00:00Andre, thank you very much for seeing me today.
00:03I wanted to ask you something that I feel can help a lot of people.
00:06So back then when you were really into the professional sports and all that,
00:10you were the first person, in my opinion, one of the first
00:13that she spoke up about mental health and how you were feeling depressed
00:18and how you were having a hard time at that time trying to deal with life.
00:22I feel right now if you look at a lot of the kids these days and even companies,
00:25more and more young people are speaking openly about depression, mental health and stuff like that.
00:31Based on your own experience, what advice would you give kids today who are struggling with this?
00:36Well, I think it's a good thing that those that feel that way are discussing it,
00:42are talking about it out loud.
00:44I think one of the hard things for me at the time was I felt like I was the only
00:49one going through it
00:50and I think that's the hardest part if you're struggling with any form of pressure
00:55that is turning into some self-sabotage and mental health concerns, whatever it may be.
01:02So I like the fact that they're talking about it, to have people in their life they can be honest
01:06with.
01:07And that's the tool, I think, that is the good side of social media.
01:12I think people can connect and can express themselves and connect to certain people.
01:17I think social media can be dangerous too for people, but at the same time,
01:21I think it's a tool that can be used to find common ground with others as well.
01:27When you were going through your own struggles, what did you wish someone would have told you at that age?
01:31Well, I was lucky to surround myself with people that cared for me more
01:36than just the person that knew how to hit tennis balls.
01:39So this was important, right?
01:41I had my trainer Gil and he taught me I was worth caring about.
01:46So I had away from tennis people I could really talk to.
01:50I've done my own forms of therapy through the years, but really being able to live with people
01:56that are walking it out with you, having your team and in some cases, even your family be with you
02:02is very important.
02:03So Asian kids, predominantly, they always have parents put expectations on them.
02:08You have to be good grades, good in sports, good in everything.
02:12How with young people?
02:13Well, it's not easy.
02:15I mean, I think kids, you know, I think kids trust until somebody or something teaches them that trust is
02:22dangerous, right?
02:23I think kids are playful until the world defines for them what success should look like.
02:31And then I think we spend the rest of our life growing up to be childlike again.
02:35When you get to a time in your life where you just want to be present, you just want to
02:39be playful, you want to be curious, you want to be...
02:43And I think life has a way, whether it's unfortunately, sometimes it's the parenting, but in other times it's the
02:50school system.
02:51Even at this age, you know, you failed.
02:55You got to A, you got to B, you got to C.
02:57Everything is designed around the world, deciding and judging and labeling who you are.
03:03So finding your identity is a journey I think is familiar for all of us, regardless of our culture.
03:08How do you tell your kids they want to do something?
03:11Do you put pressure on them, expectations?
03:12Well, you know, a child learns what they see much more than what you tell them.
03:19Our methodology as parents was not to decide their life for them, to let them express what's important to them,
03:28but then to hold them accountable that their days reflect those priorities, those things that they say are important.
03:35Because if they're not living what they say, one of two things is happening.
03:39It's not important to them, or we're letting them get away with not the best of themselves.
03:46So that's what we try to focus on.
03:48Okay, now I get to the pickleball questions.
03:50For someone starting out today, if they were 8 years old, 15 years old, or 30 years old, would you
03:56ask them to play tennis or pickleball?
03:58That's funny.
03:59So I would say, if you're 8 years old, start with tennis, because it's the hardest Mount Everest of racquet
04:06sports that exists.
04:07And you can always shift into something else when you're 13, 14.
04:12But I think the perfect combination to be a great pickleball player is tennis and ping pong and table tennis.
04:19I think these two combinations are really special of the skill sets required for pickleball.
04:26So it's for a 30-year-old as well, but a 30-year-old can do whatever he wants.
04:30I would say it's hard, but people love tennis.
04:32If you're healthy and you're 30 years old, tennis is a lot of fun too, but it will take you
04:37a full year before I think you start to really enjoy it.
04:40I think pickleball you can enjoy immediately.
04:43And so it depends what your environment is, who your friends are, but I think it's 50-50.
04:50I said, if you love tennis, do it.
04:52If you're intimidated by tennis, take on pickleball.
04:54On pickleball earlier.
04:55But the growth of tennis in Asia, what do you think about it?
04:58It's going very fast.
04:59And I feel tennis is taking a backseat more.
05:01It's crazy over here now.
05:03Well, from a participation standpoint, I agree with that.
05:06It's growing dramatically and I love that.
05:10I think we're at the infancy of the growth of pickleball from a participation perspective.
05:14But I also think tennis, we have so many tournaments now in Asia and especially on the women's side.
05:20And we're starting to see some very talented Asian start coming into the scene.
05:25And I think it's only going to push the growth of tennis here too.
05:27Hmm.
05:28But...
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