July 8, 2025 • 32 mins
No. 1 Senior Pro Pickleball Player Lee Whitwell is a trail blazer and community builder who shares her journey through one of the fastest growing sports in the country. And while we talk about where we're going, we remember the importance of never forgetting who blazed the trail we walk.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, friends, and welcome to the Powerful Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I'm your host, a Ja McCord.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
In this podcast, we introduce you to powerful women who
were changing the game in and outside of their field
of play. These are women's stories, women who happen to
be doing things that many of us can only dream of,
but the lessons and inspiration they share is universal. What's everybody,
It's aj McCord, your host of the Powerful Podcast. I
am so pumped to share this woman's story with you.
(00:28):
Lee Whitwell is a pioneer, a trailblazer, and a connector
in the pickleball world. This is one of the fastest
growing sports in the world, and we talk about how
important it is to not forget where you come from.
And I think right now, as we are all finally
stepping into the light of what women's sports should be
(00:48):
and the spotlight that it should have, this conversation is
critical because it reminds us that nobody gets anywhere alone,
that there's always somebody who reached a handback to help
you through the next step, and that it is so
important not to forget the women who came before us,
because community and sport is for everybody, and that includes
(01:12):
the ones who never had the chance to do what
is happening right now.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
I'm so excited for you guys to hear this conversation.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
This is Lee Whitwell on The Powerful Podcast. Welcome back
to the Powerful Podcast. I am so excited because today
we are joined by somebody who is a pillar, a
foundational piece of one of the fastest growing sports in
the world. She is the number one Senior pro She
is the next Gen National team coach. She is the
(01:39):
co founder of The Game Changer Events, which is a
grassroots pickaball events company dedicated to empowering women, especially senior
pro women and women.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Forty five and up.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
She is from Gibraltar, hence her Instagram handle of Lady Gibraltar.
Lee Whitwell, Welcome to the Powerful Podcast.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Hey, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Oh my gosh, I'm so excited to have you. Lee
and I got to know each other through my work
when I was the lead play by play commentator for
the app, which is one of the pro pickleball leagues
in the US, and just immediately I would say, we're
drawn to each other because there's a little bit of
sass that just ties people together sometimes, and it's just
(02:21):
been so fun to see you, not just like get
to know you as a friend, but now I'm so
excited to share with you, or to share with everybody
who listens to this podcast, who you are as a person,
because it's again one of those things that I was
drawn to is there's so many elements of sport where
you view each other as competition, and you are somebody
who views each other as collaborators and like. But at
(02:44):
the same time, you're like, I'm the number one senior
pro like Fearce, badass on the court, but you're one
of those ones who's changing the narrative around women in sports.
So I guessly just start by giving us a little
bit more in depth of an introduction to who you
are than I just did.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
Oh wow, I think you covered everything. I mean other
than no, it was fun. I think you're right. You know,
we bonded over like Sassin. You got my sense of humor, yep,
and that was That's always a good thing, right. But
got into the sports seven years ago and you know,
haven't looked back since it was a sport I said
I'd never get into and apparently I'm a liar, so
(03:21):
you know, but no, it's been very fortunate. You know,
It's like I've had a front seat at the growth
of the sport. I've been instrumental in it, you know,
I've been able to I've been very fortunate to help
shape it a little bit. And here I am and I.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Want to talk about the way you've shaped it, because
obviously pick a ball is one of those sports, especially
when it first first onto the scene.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
That was two things. One, it was very.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Created a lot of opinions within the sporting world because
you had former tennis players who were like and tennis
players who were like.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
This is not a sport, this is not a thing.
Do not engage.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
And then you had the people who were in more
of that like forty and APP fifty and Apps sixty an
app who were like, no, this is for me and
I'm going to dominate my grandchildren and my children in
this sport. So how have you seen this growth just
in the seven years really that you have been a
part of it.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Well, I will say I was one of those tennis
players that do not engage and not engaged, not engage,
So it's definitely not a sport. You know, when you
walk on a court and the smell of like ben
gay and knee braces and you know, oversized visors with
glitter are ruling. I'm like, it can't be a sport,
and lo and behold it is. And then obviously, you know,
(04:35):
you see the It's interesting because I wrote an article
and I had to give a presentation on it on
like what is the pickaball athlete? And I think the
word athlete is now redefined and pickle all because it's everybody.
You know, it's your first time person at sixty eight,
who's being active for the first time in their life,
right because title line didn't exist back then and they
you know, things were So it's like the word athletes
(04:57):
sort of been redefined in this pickleball space because they
all considers themselves athletes and rightly so, because they are athletic.
They're being athletic in their own mind with the time
of life that they're in. Right. But I think it's
sort of slowly become this cohesive space, and I think
there's still issues obviously with them. I don't think, I
know there's still issues between tennis and pickaball, and I
understand it, Like if I'm playing tennis, I don't necessarily
(05:18):
want to play next to pickaball because it's louder, it's
a smaller court and proximity, and you've got sixteen people
on a space where normally four people would inhabit a
tennis space, So the volume is up and that the
sport is loud. And I think could they exist cohesively
one hundred percent, But we do need space between both
sides so that the noise doesn't filter over from the
(05:39):
especially from the pickupball side to tennis. But I do
think it's a great addition to every club. And I
do think that as we get older, we get injured,
and we want to slow down a little bit, and
pickaball provides that great opportunity for your you know, sixty
five to seventy plus person who still wants to stay
active and competitive.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Well, and I want to go back really quickly to
the noise of pick a bar because you my friend.
Another thing that drew me to her. I was calling
your match in Sacramento and you were partnered up with
a woman who was wearing a Warriors jersey and it
was like leading into the NBA finals. And I remember
you too, just engaging the crowd like no other duo
(06:18):
that entire weekend and it was hilarious because you had
a little bit of sass across the net, but so
much of it was directed at yourself and at the
crowd and a way to get people fired up. And
that's one of the things that I really love about
pickaball is the way you can engage. It feels very
much like everybody has a court side seat and an
NBA or a WNBA game, right.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Like everything is closed, so you can.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Make eye contact as a player with all of the
fans who were watching you because it's so intimate.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
How did you develop that.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Personality within your pick a ball game? Because I think
you're known for so many incredible things within the actual
sport pickaball, but you're also known for who you are
on the cour.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Right, And I think I mean, I was like that
when I played tennis, right, And I always want to
engage the crowd because you know, I have the attention
span of a two year old, so it's fun to
just have those breakout moments. But with especially in pickaball,
I'm very very cognizant of the fact that professional players
are events sit on top of an amateur tournament, and
the only reason I have a platform in pickable is
(07:22):
because amateur players watch me play, so it's very important
for me to really to bring them on that journey
with me and to feel like they're part of my
game and part of my match and part of my
career because it's my It's sort of my way of
saying thank you for being a butt in the seat
watching me perform like a circus monkey, which most of
the times I do. Occasionally there's moments of brilliance, but
(07:43):
there's a lot of moments of just oh, why did
I do that?
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Right?
