Reserve Padel CEO on The Sport's Surging Growth, US Open

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00:00Wayne, I actually made a decision there, but I want to get your take on pronunciation.

00:04Is it paddle or padel?

00:06I get asked that during every interview.

00:09It's usually the first question, and it's called paddle,

00:12but because of paddle tennis in the Northeast,

00:15a lot of people from the Northeast like to say padel,

00:17and then a lot of the Spanish folks, which is where a lot of the sport is played,

00:22when they say it with a Spanish accent, you're not quite sure if it's paddle or padel,

00:26but we call it paddle.

00:27Okay, so paddle, we've at least established that.

00:31Let's talk about the explosive growth because we're well acquainted with tennis, of course.

00:36We're well acquainted with pickleball.

00:37It seems like paddle has been up and coming for a few years.

00:41How much of that is thanks to pickleball, people getting socialized to the idea of,

00:46okay, there's things you can do with a racket outside of just tennis?

00:49Sure. I get asked that a lot as well.

00:52I think paddle in the U.S. definitely owes somewhat of a thank you to pickle.

00:57It kind of came on a little bit earlier than paddle, and for myself, I feel just incredibly lucky

01:05because I grew up being a tennis player, and it was a big part of my youth,

01:08and as I look back, it really formed me in what I am today,

01:11and I discovered paddle at like 38 years old.

01:15I started playing, got very like into it, and it was amazing health, wellness, very active,

01:21thought we got really good at the sport, myself and a few friends.

01:24We went to Spain to kind of see what it was like at the highest level,

01:27and we realized what an incredible sport it was on the pro level.

01:31And back then, it just wasn't very international yet.

01:35So we started bringing the pros back and doing exhibitions at our house,

01:40and over time, you could tell it really became a thing.

01:44And when people get on the court, they just feel very athletic very quickly.

01:47Obviously, the health and wellness movement that we're all in the midst of right now.

01:52And over time, I thought to myself, not that I wasn't busy with other businesses,

01:57this could be very different and interesting.

02:00So we thought we'd launch Reserve not as a company that was just going to build paddle clubs,

02:05but more a lifestyle brand that started on the backs of paddle and all that it has to offer.

02:09Well, that's what I'm curious about because when Pickleball came out,

02:12it was just kind of like, okay, you know, go out and buy a paddle,

02:14you know, a few gyms opened up here and there.

02:16Your approach is a little bit different.

02:18I mean, these are basically clubs, more or less, that you would get a membership to.

02:22And is the idea that it's not just coming just to play just whenever you want recreationally,

02:27but there are more organized events?

02:29Yeah. I mean, we started up the company and launched the brand with our first club in February of 23.

02:34We launched it. Yes, there's a membership component to it,

02:37but we wanted it to be very welcoming to all.

02:40If you're a member, you get certain privileges, discounts, ability to book early.

02:44But we really wanted, as I said, to set this up as a brand, right,

02:48that started off the backs of paddle.

02:49So everything we do, we try and be best in class.

02:52And because of what we saw as, you know, major growth coming to the U.S. and globally,

02:56we wanted to kind of capitalize on different verticals.

02:59So we started up a court business, Reserve Courts,

03:02where we put courts in people's houses or companies and their developments,

03:06like Discovery Land Company and all their clubs that have paddle.

03:10We put them all in. And then over time, we've now created five clubs.

03:15We have different events that our membership community really want to be involved in and travel with us.

03:21So you have the health and wellness movement.

03:24You have a sport that people really get into quickly, feel athletic quickly.

03:28There's a big community sense on the court.

03:30The court's only 33 feet wide, right?

03:33So you're playing doubles only and paddle, right?

03:35So when you're an amateur getting into it, we do these Pro-Am series,

03:40and they feel like they're pros, kind of.

03:42And that's very intoxicating to someone, you know, as you're out there, you know,

03:46trying to be healthy or do whatever.

03:48So we have a Pro-Am series we do that our members kind of like to follow.

03:52We have a pro-level series now called the Reserve Cup,

03:56in which we take the top 16 players in the world,

03:58and they play over three days in a very hotly contested competition.

04:03We opened it in 24.

04:05We're expanding it this year.

04:07We did Miami in 24 and 25, and now we're doing Marbella in September at Puente Romano,

04:11which is kind of an iconic resort where they happen to be playing Davis Cup three days before we do Reserve Cup.

04:17So we're very excited about that.

04:19But the movement is very, very palpable,

04:22and our membership base is only limited by the assets we create right now.

04:27I'm very intrigued by all the big names that you've pulled into this.

04:30And for those who aren't familiar with the rules, I mean, it's kind of like you can use the walls and stuff,

04:35like in squash and racquetball and things like that.

04:37It's a little bit different than paddleball where you're just hitting over the net.

04:40I do wonder for the recreational player, you know,

04:43one of the appeals of paddleball was that it wasn't terribly hard on your body.

04:47So if you're older like me, you could kind of get away with it in a way you maybe couldn't get with tennis,

04:51unless you're super competitive and playing against someone like Katie.

04:53But how does that stack up?

04:55I mean, can just kind of someone who isn't as athletic kind of step in and do this and not get hurt?

04:59Another great question.

05:01And I will tell you this.

05:03One of our platform club is in Miami.

05:07It's called Reserve at Solamia.

05:09It's on the Sofa and Lafraque families,

05:10a piece of real estate that they own that they're developing out.

05:13And I had this discussion with the Lafraques,

05:16and we got on the court with them,

05:18and they were amazed at how, you know, you pick your pace like any sport.

05:23And now they're very into paddle.

05:25They play with their children and grandchildren at Solamia.

05:28And that's one example of people that thought, wait a minute, I see it.

05:31I go on YouTube.

05:32It looks fast.

05:34It's not like that.

05:35If you're, you know, whatever level you're playing at,

05:37you can really feel like you're getting a great workout.

05:39That was part of the appeal, the demographic, men, women, kids.

05:43My kid's obsessed with it now.

05:44He was a tennis player.

05:45It's just so wide and enticing to all.

05:49I will say I played it on vacation.

05:51I took a week off in May.

05:52It was hard.

05:53I was expecting a pickleball level of intensity.

05:56But we were also playing singles on that 33-foot wide court,

06:00so that probably made it a little bit harder.

06:02We only have about 30 seconds left with you.

06:04Talk to us just quickly about your physical footprint

06:07and where you want to go next.

06:09Right now we have three clubs in Miami, two in New York.

06:12We're in discussions domestically at a bunch of spots.

06:18Internationally, part of the value in what we have as a brand now

06:21is we're getting a lot of interesting incoming about building clubs

06:25in the Middle East, South America, and Europe.

06:27We're getting a lot of inbound about trying to get people to host

06:31Reserve Cup events for us, the pro events,

06:33because, again, we make it like an event.

06:36We're, you know, through my real estate company,

06:38we're in the process of developing what we think will be

06:42an amazing reserve club wellness and condo.

06:45We're getting approached now to do reserve boutique condos.

06:47So, you know, it's just the beginning,

06:49but it's exciting to be two and a half years to be in this position

06:52as a brand and capitalize on what's an amazing sport.

06:54Correct.

07:05Everything,

07:06若干

07:08negative

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