Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Pickleball Pro Julian Arnold Opens Up, Recaps MLP, Volair Paddle Release
364 Plays2 years ago
In-person podcast episode featuring Julian Arnold and his co-founder partner Ryan Cohen. We dive into various topics including a recap of Major League Pickleball San Clemente, Ryan and Julian's history, the launch of the new Volair paddles, personal stories, their favorite moments, and the most influential person in Julian's life.
Vuori discount: vuori.com/buildingpickleball
- Vuori is an investment in your happiness. For our listeners they are offering 20% off your first purchase. Get yourself some of the most comfortable and versatile clothing on the planet.
- Not only will you receive 20% off your first purchase, but enjoy free shipping on any U.S. orders over $75 and free returns. Go to vuori.com/buildingpickleball and discover the versatility of Vuori Clothing.
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:37 Recapping MLP
28:14 Ryan & julian's history
33:24 New volair paddles
44:35 Getting personal
01:13:09 Favorite moment
01:20:55 Volair update
01:33:30 Most influential person in Julian’s life
More videos here - https://www.youtube.com/@buildingpickleball
#pickleball #podcast #exclusiveinterview
💲DISCOUNT CODES 💲 (using these helps support the channel)
• Vuori: vuori.com/buildingpickleball (20% discount applied at checkout)
• Volair: LIM20
• BreadNButter: BP
• JOOLA: BP10
• SixZero: BP10
• Vatic Pro: BP10
• PCKL (balls): BUILDINGPB15
• CIVILE (apparel): BRIANLIM
• The Pickleball Exchange - 10% off sign-up discount code 'BUILDINGPICKLEBALL0202"
📲 FOLLOW 📲
• Newsletter: https://buildingpb.beehiiv.com/subscribe
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildingpickleball
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@buildingpickleball?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
• Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5aPtDs5VOnqpbQpF12SLZN
• Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/building-pickleball/id1666931896
Like, comment, and subscribe to our channel for more engaging content on Pickleball, exclusive player insights, and the latest updates from Pickleball brands.
▶ Amazon affiliate links: - Sony ZV 1: https://amzn.to/3LF65zY - Memory card: https://amzn.to/3NozkZ8 - Amazon gift card: https://amzn.to/3LOipy9 - Samsung 2TB portal SSD: https://amzn.to/3AE3aRW - Acoustic sound panel: https://amzn.to/3oIxWWU - Yonex grip: https://amzn.to/40InLiB
.
I use Epidemic Sound, sign up for a 30-day free trial here https://share.epidemicsound.com/iro87j .
👤 CONTACT: Sponsorship, ad space: Email: buildingpickleball1@gmail.com
📸 https://instagram.com/buildingpickleball
Recommended
Transcript
Personal Struggles and Triumphs
00:00:00
Speaker
That was extremely, extremely tough for the both of us. And I wasn't in the greatest place. I was pretty depressed and just kind of going through life, trying to see if you can rise to the occasion. I think those are the moments that I really look forward to. Ben, you know, strategically reacts and then puts himself against the number, your number two mixed team, ensuring that they win 3-1.
MLP Super Finals and Team Success
00:00:27
Speaker
In this week's episode, I sit down with professional player Julian Arnold and his business partner and childhood friend, Ryan Cohen, to recap his team's MLP Super Finals win, the release of a new paddle, discussing life before pickleball, as well as Julian opening up about the most influential person in his life.
00:00:47
Speaker
What excites me most about talking with professional players is being able to share their story. The story that lives off the court. We see the performer, but rarely do we hear from the person. This is the story of Julian Arnold, someone who took his second chance to heart. This is building pickleball. Bro, I had to do it a lot. I had to do the...
00:01:10
Speaker
The morning routine, the shower, wolf down half a sandwich. You're looking decent. Look home over the park. I'm going to get some nice real food right now. Dude, I saw you, uh, I was driving to go play football and I was driving along South Lamar because no one was that sharp. And then saw you on lawn walking to somewhere. You guys go to like Uchika or something?
00:01:38
Speaker
We're saying you wanted to capture something on your own. Was she wearing blue last night? Yeah. Oh, we went to Juliet's. Oh, nice. It was all right. Yeah, one of my favorites, to be honest. It was all right.
Tension and Strategy at MLP
00:01:51
Speaker
MLP, I mean, MLP is like the best thing to talk about right now because it was like a crazy story. I mean, from my perspective, like filming it, it was like super, super cool. It wouldn't have been a story if you guys just won straight up. But the fact that like there was an anticipation building up like after you guys was it quarterfinals against the fives? Yeah. That happened to me that wasn't the best performance. I was like, and that just happens right as a professional athlete.
00:02:14
Speaker
you just have off matches, off days, things like that. And then like the next day, everyone's just kind of sitting and waiting. Like what's going to happen in the championship match against the pioneers and the fives?
00:02:26
Speaker
And then I was like creepily recording you from like an, from a distance. I don't know if you knew, but I was like recording you just trying to get your reaction. Like once they lost, it was sweet because going into it, everyone's like, dude, fives have a great singles team. Yeah, because this is a dream breaker. Yeah. Yeah. Five's have a great single team. And then capturing that was like super, super like exciting. And then going into, into the super finals championship.
00:02:51
Speaker
Maybe I don't have a good pulse on the scene, but I wouldn't necessarily call it an upset. I don't think 3-0 was what I was expecting, but I wouldn't say it was like an upset. But yeah, man, go ahead. Share your thoughts. Give me your thoughts on just like MOP as
Spectator Engagement and Team Dynamics
00:03:04
Speaker
a whole.
00:03:04
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it, MLP as a whole, it's super exciting. You know, I love the team aspect. I love the schedule. Um, I think it makes it very, very easy for spectators to follow their favorite players, their favorite teams, whatever, make sure they're watching key match-ups. Um.
00:03:26
Speaker
So yeah, I mean I think it has a lot a lot of things going for it things that Obviously are easier in that team setting where there's less matches. It's a little harder for the PPA to do something like that at the moment, but I'm sure as the sport grows we'll eventually get to that point where maybe We're lengthening how the duration of tournaments and not doing a whole draw on one day But that's to be seen But yeah, I mean
00:03:56
Speaker
Like you said, the main tournament, I guess, ended a little sooner than we wanted, but we ran into a very good team. The fives are obviously right there. It's those top three teams that really kind of separated themselves from the rest of the pack.
00:04:16
Speaker
Um, so obviously they have Annaly is one of the, if not the best female player to ever play as of now. Um, James, who's very large, dominant player, great hands, um, can play all three events. And, uh, you know, when it comes to the dream breaker and also, I think, you know, in general, she's stepped up her, her doubles game. Lea's is very, very solid.
00:04:46
Speaker
She's one of the few players that in a Dreambreaker can even challenge Annalee and they're on the same team. I think the only other girl that happens to be on our team is Catherine. And then Hayden who's been just continuing to get better. I was fortunate enough to play with Hayden a lot last year.
00:05:08
Speaker
I really enjoy playing with the kid. He's kind of like a younger brother than me. He's been playing great. They have amazing skills. Like you said, that's just sometimes how it goes. You're not playing your best.
Match Strategies and Player Roles
00:05:24
Speaker
You're not going to beat a team like that. With us losing there, I thought,
00:05:28
Speaker
Thought the chances of us making this Monday final weren't as good I didn't really know the math and then I found out that oh they had to actually win the whole thing I thought they just had to make it to like the semis or something So when that happened, you know, I thought our chances were a little higher and
00:05:45
Speaker
But he got, I mean, he got about as close as possible. I mean, they lost in a, in a dream breaker to the pioneers. And, you know, I like you said, also, I think most people would have assumed on paper that, uh, the fives would take a dream breaker. But, you know, I think MLP has shown that it's not necessarily about.
00:06:06
Speaker
Having the best singles players Obviously you want people that if if they don't play singles you want people that could Yeah, you know they can go out there for four points There's an element of pressure for the top singles players to go out there and do what they're supposed to do and the nature of singles is is That it's a shot making game. You know if someone goes out there and just hits a passing shot doesn't matter how good you are like
00:06:33
Speaker
you're going to get beat. So just because you are the better player on paper doesn't mean you're just going to go out there and win. So I think I think the fives, you know, with the expectation that they should win.
00:06:46
Speaker
felt the pressure a little bit, and the girls on the pioneers really performed well, and Tyler did his thing against Annalee, so I think they took strategy that the fives kind of showed by Annalee playing guys in the first two events and saw how
00:07:05
Speaker
Okay, well, that seems like a strategy to kind of neutralize her. Because if you can go 2-2 with your weaker male singles player, or maybe even squeak out a couple 3-1s, that's pretty good. And then maybe let one of your girls go against their second male singles player and just hope for the best. What did Tyler do against Anna Lee? I don't know exactly, but I think he did fairly well. I think it might have been like,
00:07:36
Speaker
maybe 2-2 but then I think he got a 3-1 in there somewhere basically just neutralizing her I think you know I think Megan did pretty good against Hayden and
00:07:51
Speaker
And kind of the same thing with Eta. I think Eta had like a winning, winning series against Leia and then maybe an even series against Leia. And then obviously Ben, Ben did very well against James. I think he went 3-1 in the first, the first round and he missed a serve. So like, you know, that's enough to create a, I think what, there was like a 10 point margin or something.
00:08:12
Speaker
It started out eight point more. I think they crept back a little bit when they got to 20, but I think it ended up being like 21 14 or something. So at least the dream breaker wasn't super close. I would have been I would have been sweating over there. I was already
00:08:25
Speaker
You know, every other point head down, like freaking out. So it was nerve wracking, man. I'd say even with the point deferential, at least from when I look back on the weekend, watching that matchup, I was right next to Zubin and stuff. And I just remember it was so freaking stressful compared to the actual like super final where, you know, it just, there's a lot of like release of pressure. I think I saw it across like the whole mad drops team. And there's just a lot of excitement that we just got there. Um, and then it was like, Hey, let's show up and see what happens.