Speaker 3 (07:47):
But I want them on that journey with me because
it's it's very important to me because I know that
the only reason I get to do this is because
of them. So that's you know, and if I can
do that in person and hopefully like on screen, translating
through you know, into the living room, then I think
that's a job well done because that's the only reason
I'm here is because of them.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Yeah, and it's not just on the television screen. Nobody
is more willing to hop on a trend or do
a TikTok at any point in any tournament than Lee Whitwell,
which is how you have grown your platform to more
than fifty thousand followers, And a big part of that
is I feel like these next gen athletes that you
coach that absolutely adore you are coming to you or
(08:27):
you're coming to them, and you're like, Okay, this is
what we're going to do and it is so fun
to be around. How have you really embraced that aspect
of being an athlete slash content creator, slash influencer, which
is something that every athlete is sort of working with
how to do that right?
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Like how do they go from just being.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
The athlete but then like needing to incorporate this social
media aspect of their life.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
And for the most part, it's it's hard for me
to do right.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
And I'm in my thirties and I feel like I
grew up still a little bit with social media. But
like you just mentioned, like there wasn't social media when
you were playing tennis.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
There wasn't all these things. So how have you.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Embraced that next generation of connecting with an audience?
Speaker 3 (09:11):
It was I mean it was a forced embrace, right
because it was like, oh, I don't need social media,
I don't need this. I just want to be me.
But the way to connect and grow the brand is
you've got to sort of adapt and change with the times, right,
And it was at the beginning it was a little
bit weird to do, but then, you know, like anything,
you get used to it. But also it was a
way for me to be able to show, like, look,
when I get on the court, yes i'm me right,
(09:34):
but I'm me plus right. Yeah, like that's the plus
plus and then off stage, I'm just me And it's like, well,
it's like I want people to be able to connect
with me and see me as relatable. And at the
end of the day, you know, we're all human and
I get to hit a plastic wall for a living,
and I'm very, very fortunate for that, but I'm very
human and I want to be able to for people
(09:55):
to feel very connected and relatable because I do dumb
stuff a lot, and I go through some serious up
and it's like, you know, I want to share that
and have people be part of the complete journey, just
not the show on the court.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Yeah, this woman had me twirling on a broom court
side at one of the games.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Where were we in?
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Was it Miami in the Convention Center?
Speaker 4 (10:16):
Now?
Speaker 2 (10:16):
No, no, it wasn't Miami. I never did it was like,
it was Chicago. Yeah, I think it was.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
We had the Furry Convention next year, Yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
So we're playing Oh my gosh, so we have You have.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
To like walk through these corridors right from the parking
deck to this convention center. You walk into the convention
center and on one side is straight up a furry convention,
and then on the other side is a massive pickleball tournament.
And it was like the mingling in the middle at
the coffee shop was one of the most unique environments
(10:51):
I've ever been.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
A part now I would say mine too, because you
had people in full costume, like full on looking like
a mascot from a college team, but like no mascot
I've ever seen.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
And then like the most athletic people coming in drenched
in sweat because they just finished their match. And in
the middle of all this, Lee's like, I know what
we're gonna do for our Instagram reel this week, and I.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
Was like, okay, because I don't exactly.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Yeah, and spins me around, and to this day I
cannot remember.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
There was like a song. It was some ballerina dance,
and now I was just like sure, whatever.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
But it's so like I tell that story to say
that it is one of my favorite traits about you
is you bring people in and you are somebody that
is a connector and a community piece, and you feel
it from your next gen team that just absolutely adores
you and adores giving you so much shit at any
given moment because you give it to them. But then
(11:47):
also with the people who are at these these game
changer events where you are embracing, like you mentioned, those
athletes who are maybe athletes for the first time in
their forties and fifties and sixties. So much of women's
sports is on the rise right now, and it is
incredible to see the next generations behind us have examples.
(12:07):
But how have you found that it's equally as important
to include those generations of women where, like you said,
they didn't have Title nine, they didn't have these opportunities,
and they could feel a little left behind in this
wave of what women's sport has become.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Right, And you know, you and I we've had these conversations,
right and it's like one of the reasons we started
game change here was I feel that as women, we
need to do a much better job of lifting each
other up. We're very good at tearing each other down,
and I hate that we do that to ourselves and
each other. So I wanted to sort of change the
narrative and being the business is building people up, because
(12:44):
rising tides lifts all ships, right, And you've got these
women who haven't played sports before, or maybe have played
sports and then got married, had children, had a career,
and now they want to come back in. But it's
they came from a different sport and try and pick
a ball teams maybe a little daunting, and it's like
nobody should ever feel self conscious, and we do that
as women. I don't know we we you know, I
(13:05):
always say that I'm not this is gonna this is
They're gonna get me canceled. It's gonna get you canceled
now too, you know that, you know the tourists and
the slightly overweight male tourists on the beach and speeders,
like I want that mirror that that man looks through
because he's got all the confidence in the world, right, yeah, Like,
and we don't look at we don't look at ourselves
through that mirror and that lens. And I feel like
(13:27):
we should a little bit more.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Yeah, so we have more confidence just to show up
as we are and not feel the societal pressure to
show up in a certain way.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
Right, Like I was never born a size too, I'm
never going to be a size too. It's like, no
matter how much I try, I'm never gonna have thigh gap. Right,
And it's like, at fifty, I should be able to
be out there and embrace my body and be like, look,
this is this is me and everything on my body
right now is the scars, the adventures, the ups and
downs of life, and it's okay. And I think we
(13:57):
need to do much better for each other and that
that regard. Right. So when we've got these women coming
out to play pickaball, you know they're self conscious. And
think about it. As adults, we have terrible learners. When
was the last time you learned something systematically? Because in school,
you know, it's like conjugating verbs and sentences and blah
blah blah blah blah, Like we do things in a
progress And as adults were like, we have to we
(14:17):
want to. We don't crawl walk, run, We just go
straight to run. And it's and we get frustrated, like
I should be able to do this. It looks simple
and blah blah blah. And it's like I wanted to
create this space for people to be able to come
in and have fun and laugh at themselves. And like
pickaball has given us the ability to play again, which
we forget how to do. And as adults, now we're playing,
and it's like I want them to embrace playing and
(14:38):
laugh themselves and be silly. And I'll tell them, look,
no matter what you do or whatever mistake you've made,
I've made it in front of thousands of people. You're
just making it in front of four. Don't worry about it,
you know exactly. And mine was recorded.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Mine was recorded, it was put all over the internet.
I decided to put it on the internet.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
Yeah I may have done that, but you know, but
it's it's all about creating this space for these women
to just come out and be active, because you know,
it's a being active is healthy and the old, you know,
the older we get, the more we need to take
care of our bodies and stay active and be It's
also it's like I just liked putting smiles on people's faces.
And Pickable is a vehicle that allows ninety nine percent
(15:18):
of the population to be able to play no matter
where you come from.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
I love that, and I think it's something that I
feel a lot of I would say conviction in because
I think it's so cool how many elements of women's
sport is being celebrated right now. And we throw around
the word first a lot. We say like, oh, this
is the first time a woman has done this, it's
the first time a woman's got this score at this
(15:43):
you know, wherever, whatever, And I think so often it's
so important to not forget where we came from and
who really we're standing on the shoulders of because at
this point it's really hard to be the first in
women's sport in all sports, right, and a lot of
my time in surfing, in extreme sports, in action sports,
(16:04):
and even there where you know, women are still it
was four years ago that we had a legitimate you know,
the WSL first had a full women's competition at Pipeline.
But that was not the first women's competition at Pipeline.
It was the first time it was a part of
the WSL or the ASP of this really organized body
of sport, but it wasn't the first time, and so
(16:25):
we have to be really careful because I think that
we're so focused on making sure we don't exclude looking
this way, right, like looking towards the generations coming behind.
