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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 &. Cesc here and
welcome to another exciting
episode of Padel Smash Academy.
And today we're so excited to
have, uh, Tom Ferguson, uh, from
the Padel School from the uk.
Uh, he's at the, here at the
Reserve Somia playing the, the
one tournament, the men's side.
So we're super excited to have you here.
Tom, welcome.
Thank you very much for being here.
It's a pleasure.
Yeah.
So how is, uh, how long have you
been here in, in, uh, Florida, Miami?
Only about three weeks.
Three
weeks.
Yeah.
So I've left the UK winter to
come here in beautiful weather.
Wow.
And, uh, yeah, loving,
loving every minute us.
So you've been here before, right?
Uh, I've been to the US before and
I've been to Florida before, but not up
in, in Boynton before I came to Miami.
So I've gone a bit further up and, uh,
yeah, it's, it's a bit of a different.
Different environment out there.
So how
was, well, let's talk a little bit about,
I guess, about, um, the Padel School.
So let, let, let's talk about that,
how you got involved with your
brother and then from there, how
you got here in, in, in Florida.
Well, yeah.
Long, long story.
It's a long story.
Yeah.
Um, well, so, I mean, the Padel
School started, I say about 10 years
ago with my, with my brother actually.
So he started it in Dubai when
Padel would first come to Dubai.
So.
I mean, his story is
kind of an amazing story.
He started out actually coaching
tennis before and then discovered
Padel out there, played a tournament.
Uh, he then, um, played a
tournament at the, uh, Royal
Family's court there in, in Dubai.
Um, and then they asked him
to be the rackets manager.
This was many, many years
ago now, over a decade ago.
Um, and he said he would do it, but
only if he was gonna go to Spain
and train with the best coaches
and the best players out there.
Um, fast forward, I got involved in the
business about four years ago, um, and I
kind of did the same, the same process.
I played pro tennis before, um,
and I discovered Padel started
to play more, and then I went all
in, and then I went to Spain, went
to Madrid, the academy's there.
Working with the coaches, I kind
of followed a similar path that.
That he had, um, and, and you the right
path actually, you know, because
you wanna learn from the best.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.
From like the best coaches
there, the best academies.
I was lucky enough to train with
like top 50, like even like top
20 players there like regularly.
So I was going back and
forth to Madrid a lot.
Um, and yeah, got my level up,
which is difficult in the uk.
It's, it's hard if you
just stay in the uk.
There aren't the players,
there aren't the coaches.
So.
Really, for me, that was the best
path to go and do that, to go
back and forth from Spain and, um,
and yeah, kind of went, went from
there.
So let's talk about the Padel School.
I mean, most people I know it, I mean,
I've, I've watched it many times, your
brother and I when you came on it.
But for the viewers, if they're
not aware of it, what is it and
what type of platform is it?
Um, and so forth.
Yeah.
So, um, well, the Padel School
is one of the leading education
platforms in Padel in English.
So, uh, last year we had around a
hundred million views of our content,
of our training content across
all our social media platforms.
Uh, we got half a million
followers online and so.
What started as, um, my brother
many years ago, putting up content
online and, and being excited that
there were 20 views from across
the world and now sounds like us.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Exactly.
And now to have like a hundred
million views and, you know, uh.
And for so many players and coaches
to be watching it around the world, we
feel blessed really to have that many
followers and, and to meet people, like
meeting people here saying that they
follow the content, you know, they love,
they love all the stuff we're doing.
Is, is great.
No,
there's, there's free content, but
there's, is there also paid, uh, uh,
content as well as a subscription.
Okay.
And explain, explain that a little bit.
Yeah,
so we have all of our social media
content and I guess we see our, our paid
or our subscription business as for.
For those players that really want to
take their Padel to the next level.
So our co our social content is free
tips, and they might be applicable to you.
They, they might not.
But on our platform online,
the Padel school.com.
You can actually get
personalized coaching for you.
So we have courses to take you from
beginner all the way to advanced,
and it has a roadmap for you.
So it takes you through
great, like everything.
And then you also can send in videos,
we can give you feedback on your shots.
So we kind of see it as a bit
of a. Personalized coaching
for, for, for the player.
And what's the cost of that?
And is that a SaaS type of business?
Like, so what's the monthly cost of that?
So the monthly is, uh, I dunno
if it to do it in Bucks, but it's
probably about 20, 25 bucks a month.
Okay.
