Did you know it’s April? National Pickleball Month? If you play it, you most likely knew this because pickleballers are obsessed with the sport. Invented in 1965 by three fathers, Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum, who desired to keep their bored children entertained, the sport has exploded in recent years. According to 2024 Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) Highlights ReportPickleball has been the fastest-growing sport in America for three years in a row, with 13.6 million players and no signs of slowing down.
And as entrepreneurs know, where there is a lot of passion, there are a lot of opportunities. From apparel to training camps and equipment, the industry is buzzing with products and services that support the sport.
The leader in oar innovation is Quick. This California-based company has developed a loyal and growing customer base of amateurs and professionals alike because of its signature no-edge, sweet-spot-focused design. We spoke with the founder, president and CEO Mitch Junkins about your corporation, your creative process, and advice for other inventors/DIYers when inspiration hits like a blow to the head.
I’m pursuing a profession in pickleball
“My career has been interesting and varied. When I was young, I started at Mattel as a toy tester and worked in the mailroom. Besides, I was a professional skateboarder. Using my skateboarding experience, he founded Mattel Athletic Group and I became the competition manager. I went all over the country and showed kids how to wear safety equipment, and we did little demonstrations in Toys “R” Us parking lots, and did all this cool stuff. I was lucky because I was exposed to a lot of really great minds at Mattel. I worked closely with Steve Kimmel, who was the senior principal industrial designer. This guy taught me how to draw in perspective and lots of resources on it. It kind of lit this weird fire in me that just kept growing over time.”
Perfect match
“In 1990 I founded CDM company, which is a promotional marketing company that is heavily involved in the production and design of physical products such as Happy Meal toys and the Congo Watch promotion at Taco Bell. Do I design these toys? Not really, but I like to say that I’m a creative industrial designer trapped in a marketer’s body. That’s why I spend a lot of time noodling and having fun. And this love of tinkering with products and materials was a perfect fit when I was introduced to pickleball.
The game continues
“During Covid-19, my wife signed me up for a pickleball competition and I was absolutely wiped out. But I was immediately enchanted by this sport. We started playing and started attending LevelUp Pickleball camps. We became friends with the owners, Wayne and Lisa Dollard, who are also the founders of Pickleball Magazine. One day, as we were hanging out with our feet getting cold because we had been playing for eight hours, Wayne told me he couldn’t understand why there were so many oars there. companies, but no one introduced any innovations in the project. He explained that each paddle made resembles what they call a “sandwich paddle,” which has a layer on the top and a layer on the bottom, with polypropylene in the middle and a sort of attachment on the edge. it’s all together. Ideas immediately started popping up in my head.”
Source: Veloz
Instant inspiration
“I decided to try to make an oar according to the same principles as an airplane propeller blade. I wrapped them in carbon fiber so there wouldn’t be a lip around the edge like a sandwich paddle. It’s more like a paddle drum head with a very consistent sweet spot. In about 24 hours, I gathered the raw materials, put on a HAZMAT suit and made it. I sent it to Wayne and he asked his pros to try it and he said, “I think so.” you’re really onto something. We then deployed our resources on the CDM side of it, perfected our proprietary way of layering paddle materials, and after about a year I went from running a marketing company to running a marketing company AND pickle company.”
Speaking out
“We have a direct-to-consumer business, which is probably about 30 percent of our business. And a rapidly growing retail business – we already have about 50 stores. A variety of growth also comes from having amazing ambassadors who commit completely to our brand and spread the gospel on local courts and clubs. This is a very demanding and demonstrable business. You need people to carry it and use it, and when they do, they’ll realize how great it really is.
Why is pickleball so popular?
“To borrow a term from the world of entertainment, pickleball is the ‘four quarters.’ A film consisting of four quadrants appeals to everyone – children, wife, husband and grandparents will go. You go to a club and on one court there are 12-year-olds and four 80-year-old men complaining about each other. It’s easy to learn, great exercise and very social. There’s a lot of bullshit out there. It’s just great fun.
The next stage of design
“There is a governing body, the so-called TO TALK who is responsible for all compliance and safety policies in the sport. One of the things they are interested in is “silent paddles”. Some municipalities are trying to ban pickling because of the noise. The cadence of the paddles and balls is a bit clattering compared to what you hear when people play tennis. So all manufacturers are trying to solve this problem and we succeeded. We have developed a paddle that will significantly reduce decibel levels, so there is still a lot of work to be done.”
His advice to inventors
“I have presented at entrepreneurship and marketing programs at San Diego State, Loyola Marymount, and California State University, Long Beach. I at all times tell those who having a “big idea” is only about 2 percent of success. the really essential a part of this is having the ability to get distribution quickly. You have to have certain channels to get your product on the market and get attention. And back to this “big idea”, before you sink your life savings into it, do some research. Organize focus groups, share prototypes with potential customers, and see if you have something that interests them. And one last piece of recommendation: before you go out on your personal, go work for a large company in the same industry. See how it really works, what problems they encounter and how they solve them. Earn money by learning the industry inside out, and when the time comes, strike with a product you know is different and higher than. rest.”