We want to show these girls who are six, seven, ten, twelve,
twenty two, these are all the avenues in sport that
are open to you. But it's equally as important to
(16:47):
look ahead and say, hey, women in their seventies and
their eighties who are no longer with us in their sixties.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
You guys set the standard, you.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Pushed the narrative, you started this, so that we just
took the the next step, right, and like we're not
the first one with the baton, we could be the third.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
And I think that's something that I feel a.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Lot of conviction within, because it's so easy to get
so hyped up and so excited about where women's sport
is that you want to be like, oh, yeah, it's
the first, it's the first, But sometimes it's not, and
that's okay. It doesn't diminish what women are doing right now.
It's just not excluding what women have done before.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
Right, And I think sort of like with surfing, women's surfing,
right it's a relatively new not new sport, but new
wave that's coming through, right, and with pickable thing and
it's like I remember watching a documentary on like the original,
so the women's surfing in Hawaii like back in the
you know, I think there's a fifties or sixties and
it's like those stories need to be told. It's the
same as like when Billy J and King took the
(17:46):
leap of faith and wanted to start them with the
WTA right and and really start this tour. It's like, yes,
she's the one who's remembered for it, but there were
eleven women that signed like those stories right, the same
and pickable. That's like you've got Alex Hamler, Jennifer LeCour,
you know, Genders, then Christine Marksdale, Gudi the Master. You've
got these women who sort of helped pave the way
(18:06):
and the platform that these athletes are being provided at
the professional level. Now, wouldn't it happened without these women?
And I mean the guy is also but it's like
those stories cannot be forgotten and there are only two
generations removed from the generation coming in now, and the
fact that these people don't know who they are that
breaks my heart. It's not like we're going back one
hundred and fifty years. You know, I'm not gonna you know,
(18:28):
it's like, oh, the first lady who rode a bicycle,
I don't know her, and it probably should. But you know,
we're not going that far back. We're only going back
to two to three generations. It's not long. So they
need to be present. And it's like when these women
show up at tournaments, I want the younger generation to
go up and puk to them. You know, yes, get
the autograph, take a photo with them, have a conversation.
(18:50):
They'll give you the time of day because these are
the people that help shape your career and that cannot
be forgotten ever.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
And I think it goes into exactly what you're saying
of I feel like, you know, and it's so funny, right,
I'm in my early thirties and I'm starting to feel
this bizarre external pressure of like, well, you're running out
of time because you're in your early thirties and in
this industry, how many fifty year olds do you see?
Speaker 2 (19:17):
How many forty year olds do you see?
Speaker 1 (19:19):
And there's like it's starting to come in and I'm
sitting here going no, no, no, I'm in my early thirties,
Like this is my time is now? Like I maybe
I'm in my prime, but I have no intention in
my prime being two years. You know, like this is
going to be a long time coming. And I feel
like society in general, and then sport, even as a
microcosm of it, does try to push women to believe
(19:43):
that they are less as they get older, or to
believe that they don't have much to contribute anymore, and
to say that, And I just I don't buy into it.
I don't want to buy into it. And I feel
like that's what you are working so hard at with
this game change her events is saying no, you still
have value, you can still have fun, you can still
be a part of a community. How have you seen
(20:05):
that mindset impact somebody who maybe felt forgotten before they
were able to be a part of this?
Speaker 3 (20:14):
And real quick, it's like you have this phenomenal platform
and you're so cognizant of the fact that you know
the sport that you're in now, so it's surfing, right
or your extreme games is like you're looking at these
women and you're like, no, no, no, but there's women that
came before you, and those women you need to know
who they are and you get to tell those stories, right,
And it's like in Pickaball, I feel like sometimes the
commentators are getting younger and younger and they're not caring
(20:36):
about generations past and what happens is like you know,
and it's the same as like I remember when the
spincer was, you know, before it was outlawed, and was like, oh,
Zane did the first spinser. No, it wasn't. I was
actually Morgan Freeman years prior. Who did that? Not Morgan Freeman,
Morgan Evans.
Speaker 5 (20:50):
Yeah, yeah, convenient, convenient name to be also having right, No,
Morgan Evans, right, And he was the first one who
did it, but that got forgotten because it was at
the time, you know, the wave of pickable rose and
it was more in people's living rooms.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
And then it was Zay, but Morgan did it first,
you know, And those are the things that don't get told.
And if that's not getting told, and that was only
a year prior, imagine ten years ago, you know, when
you've got Jennifer and Gigi, you know, and Alex doing
all the things that they're doing. So those stories need
to be told. And I wish the commentators would maybe
do their homework or be a little bit more aware
(21:26):
of what came before to shape what's happening now. Right.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
Well, and that's the crazy part though, is the homework, right,
And it's so hard to find these stories, and these
stories get told oftentimes through word of mouth, through going
up to the person who's in their fifties or in
their sixties at a tournament and saying, tell me a
little bit about what it was like when you first
got in it. Who'd you look up to, who was
(21:51):
on the court, who was setting the standard? And that's
such a It's why these moments are so important because
I want you to tell us right here right, you know,
I want you to know. I want us to know
who are the women that set the standard and pick
a ball, because seven years ago is when you got
into it. But I know there are women that you
looked up to. I know there wereomen that you worked with,
(22:11):
and I just feel like, again, that's why it's so
important to not forget the generation who came before, the
generations who came before.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
And I think it's sort of sort of culturally representative
of like we're in this because of technology. Everything's that's
instant gratification. We get it now, so it's like it's
almost like we're so hyper focused on the now that
we forget, you know, like we don't have to do
research anymore, we don't have to do this because we
want this now and this is what's happening right now
is just way more important than what happened before. And
(22:39):
it's like, no, there's a reason what happened before affects
the now right And it's like, how can we do that,
because if we don't do it now, the next generation
is not going to do it. The next generation is
not going to do it. And then all of a sudden,
it's like they're just going to be names in a
book that people are like, oh, I think I've heard
of them, and it's like, no, you should never ever
forget who the true pioneers were because we don't have
(23:00):
this platform. And you know, when you look at Pickaball
and you look at the spaces that people occupy, right,
people occupy their space a film, their space at work.
What does that third space? And Pickaball's become that third
space for a lot of the older women and older men,
and it's become this great vehicle for them to be
a place where they belong. They're a part of something
and the communities that have come out of that and
(23:21):
the friendships that have formed. It's like they say, the
older you get, the smaller your friendship circle becomes. And
in Pickaball, not sadly, but the inverse happens because now,
I mean, I challenge anybody who's playing pickaball, like, how
how many people in your phone do you have first
or last name pickable? And They're like at least two
hundred and I'm like, She's like, and I shouldn't have that.
