
With my passion, I play padel
four or five times a week.
Wow.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I I'm awesome.
I'm fully retired.
You gotta play one day.
We gotta play.
Yeah, definitely.
I'm fully retired from squash.
Okay.
And I love squash.
It's given me so much, it, it's
made me travel around the world.
But it's got me in this position.
Yeah.
If I didn't play squash, I would
never have been in this position.
So I'll never turn my back on squash.
And I'm just a lover of all racket sports.
And you know, I tell people,
you play one racket sport, you
get entered into a whole family.
Yeah.
True.
You know, you both could feel very
comfortable picking up any racket.
Yeah.
Squash racket, tennis.
Yeah.
'cause you have that natural hand-eye
coordination and that movement as well.
Right.
So how many uh, sneakers you
have in the collection of paddle?
In Paddle?
Well, this is on.
This is our new shoe.
Um, we did have just one, so we
want it to be very streamlined.
Okay.
Um, and the one that we did have,
which is still online, it was
quite unique, um, in that we had
a fully foam constructed tongue.
So if you see this one, it's like
your standard tongue on any sneaker.
Yeah.
Our, the one before the EQSC.
Was actually a fully foam constructed
tongue, so it actually fit like a
glove and it actually gave an extra
layer of protection around the ankle.
And that's why, you know, we have
players like Anna Corillo and, and Maxie.
They absolutely love that.
'cause, you know, they're pros.
They play very aggressive,
aggressive movement and the
ankle takes a lot of punishment.
Yeah.
For any player.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, so going back to a statement that
you said previously, you said that.
Athletes are very specific.
I'm, I'm, I'm also very picky on my shoes.
I like that specific
brand, that specific model.
And I stick because it
fits perfect to my foot.
Mm-hmm.
So when you are designing the
shoe, how do you make that?
Because you gotta design
a shoe for everybody.
Yeah.
So how do you make that.
Happy medium.
Balance to have the perfect shoe.
Tough for everybody.
Yeah.
It's hard.
And if anyone can say they
could, you can't create the
most perfect shoe in the world.
It's, it's, as I said, everyone's
foot is completely different.
Yeah.
We kind of strip it down to
simplicities of like what is
required in that specific sport?
What type of movements do they take?
What, what part of the body
takes the most punishment?
And it's not just the ankles, right?
'cause that impact then goes straight
up to your, yeah, back to your hips.
When I was a kid, I was
transitioning from juniors to pros.
I sl my disc at 18 and I thought,
oh, it was due to my back.
It was like, no, 'cause he was wearing
incorrect footwear 'cause of the
pound that comes straight through.
'cause the whole body is a chain, right?
Yeah.
And unfortunately, a lot of people don't.
They underestimate that.
Until it's too late.
I mean, it can ruin your
entire professional career.
A hundred percent.
I mean, I was out for a year and a half.
I was out for a year and half.
So did you get surgery?
'cause I had the same
thing and I had surgery.
Oh, you did?
I opted out.
I was 18 and I was like,
I don't wanna go surgery.
I went for the long route.
Yeah, it was hard.
It was a year and a half in physiotherapy.
Yeah.
Um, trial and error,
you know, it feels good.
You hit the ball and then it goes again.
So you had a herniated disc.
Yeah, that's what I had No way for them.
It's no way out of it.
You just gotta come and, yeah, exactly.
Yeah.
But you, you were in
the cheerleading team.
I mean, he was playing professional
squash, so you were on, you were
the guy that would lift people.
Yeah.
But, but, uh, yeah.
So are those unisex or
These are unisex, yeah.
Okay.
They're okay.
These are completely unisex.
Um, you know, and we, we
basically, we try and look at
like also what's trending, right?
Because, you know, a lot of
people get drawn to colors.
Yeah.
A lot of people get drawn to
power brands and things like that.
And so what we look at, we, again,
our ethos is simplicity and purity.
So.
We go very simple, very
clean, very minimal.
Um, but, and you have
only two colors, right?
We have no, so this is one
and we have, uh, another two.
So I have one here.
I have another one here.
The other one was yellow, wasn't it?
The other one was yellow.
That was, can you show us the other?
Oh, but that, that's different.
This, this is definitely for you, man.