Um, so that's, that's the
kind of very affordable, yeah.
Yeah.
I mean that, that's kind of the
goal with the Padel School as
you wanted it to be accessible.
We wanted everyone to be able to Right.
To get the best coaching around.
And so yeah, it's, it's
a membership platform.
There's a community on there that.
Uh, players can join and, and
chat with other players and ask
players other, other players
questions and, and kind of connect.
I
think there's a need for
that down
here in USA.
'
cause you know,
it's very expensive for coaching coaches.
I mean, here's like one 50, $200
and it's not for everyone, you know?
Yeah.
Some.
But I see a lot of great players
that I think could be so much better
if they just got some lessons.
Yeah.
But maybe they just can't
afford it and something like
this is a great alternative.
Yeah.
I mean, we find that, um, players that.
Both use online and in person lessons.
It improve the most because the,
the online helps them either
practice by themselves with a ball
machine, with a practice partner,
but also just understanding the
theory of what they're trying to do.
And seeing themselves on
video for us is a huge thing.
So players send in their matches,
sending their points, and we give them.
So how does that work?
Yeah, I mean,
uh, you, you, they have
to record themselves.
Uh, is it on your platform
or just them recording it?
And then will they upload
it to your platform?
How does that work?
Yeah, exactly.
So players either will have someone
hold a camera, so they might say, Hey,
can you take a video of my band deck?
I'm gonna send it in.
So on, on the phone.
Or you can also have the cameras
at the back of the court.
You can put on a match,
you know, like mm-hmm.
Like these cameras here at the club?
Yeah.
They can record a match.
Maybe they record some
little, like clips from it.
They can send it in and we can
give them, give them feedback.
Wow.
So it's cool.
That's
great.
What's a turnaround on that?
Like when
summary
of Yeah, I mean, it, it depends
if, how, how quick Sandy and
I are in there, but, um, yeah.
Yeah.
So you guys are
sitting there, man, you Wow.
Get a lot of that go.
We'll go
in and, and we'll give people
feedback on that, on the shots.
Yeah.
Wow.
Yeah.
Yeah.
We're busy.
Keeps us busy.
Yeah.
That's super exciting, man.
And, and, uh, compared to the views to
the membership, how many members you have?
Uh, and how's that process?
Yeah.
So in terms of like viewership, we
have yeah, like, say half a million
followers, a hundred million views last
year, and I think we, we hit a thousand
members online, uh, end of last year.
So that was, yeah, it was, it was awesome.
It was like that was a
paid subscribers,
right?
Yeah.
Wow.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's great.
So, um, oh, it, I mean.
For us, it's more about building that
community because the, the more people
we can have in that community, just
the more, the more energy there is,
the more people are helping each other.
The, the more we can
can build that, then better.
So when did you join or start
participating with Sandy?
'cause there was a time that, you know.
It was just Sandy and all of a sudden,
Hey, there's another guy there.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
He looks like Sandy too.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You know, can't realize he's
gonna make
it to the top 10, the on
end because he's like,
I, we need help.
We need help.
Please, please
come.
Yeah.
That what it was.
Are you an
older brother or younger brother?
Younger.
Okay.
Yeah, I get asked that a lot.
I'm, I'm not sure if that's sandy
looking young or, or me looking old.
Um.
No, so, well, I mean, my background
is in, um, professional, professional
tennis, and so I went through pro
tennis and then went into pro like
coaching, like players, like recreational
tennis players, but also pro players.
And so, um, Sandy's always, I, I was
playing Padel when Sandy Discover
Padel, but yeah, because I was in the
UK and then I was in Amsterdam, the
sport hadn't really caught on on yet.
So I was always playing,
I was always interested.
I loved the sport, but there just
wasn't the, the course for me to play.
This was like several years ago.
Um, and then the sport grew in Amsterdam
and I was able to play more and more.
I. Uh, it started to grow in the UK as
well, so I got to a point where I was
just like, I went all in on, on Padel
and decided I, that's it, that's it.
I'm gonna not play tennis anymore.
Go go to Spain.
Did you play for a job
with the Padel school or, yeah.
How was that?
Job interview?
Yeah, the job
interview was tough.
Yeah.
No, I mean, Sandy and I, we've always
wanted to work together and so there
was, there was a time where Sandy was
saying to me, oh, Padel's gonna grow.
Padel's gonna grow.
You should think about.
Getting into it and, um, yeah, I was,
I was still in tennis and I was yeah.