It's like, my friends have become pickable friends and real
(23:42):
friends and true friendships and connections, which I think is
magical because as we get older, we tend to become
a little bit more insular, and pickballs allowed us to
be a little bit more extroverted and exist in this
space where we belong and we have friends and communities
and conversations and sort of. It's the pickable is a vehicle,
the school is a vehicle, but the byproduct has been
(24:04):
community and friendships and connection and belonging, which does so
much for mental health as well as physical.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
Health, right, oh a million percent.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
And I just think I remember, my aunt is just
an absolute powerhouse and she could take me in almost
any sport, just to be crystal clear, like this woman
mountain bike's harder than almost anybody that I know, and
has like the bones and like the scars and everything
to prove it, the broken bones and her hospital records
to prove it.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
But I remember the first time she introduced me to pick.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Aball and I was like, I don't know about this,
like I think I've got you here, and she was like, okay,
next thing, you know, like she's wiping the court with me.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
And there was such.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
There was such youthfulness to her, and she's already like
a young soul, like she's already somebody who feels like,
you know, they just never they never decided to get
old and so they didn't. And I remember being like,
this is incredible, Like I want to remember how to
play forever, and whether that is pickable, whether that is surfing,
whether that is whatever it is. I just think it's
(25:03):
so cool that you are making sure to embrace the
generations who don't have the opportunities that they started they
started laying the foundation to create, you know, And that's
one of the hardest things about being a trailblazer is
that you never get to actually walk the trail. You
never get to actually walk the trail that you've worked
so hard to blaze. Instead, you're at the front, scraped, bruised,
(25:27):
and sometimes walked.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
Over for the next generation.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
And what you're making sure is happening is that those
women who have the scratches, who have the bruises.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
Still feel valued. And I think that is really beautiful.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
That you said. Right, the trailblazers never get to walk
the trail, and they also sadly don't get the benefit
of the contracts and the dollars behind that. Yeah, you
know they're looking back going, oh wow, if I was
born ten years later, I could be there, you know,
reaping the benefits of a six figure contract or something
that they they never had the opportunity to get. Right.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
Well, I'm so glad that pickleball has you and so
many women like you who are embracing the community, who
are embracing the next generation, the previous generations, and I
just think it's incredible. So yeah, thank you for sharing
your story and for being a part of it, and
for bringing the SaaS and the life and the energy
every time you step on the court, every time you
come up on my Instagram page. It just is so
(26:21):
much fun to see you and I love rooting you
on at every single pickleball tournament you go to, which
is like one a weekend.
Speaker 3 (26:27):
By the way, ma'am, I know a little bit much,
right know, but no, but thanks and likewise, right, I
love what you're doing in this space. I love that
you're lifting women, and you know, I think that collectively
we can all do that a little bit more. Yeah,
it'll be a lot more joyous place.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
It certainly, it certainly would be. But that's what we
are working to create.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
Okay, We're going to move on to our something to
Sip on segment. This is brought to you by the
Sports Bra. It is a women's sports bar in Portland, Oregon,
and the women who started this bar is a good
friend of mine, Jenny, and she is one of these
women that we love talking about who looks at the
women before her, who saw the opportunity and now is
creating opportunity for women everywhere. So Lee, yeah, I want
(27:07):
to know what are you sipping on? This is your
favorite cocktail or mocktail post pickleball, pre pickleball?
Speaker 2 (27:13):
What are you sipping on?
Speaker 3 (27:15):
Well, it's my motto. Has always been win or lose.
I have a beer, right, we drink beer. Beer got
me into the sport. My really good friend bribes me
into playing pickaball with a case of beer because no,
I said I would never play. And we argued for
thirty minutes of whys she played this tournament with us
that I'm not doing it, and she's like, I'll buy
a case of beer. I'm like, you should have just
led with that. So I have a price, and I'm
not very expensive apparently, so cold beer. Win or lose,
(27:39):
always have a beer. And then if I need to
be a little bit more serious, you know, moscow mule
will always always go. You know, start with a bit,
end with the Moscow mule.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
I love that. That's so good.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
I love a good mask a mule, especially if it
comes in a copper cup. Top tier has to come
in the copper.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
The next segment is the powered up segment. So this
is where we get to know a few things.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
That power you up for your sport of picklebobs.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
So, what is the one piece of equipment that you
could not do your sport without?
Speaker 3 (28:10):
A paddle? Very fair?
Speaker 2 (28:12):
What is the most important thing in your bag?
Speaker 3 (28:16):
So this is going to sound really cheesy, but I
always have so I have in my pickable bag. It's
like a little zipper bag, and it's got everything that
anybody who's ever met, and the thing to me has
ever given me is good luck. So like I've got
my Grandma's rosary in there. You know, I've got some
(28:37):
challenge coins from my wounded worry of friends that you know,
I got to meet and be inspired by. So I've
got some different things in there that mean the world
to me because you know, and they have to be
in my bag. Like it's not a good day if
I show up at a tournament without that, I'm completely discombobulated.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
Wow, I love that. That doesn't sound cheesy at all.
I love that.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
What is the attitude that you have to bring with
you to the pick a ball.
Speaker 3 (29:05):
Court entertainment obviously first, and also the attitude of like
I'm playing a plastic ball, my opponents are never going
to come over the net, So play the ball, and
you know, play to win instead of I think a
lot of times we play not to lose instead of
playing to win. If you play to win, whether the
result favors you or not, you can always learn from
(29:27):
that and fix that. But if you play not to lose,
you become very very passive and hopefully others to make instake.
So I always try to play to win, and also
keeping in perspective that it's a plastic ball and it
still has to be fun, because this is why we're
doing this.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
And then the last question is if pick a Ball
was a video game and somebody had the controller and
they moved over Lee whitwell, what are the strengths that
they would see listed? What are the weaknesses? And what
is your character name?
Speaker 3 (29:57):
My character name probably like squatting dog or something.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
Fantastic.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
I'll go with Amazon Goddess. How's that?
Speaker 2 (30:06):
I love that Amazon Goddess.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
I like that.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
I think it should be Spanish goddess though, or I
guess Gibraltar.
Speaker 3 (30:11):
Goddess or just Lady Gibraltar.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
Lady Gibraltar.
Speaker 3 (30:15):
I like that. Kind of my Instagram handle.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
We'd put a little British.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
Like, you know, one of those things that the ladies
used to wear, and it would be all elegant, but
then you'd be flying through like late what was her
name in robin Hood, Lady Marion, like Badminton.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
Yes, that would be you. So my strengths would be
reset Ernie's around the posts firefight, and then my weaknesses
would be an ability to concentrate for long periods of
time and to get really bored if no one's watching.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
Must have an audience, must have an audience.
Speaker 3 (30:51):
To perform, I will perform with an audience. When there's
no audience, I'm like, well.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
This is boring.
Speaker 3 (30:55):
I'm like, God, this is my here.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
For nobody's cheering me, no one's tackling me.
Speaker 3 (30:59):
What is the point exactly?
Speaker 2 (31:02):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
And then the very last question I have for you, friend,
is this is the powerful podcast. We're all about uplifting
powerful women and trying to inspire the audience that listens
to us to be powerful themselves. So what makes you
feel the most powerful?
Speaker 3 (31:20):
My inner circle that does everything in that power to
lift me every day and stand beside me, good, bad
and ugly. M That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
That inner circle is so important.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
And I am just really grateful that Pickaball brought you
into my life and that you are always going to
be somebody who I can count on. It's who you are,
it's who you continue to be for so many So Lee,
thank you for being here.
Speaker 3 (31:43):
Thank you so much, and the same sentiment back to you.
I'm so glad that we got to meet and have
the conversations that we've had, and I've become friends because
you're pretty.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
Yes, like Blacktiouses, you are stuck with me forever. So friends,
thank you for listening to the powerful power.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
We'll be back next week and in the meantime, make
sure you follow Lee on Instagram Lady Gibraltar, because I
promise you if you're having a bad day, you won't
after you see whatever the heck she posts.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
We'll see you next time.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
This is a reminder to check us out every Tuesday
everywhere you get your podcasts, and if you really enjoy
this and don't want to miss an episode, be sure
to hit that subscribe button.