I like it baby.
Hundred percent.
We'll hook you up.
South Beach style.
This is definitely Julia's man.
There's doubt about it.
I love this.
But you'll see again
on the outsole, right?
So they've got the, the
herringbone outsole, which
is, and this is already out.
This is out now.
And this is.
It's paddle.
So quick question on, on the
Intel, because I'm very speak.
Yeah.
What is this little circle?
That's just the pivot.
That's just the pivot.
So as you, as you turn, okay.
Because if we create, if we continued
that, uh, herring burn outsole in this
pivot section, you wouldn't have as
much, you know, much pivot quicker.
It makes a big difference.
I mean, the makes a huge difference.
Yeah.
The thing is, is like people
are so used to a certain way
of, and a certain kind of shoe.
If you took out certain elements, you
would notice it, but the fact that
it's there, well, the, the thing is
that his age is playing flatfooted now.
He used to play on We'll
get your para anymore.
Not anymore Adrian.
So, so sorry.
Sorry.
So professional.
You're gonna have to go back and this,
uh, so, uh, and let's keep this here.
We'll, we'll edit that.
You move the focus Got that far out.
Uh, so.
Are we good?
Um, yeah, I keep moving.
He's, so going back to these
shoes, so this is already out?
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
Is there a difference?
Because every, every year, you
know, the, the Adidas change.
They make it look the same,
but they're not the same.
Mm-hmm.
So is it, is this different
to the previous one?
Yeah.
So what we see is, um, you know,
like I said, when we came entry to
market, I made a conscious decision
to only bring in the EQSC, which was
the fully foam integrated tongue.
Okay.
Um, we could have released one,
like a normal tongue like that, but
then I just felt like being new.
To the sport, you are just gonna
blend in with everyone else.
We wanted to have some unique selling
points and something that stands out.
Now when now we're in year two, we've
now started to introduce, you know,
the tongues and things like that.
But on this one specifically,
we, you'll see these parts here.
Um, this is like increased mesh.
We, it, this one makes it more breathable.
Um, and this one is very popular in Miami,
by the way, because of weather conditions.
Yeah, they love that.
Um, and this one is like
your more traditional shoe.
And, you know, we don't, that's actually
quite loud for us in terms of colors.
Mm-hmm.
You know, we go very, get
very simple, very minimal.
Um, we don't try to confuse
things and, and clutter things.
You know, we just wanna say how it is.
Keep it very high and,
and why these colors?
Um, we just kind of felt like that's
where, you know, that will give it
a bit more bite on court, you know?
Um, you know, like for example, I mean, I
love that, that it's different, you know?
Yeah, yeah.
You know what it is.
And we try and do everything for everyone.
White is always gonna be the staple color.
Classic.
Classic.
It's a classic that's never gonna go out.
And then you can go.
Be a bit more risque with
adding a bit more colors and
it's just getting data, right.
Market feedback and
understanding what people like.
And look, you're never gonna
satisfy everyone, right?
Right.
It's impossible.
And so we just go, we just make
sure that the innovation in the
shoe is correct because, so you
said you had a third, A third shoe.
Yeah.
So I have a third shoe.
Actually just gave that to Maxi.
You just had a campaign shoot,
but I, I would show that.
Is that similar to that or is it
totally different that No, so you
see the yellow one that's online?
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's that exact same shoe,
but it's a nice blue.
It's a really nice blue is after
2026, the blue that's out now as well.
Oh, okay.
That's out now.
We just did a campaign shoot with Maxie
and Anna and Maxie loves that shoe.
Um, and again, with that shoe,
it was just intricate detail.
So if you look online now,
we have a yellow and white,
what we found visually on tv.
So we have like Julia Apollo wearing
our shoes that the logo wasn't really
standing out, the TV couldn't catch it
'cause these guys are moving so fast.
Um, and with MACI's shoe,
now it's blue, but the logo's
white, so it really pops out.
And what we discovered with this shoe
by chance is when we was doing the
photo campaign, just with the trim
gold around that pops out as well.
Reflects the logo.
It reflects exactly.
So, you know, when it comes to
marketing, um, you know, people
know like a ni Nike tactic, right?
Right.
As soon as you see it, you
just know it instantly.