Diffing my toe in, and then I sort of,
there was, there was a time where we just
said, all right, let's, let's go all in.
And it was a good decision,
you know, I, I, I listened to your
podcast on, on the way here, on the
car and all that, and I love the
chemistry that, that you guys have.
Yeah.
And how you guys, you know, pink
come back and forth on really very
interest, interesting questions.
Yeah.
Sometimes I see you are too short.
I want more information, you know?
Oh, well, yeah.
We
appreciate you, you saying that.
But
I really, I really love, you know,
the chemistry that you guys have.
So let's talk a little bit, uh, now
that you're in, in the, in the us,
how's the Padel scene in the uk?
Is it really growing?
I mean, tell us a little bit, uh,
you know, what's in the other side?
Yeah.
The, so the uk it's, it's growing
and there's a feeling in the
UK that that Padel is booming.
I think that there's, um.
There, there's hype around it,
which is, which is great, but I
think that the, the kind of, the
supply of courts is a bit slow.
It's probably slower than people
had anticipated with all of the
regulations around building.
So I think there's definitely a high
demand for, for playing Padel, but almost
a low, a low supply of courts, which.
For those clubs that have have
courts, it's great because
they're, they're oversubscribed.
Yeah.
Particularly indoors in
the uk does that bring the
prices
up or?
Exactly.
So, so how much is it,
uh, an average to play
there?
For each Each person?
Yeah.
For
one hour and a half.
Uh, for an hour and a half.
I mean, it, it depends, like if
you're in Central London, it can go
anything up to, I, I believe about 120.
Like for, for a court?
Like, oh, for the whole court?
Yeah.
Yeah.
For, for an hour.
Is it hour?
An hour and a hour, hour and a half.
Uh, well that's probably like an hour.
Yeah.
I mean, you're looking at probably
around 50 50 each for like, like an hour
and a half, some, something like that.
Okay.
So.
Um, I mean, but that's expensive,
you know, for, for the uk.
Yeah.
Um, and that's like London.
And then as you go further out, it
can, it can kind of drop to probably
around 15, 20 each flight hour.
Never seen it that low here.
No.
The lowest, I think is 20 non-prime hour.
And it has to be Exactly.
The moon has to be, yeah.
The stars.
Perfect.
That's $20.
And you see the growth
get, get, I mean the growth of the courts,
I mean, are people building more courts?
Because I mean.
Is the, the chicken and the egg.
You need more courts to build a sport.
So, uh, you see that
growth going there or not?
Yeah.
The co the courts are growing.
I think now, I, I dunno exactly, but
I think there's around 400 5500 courts
now in the uk and I believe about
a year ago there was like three 50.
Like there's definitely a, a, a
growth coming, but the general feeling
amongst players that we speak to
clubs is that they would want to build
more and, and grow it quicker, but.
Yeah, they're just, they're just
limited with, with what's possible
with, with the regulations and, and
finding spaces that are affordable.
So yeah, such a
small country, you need.
The, the cost of the square
meter is very ridiculous.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's the biggest problem.
The real estate.
Yeah.
In this industry.
And it's
killer.
The clubs are, once they found
the space, it's very expensive.
So they just put courts in and
they don't, I mean, for example,
the club here is incredible.
Like, uh, the facilities, the bar, I mean,
it's, I feel like I'm in heaven head.
So do we.
Yeah.
Day man.
Yeah,
it's a great one.
So, so Tom, um.
Explain a little bit how the,
the, uh, do you guys have, uh,
uh, the UK PET Association.
You, you guys have one?
Uh, the, yeah.
The LT Padel.
Yeah.
So it's under the Tennis Federation.
Okay.
Yeah.
Explain a little bit because I hear
it's a little bit all over the place.
You know, the SBAs, it's separated
from, from the us um, DA and all that.
How's, how's that structure in the uk?
Yeah, so the, the, the Padel Federation
is, is under the Tennis Federation.
The, uh, LTA?
Yeah, the LTA.
Okay.
LTA Padel.
Um, and.
I, I guess, lt, the LTA a's
job is to, to help facilitate
the growth of Padel in the uk.
Now there's lots of private at the
moment, there's lots of private businesses
growing Padel in the uk so it slightly
different to to tennis where a lot of
the tennis clubs are committee run and,
and have been around for so long that
the LTA is very much kind of involved
in, in almost every single tennis club
in the uk and it's just a different.
It's, it's slightly different with Padel.