00:08:53
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. It's more nerve wracking to watch than to actually be out there and kind of in control of your own destiny. Um, but yeah, I'd agree with what Ryan said. Like I felt like my whole goal was like, just, just to get the opportunity to play on Monday. We were in such a good position to do that, that I just wanted that, that opportunity.
00:09:20
Speaker
You know, you're guaranteed an extra 14K just for showing up on Monday. And then obviously the payout for winning is so much more.
Challenges in Professional Sports
00:09:30
Speaker
So the opportunity to play for the 60K is huge. Zen incentivize you.
00:09:37
Speaker
I mean, yes, I'd say it also makes you probably a little more You know feel the pressure and or was it drew drew being there Spired you hope I told you to show up to every match. I mean, this is our this is our livelihood Most of us are doing this full-time So I don't know who would answer that question and say like oh, no, it's not about the money like obviously we all enjoyed what we're doing and we're happy that we're
00:10:04
Speaker
This is our line of work. It's a lot of people's hobby. Obviously, it's more than a hobby for us. We have to take it a little bit more seriously. Our matches are way more stressful than just going out to the park and playing with your friends. Afterwards, it's like, oh, it doesn't matter if I... You could go 0 and 6 on the day, and it's like, yeah, maybe you're not that happy. But ultimately, you went out and got a good exercise.
00:10:29
Speaker
and played pickleball. For us, it's like, well, if you go 0-2 on a tournament, you're not making money. Yeah, as a pro athlete, you don't get to play when you want.
00:10:45
Speaker
You have to play when you have to and it's also like you can't just play impulsively like on Looking from the outside for most people like coming from a professional sports background ones like oh, well you get to do what you love every day like well not really because eventually what you're doing as like what you love becomes like it almost gets a point where you Somewhat hate it and you have to love to hate it because you're going through training you're having to do it like day in and day out you also just have to like watch tape you have to constantly be competing where
00:11:15
Speaker
A lot of people like it's almost like vacation, right? Like we enjoy vacation because we get it in like the times that we want it But as a professional athlete you have to do it repetitively and in a consistent basis, so Yeah, I was just curious like what else like what intrinsically like motivates you because There is when I like get to film you like if for anyone listening that doesn't know like I got to film yet Rockwell and I got to film yet I
00:11:42
Speaker
Saint Clemente like watching you get fired up. I'm like this has to be like they got me excited I was like that reminds me of when I used to fight and just being able to see you do that and like Like exerting your like passion and just watching you perform I was like, oh man, that's gotta be the most incredible feeling and I have to like
00:12:02
Speaker
I kind of have to kiss those days
Intrinsic Motivation and Joy of Competition
00:12:04
Speaker
goodbye, right? But watching you be able to do it, I'm like, damn, I miss what that felt like. And being able to see you do that is just like, yeah, it got me super, super thrilled. Yeah, I mean, I think going back to what you were saying about the enjoyment, I feel like...
00:12:19
Speaker
I agree with the sense of like, I mean, I guess it's more like you got to learn how to enjoy it in a different way. You know, like, obviously, you still got to love it. If you don't, then then you lose that drive. But you're loving different aspects of it. You know, you're you're loving the competition that those moments, like, like you just said, where, you know, you're on a big stage playing for. Playing for something that's very important and
00:12:50
Speaker
and trying to see if you can rise to the occasion. I think those are the moments that I really look forward to.
Optimizing Time and Lifestyle
00:12:56
Speaker
My ideal morning starts with being able to go to my clothes drawer and find exactly what I want without experiencing analysis paralysis, trying to decide what to wear.
00:13:07
Speaker
I'm big on optimizing my time and mental space, so as far as choosing clothes goes, this is one less decision I have to make. I've always been a fan of Yori because of how versatile and comfortable the clothes are. They're super, super soft. One shirt can be worn for working from home, playing pickleball, going out to grab dinner, or working out.
00:13:27
Speaker
And that's why I'm proud to announce a new partnership with Viore. They're offering you a discount of 20% off your first purchase. Go get yourself some of the most comfortable and versatile clothing on the planet by going to viore.com slash building pickleball. That's viore.com slash building pickleball. I'll include the URL in the show description down below. Enjoy the rest of the show.
00:13:51
Speaker
That was great to capture that. It's because like if it just ended with you at the quarterfinals against the fives, great. We know this isn't Julian. Like if you got outright just beat and you and yeah, you just got beat competitively, that'd be one thing. But to just like see players or athletes just having an off day or an off match or an off performance, you're like,
00:14:15
Speaker
I want to see that happen a second time. You want to see the rematch or like at least your redemption. And then the super finals was that is like, oh, this is who we were supposed to see at the fives match. Granted, not taking anything away from them at all. They played great.
00:14:32
Speaker
But it was also very clear that you didn't it didn't seem like you could you played to your first full stability so like like you said just rising to the occasion that super finals match was the Perfect example and story of that and you like you saw it in full effect I mean going 3-0 against that team
Recap of MLP Super Finals
00:14:51
Speaker
was like incredible and Julian what was uh was your walkout song?
00:14:57
Speaker
And why did you have a walkout song? I don't think they didn't end up using. Oh, man. What was it supposed to be? I think I originally thought that they were asking for a song for our whole team. Uh huh. So I picked bounce back by Big Sean because I thought it was fitting for. Yeah.
00:15:17
Speaker
I mean that, you know, like we wanted the, you said people maybe wanted to see the rematch and you know, we did play the fives or excuse me, um, uh, the pioneers, um, in the group play and we lost, we lost three, one. Um, no, it was controversial. No. Yeah. We lost, we lost, we lost three one. Yeah. But, uh, yeah, I mean, I felt like we were right in that match, you know, yeah. Thomas and I,
00:15:47
Speaker
You know, we had that men's match. The girls honestly had a decent chance if they hadn't started. I think they got down like 8-1 and then made it a decently close match. Like probably lost like 21-17 or something. So just in the rally scoring, it's tough to get down so big and try to make something of it.
00:16:15
Speaker
So I just feel like all of us didn't really come out and play our best. And then just, you know, like we had discussed the last, that time and the time before when we lost to them in the semis in Florida, both times we went down O2.
00:16:31
Speaker
And that's pretty much a death sentence against that team because then Ben strategically put it, well, I take that back.
Pre-match Planning and Team Building
00:16:40
Speaker
If you're down O2 and you're not reacting to mix, then your chances of winning are a couple of percent.
00:16:51
Speaker
Ben strategically reacts and then puts himself against your number two mix team, ensuring that they win 3-1. So that was our, we probably talked for like an hour at least.
00:17:09
Speaker
before the match on Monday, just discussing what we wanted to do, what happens here, who do we want to play. There was a lot of discussion back and forth of whether we should do these different strategies. And I was pretty adamant about, I want to play straight up. The match for us, I look at our team and I feel like our team is built
00:17:36
Speaker
on the fact that every player is very well rounded. We can all play singles, we can all play mixed and doubles. So I just didn't, I didn't think like, cause Athena was throwing out the ideas of like, you know, basically kind of sacrificing like, oh, let's try to get, you know, cause I don't think we really thought like,
00:18:03
Speaker
The the two zero was like a high percentage. Yeah, so we were kind of planning for more of the percentage of like alright Let's just not go down. Oh two. So let's go one one and then what do we do? And you know, she was really saying like maybe
00:18:19
Speaker
You know, maybe we put, um, Thomas and Irena against Ben and you know, you and Catherine go play Tyler again, who we beat. We, who we beat in the, in the group stage. And I think we won like 2114 or something. So a team that, a team that we probably should beat more often than not, but at the same time.
00:18:41
Speaker
You just never know with pickleball, like with sport, you just never know. Just because you're supposed to win doesn't mean you're gonna, like, you still have to go play well. Everyone out here is great players, so, you know, these are such small differences between, you know, a team that wins 55% of the time or wins 45% of the time, whatever. So my philosophy was like, let's play straight up, let's like, I'd rather take,
00:19:11
Speaker
like two bites out of the apple instead of putting all our eggs in one basket kind of thing. Like I believe that, I believe that Thomas and Irina can beat Tyler and Megan. And I believe that me and Catherine could beat Ben and Etta.
00:19:25
Speaker
And I just think that percentage-wise, that's the way to play. That's how you build an MLP team. You build an MLP team that you feel like every match you go out there, you legitimately have a chance to win. If you feel like one of your teams just rarely has a chance to win, that's really tough. That puts a lot of pressure on.
00:19:47
Speaker
On the other players to go like oh you got to go out there and win every single one of your matches And then all of a sudden that pressure creeps in so yeah, and if you think that there's a high likelihood the other team also thinks that oh I think we all we all are pretty much on the same page like most of these players like outside of Andre and Kyle and Simone are all on the PPA We all know each other and even those three players like
00:20:13
Speaker
We know them as well. It's not like we haven't seen them. So everyone knows what everyone's capable of and kind of has an idea of.
00:20:23
Speaker
What matches should win and what shouldn't not to say that that always happens. Yeah What's the role of what's the role of team captain like like when you said Athena who's for anyone listening? That's Catherine's fiance or girlfriend? No, they're married. Yeah. Okay. It's her wife and coach and yeah, I don't know if
00:20:45
Speaker
Coach I think she like obviously like, you know drills with her and and Athena is a fairly good player herself I think she used to play pro. Um, so I would put her at you know, like a low-level pro. Yeah and You know obviously like her manager, you know, so she's I think overseeing a lot, you know She sees stuff and and recommends that I'm just not sure like how much like technical work Someone like Catherine's doing or a lot of us really, you know, it's kind of
00:21:14
Speaker
Pickle balls at that stage where there's not a whole lot of coaches that are in a coaching position That surprising some of us are gonna actually work with Just because professional play hasn't been around for
Role of Team Captain and Crowd Influence
00:21:28
Speaker
that long. Yeah But Yeah, anyways, she you know, she's great for having an extra set of eyes you know, it's basically like having another top player like on the sidelines just watching and then I
00:21:42
Speaker
You know, what I love about Athena, especially during the matches is like, nothing she says is too like direct or like, you know, it's an absolute she, she always like, I felt like when we were playing the mix matches or, you know, my men's matches, she would like, if, if I saw that she wanted to say something, I come over and she would always be, she always started things off with like, what do you think about doing this? Like, what do you think? How do you think this would work? Just like, you know, trying to get the gears turning a little bit, which I always liked because I like, I like,
00:22:13
Speaker
receiving that information without necessarily like feeling like this is something that she really wants me to commit to. It's just like, hey, maybe this could be a, you know, what do you think about it? And I say, well, you know, I'm not great at that or I, oh, that would work. Like I do have that shot, like, you know, those kinds of things. So I really liked the way that she was delivering.