So.
Go ahead, keep going.
No, so that's what we wanted to make
sure going into the second line that,
you know, our logo pops out because, you
know, as I said, it's a unique logo, you
know, it is very Japanese in infused.
So let's talk about that.
You mentioned Japanese a couple times.
Yeah.
What does that mean?
Is it, is that where the product
is made or is that where No, it's
your influence and, uh, and green.
A shoe.
Yeah.
So again, so my partner Thomas,
you know, he really liked the, the
aesthetics of Japanese culture.
Okay.
Um, you know, the, kind of the
simpl, the simple way of life.
Um, and that's what we wanted to
body in, in all of our footwear.
Just keep it sim simple and pure.
Um, you know, and not go in a crazy
on innovation showing in the shoe.
On the shoe.
Mm-hmm.
You know, we don't have crazy things
on the laces or anything like that,
but the innovation is inside the shoe.
And, you know, that's why we, this year we
go, we've been very big on the educational
side because I've noticed just with like
a lot of tr sports that are trending.
People gravitate to a new sport, it's
great, but no one really knows like,
okay, what's, what do I need to wear?
Yeah.
You know what?
And I've done the same, you know,
I just pick up the first pair of
shoes by my front door, go and crawl.
And you will get away
with it a couple of times.
But we all want the sport to grow.
We want everyone to come in.
The last thing we want is people
wearing incorrect equipment.
Yeah.
Getting injured and being
like, I'm never playing again.
And I, I say that, you know, footwear
is actually the most important, even
more important than the racket, because
that, that's what we tell everybody.
Yeah.
The shoes on the racket.
I don't care how you dress, you know, but
the shoes are so important because without
having good shoes, your feet gonna hurt.
You can injure yourself.
The R same thing.
Exactly.
Especially when you get older and older.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So what is the price point of these shoes?
Do they have different price points?
Yeah, so they're different price points.
So, um, they range from, we
have one at one hundred forty,
a hundred fifty, and 170.
Okay.
Um, so yeah, I mean, what, what we do
is, you know, obviously the 140 still
has innovation, um, but it's got less.
Um, we, we are very price conscious in
terms of, you know, we don't want to
burn everyone out, especially the people
that are just coming into the sport.
But they also know that
they still need, you know.
Correct footwear at the end of the day.
And so that's what we try and Okay.
So let's move in a little
bit to the business part.
Um mm-hmm.
I know you partnered up with your
partner, uh, did you guys bootstrap
this, uh, thing and do you guys
have a brick and mortar place here?
And are you guys a B2B
or B2C, or, or both?
Yeah, so we don't have brick and mortar.
Um, we're actually, I'm
gonna take that back.
We have a popup brick and mortar
next week in New York, so Oh, nice.
There's a new, um, Padel
magazine called Padel Mag.
Um, and they've just created
this first popup store ever in
New York, and it's right in the
heart of the shopping district.
So it's actually in
between Apple and Nike.
So it's in the prime location.
Um, it's gonna be open for 10 days
and Canzo are gonna be the only
footwear brand there, but there'll
be other brands like Adidas, Babylon,
uh, Knox will be there as well.
And it's, it is kind of like a
real celebration of the game.
Um, we sell online.
Then we just partner with clubs, you
know, we're very So you're B2C on online?
Yeah.
And then B2B to clubs and like
retailers or, and retailers as well.
Yeah.
Have you tried to get into
any of the big retailer?
Uh, yeah.
I mean, we've worked, we're starting to
work with a lot of the retailers now.
Um, we, I've kind of taken this kind
of approach of, you know, for me,
relationships are very, very important.
Mm-hmm.
Um.
We didn't want to be a brand
that's just on the wall.
Mm-hmm.
There's so much products out there these
days, people, it's too much choice.
There is, yeah.
It's too much choice.
So we're, I'm very conscious of like,
can we align in the same direction?
You know, just having a shoe or any
product just sat there on a wall is
just not gonna work in this day and age.
I was gonna ask you that because
you're, a lot of these companies have
already moved into this, uh, space.
Mm-hmm.
Um, like Balot, um, Knox.
Yeah.
And got Wilson.
Even head and the, some of these people
have like roots here in the CUSA.