A lot of these businesses are, are private
businesses that are setting up, and so
LTA Padel are, are trying to find ways
of, of, of working with 'em at the moment.
So by the LT A, it's, it's, it's.
Is, doesn't have nothing to do with the
private clubs, with the commercial aspect.
I think they, at, at the moment, I
think that they're trying to find,
they're, they're trying to find a
connection, trying to find how they
can support the growth of Padel.
But the way that Padel is growing
in the UK is, is private businesses
are, are setting up Padel clubs.
Okay.
But let me thing how the tenants in
and what's difference to tenants.
Tenants is also private, isn't it?
Uh, well, so a lot of, a lot of
tennis clubs are committee, like
c committee, like run clubs.
Yeah.
Member owned club, uh, member owned
club, but also funded like predominantly
by, by Wim, like by Wimbledon.
By, by the LTA, like by the
funding, by by LTA funding.
I. Like, so they
put money on each specific club?
Yeah.
A lot of the clubs in the
UK are, are backed by that
as opposed to in, in Padel.
It's it's private investment
that, uh, coming in.
Not
the LTA is not willing to put
money to make the sport growth or,
well, it, yeah.
I mean, at the moment I think they're,
they're offering, they're offering some
support, but it's, uh, yeah, it's, it's,
at the moment, tennis is still such a, a
focus in, in the UK and Padel is growing,
but it's, it's still, it's still small.
So I think they're trying to have as much.
Input and influence as they can, but it's,
yeah, I mean, the focus is, is tennis.
It's, it's the biggest sport
here, here in the, in the clubs,
depending on where you are.
Some is thriving at tennis
and some clubs is, are not.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And so they're having real difficulty, uh,
time filling in the, the courts, you know?
Yeah.
So we're seeing more like pickle, you
know, more north, but now starting
to see a little bit of Padel.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Great.
Do you see, uh, do you see the
same problem that we have here?
Here we have.
You know, every year we have more and
more Padel courts all over the country,
but we don't have enough coaches, and
that's the key for, for us to make the
Padel growth in the United States.
Are, are you guys having the same problem
or are you having enough coaches for that
demand of amount of players that you have?
Yeah, I think it's a worldwide,
it's a worldwide problem.
I think really for,
for emerging countries.
I think getting, getting coaches,
but, but also I think the, the
key is, is quality coaches.
Yeah.
So because that's, that's
the thing and, and I think.
That almost is the reason why we created
our, our academy is because really
now you can call yourself a coach.
If you, if you go and do
a weekend course, yeah.
Spend two days and get a piece of paper.
You start on
Friday on by, by, by Sunday.
You're a, a professional Padel coach.
Yeah,
yeah, yeah.
But I, but I understand it because
there's so, there, there's so much
demand that clubs need coaches.
Yeah.
But at the same time, it's,
it doesn't necessarily.
Make, make a good coach.
If you go and do a a two
day course, it'll help you.
Yeah.
But the way, the way that certifications
work, and I think this is across many
sports, it's not just Padel, but you go
and do a a a course, you get the piece
of paper, and then that's the end of your
Yeah.
Your, your coaching.
There, there's no, there's
no ongoing support.
And so the big part of our academy
at the Replay Club in Boynton
is that our coach education is,
is ongoing throughout the year.
So we have a coach at Boynton.
We, we've certified
him, we've trained him.
He's getting ongoing support from us.
He's getting the programs,
he's getting the drills.
He's going through a
recertification program every
year as, as are the other coaches.
So.
It's, it's, it's an ongoing, it's an
ongoing coach education, which for,
for us, was the biggest frustration
when we looked at certifications.
Yeah.
Because we, we look at that and
think, well, that doesn't make a good
coach to have a, a two day course.
Right.
But I think as, as more
coaches come out, I think the.
There's gonna be the band for
better coaches, so they're gonna
have to, you know, go and get Yeah.
Hannah's players become more aware.
Play.
Yeah, that's true too.
That, that,
that hurts the sport in a certain way.
I mean, nowadays, I don't know
how it's in the uk, but here it
is your core of, of your students.
They're beginning intermediate.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You know, that's gonna be your core.
I don't know how it's in the uk.
Yeah, it's the same.
Yeah.
Very unlikely you're gonna get, you know,
this is not a Spain or Argentina or, yeah.
Maybe Italy.
And, and you guys travel
pretty much all over the world.
And I know you guys have been going
to actually, I was watching your
YouTube, uh, on, on South Africa.