00:22:55
Speaker
her advice on
00:22:57
Speaker
Gameplan worked out, you know, obviously better than expected but But like like I was saying, I feel like the team the team matched up the well against well against them Yeah, yeah, the pioneers didn't have like their crowd base like there's like
00:23:11
Speaker
I didn't hear anything from that side. I don't know how that impacts you, but if there's a crowd of supporters and you know they're rooting for you, then it's definitely cool. Yeah, I just like a high energy crowd. I mean, there was even at one point, she works for Vulcan or something, and she just called me a bitch, basically. It's like, I'm sorry that we're winning, but it's like, I mean, she's also,
00:23:41
Speaker
She like follows Jay or Tyler around to their matches all the time and I feel like every time I've played him she's on the mat on the sidelines like Cheering at the most ridiculous points like it's I have no problem people cheering for their favorite players on a great point, but it's like You know, I miss a return or like a high a high ball that I should have I should have made I'm not yeah, not even not even this I'm talking about in general like I
00:24:08
Speaker
This one was just she was out, you know reacting out of pure frustration because we're we were winning You know, I think it was it was a result that you know, most people going into the match would have said, you know all right the the mad drops girls maybe have a slight edge and then the guys on the pioneers are like a shoe in to win that match and then the mix is You know a toss-up. I think most people thought if anything
00:24:35
Speaker
it's going to go to a dream breaker or pioneers probably win 3-1. That would be the percentage if you were going to take a pole.
00:24:41
Speaker
God, I wish betting was around Yeah, that's would have been amazing Yeah, yeah three three O's ridiculous. So yeah as as a fan MLP It's the coolest event. I've had the experience to go a few times and that venue is Yeah, I'd say even like most of us it's our it's our favorite PPA venue
00:25:08
Speaker
Which is surprising because it's not like it's a huge venue or anything. It's just you know San Clemente is a gorgeous area in California That center court is very cool and No bad seat which I mean I've as a fan I've been to some other MLPs and other events and if you're not in the VIP record side you
00:25:29
Speaker
you might have a hard time going to the bathroom again and drinking, coming back and feeling that you didn't miss any action. But with this venue, I'd run to the bathroom and then I could kind of like stand up at the top of the steps and just like watch a point or two and then go down to my seat. But I just, everyone had such a great view from every angle, which is not the normal experience for
00:25:49
Speaker
The rolling mountains in the backdrop and like during y'all's super finals match the sun was setting I was like this is like incredible like I hope they're capturing this like to the fullest extent Yeah,
Playing Conditions and Venue Atmosphere
00:26:01
Speaker
that's it. Yeah, California obviously has a lot of pluses Playing there to me is one of the best environments too because I feel like the ball the ball feels like it's truest compared to playing in like altitude or
00:26:18
Speaker
playing, you know, for instance, here in Austin right now when it's 100 degrees every day. So bad. You know, even a Dura feels like a, you know, piece of Play-Doh. You know, in California, the ball feels the way it's supposed to. It plays very consistently. You know, you might have to deal with wind, but I think wind is something that I would rather deal with the wind than, like,
00:26:46
Speaker
horribly muggy conditions or like super, super cold, like high altitude, can't feel the ball. I think it's even more important with these plastic balls, because there's just not a lot of feel to begin with. So yeah, hopefully someone's out there making a better ball. Because I'm tired of the Dura, to be honest. It's just so inconsistent. And a color that I can see.
00:27:16
Speaker
because faded yellow against white paddles is just horrendous or white background anything. It's like even the screen like during the during that last mix match the screen was bugging out and then it turned it would turn on and like it's that max brightness and I'm like there was a couple points in there I was like I literally
00:27:38
Speaker
Like, thank, thank goodness. They kept the ball on Catherine for most of it. And I just kind of like snuck in for one cause I'm like, it's like a blur right now. I can't, I'm looking over Ben's shoulder and just like this. It's like I'm staring into like TV screen. So they had the screen saver at one point.
00:27:56
Speaker
Need to do the sponsorships and stuff but at that point it just looks so bad and it was gliddling fiddling with it while it's on TV like just keep it black if we need to go to another like commercial timeout and you want two minutes to fiddle with it great, but I
00:28:11
Speaker
That point I just I think it just looks bad when you're like got this stuff just glitching in the background you got like a corner of like a You know Apple window and like yeah, just like didn't look good Yeah, most of us like unless it's a bow there. I'd just shut that thing off Right movie does it add or Evan just like kind of like wiggling dancing across the screen Yeah, those Blair actually planned that we actually unplugged all the screens because we're not an official sponsor
00:28:40
Speaker
Hopefully next year will be official sponsor of MLP. That's that's the hopes right in one time MVP one
00:28:49
Speaker
Mesa won the super first suit inaugural super finals like What more do you need to sell? They should I don't think they did an MVP for the final. No, no, no VP Brian didn't do you know one match it didn't really make sense Yeah, it'd be like finals MVP you or Catherine because you both played two matches Like that's how a few pickle how little pickleball was act, you know, I actually played in that in one match Yeah, if you go 3-0, yeah, I don't know how many people know this but I
00:29:18
Speaker
Ryan was like my second guest on the podcast and You can go back and listen to it cuz Ryan would love for you to listen to it worse than ever Yeah, but you guys have known each other Ryan has showed me photos of you guys back and like it looks like High school maybe even before Ryan had a chin strap is very cool. He's wearing like a NBA Jersey Joy and looked like no facial hair
00:29:42
Speaker
Looked like a little good. Yeah, yeah You know photo. I'm talking about we're about the same like a habit I was like something is the one with me you turbo and Shane there that one's that one's high school Yeah, those are all for our relay and if we're wearing helmets that was in Italy, which is only five years ago, so
00:29:58
Speaker
There's so that one was not that was five years ago four years ago. Yeah, that was only four years ago. Damn Okay, that was not too long ago. Yeah, you guys have been homies for a while and like you've mentioned in the Previous interviews that Ryan was one of the people who gave you a little nudge towards pickleball. You're also co-founders of the lair and
00:30:17
Speaker
Like Ryan, from your perspective, what was it like to see kind of like going through that entire event, right? Like watching Julian, we were both talked about like, damn, that quarterfinals match, he just didn't show up. That wasn't him, right? And we both like, a lot of people knew that. And then you got to see him like, rise to occasion for super finals. What's that like to watch your buddy, not only just, it's not like it was a one-off, right? Like you won Mesa. People were probably like, cool, he did it once. He got MVP. Maybe they're like, oh, that's it.
00:30:45
Speaker
And for like two years now, you're like, it's not. There was a lot of talks about the, you know, oh, we played with a Franklin ball that helped them out a lot. So. Ryan has said numerous times that it's not like. I mean, I like, don't get me wrong. I like the Franklin. Like I used to hate on it because it doesn't, it doesn't spin as much. It doesn't grab as well.
00:31:09
Speaker
But it also doesn't crack. It doesn't, you know, go egg like and bob long. So, uh, you know, I, I appreciate certain things about, and it's fluorescent. Like that makes such a big difference. Like that ball is so much easier to see. And it's not even a great fluorescent. Like it could be, I think that the fluorescent Dura is actually better. The Franklin's kind of like a faded, faded neon.
00:31:33
Speaker
Yeah. Um, so any ball developers or designers, we have a ball, we have a Blair ball. It's actually pretty good. We just, we're focused on paddles, so we're not going to try to be a ball sponsor anytime soon. And, and for join, there's no reason for him to, you know, he should be only playing with the tournament ball because that's only going to get him ready for success. So.
00:31:51
Speaker
You know, I do think there are a lot of other balls out there and development is happening You know, well, but it all depends on you know for the PPA or MLP Which is what Julian's playing is, you know, what is the tournament ball? So Going deep on balls. Yeah being being dialed in on that tournament balls.
Equipment Impact on Performance
00:32:09
Speaker
I mean
00:32:10
Speaker
You'll never see Julian say here's a player ball like I play with every day because that's not true like unless it's a tournament ball He's not gonna play with it. He shouldn't play with it. I don't even like to play with them I don't even like to play with the with the fluorescent Dura because it actually plays significantly different than the yellow one Damn, I do see I see a lot of people who are like oh, yeah, we play with duras and they pull out I
00:32:33
Speaker
you know, the fluorescent one. It's like, well, that's actually quite a bit softer than the yellow one that you would play a tournament, a PPA tournament with. So if you are even, you know, if you are an amateur player who plays, plays tournaments, I would highly recommend, you know, using the exact ball that, that the PPA uses. Yep. I agree with that. No matter how expensive they are.
00:33:01
Speaker
or how quickly they break. That's a huge problem. Great for Onyx. Hey, they also make the Z5, most popular pad on Amazon. I am a former Z5 customer, so thank you so much for helping me.
00:33:22
Speaker
Dude, new pipe got me. Oh, yeah. That's my first pass. Is that how you say it? New pipe? Oh, I've never said it right. New people. New people. I have no idea. Yeah. What was up with that Instagram post? I used to love that Frank Anthony Davis. I don't play anymore, right?