Hello, friends, and welcome to the Powerful Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I'm your host, a Ja McCord.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
In this podcast, we introduce you to powerful women who
were changing the game in and outside of their field
of play. These are women's stories, women who happen to
be doing things that many of us can only dream of,
but the lessons and inspiration they share is universal. What's everybody,
It's aj McCord, your host of the Powerful Podcast. I
am so pumped to share this woman's story with you.
(00:28):
Lee Whitwell is a pioneer, a trailblazer, and a connector
in the pickleball world. This is one of the fastest
growing sports in the world, and we talk about how
important it is to not forget where you come from.
And I think right now, as we are all finally
stepping into the light of what women's sports should be
(00:48):
and the spotlight that it should have, this conversation is
critical because it reminds us that nobody gets anywhere alone,
that there's always somebody who reached a handback to help
you through the next step, and that it is so
important not to forget the women who came before us,
because community and sport is for everybody, and that includes
(01:12):
the ones who never had the chance to do what
is happening right now.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
I'm so excited for you guys to hear this conversation.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
This is Lee Whitwell on The Powerful Podcast. Welcome back
to the Powerful Podcast. I am so excited because today
we are joined by somebody who is a pillar, a
foundational piece of one of the fastest growing sports in
the world. She is the number one Senior pro She
is the next Gen National team coach. She is the
(01:39):
co founder of The Game Changer Events, which is a
grassroots pickaball events company dedicated to empowering women, especially senior
pro women and women.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Forty five and up.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
She is from Gibraltar, hence her Instagram handle of Lady Gibraltar.
Lee Whitwell, Welcome to the Powerful Podcast.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Hey, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Oh my gosh, I'm so excited to have you. Lee
and I got to know each other through my work
when I was the lead play by play commentator for
the app, which is one of the pro pickleball leagues
in the US, and just immediately I would say, we're
drawn to each other because there's a little bit of
sass that just ties people together sometimes, and it's just
(02:21):
been so fun to see you, not just like get
to know you as a friend, but now I'm so
excited to share with you, or to share with everybody
who listens to this podcast, who you are as a person,
because it's again one of those things that I was
drawn to is there's so many elements of sport where
you view each other as competition, and you are somebody
who views each other as collaborators and like. But at
(02:44):
the same time, you're like, I'm the number one senior
pro like Fearce, badass on the court, but you're one
of those ones who's changing the narrative around women in sports.
So I guessly just start by giving us a little
bit more in depth of an introduction to who you
are than I just did.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
Oh wow, I think you covered everything. I mean other
than no, it was fun. I think you're right. You know,
we bonded over like Sassin. You got my sense of humor, yep,
and that was That's always a good thing, right. But
got into the sports seven years ago and you know,
haven't looked back since it was a sport I said
I'd never get into and apparently I'm a liar, so
(03:21):
you know, but no, it's been very fortunate. You know,
It's like I've had a front seat at the growth
of the sport. I've been instrumental in it, you know,
I've been able to I've been very fortunate to help
shape it a little bit. And here I am and I.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Want to talk about the way you've shaped it, because
obviously pick a ball is one of those sports, especially
when it first first onto the scene.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
That was two things. One, it was very.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Created a lot of opinions within the sporting world because
you had former tennis players who were like and tennis
players who were like.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
This is not a sport, this is not a thing.
Do not engage.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
And then you had the people who were in more
of that like forty and APP fifty and Apps sixty an
app who were like, no, this is for me and
I'm going to dominate my grandchildren and my children in
this sport. So how have you seen this growth just
in the seven years really that you have been a
part of it.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Well, I will say I was one of those tennis
players that do not engage and not engaged, not engage,
So it's definitely not a sport. You know, when you
walk on a court and the smell of like ben
gay and knee braces and you know, oversized visors with
glitter are ruling. I'm like, it can't be a sport,
and lo and behold it is. And then obviously, you know,
(04:35):
you see the It's interesting because I wrote an article
and I had to give a presentation on it on
like what is the pickaball athlete? And I think the
word athlete is now redefined and pickle all because it's everybody.
You know, it's your first time person at sixty eight,
who's being active for the first time in their life,
right because title line didn't exist back then and they
you know, things were So it's like the word athletes
(04:57):
sort of been redefined in this pickleball space because they
all considers themselves athletes and rightly so, because they are athletic.
They're being athletic in their own mind with the time
of life that they're in. Right. But I think it's
sort of slowly become this cohesive space, and I think
there's still issues obviously with them. I don't think, I
know there's still issues between tennis and pickaball, and I
understand it, Like if I'm playing tennis, I don't necessarily
(05:18):
want to play next to pickaball because it's louder, it's
a smaller court and proximity, and you've got sixteen people
on a space where normally four people would inhabit a
tennis space, So the volume is up and that the
sport is loud. And I think could they exist cohesively
one hundred percent, But we do need space between both
sides so that the noise doesn't filter over from the
(05:39):
especially from the pickupball side to tennis. But I do
think it's a great addition to every club. And I
do think that as we get older, we get injured,
and we want to slow down a little bit, and
pickaball provides that great opportunity for your you know, sixty
five to seventy plus person who still wants to stay
active and competitive.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Well, and I want to go back really quickly to
the noise of pick a bar because you my friend.
Another thing that drew me to her. I was calling
your match in Sacramento and you were partnered up with
a woman who was wearing a Warriors jersey and it
was like leading into the NBA finals. And I remember
you too, just engaging the crowd like no other duo
(06:18):
that entire weekend and it was hilarious because you had
a little bit of sass across the net, but so
much of it was directed at yourself and at the
crowd and a way to get people fired up. And
that's one of the things that I really love about
pickaball is the way you can engage. It feels very
much like everybody has a court side seat and an
NBA or a WNBA game, right.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Like everything is closed, so you can.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Make eye contact as a player with all of the
fans who were watching you because it's so intimate.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
How did you develop that.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Personality within your pick a ball game? Because I think
you're known for so many incredible things within the actual
sport pickaball, but you're also known for who you are
on the cour.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Right, And I think I mean, I was like that
when I played tennis, right, And I always want to
engage the crowd because you know, I have the attention
span of a two year old, so it's fun to
just have those breakout moments. But with especially in pickaball,
I'm very very cognizant of the fact that professional players
are events sit on top of an amateur tournament, and
the only reason I have a platform in pickable is
(07:22):
because amateur players watch me play, so it's very important
for me to really to bring them on that journey
with me and to feel like they're part of my
game and part of my match and part of my
career because it's my It's sort of my way of
saying thank you for being a butt in the seat
watching me perform like a circus monkey, which most of
the times I do. Occasionally there's moments of brilliance, but
(07:43):
there's a lot of moments of just oh, why did
I do that?
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Right?
Speaker 3 (07:47):
But I want them on that journey with me because
it's it's very important to me because I know that
the only reason I get to do this is because
of them. So that's you know, and if I can
do that in person and hopefully like on screen, translating
through you know, into the living room, then I think
that's a job well done because that's the only reason
I'm here is because of them.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Yeah, and it's not just on the television screen. Nobody
is more willing to hop on a trend or do
a TikTok at any point in any tournament than Lee Whitwell,
which is how you have grown your platform to more
than fifty thousand followers, And a big part of that
is I feel like these next gen athletes that you
coach that absolutely adore you are coming to you or
(08:27):
you're coming to them, and you're like, Okay, this is
what we're going to do and it is so fun
to be around. How have you really embraced that aspect
of being an athlete slash content creator, slash influencer, which
is something that every athlete is sort of working with
how to do that right?