Okay.
I don't know if you, did you go there or?
No, it was only Sandy.
Uh, only Sandy and, and nickel.
Okay.
As well.
Yeah.
So,
so, and we heard, we have some
friends here that the rumors, we
got the rumors going on give us no,
no, that, that, uh, uh, in South
Africa, the Padel is, it's crazy.
I mean, it's, it's,
it's growing like crazy.
Is that true?
I mean, you see the
emerging countries like
Yeah.
Padel in South Africa
is, is growing massively.
Really?
Yeah.
And the passion for sport
there, I, I didn't go but.
Sandy always tells me during the
trip, he comes back and, and we kind
of, we, we, we discuss how, how the
energy is from, from the players there.
Yeah.
Because, because we go to certain markets
and the energy is just incredible about,
about Padel, but also, uh, the Padel
school, if they, if they're followers,
if they're really passionate followers.
And South Africa was one of those
places where he said that they've
not only got a massive passion for,
for Padel, but it just, the, the
passion for sport there is, yeah.
It's just so kind of
reflective in Padel and, uh.
Yeah, they, they're, they're
loving it over out there.
Okay.
Alright.
So how'd you get to put Beach?
How'd get to Yeah, exactly.
Give us that story, how that
happened, who reached out to
you, what, what happened there?
And Yes.
I mean, they have to, to have
a good negotiations for you
to get over there, you know?
Yeah.
So what's the plan, you know?
Yeah.
Yeah.
So,
so Jonathan, um, and, and Alex to
Two Brothers, uh, that run, that
run replay actually reached out to,
to Sandy, I think, or perhaps the
Padel school and, and came to us with
it, with a project, and they said.
This was, they had an empty warehouse
at, at this point, and they said,
we, we want to create one of the best
Padel clubs in the world, and we wanna
have the best coaches in the world.
And they wanted to make that connection.
And they just said, is there, is there
anything we can do to, to, to have
the Padel school in involved in this?
And Sandy and I had always, we'd
always wanted to create, uh, an
academy and, and, and certify coaches
and, and have that academy model and.
Really, we were just, we were waiting
to find the right partner and, and
the same, and the partner that had the
same vision as us in terms of providing
the best coaching because many clubs
can, like we talked about with, with
coaches, just, just find, find a coach
that has done a two day course and
put them in, and then that, that's it.
But, uh, Jonathan and
Alex were, were different.
They, they wanted to create the, one of
the best facilities, but they also wanted
to differentiate with the coaching and,
and they came to us and Sandy visited.
An empty warehouse in Boynton.
He, he said to me one day, he said,
I'm, I'm off to, I think he was in, in
Miami anyway, and he said, I'm just.
I'm gonna go up to Boynton
and, and visit a warehouse.
And I was like, why,
why are you doing that?
And uh, and yeah, that's where it started.
And then here we are today with
our, with our academy there.
So how
you were convinced to leave pretty much
everything over there and come over here?
I. Oh, have you looked to the weather out?
Have you seen the weather?
Yeah, I'm from the rainy,
rainy, you know, forever.
Winter to
sunny.
Always hot, uh, weather in Florida.
Yeah,
exactly.
As a Brit, always talking
about the weather, right?
No, I think, um, I, I think the
opportunity here for, for Padel in
the US to work at, at Boynton in our
first academy in, in the World and in
the us which is, which was massive.
And, and yeah, we see such a massive
future in the US and, uh, yeah, it
was, for me, it was a no brainer.
So can you
explain that, that partnership or
collaboration, how is that working?
Are you part of that, that, uh, that
club or you just have your academy there?
How, how, how is that partnership?
Yeah.
So, so we have our, our
Padel school academy there.
Mm-hmm.
And so we, we train up the coaches.
Um, we, we, we come over for
a number of days per year as
well to run, to run events.
Um, I've actually also, this.
Is a bit of a, a unique situation,
but I've come over and potentially
might be be here full time.
That's not something we would do.
Oh, I thought you were here
for good man.
She's put the anchor and, yeah.
Yeah.
Well,
I mean, spend the
whole day on
short sleeves in shorts.
I know, I know.
Yeah.
That's, that's the plan.
Yeah, that's the plan.
So you're gonna plan to be here
for the, so, so what are your
responsibilities are supposed to be
there a certain amount of time through
the whole year to do the academy?
Yeah,
yeah.
There's, there's a, yeah, exactly.