00:33:37
Speaker
No, I think he plays a gearbox. Oh, okay. Oh, he switched that back probably overhead. They probably had a pie didn't that thing for a minute? You see that it's grandpa have used to play with the paddle too. I have no idea who plays with it anymore. Maybe Maybe Jack Foster Yeah, I think Jack I think Jack uses it unless you switch with that completely government I haven't seen him in a little bit. They post an Instagram post with like Ben Johns using the new people and
00:34:04
Speaker
I saw the photo I thought that they were making fun of him by photoshopping that in yeah, okay, maybe it was I think it was a photo where he was using a Franklin cuz if I remember correctly I could be wrong, but in the picture his shirt or that's Franklin days, so that's where I think they're just making fun of him But hey if anyone
00:34:27
Speaker
Actually felt the paddle that Julian just won the super final with with that thing up Well, I mean he actually saw it's not it but no, no, that's not the exact one. That's the model Yeah, he so this is what you know, our new power pallets coming out right now here I'll show you this before is there right here? and so join was playing with this in the 16 millimeter for about month and a half two months for PPA tournaments and and
00:34:50
Speaker
You know made a last-second switch back to a 14 millimeter of our non thermal form paddle the Mach 1 You know which to most players is like a pretty wild thing to think hey I'm gonna switch morning of for you know a big tournament, but I
00:35:05
Speaker
At least from my view, I know that Julian was not the happiest with his results and the last couple months and maybe it was a little mental, maybe it was a little bit of touch, but him switching back, he had the best, you know, really controlled dinks and drop shots by going back to the soft paddle.
00:35:21
Speaker
If it ain't broke don't fix it especially in an event where the stakes are super high Yeah, you just stick with what that's like the biggest the biggest like factor that could determine There's like nothing else really right. I mean I have control over
00:35:36
Speaker
It's like, I kind of almost feel like the closest thing is a Formula One driver in their car. You can be an amazing driver, but if the car isn't performing and reacting and doing the things that you want,
00:35:56
Speaker
you're not going to win and your confidence in the tool. And then it goes hand in hand. Then you don't have the confidence to hit shots or drive the way you want, whatever. So whether it's like a hundred percent true or not, like I think I still think that the fours is a fantastic paddle. It's just,
00:36:18
Speaker
For me, I felt like it was too poppy. I was getting a little too much power, which I don't think will be the case for most people. Not for Emily Ackerman. I do think it's a fantastic paddle for girls. It's great, because their swing speed isn't quite as high, and then it meshes really well with the amount of power that that paddle is going to deliver at that swing speed.
00:36:47
Speaker
And there's a ton of things about it that I loved. It felt really good on the serve and return. My returns were coming off like darts.
00:37:00
Speaker
which kind of at times brought in a different problem where like I was no longer fast enough to get to the kitchen before my player, my opponent was hitting the ball. So there's, there's like these kinds of things to think about. Like everyone's so good. That you're not creating for yourself at the same time. Right. The ball is coming off my paddle and I'm only able to get to like two feet behind the kitchen line instead of being able to get to the kitchen line. And yeah, maybe the passing shot is,
00:37:31
Speaker
a little bit harder for them, but the space is so much bigger because I'm not 6'5". So that was creating its own issue. Feels really good in mix where I can be very aggressive and just kind of
00:37:47
Speaker
Rip a lot of high balls felt great in hands battles. But then once again, I felt like in men's particularly in men's my defense was Suffering a little bit because the guys hit the ball so hard So it hadn't you know, it's I can't physically hit the ball softer So I think that's I think that's where you're seeing it across across the board with these thermoform paddles that
00:38:11
Speaker
Guys that are switching guys. Yeah, exactly guys that are switching to it Maybe on certain balls their defense won't be as good as as if they had You know that they're softer previous paddle. So there are there are trade-offs. I think every paddle has some obviously pros and cons so yeah But it's just all depending on what you're looking for them and what your game style is, you know if you feel like you're a very
00:38:36
Speaker
Aggressive player and and aren't resetting a lot of balls. I think the force is great I mean you like to drive and crash and and Rip hands battles that that's the paddle for you for sure Yeah, then on the opposite side, which you guys have played with me. I never drive the ball Everything I do is a third shot drop super soft and at least when I put the force I feel like I don't have to play pickleball anymore I just kind of hold the paddle out there. It just doesn't yeah, I guess I was gonna say if you if you're tech if you're tech
00:39:06
Speaker
And this is why I feel like in the amateur game, these thermoform paddles have become so popular because at a 4.0 level, like, no one's hitting the ball as hard as, you know, I'm not dealing with James Ignatovich ripping an overhead at me, which with this paddle, like, I just don't have any chance of resetting in the kitchen. I can do other things like throw up a lob again.
00:39:29
Speaker
But that's just tough with the percentages and are obviously in his favor hitting overheads. So at Ryan's level, it's great. Like no one's hitting the ball that hard. You just get a paddle on it.
Coaching and Technique in Pickleball
00:39:43
Speaker
The paddle does a lot for you or like maybe he doesn't have the best technique.
00:39:47
Speaker
Little bit push a little bit from the elbow. When are you gonna help them out with that man? My answer is I'd rather I'd rather help them. It's hard. I don't want I don't have a waste of time I don't have a lot of I don't have a lot of extra time and while I'm here, you know, I like to it's good kind of relax I was gonna say I've given him some pointers, but Ryan's also not
00:40:09
Speaker
He's not the easiest to coach. I'm not trying to go pro not like not like he's hard. It's not like he doesn't listen It's just that the bad habits have ingrained themselves a decent amount So that's I guess a little tidbit for anyone who's out there trying to and learn how to play pickleball Learn how to do it correctly before you learn the techniques. I have Tennis elbow sometimes, you know, I got some wrist injuries, you know, I also don't really stretch or
00:40:34
Speaker
Or work out, just kind of run out there and play pickleball until you're hurt. How about what we worked on? Remember our lesson? Drives, dude. The drives have been wild. I can't even remember what we worked on. But also just like your detail about wrist manipulation, you're like, dude, even just like the slightest movement changes the direction of the paddle and then the paddle, the ball, the way the ball hits it, that, but also like... Oh, you were too wristy.
00:41:02
Speaker
Yeah transferring weight to was like another thing weight transfer during drives Yeah, I mean you get to Move the the movements closer to the paddle obviously have a greater effect So like doing this like look out if I'm hitting things like this look out drastically Different the paddle face changes all right. It's like the paddles is an extension of your hand, but if I do that I
00:41:27
Speaker
Like now I got the paddle face actually going in the direction that I want to hit for longer. So it gives you a bigger window to hit a ball. Yeah. Maximizing that contact window. That one on one was like, oh.
00:41:41
Speaker
I'm not just a fan of who he is on the court, but also off the court, because my Jiu-Jitsu coach was very technical, very cerebral. He wasn't just telling you what he heard from other people. It was like, oh, you know that just comes from personal experiences. He's also just taking that from a technical aspect. And then once you did that, I was like, oh, because I've done
00:42:02
Speaker
One-on-ones with other pros they were great, but it's also just like hey do this movement rather than what are the mechanics that someone should know and like what is the end like goal for what you're trying to do as far as like the Whatever, I think explaining explaining like Why yeah is he a lot of you have a lot of coaching experience? So yeah, I mean coaching with coaching tennis for almost a decade definitely helps, but that I mean That's how my coach was when I growing up
00:42:34
Speaker
You know sometimes I think I talk too much, but I'd rather give more information than less and you know if someone tells me like or I you know learn that a certain client maybe It doesn't retain that much information. You know then I give it to them in bits, but I Think it's important for the brain to understand like why why we're doing something instead of just like oh I do I do this because
00:42:58
Speaker
I was told to do it because maybe in a certain, in a certain moment, yeah, you're not able to adjust on the fly. Like every ball is different. So like, yeah, I might tell you to do this, but then maybe the ball is like slightly behind you. So like your wrist angle is going to have to be a different, you know, whatever. There's a million different examples, but it's a tool to be able to like solve the problem on your own, right? Because if you just give someone like a blanket statement of how to do something like, or a drill, then it's like, well,
00:43:27
Speaker
How can I tailor this to this specific context? And you were able to give that, and you're giving, whoever you're teaching, the tool to be able to learn whatever that analogy about, give a man a fish. Yeah, well, if you don't give him the why, I think you end up with a student who's the one who's always asking, what should I have done there? Why did I miss that?
00:43:56
Speaker
Once you become able to do a mistake, reflect on it and say, I missed it because of this. That's when you're going to really see improvement in your game because now every shot.
00:44:09
Speaker
you're improving on. Every single mistake is just an opportunity to adjust versus going out there and just drilling something that your coach said but you have no idea why I'm doing it or why it works sometimes and then other times it doesn't work.
00:44:27
Speaker
Yeah. And back to your point about how pickleball doesn't have a lot of coaches right now, which it's like so odd for me because like in previous sports or in a lot of sports, it's very, it's very, very
Julian's Transition to Pickleball
00:44:38
Speaker
common. But because people don't have coaches, you're equipping them with knowledge that they can use to self-assess. Like a lot of people at this point are just learning on their own.
00:44:49
Speaker
in pickleball. So being able to give them that tool is definitely helpful. Yeah, no, I don't think anyone's had you guys in the same room. So like, what is y'alls? What were you guys doing like actually like four, three years ago? I remember Julian, you were talking, I think, to Braden in pickleball effect and you were talking about like right before you got into pickleball, you had
00:45:09
Speaker
Some personal things coming up if you don't feel like Disclosing them we just cut this part out But if you know you're open to disclosing it and kind of sharing a little bit more of your story before Getting into pickleball Yeah Yeah, I mean I was just back where we're originally from San Luis Obispo I had been teaching tennis there for
00:45:40
Speaker
Oh, yeah, about 10 years. Um, and, uh, yeah, I mean, I had just turned, I had just turned 30, um, recently single after a pretty long relationship. Um, and then my mom and I, um, we ended up losing our golden retriever to leukemia at, uh,
00:46:08
Speaker
nine years old. And she had been extremely healthy until it happened. And it happened pretty quick. It was probably a four month, four and a half month process. So that was really tough. Izzy was like an amazing dog, like super well behaved. I took her to all my lessons. She was my dog for
00:46:35
Speaker
like four and a half, pretty much half of the time, and then I ended up moving, I had to move, and I couldn't find any places that would allow dogs, so I ended up giving.