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Like how do they go from just being.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
The athlete but then like needing to incorporate this social
media aspect of their life.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
And for the most part, it's it's hard for me
to do right.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
And I'm in my thirties and I feel like I
grew up still a little bit with social media. But
like you just mentioned, like there wasn't social media when
you were playing tennis.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
There wasn't all these things. So how have you.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Embraced that next generation of connecting with an audience?
Speaker 3 (09:11):
It was I mean it was a forced embrace, right
because it was like, oh, I don't need social media,
I don't need this. I just want to be me.
But the way to connect and grow the brand is
you've got to sort of adapt and change with the times, right,
And it was at the beginning it was a little
bit weird to do, but then, you know, like anything,
you get used to it. But also it was a
way for me to be able to show, like, look,
when I get on the court, yes i'm me right,
(09:34):
but I'm me plus right. Yeah, like that's the plus
plus and then off stage, I'm just me And it's like, well,
it's like I want people to be able to connect
with me and see me as relatable. And at the
end of the day, you know, we're all human and
I get to hit a plastic wall for a living,
and I'm very, very fortunate for that, but I'm very
human and I want to be able to for people
(09:55):
to feel very connected and relatable because I do dumb
stuff a lot, and I go through some serious up
and it's like, you know, I want to share that
and have people be part of the complete journey, just
not the show on the court.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Yeah, this woman had me twirling on a broom court
side at one of the games.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Where were we in?
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Was it Miami in the Convention Center?
Speaker 4 (10:16):
Now?
Speaker 2 (10:16):
No, no, it wasn't Miami. I never did it was like,
it was Chicago. Yeah, I think it was.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
We had the Furry Convention next year, Yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
So we're playing Oh my gosh, so we have You have.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
To like walk through these corridors right from the parking
deck to this convention center. You walk into the convention
center and on one side is straight up a furry convention,
and then on the other side is a massive pickleball tournament.
And it was like the mingling in the middle at
the coffee shop was one of the most unique environments
(10:51):
I've ever been.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
A part now I would say mine too, because you
had people in full costume, like full on looking like
a mascot from a college team, but like no mascot
I've ever seen.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
And then like the most athletic people coming in drenched
in sweat because they just finished their match. And in
the middle of all this, Lee's like, I know what
we're gonna do for our Instagram reel this week, and I.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
Was like, okay, because I don't exactly.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Yeah, and spins me around, and to this day I
cannot remember.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
There was like a song. It was some ballerina dance,
and now I was just like sure, whatever.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
But it's so like I tell that story to say
that it is one of my favorite traits about you
is you bring people in and you are somebody that
is a connector and a community piece, and you feel
it from your next gen team that just absolutely adores
you and adores giving you so much shit at any
given moment because you give it to them. But then
(11:47):
also with the people who are at these these game
changer events where you are embracing, like you mentioned, those
athletes who are maybe athletes for the first time in
their forties and fifties and sixties. So much of women's
sports is on the rise right now, and it is
incredible to see the next generations behind us have examples.
(12:07):
But how have you found that it's equally as important
to include those generations of women where, like you said,
they didn't have Title nine, they didn't have these opportunities,
and they could feel a little left behind in this
wave of what women's sport has become.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Right, And you know, you and I we've had these conversations,
right and it's like one of the reasons we started
game change here was I feel that as women, we
need to do a much better job of lifting each
other up. We're very good at tearing each other down,
and I hate that we do that to ourselves and
each other. So I wanted to sort of change the
narrative and being the business is building people up, because
(12:44):
rising tides lifts all ships, right, And you've got these
women who haven't played sports before, or maybe have played
sports and then got married, had children, had a career,
and now they want to come back in. But it's
they came from a different sport and try and pick
a ball teams maybe a little daunting, and it's like
nobody should ever feel self conscious, and we do that
as women. I don't know we we you know, I
(13:05):
always say that I'm not this is gonna this is
They're gonna get me canceled. It's gonna get you canceled
now too, you know that, you know the tourists and
the slightly overweight male tourists on the beach and speeders,
like I want that mirror that that man looks through
because he's got all the confidence in the world, right, yeah, Like,
and we don't look at we don't look at ourselves
through that mirror and that lens. And I feel like
(13:27):
we should a little bit more.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Yeah, so we have more confidence just to show up
as we are and not feel the societal pressure to
show up in a certain way.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
Right, Like I was never born a size too, I'm
never going to be a size too. It's like, no
matter how much I try, I'm never gonna have thigh gap. Right,
And it's like, at fifty, I should be able to
be out there and embrace my body and be like, look,
this is this is me and everything on my body
right now is the scars, the adventures, the ups and
downs of life, and it's okay. And I think we
(13:57):
need to do much better for each other and that
that regard. Right. So when we've got these women coming
out to play pickaball, you know they're self conscious. And
think about it. As adults, we have terrible learners. When
was the last time you learned something systematically? Because in school,
you know, it's like conjugating verbs and sentences and blah
blah blah blah blah, Like we do things in a
progress And as adults were like, we have to we
(14:17):
want to. We don't crawl walk, run, We just go
straight to run. And it's and we get frustrated, like
I should be able to do this. It looks simple
and blah blah blah. And it's like I wanted to
create this space for people to be able to come
in and have fun and laugh at themselves. And like
pickaball has given us the ability to play again, which
we forget how to do. And as adults, now we're playing,
and it's like I want them to embrace playing and
(14:38):
laugh themselves and be silly. And I'll tell them, look,
no matter what you do or whatever mistake you've made,
I've made it in front of thousands of people. You're
just making it in front of four. Don't worry about it,
you know exactly. And mine was recorded.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Mine was recorded, it was put all over the internet.
I decided to put it on the internet.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
Yeah I may have done that, but you know, but
it's it's all about creating this space for these women
to just come out and be active, because you know,
it's a being active is healthy and the old, you know,
the older we get, the more we need to take
care of our bodies and stay active and be It's
also it's like I just liked putting smiles on people's faces.
And Pickable is a vehicle that allows ninety nine percent
(15:18):
of the population to be able to play no matter
where you come from.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
I love that, and I think it's something that I
feel a lot of I would say conviction in because
I think it's so cool how many elements of women's
sport is being celebrated right now. And we throw around
the word first a lot. We say like, oh, this
is the first time a woman has done this, it's
the first time a woman's got this score at this
(15:43):
you know, wherever, whatever, And I think so often it's
so important to not forget where we came from and
who really we're standing on the shoulders of because at
this point it's really hard to be the first in
women's sport in all sports, right, and a lot of
my time in surfing, in extreme sports, in action sports,
(16:04):
and even there where you know, women are still it
was four years ago that we had a legitimate you know,
the WSL first had a full women's competition at Pipeline.
But that was not the first women's competition at Pipeline.
It was the first time it was a part of
the WSL or the ASP of this really organized body
of sport, but it wasn't the first time, and so
(16:25):
we have to be really careful because I think that
we're so focused on making sure we don't exclude looking
this way, right, like looking towards the generations coming behind.