So how, how are you gonna compete with
that in those deep pockets that they have?
Yeah.
Oh yeah, definitely.
I mean, what we've seen work so far
is the educational component, and
so we provide a lot of educational
material with our partner.
Which then they translate that
to their community and just
educating them on specific for, on
specific footwear for that sport.
How, how do you do that?
How do you So we do that with
either, um, videos, with rules
for myself, with my partner.
It's on social media.
On social media.
Okay.
We send, we, we can personalize it
to that specific club, um, stuff
from, uh, professor Stefan grow.
Um, but then also when, when I approach
clubs, you know, I understand fully.
The trials and tribulations that
ProShop has, space, inventory,
sizing, all of those things.
So we go into this space of
like, not one size fits all.
Excuse the pun.
And it's okay.
What do you need to make it work for you?
So the thing is the clubs, because
I own a club in Connecticut.
Mm-hmm.
So the clubs, um.
Their main focus is on the courts and
selling, you know, the rental courts,
they usually don't have like a sales
force to properly push their pro shop.
Mm-hmm.
And rackets, that's fine.
But sneakers, it's like
there's many sizes.
Mm-hmm.
Exactly.
You know, and it's like you have
a lot of stock and you have a
lot of stock just sitting there.
Yep.
How do you get around that?
I mean, I've always
had an issue with that.
To, you know, um, so how do you
get that in, in, in the clubs?
You do like a drop shipping.
Do you do like something?
Yeah, so we've, we've done, again,
we've done, we've done multiple
different models for different clubs.
'cause they all have different needs.
We've done the drop shipping model
and they look at it as, okay,
when we reach a certain threshold,
then it makes sense to invest.
Mm-hmm.
There's clubs that are starting
to build and so they don't even
have a community right now.
And so we even work with them in
terms of like, uh, helping them
build a credible partnership.
Um, helping them, uh, create a lot
of, uh, uh, marketing information
to customers to draw them in.
And, you know, these partnerships that
we have, we, we, we are in it for life.
You know, we, we say, you know,
there's, there's some partnerships
that we have that don't even buy
from us directly straight away.
Like, can you come in
and do an activation?
We come in and actually come
in and speak to the community.
Tell them the importance of the shoe.
That's great.
You know, and what I've noticed, there's
so much investment going into the game,
not just in pedal, but in a lot of
sports, and that's great for the game.
But I say to clubs, I'm like,
look, it's your responsibility.
For you to build your community.
Right.
And we all want the game to grow.
The last thing you need is people
in your members being injured.
'cause it affects the whole ecosystem.
Yeah.
Right.
And so people don't really pay much
attention to that until I kind of
explain it and that's, it actually
affects your whole business.
We're trying to get people
to come into the game.
The last thing we want is people
coming out the game playing a couple
of times because of an injury.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Due to incorrect footwear
or rack, you know?
And so, yeah.
So do you have a
warehouse here in the USA?
Yeah, we have warehouse, so
yeah, our warehouse is in Texas.
Okay.
Um, so it, it's a nice
spot to go east or west.
So how do you determine
how much stock do you need?
I mean, that's a kind of a tough one.
You know what I'm saying?
You're always on edge.
You don't have too much stock,
but you wanna have enough.
It's like, yeah, yeah.
How, how, how do you determine that?
I mean, you don't have that much data.
You're just kind of been
a year, year and a half.
So how do you, how do you do that?
Yeah.
That, that's, that's always, I think
that's always gonna be like the thorn in
my side or like, really, because you are,
you are basically forecasting, right?
And you are, okay, who, what
partnerships do we have?
What ambassadors do we have?
Like, how are they gonna promote it?
What, how big are their audience?
And all these things you, you're
kind of forecasting, but the first
kind of two years is really tough.
Um, you know, when we launched last
year, April, it went really well.
Then all of a sudden we've got these
players coming on and people were
like, you haven't got my size anymore.
I'm like, oh no.
And then we're having to kind
of, you know, put that in
the data and then order more.
Come, come next time.
So, and you have to take into
consideration when the off season is.
Mm-hmm.
Um, I know in Miami you're very fortunate
to have great weather most of the
time of the year, but an example like
squash, the off season is in the summer,
so you're trying to dictate for the
rest of those nine months of like, you
know, what sizes are selling, you know?