00:46:45
Speaker
I kind of moved in with my mom while I was trying to find a place for about six months, and my mom just fell in love with the dog. And who wouldn't? She'd have perfectly trained Golden. So I ended up giving it to her, and it was like her second child. But yeah, that was extremely tough for the both of us, and I wasn't in the greatest place. I was pretty depressed and just kind of
00:47:16
Speaker
going through life, not doing a lot. Obviously, I was teaching tennis, but wasn't really building a future.
00:47:28
Speaker
So I had I had I did have some tennis some of my tennis clients One more than than the others but you know Really pushed me to try to play a pickleball and then obviously Ryan had come home at some point Went to a Ben Johns pickleball getaway shout out, you know, you know gotta meet all the top pros and
00:47:51
Speaker
I just kept calling Julian and saying, hey, I know you could be the best at the sport. And just based on what I knew from his tennis way back in the day. So that was took a few months of me reaching out. And then I forced him to play with my girlfriend and my dad, which, you know, was not competition at all. But I remember if I had been.
00:48:12
Speaker
You played a little I think I've been I think I had started I think I started like you played a few times first time picking up the paddle was probably around like end of March 2021 yeah, but you were and you were and I was playing like I was playing like once a week. Yeah, you're playing once a week. I started with a gearbox GX 5 the green one. No, I was red. Oh, it was a short. It was a short one short red
00:48:38
Speaker
I was drawn to the fact that had no edge guard. He just kept telling me in my mind. I was like man I thought if it's a if it's gonna hit near the edge guard is a pretty bad shot. So you shouldn't be too excited I just I just kind of liked it like it didn't have an edge guard I was you know, obviously used to a slightly bigger head. So I figured if it hits out there like But it's similar to I guess hitting the frame in a tennis racket So yeah, I was playing like once a week and out in Pismo
00:49:07
Speaker
And slowly started enjoying it a little bit more. Then I got a better paddle, switched to the Franklin. Ben Johnson. Yeah, I mean, you kind of look at the best players in the world and you're like, oh, what's he playing with? Well, it must be a good paddle. Crazy how much has changed since then. Then I realized how quickly the grit wore out, which kind of sucked. We bought a lot of those.
00:49:33
Speaker
Were you like when you played to tennis and then you're Was there like a chance that you were gonna be at a competitive level at the pro scene I think my my Career ended a little too soon to really say I think I think I
00:49:55
Speaker
There's definitely opportunities. I think like based, I wouldn't have made money professionally, but you know, based on like what, and this is kind of speculating, but you know, based on where I got to and you know, some of my playing partners that I grew up with and where they ended up professionally, I think I could have probably maybe gotten around 500.
00:50:25
Speaker
maybe 500, 600 for sure. I grew up with a guy who ended up being an All-American at Cal Poly and he was definitely a better tennis player than me, but I was competitive with him and he ended up being around, I think he got to just under 300, which is an amazing accomplishment. So for some of these guys, people are seeing Jack Sock come in who's been
00:50:55
Speaker
top 10 in the world like Obviously that's a an amazing accomplishment in itself like way more impressive than anything that any of us pickleball players have done. Yeah But it does mean that like, you know if he if he gave pickleball a legitimate shot, he would obviously be a You know force out there. I think I think tennis obviously There's a bigger court. There's a lot
00:51:24
Speaker
There's a lot more going on that allows you to like distinguish yourself as like, you know, he's obviously that, that level tennis player compared to the rest of us. Yeah. But in pickleball, I think that the playing field would be a little bit more. Even, uh, let's go to the sides of the court and nature, nature of the game.
00:51:45
Speaker
Yeah, I just asked that because I didn't know if that was something that like may have contributed to Where you were at the time of your life and just kind of like being depressed. I know you mentioned your dog But also didn't know if that also had an impact of like you had high dreams high aspirations and then you go from that dream not being able to happen and come to fruition to then moving into like Well, I think I do think like this whole pickleball
00:52:15
Speaker
journey has just been a second opportunity for me. That's awesome, man. That's kind of what you're getting at. After I graduated high school, I was recruited to play at UCLA. I was on the team for just under two years. But I never actually had the opportunity to compete. I ruined that chance myself. Freshman year, I could have played doubles, decided the red shirt because I wanted to play.
00:52:45
Speaker
both and not waste a year of eligibility, which kind of ended up being a mistake. Cause yeah, I ended up, I ended up wasting that opportunity, you know, being young, new experience. I know you got, you know, since we were young and, you know, from my view,
00:53:08
Speaker
Like I think you were so good like from our town being like he was like our star athlete in San Luis Obispo, you know really small town and You know, I think everyone else wanted it more for you than you wanted it yourself at certain points It's like kind of what I saw, you know, obviously this is just my view but you know, I I know that you loved tennis and enjoyed competing but I Don't know. I just don't think that that was like
00:53:37
Speaker
I know his goals. You're like, hey, I want to go to college. I want to do this. And when you hit those goals, I think there was other things in life that you were prioritizing or giving more effort to. And I guess not looking back, it's like I think everything that happened built
00:53:55
Speaker
this second opportunity where you have the drive, you want to be the best, and that second opportunity is like, hey, it's now or never. You couldn't get this without what happened prior. I think so. I've definitely experienced that. I wouldn't agree. I think I just, I've always had the drive. Obviously, we came from a small town, so I was,
00:54:26
Speaker
But we had we had a few very very talented players. You know the other guy that I mentioned Andre. He's He's you know to be an all-american is no joke I Think I was always driven. I mean I'd go down to play these tournaments and so Cal with all these other great players And I was always a top-ranked junior player, so I
00:54:50
Speaker
It's not that I, it's not that I don't think I was driven. I do think, you know, I checked a box when I, when I got recruited and got to school, I was like, wow. Okay. Like that was the goal. Like the goal was to go and be able to do that for me to go to college. Like I don't come from a lot of money. It wouldn't, my mom couldn't pay for me to go to college, but with scholarship, you know, everything was achievable. I was able to go to a great school. Um,
00:55:19
Speaker
But when I got there, I do feel like, you know, I, I was, I was probably around nine or 10 on the roster, you know, six play. So, and we had guys on our team that were
00:55:36
Speaker
27, 28 years old that foreigners that just put college off or a couple Israeli guys that have to do military service and then they start their college careers later. So to me, I remember as a freshman thinking, and I was just this scrawny little 18 year old kid, it's like, how do I compete with those guys? I can compete with the middle of the pack
00:56:06
Speaker
but like these guys that are in the top six are like a whole nother level. Like how do I, I feel like I did lose a little bit of that belief instead of like having, you know, a more mature thought process of saying like, well, you know, if I train and get in the gym and get stronger and mature, I'll be just like them, right? Which was totally achievable. So that's where I feel like I missed my opportunity and then,
00:56:36
Speaker
I kind of slipped into partying way too much and just had a whole level of freedom where I wasn't around my family as much.
College Life and Competition Fulfillment
00:56:48
Speaker
Be around the people you need to be around. Yeah, this is the support group that kept me on track.
00:56:55
Speaker
You know, there was a little bit of that like breaking out of the shell and you know, I I wouldn't you know, some of those those Memories, I wouldn't trade obviously I wouldn't trade, you know meeting all the guys that I all my buddies from college and You know, I had obviously a great time, but I wish I had done some things differently and then you know, I was kind of kind of getting things back on track and I ended up having a
00:57:21
Speaker
Ended up having like a bad injury which Railroad me a little bit more and then at that point. I was just like I Think this this ship has sailed a little bit that didn't work out, but thankfully you know I have pickleball in my life because I am I think you know when you watch me play you can see like I
00:57:40
Speaker
I think I was meant to be competing at something. That is where I thrive in that moment of tight competition. Dude, the sport is incredibly lucky to have you. I wouldn't say you're necessarily a heel to a degree. There's definitely some other people who play the role a little bit better.
00:57:59
Speaker
You do bring something aside from the technical aspect and the way you play, of course, extremely exciting. Just your personality is something that sport is definitely missing. There's other people doing something similar, right? Like Hayden is good at that.
00:58:13
Speaker
I don't think Jeff Warnock really plays as much anymore, but he's also got personality. It's also like why I wanna get you on here. It's like we see the person on the court. It's very simple to make some assumptions. And here's other podcasts that you've been on that have been like, wow, this helped me see the other side of Julian. It's like, wow, I actually like this guy. Like I had Doug from Bread and Butter hit me up and it was just like, dude, I watched one of Julian's podcasts. I just thought he was like a,
00:58:41
Speaker
Like this aggressive aggro dude and then I like saw him on the podcast I didn't realize he's just as chill like California got this guy kind of chill vibe and it's like a great player So it's cool to like see his other side. Yeah again the sports Super grateful for the both of you like bringing into this this product
00:58:58
Speaker
You have like rising stars that you're bringing on. Um, and you guys have like cool plans, but man, like you want MVP for a reason, right? Like your standout person, just personality wise as an athlete, professional athlete. So it's great to see you get the second opportunity and not waste it. There's tons of people who do that. And it's unfortunate to see, and to see you like go through it. And also you met Lauren through pickleball, right?
00:59:24
Speaker
Yeah, I met her at my first tournament ever actually, which was before Ryan really got involved. So I played two tournaments on my own and one of them was San Clemente, PPA San Clemente. Something about that venue, man.
00:59:40
Speaker
Yeah. Well, yeah, just happened to be the closest tournament that I could find. I was driving from San Luis Obispo. He wasn't looking outside of state to be here. No, I played. I played. I remember I wasn't in there. I obviously hadn't been doing anything other than like for like the level of fitness that we need to be at, you know, me just giving hitting lessons and, and, you know, normal teaching lessons where I'm at a basket. I was not in, I was not in great shape. So I went and played.
01:00:10
Speaker
I went and played Thursday singles. I drove down, I played pro singles.