There's, there's time dedicated to that.
There's.
And that's focused on,
on these player events.
Coach education.
Yeah.
And, and growing the academy
because ultimately we want, we
want to grow the academy there.
We wanna put coaching programs
in for players of all levels.
And yeah, we want to, we wanna
be the best in, in, in Florida.
And Yes.
So how,
how, how could potential
coaches reach you guys?
Or how, how can they make that step?
Yeah.
Well, I mean, just, just reaching out to
us is, is a step on on the Padel School.
With the Padel school.
Okay.
Yeah.
If you go on the Padel School
Instagram or, or a page like that,
you can contact us If you're in the
Florida area or the us it's, it's
also a good, a good thing as well.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Let's talk about the, the club.
The club, because not, not everybody
knows the club, and I heard through
Jonathan that it's unbelievable.
What, why don't you run us through,
uh, uh, what, what is the cloud?
How many courts, uh, what do
you have, facility and all that.
So, I mean, and you know, it might sound
biased here, but it is, it is one of
the nicest clubs that I've ever been to.
We're looking forward to going the club.
Yeah, you have to been asked times.
I can picture, but you, you have to go.
And this is also in reserve where,
I mean, this is, this is one of the
nicest as well, but, um, so yeah,
there's, there's 10, 10 indoor courts.
Wow.
Um, there's, there's a pickle
ball, like there's, how high is the
ceiling?
Uh, I believe the ceiling.
Do you know what, I'm not, I'm not
actually sure of the, I mean, it's,
it's lower than, it's, it is not
like, like here as, is this Okay.
Is at least 28 feet, uh, this one?
No, no.
The one Oh oh, the one in, yeah.
I believe it's like, I want to
say like 8, 8, 9 meters maybe.
Like it is, I mean,
it's, it is, it is good.
Like 24, 25 feet.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Maybe, maybe a bit higher.
Maybe a bit higher.
But it's, I mean, more than plenty.
Yeah.
Yeah.
There's more than plenty height.
Um, there's a, there's like
pickleball as well, I believe.
There's like.
Seven or eight indoor,
indoor pickle there.
There's, uh, a gym, so there's like
CrossFit, top of the range gym.
There's a spa there as well.
This place is big.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Big place.
You have, uh,
steam
and sauna.
They've got
steam, sauna, coal plunge,
really?
Area.
Yeah.
Is this a membership, uh,
based, uh, club or, or?
Both non-membership and membership?
Uh, it's, yeah,
there's, there's a me,
there's a membership.
Okay.
Uh, it's a membership club, but you
can also come in and join the programs.
If you're a non-member, I believe
you can, can pay and play as well, so
you don't have to be a member there.
But yeah, it's, it's one of those, you
have to go, you have to go and visit.
You have to go and visit to
see if yourself, certainly.
And, and how do you see, uh, you,
you were there for about three
weeks that you said, uh, I'm sure
it, it is nothing to do with Miami.
Miami's a different animal compared
to the rest of the United States.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, how do you see the traffic, the Padel
traffic going into the cloud so far?
Yeah.
It, like you say, it's,
it's different to Miami.
Yeah, because it, I feel like Padel has
been established here just a lot longer.
And, but I mean, the, the, the traffic,
even since, I would say even when I
came over to now, there just more and
more people coming through the door.
We're putting on loads of, uh, we call
'em like taster events or, or events
where people can come and try Padel.
They can, they can get on court.
There's, um.
Yeah, just we were trying to get
as many people through the door.
A lot of tennis players as well.
'cause that area very much.
Yeah.
There's, there's loads of tennis clubs.
And as a tennis player, I know
that when I transitioned it was
like, oh, what an amazing sport.
And so we're bringing tennis players
through the door, getting them
to experience Padel and yeah,
we, we we're basically doing our
best to bring as many people Yeah.
Through the door.
Because we know that once you
pick up Padel and you try it.
Yeah.
Most of the time you,
you want to come back.
So, so far how many
coaches do you guys have?
So we've got one coach at the moment.
Okay.
We've got
one coach.
And is that enough or, or you
need more coaches or what do you
Well, I mean, it is including myself,
so I, I'm there as well delivering,
delivering coaching as well.
So I should probably say
two coaches at the moment.
But yeah, it's, it's one of
those things that we will, we,
we will see how, how it grows.
For now it's, it's fine like us two
working there, but I mean, there's,
there's so many courts, there's,
there's lots of potential there to,
to bring on more coaches, I'm sure.