Right.
Where are they selling?
That's a good question.
What sizes do sell?
I always wonder what's,
uh, for men and women.
Yeah.
So in padel we see like from
your sizes, uh, seven and up.
Okay.
Seven and up.
I mean, in, in men's.
In in men's.
Yeah.
And, um, and the women's
is probably like five.
Five and upwards.
Five and five and up and out of
those, you know, usually it, it's, you
know, seven in the men, seven to 11.
Mm-hmm.
Out of those, what is it, between
nine and 10 are the ones that sell the
most, or I would say nine and tens.
Yeah.
They sell the most.
I mean, I have, I had a couple of
people, you know, when we first saw
saying, why have you not got size 14?
And I'm like, I didn't
even know that existed.
Is there?
So, you know, and, and people don't
realize, you know, when you start
going up to that, to that size.
You actually have to create a
brand new mold, like two shoes on.
Exactly.
You have to create a brand new mold,
which is another huge investment.
Yeah.
And I don't know whether that's, uh,
financially, if there's a, a makes sense.
Good enough return.
Yeah.
How many size 14 do you have in the world?
How big of a shoe can you make
with the mold that you have?
What's, uh, so we can go up
to, like, we can go up to 12.
12 up to 12 now.
Now I see that you're investing in, uh, in
sponsoring, uh, coaches and players here.
Mm-hmm.
What are your expectations from them?
That's a good question.
So, um, you, we look at them as,
and their job description as well.
What, what are they supposed
to do for the brand?
Yeah, so we just, you know, we are very
selective in who we work with in terms
of, they have to be a great person.
And like I said, we're, we're very big
on relationship, very big on relationship
and passionate about the brand.
And its DNA, um, you know, we don't
want a person that's kind of like
wearing the shoes and just not really.
Doing anything or we're not asking
for a salesman, we're not expect
you to, you know, coach your clients
and then, but say, Hey, buy out.
Why choose?
But at the end of the day, you
know, you wanna get a return
on your investment, right?
So we wanna get a return.
Yeah, exactly.
And you know, for us it's, you know,
it's obviously social media is big.
Um, you know, we've worked with,
uh, some coaches that their pro shop
didn't want to touch shoes any shoe.
But then as soon as their pro, as soon
as their pro is wearing the shoes and
the customers see the pro, the pro is.
Always engaging with the customer.
They always go to the pronos,
you know, what should I buy?
So, so the goal is exposure because,
I mean, yeah, you do through social
media, but they're usually at clubs.
They got a limited exposure in the area.
Mm-hmm.
But it's really then
exposure on social media.
Are they?
No, I mean, I'm there.
I'm very old school.
I, I appreciate, you know, the
digital, digital wage is huge.
I'm very big on human connection.
So me as a CEO, you know, I
actually go to clubs myself.
I actually shake people's hands.
I actually play with customers, you
know, 'cause even their feedback
and just hearing them speak and
what they want, what they don't
want, that's massive data for me.
Yeah, yeah.
You know, I don't, I say to everyone,
I don't sit in an office on my laptop.
Punch in numbers.
I'm actually on the court and I'm
actually engaging with people.
So it's data and information that
you're looking for a little bit.
Not necessarily a return or anything?
No.
They're, they're the most important
people, you know, we would not
be here without the community.
I would not be here.
I would not have a business
without a community.
They, they are the backbone of any sport.
Right.
And so I think that that has
to be, um, uh, treated fairly.
That has to be respected.
You have to give back to them
because they're, they're the people.
They're the people that
are buying the products.
They're the people that you wanna support.
And there's no better feeling than someone
coming to me and saying, oh, I've worn
your shoes and it's done this for me.
You know that, that's our goal.
Okay.
That's it.
So, so, yeah, I totally agree with that.
So, with us, you know, and,
and, and this interview, your
audience is gonna become global.
Mm-hmm.
How's that distribution globally?
I mean, it's great for the American
market, but let's say we have
audience literally all over the world.
Mm-hmm.
Are you doing globally shipping?
I mean, how do you, how
do you handle that part?
It's a good question.