We want to show these girls who are six, seven, ten, twelve,
twenty two, these are all the avenues in sport that
are open to you. But it's equally as important to
(16:47):
look ahead and say, hey, women in their seventies and
their eighties who are no longer with us in their sixties.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
You guys set the standard, you.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Pushed the narrative, you started this, so that we just
took the the next step, right, and like we're not
the first one with the baton, we could be the third.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
And I think that's something that I feel a.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Lot of conviction within, because it's so easy to get
so hyped up and so excited about where women's sport
is that you want to be like, oh, yeah, it's
the first, it's the first, But sometimes it's not, and
that's okay. It doesn't diminish what women are doing right now.
It's just not excluding what women have done before.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
Right, And I think sort of like with surfing, women's surfing,
right it's a relatively new not new sport, but new
wave that's coming through, right, and with pickable thing and
it's like I remember watching a documentary on like the original,
so the women's surfing in Hawaii like back in the
you know, I think there's a fifties or sixties and
it's like those stories need to be told. It's the
same as like when Billy J and King took the
(17:46):
leap of faith and wanted to start them with the
WTA right and and really start this tour. It's like, yes,
she's the one who's remembered for it, but there were
eleven women that signed like those stories right, the same
and pickable. That's like you've got Alex Hamler, Jennifer LeCour,
you know, Genders, then Christine Marksdale, Gudi the Master. You've
got these women who sort of helped pave the way
(18:06):
and the platform that these athletes are being provided at
the professional level. Now, wouldn't it happened without these women?
And I mean the guy is also but it's like
those stories cannot be forgotten and there are only two
generations removed from the generation coming in now, and the
fact that these people don't know who they are that
breaks my heart. It's not like we're going back one
hundred and fifty years. You know, I'm not gonna you know,
(18:28):
it's like, oh, the first lady who rode a bicycle,
I don't know her, and it probably should. But you know,
we're not going that far back. We're only going back
to two to three generations. It's not long. So they
need to be present. And it's like when these women
show up at tournaments, I want the younger generation to
go up and puk to them. You know, yes, get
the autograph, take a photo with them, have a conversation.
(18:50):
They'll give you the time of day because these are
the people that help shape your career and that cannot
be forgotten ever.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
And I think it goes into exactly what you're saying
of I feel like, you know, and it's so funny, right,
I'm in my early thirties and I'm starting to feel
this bizarre external pressure of like, well, you're running out
of time because you're in your early thirties and in
this industry, how many fifty year olds do you see?
Speaker 2 (19:17):
How many forty year olds do you see?
Speaker 1 (19:19):
And there's like it's starting to come in and I'm
sitting here going no, no, no, I'm in my early thirties,
Like this is my time is now? Like I maybe
I'm in my prime, but I have no intention in
my prime being two years. You know, like this is
going to be a long time coming. And I feel
like society in general, and then sport, even as a
microcosm of it, does try to push women to believe
(19:43):
that they are less as they get older, or to
believe that they don't have much to contribute anymore, and
to say that, And I just I don't buy into it.
I don't want to buy into it. And I feel
like that's what you are working so hard at with
this game change her events is saying no, you still
have value, you can still have fun, you can still
be a part of a community. How have you seen
(20:05):
that mindset impact somebody who maybe felt forgotten before they
were able to be a part of this?
Speaker 3 (20:14):
And real quick, it's like you have this phenomenal platform
and you're so cognizant of the fact that you know
the sport that you're in now, so it's surfing, right
or your extreme games is like you're looking at these
women and you're like, no, no, no, but there's women that
came before you, and those women you need to know
who they are and you get to tell those stories, right,
And it's like in Pickaball, I feel like sometimes the
commentators are getting younger and younger and they're not caring
(20:36):
about generations past and what happens is like you know,
and it's the same as like I remember when the
spincer was, you know, before it was outlawed, and was like, oh,
Zane did the first spinser. No, it wasn't. I was
actually Morgan Freeman years prior. Who did that? Not Morgan Freeman,
Morgan Evans.
Speaker 5 (20:50):
Yeah, yeah, convenient, convenient name to be also having right, No,
Morgan Evans, right, And he was the first one who
did it, but that got forgotten because it was at
the time, you know, the wave of pickable rose and
it was more in people's living rooms.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
And then it was Zay, but Morgan did it first,
you know, And those are the things that don't get told.
And if that's not getting told, and that was only
a year prior, imagine ten years ago, you know, when
you've got Jennifer and Gigi, you know, and Alex doing
all the things that they're doing. So those stories need
to be told. And I wish the commentators would maybe
do their homework or be a little bit more aware
(21:26):
of what came before to shape what's happening now. Right.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
Well, and that's the crazy part though, is the homework, right,
And it's so hard to find these stories, and these
stories get told oftentimes through word of mouth, through going
up to the person who's in their fifties or in
their sixties at a tournament and saying, tell me a
little bit about what it was like when you first
got in it. Who'd you look up to, who was
(21:51):
on the court, who was setting the standard? And that's
such a It's why these moments are so important because
I want you to tell us right here right, you know,
I want you to know. I want us to know
who are the women that set the standard and pick
a ball, because seven years ago is when you got
into it. But I know there are women that you
looked up to. I know there wereomen that you worked with,
(22:11):
and I just feel like, again, that's why it's so
important to not forget the generation who came before, the
generations who came before.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
And I think it's sort of sort of culturally representative
of like we're in this because of technology. Everything's that's
instant gratification. We get it now, so it's like it's
almost like we're so hyper focused on the now that
we forget, you know, like we don't have to do
research anymore, we don't have to do this because we
want this now and this is what's happening right now
is just way more important than what happened before. And
(22:39):
it's like, no, there's a reason what happened before affects
the now right And it's like, how can we do that,
because if we don't do it now, the next generation
is not going to do it. The next generation is
not going to do it. And then all of a sudden,
it's like they're just going to be names in a
book that people are like, oh, I think I've heard
of them, and it's like, no, you should never ever
forget who the true pioneers were because we don't have
(23:00):
this platform. And you know, when you look at Pickaball
and you look at the spaces that people occupy, right,
people occupy their space a film, their space at work.
What does that third space? And Pickaball's become that third
space for a lot of the older women and older men,
and it's become this great vehicle for them to be
a place where they belong. They're a part of something
and the communities that have come out of that and
(23:21):
the friendships that have formed. It's like they say, the
older you get, the smaller your friendship circle becomes. And
in Pickaball, not sadly, but the inverse happens because now,
I mean, I challenge anybody who's playing pickaball, like, how
how many people in your phone do you have first
or last name pickable? And They're like at least two
hundred and I'm like, She's like, and I shouldn't have that.