Great.
Why don't you tell us a little
bit, I mean, I also, uh.
Those exciting trips that you guys,
this weekend getaways, uh, go with
Padel school to the Caribbean Oh yeah.
Or to exotic places and all that.
Tell us how that works.
Uh, well actually, yeah.
So yeah, the dream.
The dream.
The Padel.
The Padel, exactly.
Yeah.
Um, well, so we, we do
Padel holidays as well.
Okay.
And I'm sure actually.
We will be offering people
to come to, to Florida.
I'm sure you half of
the uk.
I know, I know, I
know.
Anywhere where there's good weather,
just go, come and play Padel.
Uh, so no, we, we do Padel holidays, um,
and actually the next one's in 10 Reef in.
Wow.
Yeah, so that's, I'm gonna be going
back for that call it, call it
a work trip, but it's work trip.
And how's a typical day there?
When, how many days?
How's a typical day?
Yeah, so, uh, we, we do about four days.
It's about four days training.
We do.
Uh, two hours in the morning.
Two hours in the afternoon,
and then people can have their
time to, to go to the beach.
We, we have dinner together.
Um, it's, it's, it is really fun.
And the best bit we love as coaches
is that when you get people for, for
four days, that intense training, the,
the difference from day one to day
four, it's, it's like night and day.
It's, uh.
It's, it's awesome.
I mean, it's such good fun.
You're in these luxury locations,
five star hotels and that's nice.
Yeah.
You transform your Padel.
I mean, what, what else do you need?
The best excuse ever?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
That's it.
That's it.
Yeah, exactly.
So, and
you guys, one coming up to the Canary
Islands in Tene, and then you, how
many times a year do you guys do it?
Uh, it depends.
Normally if we, we either put out
a holiday, so we, we, we put out
that we're going to Tene and then
people join us or we, we say to
groups if they wanna come to us.
With a group of eight or a
group of 12 people, we can
create a bespoke trip for them.
So we've got a few locations now,
Portugal, uh, Tenerif, we've got places
in Spain, we've got, you know, mal places
in Maldives and these sorts of places
that, that people can go if they want to.
So, and how many people
do you usually take?
It depends on the coaches.
If we take two coaches normally.
12 players.
Okay.
About 12 players.
So it is, yeah, it's,
it is focus training.
There's, there's a good
ratio of coach to player.
Um, I mean, it's a specific level.
Do you have to be, or it's it's any level.
It depends on the trip.
So, uh, inter normally like intermediate,
high, intermediate level is, is
normally what, what we do, but I.
Don't make an assumption
for I know your rating.
Yeah.
We'll get you on it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
No, it, it depends on, it
depends on the, the group.
A group might come to us and say,
Hey, we've got 12 beginner players.
We'd like a holiday.
And so there you go.
It, it's perfect.
There you go.
Yeah.
If one drops out and Yeah.
Yeah.
There you go.
You're in baby.
So Tom, our dream is for us to have the.
You know, the perfect du
you and Sandy Sandy's been a
hard, hard player to get here.
When is he coming?
I mean, he's always
somewhere, but never here.
Well, I mean, yeah, he's, he's traveling.
Well wake, we have
the two of you.
The pleasure to have the two
of you in the art studio.
Yeah.
Well, I mean, I'm ho I'm trying
to get him over here as well.
He's, he's coming, he's coming for trips.
Um.
Who, who knows, who
knows what will happen.
Yeah.
It'd be nice to
play too.
I know, I know what
I'm saying.
I know, I know.
I to give us
a handicap though, for sure.
Yeah,
yeah, yeah.
We'll get on court and
then we'll come to studio.
It.
It's a good mix.
Yeah.
Well, Tom, uh, what a great
pleasure to have you here, man.
Watching you play.
It's, it's, it's a light, uh, too
bad that you, you lost against,
you know, the twin, the spans.
Yeah.
But like you said, you know,
it's rather to lose, uh.
Two, uh, two Spaniards and not
two uh, British guys, you know?
No, those guys play well.
Yeah.
Yeah.
They play, they play and we look forward
to doing the, the club review there.
Yeah.
I wanna make sure you're there.
You know, we do it.
Okay.
Yeah,
yeah.
Come down.
Good luck, man.
Thank you so much, guys.
Thank you for your time, man.
Appreciate it,
man.
Cheers.
Good, good, good.
Excellent man.