Professional Challenges and Personal Growth
01:00:17
Speaker
I remember I was playing some guy who I think played at like Redlands, which I think might be D1. I'm not sure. Anyways, it's just like, you know, average tennis school or something like that. And I lost the first set and I was like talking to myself.
01:00:36
Speaker
you know, like I do. And I was like, is this really like what you came down to do is to go and lose like first round to to like, like, I wanted to lose if I was going to lose, I wanted to lose to someone like that I had seen. Yeah. So I thankfully turned that one around and ended up, I think, winning the next two sets favorably, I think.
01:01:00
Speaker
And then I played deckle who was still playing singles at the time And I had never seen anyone hit the ball so hard like he came back right after and he was like I don't even know how to return I can't even get that practice in here in our town. There was no there was no preparation Like I don't think there's many there's you know, there's very few Professionals that you can thankfully I get the practice with deckle a little bit now. Yeah a decent amount so i've gotten used to that but
01:01:25
Speaker
At the time, I was like, oh my goodness, the guy's just blasting balls like and you know, I I still can't let balls go. Like back then I was hitting everything like he would hit passing shots that I'm sure would go. They would probably gone three feet out and I'm like trying to like hit him behind my head and like he annihilated me like one and one or one and two or something. So lost and then grind. I think I grinded like three more.
01:01:50
Speaker
Three more wins. I had a very memorable match against one of the, I think their last names, the Aranas, the Aranas brothers. I don't think they, they were trying to play pro. I don't think they play pro anymore. And I think they were here in Austin. They're right in Austin. Oh, shout out to the Aranas brothers. I think they were doing some teaching and stuff like that. So, but I had a pretty memorable match with I think the younger brother.
01:02:15
Speaker
just a funny story that I can still tell to people every now and then but but yeah I remember driving after the tournament I drove back home I was gonna play I had mixed 5-0 with this lady Stacy Zielinski from my area
01:02:33
Speaker
Who was like I think she's trying to play senior pronoun at the time. She was she was 49 Shout out Stacy. Yeah, so so Stacy's one of the first first people that I played pickleball with and Definitely one of the better better ladies and players and in San Luis Obispo. That's awesome. But anyways, I think You know, I think at the time I probably would have said that she was like a four or five So we played five Oh
01:03:01
Speaker
Mixed on Sunday. I drove back on Thursday. I have a stick shift Which was brutal cuz I was like going through LA traffic. I'm like I'm like dying I'm dying. Yeah, and then I drove I drove with them. Thankfully. I think we drove down Saturday night
01:03:21
Speaker
and played Sunday. I was covering a lot of the court, working pretty hard, and by the end of the day, I think we won like three matches, and then we played, and it's kind of small. No, no, that was a different one. That's a different tournament. Then we played Maggie, Brasha, and this guy, Nick Garza. We lost to them.
01:03:49
Speaker
And then right after that, in the back draw, we played Hayden and Mary Brasha. So it was kind of funny to play, you know, obviously three names that most pickleball fans know at this point. Yeah.
01:04:04
Speaker
So yeah, another small, small world event. But, uh, yeah, that was, that was fun for, and then, and then I hung around a little bit. I decided, you know, show face a little bit and sit down and try to talk to some pros. I actually sat down next to Pat Smith and was talking to him a little bit. And that just happened to be who Lauren was playing mixed with at the time. So she ended up at some point coming down and sitting down. And I think we just got talking to talking about like,
01:04:33
Speaker
where we're from. She's from Santa Barbara. Oh, okay. Santa Barbara's awesome. Super close to our hometown. That's 90 miles further south than San Luis Obispo. So she knew obviously where that was and struck up a conversation. And then somehow I ended up
01:04:54
Speaker
getting to train with her a little bit and things went from there. It's cool. It's cool to see, man. I remember at the one event, I think you were playing with Jesse Ervin and Lauren was on the other side, other side of the net. And you guys were playing, I think it was the indoor. That was North Carolina last year. Yeah. That was a bronze medal match. She was playing with, she was playing with Tyson. It was awesome to see because I don't think I've seen it yet, but you guys played your,
01:05:21
Speaker
regular selves and then at the end of the match you guys like hugged across the net i thought it was like a very wholesome moment because it's tough you have to be competitive but you're also in a relationship with this person and uh... and then there's that event that happened in another event where do you and laurin i think one of the ground that's just the right i only ate half of the sandwich did the mic pick that up? oh man i ate half a sandwich before i got here but i guess i should have eaten the whole thing
01:05:51
Speaker
You Lauren and then Lauren gave a shout out to like you guys relationship and be having like a mental coach or like I don't know if it's like a relationship therapist mental coach, but it's cool. It's great to see and I Filming you just over the past two events is being able to see like When you're not playing you're pretty much I can't tell if it's the phone vibrating or you're But yeah, it's just awesome to see that part because when you're not playing you're pretty much watching her or you're like talking to her and
01:06:21
Speaker
I don't really see that that often out there, but something you did say was that resonated with me was after you lost your matches, like after the mixed one and you like stuck around.
Balancing Public and Personal Life
01:06:33
Speaker
that was probably like the hardest thing as a professional athlete is like anytime I lost, I lost. You had to stay around and you had to like talk to us. You had to like converse a little bit. You could go home after that and cry yourself to sleep, but you have to stick around and you have to like put on this face and you have to talk to people and it's tough. And I, yeah, I even captured some of that on the camera.
01:06:56
Speaker
It's like I don't even want to be around this guy right now because like I know what that feels like and the last thing he wants is a camera in his face Yeah, rock wall and even like I'm up he has like just keep your distance. Yeah Yeah, that's definitely definitely a balancing act and you know, you're an emotional player So when you you know, it doesn't go right you definitely get frustrated and sometimes it takes a little time to cool down and
01:07:25
Speaker
You know that's I think the cool thing about watching join is you get to watch someone be human You know you don't now hold anything back all the other players. They're robots You know and not everyone, but there's a little more robotic where you know some of them are so skilled where? They don't I feel need to go to that fifth gear And enjoying looks like he's always playing in fifth gear. You know which hey j-dub broke a paddle at MLPs Wow, he's human too. Yeah, and Tardio was talking crap
01:07:55
Speaker
Yeah, so it's like, you know watching Julian it's like, you know, yeah, I've known you so long it's People ask me. Oh, did you talk to Julian? I'm like, I'm gonna wait for him to reach out to me You know, I'll kind of just give him his day
01:08:11
Speaker
I'm not a professional, I'm not gonna tell him on the court what he did right or wrong, I'm just gonna be like, ah, you're gonna lose some, you know? You'll just get the DMs from other people telling you what Julian needs to work on. I told you, oh yeah, I had some guy. By the way, everyone that reached out for support, thank you for the support, but I will never tell Julian what to do on the court. Even if I have my own thoughts, I don't tell him what to do on the court. The only thing I ever,
01:08:37
Speaker
Tried to tell you is you know Get your energy going because I think that's in the end what you love my paddle. Yeah. Oh, yeah Yeah, it's a tell people you love your paddle. You know like because it is your pal you made so I sleep with the MLP one under my pillow. That's how much I love it and I want smooth Ryan sleeps with the check. Oh, I got the big check at my house. I'm excited
01:09:02
Speaker
Yeah, no, pickleball has been fun. It's not that you asked a question about it, but it's awesome for me to be able to blend business, which I love, and then pickleball, which is my new passion. And I was watching the pros on YouTube before Julian even picked up a battle. And back then, I was watching Jack Foster and not saying he's the best player, but I saw his passion, his energy, his talking to himself. And I literally was like, I was like,
01:09:32
Speaker
I was like, Julian can do this. I think he can be this entertaining. And obviously, he's a lot more entertaining. And I saw that way back when I would go watch some of your tennis matches. I'd never seen him lose. They had your matches during school sometimes. So it kind of worked out nicely for my friends to come watch. Oh, OK. It's not like there was, again, when we were talking about watching tennis, it was. I mean, for the CIF matches, we had probably
01:10:02
Speaker
Like a couple like maybe 150 to 200 people out there normal matches with Yeah, normal matches like 30 30 40 couple friends. Sorry about the banana. Oh, yeah No, I'd go see this guy play and I did not grow up playing tennis at all I just all I knew is if I went to go watch a Julian Arnold Tennis match. I was guaranteed to be entertained I mean, I literally would have some food and just sit there and eat and watch and
01:10:29
Speaker
Julian would kick the crap out of everybody. But in between timeouts and stuff, even if he was up by a lot, he's yelling at himself. He's like, Julian, Julian, blah, blah, blah. And he has his bananas in his hand. He's eating a banana, starts yelling at his banana. And this is before I like, before people were filming everything. But I would literally start telling our other friends, I'd be like, hey, let's go watch Julian play tennis. Not to see tennis. We didn't go there.
01:10:57
Speaker
Like I don't like tennis fine you do you like a guy going nuts at a banana? Yeah, and every it's not like he was losing He was he was winning and then the funniest thing is again. I didn't I only saw you know some of your matches I didn't go travel ever, but
01:11:12
Speaker
There's this big dude. He was like probably like six three and his whole game plan was to hit the ball So hard that it bounced so it hit the fence so you couldn't he was trying it and then I mean you beat him up But I was just like watching this guy get so frustrated and you're just yelling at yourself at a banana like
01:11:30
Speaker
Just so you guys know when he's yelling he's not trying to pull anyone else down He's just trying to hype himself up so that's I think From the fans view not everyone sees that like he's not yelling at the other player like every now and then he gets into a little Little battles, but it's when it's accepted on the other side, and they're giving it back, so Yeah, that was enough entertainment for me be like yeah, you know this guy is he puts on a show you know and
01:11:57
Speaker
the best part is when you're watching a live stream and Julian isn't even on the court and you just That's the only way I keep up because there's no live score updates and if he's on like court for I'm seeing there clicking refresh on you know pickleball tournaments or ever and and then I I hear it on diamo and I'm like, okay, we're doing all right. We're in this match if I don't hear an on diamo I
01:12:20
Speaker
I'm scared to see the score. I'm like, what happened? What happened? I'm like, okay, there it is. Yeah. Yeah. Those random on the animals are pretty freaking funny. What's been your favorite moment so far? I mean, MLPs have been great. Yeah. Um, I obviously,
01:12:36
Speaker
Obviously really enjoy getting to do this whole thing with Lauren makes that makes it you know very enjoyable You know traveling playing It's a tough schedule. It is it'd be lonely doing it by yourself for sure. It's a lot of travel Yeah, I mean I think I still think back to like my singles Nationals tournament
01:13:02
Speaker
You know, I think I still think that's the biggest crowd that, uh, pickleball is as seen like that's a huge stadium and they filled
Indoor Play Preferences and Paddle Innovation
01:13:14
Speaker
it. Um.