I think what you're saying is, is is you
know, we're just not focusing us a 'cause
there's only a little over a hundred
thousand uh, players here, and we have.
Pretty much a majority of them.
But there's hotspots in the UK
is definitely half a battle.
Yeah.
You know, you have, uh, India,
you have Indonesia, you have
uk, you have some hotspots there
that we have an audience in.
Mm-hmm.
So are you just focused on the
UK and the us or are you prepared
really to focus outside of that?
Where's your next area that you're
thinking We're, we're global.
We have distribution.
So you're willing to shape worldwide?
Well, we have distributors in
uk, in Spain, in South America.
Okay.
We have distribution.
How about the, the eastern, the, the
Middle East or the Asia Middle East
where we're still working on, like
Dubai's becoming a bit of a hotbed there.
Yeah, yeah.
Um, we have sign up, we have, uh,
partnered up with distributors in Asia.
Um, Europe, we've ta
we've got that covered.
Um, you know, I solely, you
know, us is a huge market.
Yeah.
It's massive.
And, you know, people forget
that we are not just doing
piel, we're doing all sports.
And when you combine those, it's probably
the biggest in the world to be honest.
And, and right now the America,
America is, is your number one market
or, or you, um, I would say, yeah,
I would definitely, 'cause you know,
pickleball is obviously huge here.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Um, it's not.
Very big in other places in the world.
Um, and, you know, UK's
good for us at the moment.
Uh, Spain is starting to, you know,
get a lot of legs, you know, it's
very competitive there as you know.
Yeah, yeah.
You know, it's a hotbed and, you know,
you're dealing with, you're competing
against, um, you know, legacy brands,
you know, b have been there from Yeah.
From the very first day Wilson had Wilson.
Exactly.
And you know, I, I say that,
you know, I see, uh, areas
which I'm doing that I know the.
Power brands are not gonna be doing.
And so that's, that's our space.
You know, when I first came
into this, people were like,
straightaway, you're crazy.
It's this.
But I'm like, it's not crazy if
you've done, if you've done your
research and you're prepared
to do the work, it's not crazy.
Yeah.
Because the market is growing,
but the market is growing.
So there is space.
And I have noticed areas which,
um, have been very successful
for us, and which again, from
feedback from people that other.
Brands, whatever aren't
doing, and that's fine.
And so I would be silly to go in and try
and write, compete with 'em financially
right now, because it's not gonna happen.
Yeah.
Maybe one day, but, okay.
So going back to that specific question,
so why don't you tell our audience,
you know, on video and also on, on our
podcast, why should they buy this shoe?
What, like you said, w why should
they buy can instead of an Adidas
or an Asics or, or anything else?
What is your selling point on the issue?
Yeah, I mean, look, I said, you know,
before our DNA is racket sports, right?
And so we come, we've built
this from the ground up.
We specifically work in racket sports.
We're not, we don't go into
basketball, soccer, you know, our
success is our partner success.
And so we want to see all of these
racket sports, evolve, develop, grow.
And our background is racket sports.
As I said, I've, I've played, I'm 45 now,
and then I'm, you know, I'm, I played
racket sports from the age of eight.
Yeah.
And I still do, and I'm fully
embedded within the community.
Um, we work specifically for those sports.
We do strictly footwear.
We're not trying to be
everything for everyone.
We not having brackets
or anything like that.
We have accessories bags just
to compliment the footwear, but.
Footwear and footwear is not an easy thing
to make, as I said before, and that's why
a lot of people don't really go into it.
I was, wait, let, lemme just have one
more follow follow to that question.
Mm-hmm.
So what are the specific,
uh, specs of the paddle shoe?
Why people should buy this paddle shoe?
What, what are, what are the
key, key key metrics issue?
Yeah, so the key things are obviously
the self cleansing herringbone
outsole that were mentioned.
Um, we always get data from our athletes.
We are humble in when we build our shoes.
You know, no matter how much
success we have, data is golden.
And that gold comes from the community.
That gold comes from, uh, the pro players.
'cause they're the ones who are
in the field every single day.
You know, the, the, the demands
that they need, the shoe is
built from their demands.
Um, you know, when we speak to
Anna, you know, she can quote me on
this and you can quote her on that.
You know, she says the
best shoe she's ever used.