It's like, my friends have become pickable friends and real
(23:42):
friends and true friendships and connections, which I think is
magical because as we get older, we tend to become
a little bit more insular, and pickballs allowed us to
be a little bit more extroverted and exist in this
space where we belong and we have friends and communities
and conversations and sort of. It's the pickable is a vehicle,
the school is a vehicle, but the byproduct has been
(24:04):
community and friendships and connection and belonging, which does so
much for mental health as well as physical.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
Health, right, oh a million percent.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
And I just think I remember, my aunt is just
an absolute powerhouse and she could take me in almost
any sport, just to be crystal clear, like this woman
mountain bike's harder than almost anybody that I know, and
has like the bones and like the scars and everything
to prove it, the broken bones and her hospital records
to prove it.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
But I remember the first time she introduced me to pick.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Aball and I was like, I don't know about this,
like I think I've got you here, and she was like, okay,
next thing, you know, like she's wiping the court with me.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
And there was such.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
There was such youthfulness to her, and she's already like
a young soul, like she's already somebody who feels like,
you know, they just never they never decided to get
old and so they didn't. And I remember being like,
this is incredible, Like I want to remember how to
play forever, and whether that is pickable, whether that is surfing,
whether that is whatever it is. I just think it's
(25:03):
so cool that you are making sure to embrace the
generations who don't have the opportunities that they started they
started laying the foundation to create, you know, And that's
one of the hardest things about being a trailblazer is
that you never get to actually walk the trail. You
never get to actually walk the trail that you've worked
so hard to blaze. Instead, you're at the front, scraped, bruised,
(25:27):
and sometimes walked.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
Over for the next generation.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
And what you're making sure is happening is that those
women who have the scratches, who have the bruises.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
Still feel valued. And I think that is really beautiful.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
That you said. Right, the trailblazers never get to walk
the trail, and they also sadly don't get the benefit
of the contracts and the dollars behind that. Yeah, you
know they're looking back going, oh wow, if I was
born ten years later, I could be there, you know,
reaping the benefits of a six figure contract or something
that they they never had the opportunity to get. Right.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
Well, I'm so glad that pickleball has you and so
many women like you who are embracing the community, who
are embracing the next generation, the previous generations, and I
just think it's incredible. So yeah, thank you for sharing
your story and for being a part of it, and
for bringing the SaaS and the life and the energy
every time you step on the court, every time you
come up on my Instagram page. It just is so
(26:21):
much fun to see you and I love rooting you
on at every single pickleball tournament you go to, which
is like one a weekend.
Speaker 3 (26:27):
By the way, ma'am, I know a little bit much,
right know, but no, but thanks and likewise, right, I
love what you're doing in this space. I love that
you're lifting women, and you know, I think that collectively
we can all do that a little bit more. Yeah,
it'll be a lot more joyous place.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
It certainly, it certainly would be. But that's what we
are working to create.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
Okay, We're going to move on to our something to
Sip on segment. This is brought to you by the
Sports Bra. It is a women's sports bar in Portland, Oregon,
and the women who started this bar is a good
friend of mine, Jenny, and she is one of these
women that we love talking about who looks at the
women before her, who saw the opportunity and now is
creating opportunity for women everywhere. So Lee, yeah, I want
(27:07):
to know what are you sipping on? This is your
favorite cocktail or mocktail post pickleball, pre pickleball?
Speaker 2 (27:13):
What are you sipping on?
Speaker 3 (27:15):
Well, it's my motto. Has always been win or lose.
I have a beer, right, we drink beer. Beer got
me into the sport. My really good friend bribes me
into playing pickaball with a case of beer because no,
I said I would never play. And we argued for
thirty minutes of whys she played this tournament with us
that I'm not doing it, and she's like, I'll buy
a case of beer. I'm like, you should have just
led with that. So I have a price, and I'm
not very expensive apparently, so cold beer. Win or lose,
(27:39):
always have a beer. And then if I need to
be a little bit more serious, you know, moscow mule
will always always go. You know, start with a bit,
end with the Moscow mule.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
I love that. That's so good.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
I love a good mask a mule, especially if it
comes in a copper cup. Top tier has to come
in the copper.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
The next segment is the powered up segment. So this
is where we get to know a few things.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
That power you up for your sport of picklebobs.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
So, what is the one piece of equipment that you
could not do your sport without?
Speaker 3 (28:10):
A paddle? Very fair?
Speaker 2 (28:12):
What is the most important thing in your bag?
Speaker 3 (28:16):
So this is going to sound really cheesy, but I
always have so I have in my pickable bag. It's
like a little zipper bag, and it's got everything that
anybody who's ever met, and the thing to me has
ever given me is good luck. So like I've got
my Grandma's rosary in there. You know, I've got some
(28:37):
challenge coins from my wounded worry of friends that you know,
I got to meet and be inspired by. So I've
got some different things in there that mean the world
to me because you know, and they have to be
in my bag. Like it's not a good day if
I show up at a tournament without that, I'm completely discombobulated.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
Wow, I love that. That doesn't sound cheesy at all.
I love that.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
What is the attitude that you have to bring with
you to the pick a ball.
Speaker 3 (29:05):
Court entertainment obviously first, and also the attitude of like
I'm playing a plastic ball, my opponents are never going
to come over the net, So play the ball, and
you know, play to win instead of I think a
lot of times we play not to lose instead of
playing to win. If you play to win, whether the
result favors you or not, you can always learn from
(29:27):
that and fix that. But if you play not to lose,
you become very very passive and hopefully others to make instake.
So I always try to play to win, and also
keeping in perspective that it's a plastic ball and it
still has to be fun, because this is why we're
doing this.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
And then the last question is if pick a Ball
was a video game and somebody had the controller and
they moved over Lee whitwell, what are the strengths that
they would see listed? What are the weaknesses? And what
is your character name?
Speaker 3 (29:57):
My character name probably like squatting dog or something.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
Fantastic.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
I'll go with Amazon Goddess. How's that?
Speaker 2 (30:06):
I love that Amazon Goddess.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
I like that.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
I think it should be Spanish goddess though, or I
guess Gibraltar.
Speaker 3 (30:11):
Goddess or just Lady Gibraltar.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
Lady Gibraltar.
Speaker 3 (30:15):
I like that. Kind of my Instagram handle.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
We'd put a little British.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
Like, you know, one of those things that the ladies
used to wear, and it would be all elegant, but
then you'd be flying through like late what was her
name in robin Hood, Lady Marion, like Badminton.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
Yes, that would be you. So my strengths would be
reset Ernie's around the posts firefight, and then my weaknesses
would be an ability to concentrate for long periods of
time and to get really bored if no one's watching.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
Must have an audience, must have an audience.
Speaker 3 (30:51):
To perform, I will perform with an audience. When there's
no audience, I'm like, well.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
This is boring.
Speaker 3 (30:55):
I'm like, God, this is my here.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
For nobody's cheering me, no one's tackling me.
Speaker 3 (30:59):
What is the point exactly?
Speaker 2 (31:02):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
And then the very last question I have for you, friend,
is this is the powerful podcast. We're all about uplifting
powerful women and trying to inspire the audience that listens
to us to be powerful themselves. So what makes you
feel the most powerful?
Speaker 3 (31:20):
My inner circle that does everything in that power to
lift me every day and stand beside me, good, bad
and ugly. M That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
That inner circle is so important.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
And I am just really grateful that Pickaball brought you
into my life and that you are always going to
be somebody who I can count on. It's who you are,
it's who you continue to be for so many So Lee,
thank you for being here.
Speaker 3 (31:43):
Thank you so much, and the same sentiment back to you.
I'm so glad that we got to meet and have
the conversations that we've had, and I've become friends because
you're pretty.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
Yes, like Blacktiouses, you are stuck with me forever. So friends,
thank you for listening to the powerful power.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
We'll be back next week and in the meantime, make
sure you follow Lee on Instagram Lady Gibraltar, because I
promise you if you're having a bad day, you won't
after you see whatever the heck she posts.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
We'll see you next time.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
This is a reminder to check us out every Tuesday
everywhere you get your podcasts, and if you really enjoy
this and don't want to miss an episode, be sure
to hit that subscribe button.
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