01:13:16
Speaker
So there's thousands of people watching those matches live, which is exhilarating. So yeah, I mean, that was a memorable moment for sure. We'll see how big it is this year. But last year, you know, pretty much everyone still played it. It was still considered a very, very big tournament.
01:13:35
Speaker
It was at the end of the year. So I just felt like it was like pretty on the map is a solid player that wasn't just Made it there once or twice like it was well deserved. I just think it was a good it was good timing and like a good like end of the season where it showed like the work that I had put in all all year like I think I obviously was playing more APPs and PPAs at that point I'd say both tours were
01:14:01
Speaker
comparable APP probably a little bit better on the singles end and or deeper and PPA was just a little bit more top-heavy. Yeah, you play Tyson in that singles national I played him in this I Lost it in the sem semis to to Ben, but then I had to play Tyson in the bronze like Tyson won bronze and then I that's that's how like the loser gets bronze and Then I went on to play
01:14:32
Speaker
on Sunday against Ben. But yeah, I mean, it was just a good run and to do it with all the best players in singles was fun. So something about playing in California. Yeah, we just left California. I just got back last night and I was there for 11 days. And I'm like, man, I live in Texas. It's hot. Let's go. I'll be inside for a while.
01:15:02
Speaker
Dude, we got spoiled. We were wearing hoodies out in San Clemente. Well, I've heard that the weather in California hasn't been great. It's been kind of cold and rainy.
01:15:12
Speaker
cloudy and I feel like the two weeks that we were there it was actually pretty nice like people were saying like oh this is the nicest it's been in months so perfect timing for us to be there and usually it doesn't work that way usually usually end up going to a tournament and like maybe it's been slightly rescheduled and it's like like Dallas was so hot and then it's always like somehow rains
01:15:35
Speaker
for just enough time to delay. I don't know, it's crazy. Sometimes these tournaments, it's gotta be pretty tough for the PPA. They don't always go smoothly, because of the weather. Atlanta, it rained a little bit. Should start playing. I hope we start playing indoors a little bit more. I like- Indoor without the courts, yeah. Normal courts, but just indoors. Just like they do at these lifetimes.
01:16:03
Speaker
like Minnesota to like Carolina. I just think for what we're playing with, the ball that we're playing with, it just keeps it more consistent. Yeah. Cause if it's a hundred degrees, like it's just ridiculous, the ball or like even if it gets too windy, like because the ball is so light, it's just, it's kind of a joke. Like it's not like tennis for it.
01:16:25
Speaker
It's not getting like completely blown around like a pickleball could just Just get swept off the court like let's talk a little bit about vote layer kind of plans You guys have Ryan feel free to yeah, tell us a little bit about that side I know Julian I've watched a PB effect you talked about and some other podcasts you talked a little bit about the origins of Valera and all that so we don't really need to get into that but I mean you guys are a lot of stuff going out like the thermoform paddle and there's obviously the blacked out version is a gradient version and
01:16:53
Speaker
Um, there's a design and you're also working on stuff with Evan. Um, yeah. And also just Julian himself building his brand.
01:17:01
Speaker
Yeah, so right now with Valer, we have our Mach 1 out right now. And so this is right now our only current offering in 14, 16 millimeter. And then coming out July 11th is going to be the Forza. And this with the gradient right here is going to be available for sale everywhere. And then this blacked out version is going to be only available at Total Pickleball.
01:17:31
Speaker
started with this version, the blacked out version, and then we realized after Julian played Atlanta with it that we only could use about 15% of the photos that we took just based on the angle and catching the glare the right way, so. Can't see it? Yeah, no, exactly, so it was pretty hard.
01:17:52
Speaker
Yep, and for our photography I was like man that is too much additional work to say hey That's a great shot Julian's doing a really cool action shot, and we we don't want to use it because it doesn't show it so We'd already shot Some advertisements with total pickleball, so we ended up Making a win-win and doing an exclusive release so get the blacked-out version the stealth edition at a total pickleball
01:18:18
Speaker
But yeah, so that's what we have going on. So far with our testing, we've had about 30 or 40 of these being play tested pretty heavily, and we have not had one official delamination at all. When we did have our Julian's paddles tested at MLP, one spot, like they put like
01:18:39
Speaker
pounds of pressure. It is a deflection test. Yeah, they put two spots right here. I learned all about it. And then also another side right here. And on one of the paddles, for the deflection test, it was close. But as a whole, it was still a completely legal paddle. And that was just after we did the rest of our testing, that was considered a fluke that we had that one spot. So just from the start, that paddle had one little spot.
01:19:05
Speaker
Our testament's been great. They're super durable. Again, like how I said, I am pretty much just holding the paddle out there and the paddle does most of it. So for amateurs that either want to hit hard or they're control players like myself,
01:19:20
Speaker
It is very different to play with. I like it a lot. And then also what we're working on is a different shape. So we're going to have the Mach 1 and these fours in a shorter, wider shape. Just different preference. And then with both those shapes, we're also going to be doing fiberglass paddles that are going to be a little more cost-friendly. They're going to be
01:19:49
Speaker
either $89 or $99, and it's still going to be a high-level pro paddle that has rough fiberglass, so it has grit to it, and they're nice and gritty. And then Julian has his name on all these paddles right now. It's a signature paddle.
01:20:08
Speaker
Evan who's also known as fit to serve. He has a signature paddle coming out too. It is awesome I've shown you the designs in the design. It's something that hasn't been done. Yeah, and I say that in a good way because it also looks good You can do something that's not been done yet and they look like complete dog
01:20:27
Speaker
But it's done tastefully so the designers who worked on it. It's good, and I like the color combination of Evans paddle a lot it fits the brand Yes, I'm excited to see that will probably be out in about a month, but so I'd say in about a month month and a half we will have a
01:20:44
Speaker
a total of six paddles in two different thicknesses. Yeah, I mean, that's kind of where we're going to be at for the year. Three paddles in two different thicknesses. Well, no, we got we got two different shape forces. We got two different shape. This one and then two fiberglass shape and then in 14, 16. So we got six and two sizes. Don't look at me for math. OK, OK. One and one to that that and short. Yep. This and short.
01:21:13
Speaker
And this in short. Fiberglass in short. Oh, fiberglass in short. So we're going to have 6 in 14 and 16 millimeters. So a total of, you know, six different paddles. Yeah. And then besides that, we're, you know, we're just trying to have fun and do things.
01:21:30
Speaker
differently, but also not be too all over the place because You know I do have a lot of cool creative ideas and like at the top my to list it literally says like don't start any new projects like that's like my number one thing my to list because We have so many projects already going on. Do you also hear his ideas that he has he hasn't here all over here They're ridiculous. Do you it's all it's gotta keep this dude. It's keep him honest with that list and
01:21:55
Speaker
Well, we made the Andiamo, but I was like, man, it went back and forth. I was like, Julian, more intensity, more intensity. And he's like, I can't just do an Andiamo right now. I was like, dude, please so much. And then. I think they're good. I think some people like the passive one.
Marketing and Product Presentation
01:22:16
Speaker
Andiamo. I was harnessing my Dylan Fraser when I did that. Yeah, that one's kind of funny. I think it's good. I don't think it needs to be like,
01:22:25
Speaker
You know yeah, we wanted the speakers the last I wasn't trying to like yeah, so with Evan's paddle It's gonna have its own push button where Evan says some of his traces from his videos stop those like you guys also have a gear the paddle bag which
01:22:42
Speaker
Yeah, I've looked at a lot of other bags. I don't know who I don't know if they ever even user test them Some of them have the zipper of the paddle Facing on your back. Yeah, I'm like what sense does that make doesn't make a and they have like all these like the pockets don't really make sense and the size you're like I guess but then like y'all's bag is
01:23:03
Speaker
the main, like, core pocket than the two side ones. They're identical, so you can fit a ton of stuff. Also comfortable to wear. And I wore it in Rockwall, which I was like...
01:23:13
Speaker
Yeah, it has nice backpack straps. Yeah. But yeah, merch looks good. Yeah, and I'm wearing one of the Andiyama shirts right now. I mean, so we have, Julien has his own line of, you know, one shirt right now in two different colors, and we have a hat that's pretty cool with Julien's brand logo, which is this V circle with the Julien Andiyama Arnold around it. And it's also on the butt cap of all of our paddles. So when we first were coming out with the paddles, everyone was like,
01:23:39
Speaker
This wasn't made by Julien, it doesn't have Andiamo anywhere on it. And I was like, oh, it's hidden in the details. So, you know, later, actually with this Forza, let me talk about what it comes with. So everyone's going to get a gift box with the Forza, like every single purchase. So our first paddle, which was the Mach 1, we had two different versions. We had just the paddle itself, or you could also get a gift box where it had the push button and a Julien autograph, thank you card, some wristbands and some balls.