And that's, that's from her words,
not from ours, which is amazing.
That's just one person.
For us, it's about the whole,
whole community, right?
And so every single shoe that we have
is specifically designed for that sport.
As I said, you cannot take
this onto a squash court.
And we say that, do not take
this onto a squash court.
Do not take this onto a pickleball court.
This is strictly for pade, and
we're very, very specific in that.
So what's next for console?
Are they gonna introduce other
things, you know, besides the sneaker?
I know it's like your sneaker sneaker
sneakers, but, uh, apparel, um, socks.
Um, what else are you guys going to do?
Maybe in 2027?
What, what's going on
in that mind thinking?
Okay, I see.
Okay.
The, we're selling sneakers, but I see
a little area here where we can move
into Well, I see, I see the hoodie.
I see the shirt.
Yeah, I see the bag.
I mean.
There are things in the pipeline.
Yeah, there's things in the pipeline.
I'm not able to say there's
something big, there's no, there's
something big happening next year.
Come on.
Okay.
I'll get, I'll get shot if this
happens, if I say this, but when it
can, you'll be the first to know.
I promise you that.
That's my word.
It's on camera.
Um, but Well, you send it to us
and we'll do like Yeah, yeah.
We'll, we'll, we'll, we'll
definitely let you know.
You'll be the first.
Something big's gonna, you
know, working on something big.
Um, but aside from that, you know, I'm
personally working on something here in
the us um, in terms of, uh, just kind
of bringing the community together more.
And I, and given the space of
performance, I'm very big on
performance through my upbringing.
Mm-hmm.
And, you know, I know that, you know, the
average person might not have any interest
in performance, but I truly believe.
For us and the sport to grow people, even
at a recreational level, they want to
feel a self sense of improvement, right?
Because if you're just staggered at
the same level, there's only so much
of a beating you're gonna take, right?
And I'm not saying you're trying to
be the world number one, but even if
you can move better, even if you can
hit that ball earlier, all of those
small improvements are gonna elevate
the people and make them play more.
So, so, so we have a, a, a. A routine
at the end of, of the, of the interview.
Mm-hmm.
A few things.
Where can they buy this shoot
right now for our audience?
So the easiest place is online,
uh, which is Kenzo Sports us.
Okay.
Um, we will have the new
collection on there by Monday.
They just arrived.
We had delays due to the unfortunate
things that are going on around the world.
We had delays with shipment, um,
but they are here in our warehouse.
We're just stocking them up now.
So you can go online and purchase those.
Now.
We provide free shipping for every shoe.
That's regardless if it's one pair
of two pairs, regardless whether
it's one pair of two pair 10 pairs
anywhere in the US or world else.
Anywhere in the, anywhere in
the US from Canzo Sports us.
But wherever you are in the world,
you only have to put Canzo Sports in
Google and it will take you to that.
Region or where you are.
Right.
So, um, but yeah.
And another thing, now that
you're here, are you offering,
because we get dms all the time.
Are you guys given any discounts
on, as for, as this specific podcast
on what will be the call to action?
Well, you've, 'cause you've put me on the
spot and you didn't prepare me for that.
I like that one.
I should have, I should have done my
research and, uh, we'll do something.
I I will have a look.
Okay.
Um, and I promise everyone, we will do
something specifically for your audience.
Okay.
So it's stay tuned because we're
gonna give a huge, beautiful.
Discount, or we're talking about
discount or promo promo code for
you guys to get your hands on
these beautiful cancer shoes.
Yes.
Yeah.
So, and you, you, you'll get it, uh,
by the end of today I'll text you
guys and Okay, this is what we'll do.
But like I said, I love
what you guys are doing.
I think it's amazing.
I think, you know, part of the community.
Say without you guys, people wouldn't
even be aware of what's going on.
Right.
Yeah.
That's the power of dig,
digital presence right now.
Thank you so much, Adrian.
What a great pleasure having you here.
We can't wait to really
put our shoes, our feet.
Yes, our feet.
And then give them a try and, and give us
our, uh, give, give you our feedback too.
You're welcome.
Congratulations, man.
Thank you guys.
Thank you for having me.
Appreciate it.
Appreciate it.
Thank you guys.
Thank you.
Take care.