01:24:08
Speaker
I just love the unboxing experience. I'm I'm all about Offering more than just a paddle, but like an experience also entertainment the amount of paddles I've gotten that just come like an envelope yeah, or that Poppy plastic thing you're like what connects, but then you like bubble wrap yeah, and these are expensive paddles. I mean like So like with this new forza it's me
01:24:34
Speaker
Kind of compared to like getting a Barbie with its accessories like you get your Barbie, and it has a couple outfits So you know you're gonna get your mock one Forza, and then trying at Barbies before I know yeah, it's a lot sisters. Yeah
01:24:50
Speaker
Yeah, right we played Barbies like a couple years ago You know with with the mock one for so we're gonna give you know we got this light blue grip which just Offsets just the dark boldness of the colors and then right here. We have a flare band but on
01:25:08
Speaker
in the kit you're also going to get an eraser so everyone's going to get a paddle eraser which you know are definitely really nice for the carbon fiber paddles to you know keep your paddle looking nice but also performance wise it does take out some of the debris that can lose some of the traction and then we're gonna have a blacked out backup grip that you can change and do a blackout so you can have the paddle all blacked out i think it'll look extra cool with the total pickleball version and then we're gonna have a little on diamo band right here so
01:25:36
Speaker
You can also have Andiyama right here and then also on the butt cap too. A couple stickers and I think, and then a head cover. So I think that's what you get with the Forza and it's going to be $179.99.
01:25:53
Speaker
which compared to other top paddles in the market, definitely competitive on pricing. And again, with our testing, we've had zero official delaminations and we have pros hitting these paddles.
01:26:08
Speaker
I'd say our testing has been going really good. We definitely could have released earlier, but I did not want to be a part of the headache of delamination. And at the time, if we would have released right when we first started testing, we would have dealt with a lot of headaches. And I'm really happy to avoid that and put out a product that's hopefully going to be enjoyed by all and not really have too many issues for us to deal with on the backend.
01:26:36
Speaker
I'm glad you made the point about the delamination because like when I put that review out, people were like, Oh, why don't you talk about like power spinning control? I'm like, yeah, a lot of that is just very subjective, right? Like you can look at a paddle company's website, like this ranks 94 out of you're like out of what? Yeah. And then I'm like, what people should really be looking at is warranty, delamination history. And I forgot the other
01:26:58
Speaker
Factor but I was like Because there are a lot of these thermal form paddles are coming out with tons of delamination problems and it's a it's a headache because like even if you Enjoyed the paddle before it delaminated you have to deal with customer service. You may not have a pickleball paddle for
01:27:14
Speaker
three days a week, maybe even longer if the customer service is backed up, which I heard about from some of the top companies. By then, myself as a consumer, I'm already buying another pickleball paddle because I just want to keep playing. And a lot of people don't have the luxury to have more than one paddle or to be able to buy another one, so they have to wait and they're sitting out of pickleball for three weeks or whatever, so that's definitely the problem. Yeah, and with Valer,
01:27:43
Speaker
I've been dealing with the customer service myself. I've been responding to every single email You know, it's not Julian. No People write him the thank-you letters Wait, is there a Julian trading card? They're coming soon Julian does have some trading cards coming out with leaf We're really excited to sign with them but I'm
01:28:05
Speaker
Not sure if it's going to come out as an individual card kind of like the other ones have or if they're going to wait for the packs and box set to come out because I know that's coming soon. Um, but yeah, as of now, we don't really have a date for when the first card, uh, was coming out, but we've, we've definitely signed some. So that that's really exciting too. Who's been like the most influential person in your life?
Influences and Support in Career
01:28:29
Speaker
Oh, um, I mean, definitely my mom.
01:28:35
Speaker
Always been around for me I'd have to say my tennis coach growing up Hugh He taught me taught me how to play tennis if it wasn't for him I wouldn't wouldn't be the pickleball player I am And you know, not only did he teach me but he taught me for free since the age of seven. So I
01:28:59
Speaker
I couldn't have been luckier to have him in my life. Amazing coach, collegiate coach, worked with names like Sampras and Chang when they were younger on the US junior team. So he's been around tennis for a very, very long time.
01:29:24
Speaker
So those are just a few of the people that helped me get to where I am. There's many names of people in San Luis Obispo that have helped me in some way, whether it's just being a training partner, a mentor.
01:29:43
Speaker
Shout out to my mom for helping. She's the travel planner. Travel planner for Julian and collaborates with Lauren on some of the travel plans and then also helps on some Valer projects such as paying the pros after each tournament and just making sure that certain things are always on time because as a business,
01:30:13
Speaker
I'm focused on so many things. The last thing I want to do is like not pay a pro on time. Like that to me just sounds awful. Like, you know, making sure that relationship between the company and the sponsored players is enjoyable and not a tough experience, you know, because in the pickleball world, when I was helping management sponsor join before Valer, you know, we definitely had our own experiences with other companies that we did not feel
01:30:43
Speaker
I'd say really that important at times which is kind of frustrating When you're trying to you know collaborate with companies that you like their product or that you want to work with yeah, you know so yeah, so I'd say that's something you know we kind of have like a you know we have a small team, but we have you know my family involved I
01:31:05
Speaker
A shout out to our designers. A lot of our designers worked at Bumble previously and are just extremely creative and can really translate some of the ideas that I do have. And then, you know, Julen has and just like put it into art on a paddle. Yeah. And I love art. So like I have my own ideas and like
01:31:29
Speaker
Let's just say if there was a point where Julian and I, we made our own logo, and we're like, this is it. And I'm so glad we did not release it. It was a mix between a Titleist logo and then Air from Nike Air. And we both thought it was cool, but then we got some feedback from some family and friends. And they're like, you guys might want to do another revision. And I was like, OK, we're getting a pretty common understanding that we're not going to be the lead designers of Valer.
01:31:56
Speaker
You know allow our ideas to be translated through really good designers shout out mama Cohen shout out to coaches I think coaches I was fortunate enough to have that experience of receiving a coach that was had my best interest in mind But I think the new generation now you're seeing all
01:32:16
Speaker
It's just evident that a lot of them are moving towards phones, social media, less on sports, also because of like concussions and injuries. And there's just kind of like that fear based like mindset going into sports. And I think coaches are so overlooked for the job that they do and like the influence they have on the development of a child. It's like very unfortunate that
01:32:39
Speaker
There aren't more coaches, but yeah, when you talked about a coach, I know I can resonate with that 100%. They're so instrumental in forming how you see the world and who you become as an adult. And to say that that person didn't take money for seven years or up until you were like seven years old,
01:33:05
Speaker
No, no, from the age of seven from the age of seven seven until I was Graduated high school. Yeah. Okay, so even longer many coaches do it selflessly. They just have the best interest of that child's Development in mind, which is awesome. Yeah, they did research that
01:33:21
Speaker
It turns out after all that your parents aren't the biggest influence of the development of a child. It's actually the coaches and the peers around that child, like their friends and their coaches who have the largest influence on their development. This is awesome.
Gratitude and Community in Pickleball
01:33:34
Speaker
This is my first in person. I think this is my first in person. I've been wanting to do in person for a while, but also because it's been great because I watched you from very early on as far as pickleball. And I was like, I've met Brian on the pickleball courts before we started our projects.
01:33:50
Speaker
Building pickleball. Yeah, Julian. I think had just been playing a little bit of pro and I and I told Brian like way back in the day I was like I was like Julian's gonna be one of the best players in all of pickleball Yeah, you called it's like he's not gonna be a fashion the pan Yeah, and it was just like what we were talking about before like if you had one I won't be me I said it's great right but a true champion and true like I don't
01:34:15
Speaker
A person who has a very significant impact on a sport can do it multiple times. If you can do it multiple times, that's when you know you have what you've done is truly special. So it's great to see and congratulations on the win and appreciate you guys letting me be a part of that. Like I went to the team dinner and everything and just being behind the scenes.
01:34:35
Speaker
I know it's not easy to have a film guy and someone that you don't have, haven't had developed trust with. So I appreciate that. I appreciate you guys taking the time to come on this podcast. It's like probably one of my longest ones as well. But yeah, if you guys have any last things you want to say before we cut it off.
01:34:52
Speaker
Thank you for all the support for Valer. Thank you for all the support for Julian. I mean, as a fan, I know that like, you know, pickleball is very addicting and it's, that became a part of my life and just everyone else in the pickleball space are awesome people. And to get to collaborate with people that I know I would have never met on the basketball court, it's really cool. I mean, over half my friends are all from pickleball.
01:35:21
Speaker
You're probably easily the same or more. Echoing the same thing that Ryan said. Thanks everyone out there that supports us. It's great to have fans. Thanks Ryan. Thanks to my girlfriend Lauren. Everyone back and slow that supports us. My mom.
01:35:42
Speaker
Jim, his Ryan's parents, you know, he told me that Leonard had his dad had his restaurant packed, watching the whole MLP thing. So that's pretty cool. Leonard and I go pretty far back to play, used to play golf pretty much weekly together. So. As his golfing son, I'm not, I hate golf. So it, my dad's like, I'm just going to take Julian out whenever he wants and Julian's happy. He's like, Oh, you're going to play some nice courses.
01:36:10
Speaker
No, no. Yeah, I wish I could play a little bit more golf. I'll have to bring my clubs back down next time I'm in slow. But yeah, you know, everyone that's been watching the journey, you know, I appreciate the support and the techs I get. And the haters, you know. Gotta have the haters, too.
01:36:28
Speaker
Yeah, no mode to motivate. Yeah. Yeah, and and you know for all the haters, you know, we're gonna just keep doing what we're doing and You know, we're we're listening, but we're just not gonna change. We're gonna have fun with what we're doing and Valer Yeah, Valer's just I don't know Valer has haters. I get the haters. No joint Rhombus. Yeah. Well, I mean what is this Rhombus company keeps saying that we copy them I had never heard of you until we're being isn't that it's isn't that a square? It's a slanted square
01:36:58
Speaker
It's not a wrong shape. It's a slanted square. Very good point. It's all good. It's all good, you know. They don't have that $240,000 MLP check? No. No, they don't. But we have it in our office, so we're pretty happy. But yeah, you know, pickleball is still growing and we're going to keep having fun. Julian's going to keep winning. Yup. Yeah. And we're playing with Riley.
01:37:29
Speaker
At least one tournament and right there at least dude, that's gonna be I don't know when this comes out. So it doesn't matter. It's already in like a week. I'm ready but I'm gonna put this out before cuz the Riley things already posted on the Two tournaments away. So it's not it's not hitting information. Do the Riley is gonna be