June 24, 2025 • 18 mins
In this special episode I had the pleasure of speaking with Lydia Hirt, Vice President of Marketing at Life Time, to explore the explosive growth of pickleball across the country. Lydia shares her personal journey with the sport and highlights Life Time’s (LT) groundbreaking contributions—from building hundreds of courts nationwide to launching the innovative LT ball.
Show Notes: https://betterpickleball.com/1528-special-episode-a-chat-with-lydia-hirt-from-life-time-pickleball
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Episode Transcript
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(00:04):
Hello and welcome to this specialepisode of Pickleball Therapy.
I'm your host, Tony Roig.
For this episode, I had the pleasure ofspeaking with Lydia Hirt, who is the Vice
President of Marketingfor Life Time Fitness.
Now, you may have heard that Life TimeFitness is involved with Pickleball, but
what you may not know is that Life Time isactually the largest facility operator of
pickleball courts anywhere in the world.
And also, Life Time has developed what'scalled the LT Ball now, which is a new
(00:28):
ball that's making its wayamong pickleball players.
In this interview, I talk to Lydia aboutthe growth of the sport, the new ball, as
well as Lydia's own personalexperience in the sport of pickleball.
Enjoy the interview.Hello, Lydia.
It's a pleasure to have you onthe Pickleball Therapy podcast.
How are you doing today?I'm doing well.
Thanks so much for having me, Tony.
It's a pleasure to have you on.
Lydia, I've already let everybodylistening know that you've been at
(00:52):
Lifetime for about almost ayear now, going on a year now.
Talk to us a little bit about how you gotinto pickleball as an individual, and then
we'll talk a little bit about your story.
We had some nice conversation earlierabout you being able to play with
your father and how awesome that is.
Let's just work through it a little bit.
So tell us a little bit how yougot involved in the pickleball.
So, Tony, like so many other people, Idiscovered the ball in
(01:14):
2021 during the pandemic.
I was with my family.
We were renting a place down in Floridafor the winter, and we discovered the ball
as something that my sister andI could do with our parents.
It was fun.It was safe.
It got us out the house.
It got us moving, and it ended upcompletely changing the
course of my entire life.
(01:35):
That's awesome.
That's the story of so manyof us, myself included.
I'm glad you got exposed to pickleball.
Unfortunately, in circumstances,but the result was good for you.
Tell me a little bit about...
I believe you were working in publishing,and then you've been
working at Life Time now.
How does your experience with pickleballtranslate into Life Time's commitment to
(02:00):
the sport of pickleballand how it's growth?
Yeah, great question, Tony.
I had a fantastic career in bookpublishing for around a dozen years.
I was at Penguin Random House, where Iworked with many of the world's best
authors in the fictionand non-fiction space.
If you're a fan of reading, you probablyhave read some books that I
have been very proud to publish.
(02:21):
Luckily for me, marketing is transferable.
When I discovered pickleball, came back toNew York City from Florida, where I live.
Pickleball in New York, it wasreally hard to find at the time.
Again, this is 2021.
People were played inparks, in public settings.
But if you did not really know how to getin the door through,
(02:43):
at that time, it was a lot on teamreach through specific invite codes.
You really had to knowsomebody to get in the door.
So it was a very popular community.
You just had to figure out how to getyour foot in the door.
I got involved on a local level to reallyraise that of how to play
pickleball in New York City.
I started my Instagram account, Vidia.
(03:04):
Pickleball, to really help more peopleget involved at the community level.
I was doing all of that in my free timewhile I was also working this
very corporate publishing job.
From there, I met the two womenwho were starting City Pickle.
My initial foray into pickleball was theChief Marketing Officer at City Pickle,
which did incredible things forpickleball in New York City.
(03:25):
From that experience, I met some peoplewho work at Life Time
who really with me that opportunity ofLife Time is the world's
largest pickleball operator.
At this moment in time, we have795 courts at 143 clubs nationwide.
We have millions of people playing Wealready have more than 2 million moments
(03:47):
of participation at our Clubs forpickleball in the first five
and a half months of this year.
So at scale, Life Time's commitment to thesport of pickleball and growing that
within our own members and elsewhere isjust incredibly compelling and exciting to
me as a marketer, as a brand leader, andsomebody who is really committed to the
(04:10):
sport of pickleball and think it trulydoes have the ability to change lives.
Yeah, that's awesome.
I can hear there's some there's somethere's some there's some
play going on right now.
So that's- There is there'ssome going on in the background.
I'm at our beautiful Pen-1Club in the heart of Manhattan.
We're right across the streetfrom Madison Square Garden.
We're right above Penn Station.
Hundreds of thousands ofpeople walk by every day.
(04:33):
Our seven pick-up courtsare on ground level.
Sometimes it's like you're playing onChampionship Court at a public setting
because you'll have peoplepeering in through the windows.
Sometimes we have familiesstopping to cheer for us.
It's a ton of fun.
That sounds like an awesome facility.
I might have to check it out when I gotup to New York for the MLP upcoming.
So I'll swing by and take a look at.Definitely should.
(04:53):
So,Lydia, so it sounds like, obviously,
Life Time's all in on pick-up,which is phenomenal, right?
I'm, and it sounds likeyou are too, right?
Such a fan of growth of this sport becauseof the impact that it can have
for so many folks out there.
And obviously we need facilities, right?
No pickleball courts, no pickleball play.
And so it's great to hear about Life Time'scurrent and also planned growth
(05:16):
in the sport of pickleball.
One of the other things that we talkedabout was one of the areas that's
different parts of the country, you playwith different balls, balls
have evolved over time.
You had the Dura, Franklinhas a big in place right now.
Core has been involved.
There's all these differentnames that you hear about.
But my understanding is that Life Time hastaken a step in that direction as well?
(05:39):
Yes.
Oh, my gosh, Tony, I haveit in my hand right now.
We have our patent pending LT a ball,it is an incredible ball to play with.
So our Lifetime founder and CEO,Buram Akradi, is a trained engineer.
So he saw a problem that the ball for apickleball does not
always bounce correctly.It's not sustainable, it's not durable.
(06:00):
It's not the speed atwhich he likes to play.
So he went out to solve that problem.
We now have ourproprietary LTE pickleball.
You'll actually see, unlike otherpickleballs, it is actually two sides,
like a roter motor.
Let me get back to you onexactly how that's produced.
But it's two actual sides fit together,and it has 48 holes, evenly space.
(06:25):
The holes have champered edges,which means that this ball rolls.
It won't get caught in one ofthose holes like other balls.
It also is incredibly sustainable.
I have personally notactually seen our ball crack.
I do know if it does, it cracks along thatseam, it doesn't get those annoying
hairline fractures where you play a coupleof points and then realize, one of these
(06:46):
holes is cracked, how far do you go back?
It is fast.
It is an incredibly fun ball to play with.
Ppa, MLP Pro, Zane Navrittal just recentlydid an entire YouTube review of the LT
pickle ball after it was played with atthe PPA event in Peachtree, and
he had incredible things to say.
He did say this is the best bouncing ballwith that most consistent bounce
(07:10):
that he has ever played with.
We at Life Time are incredibly excited toreally be fixing something that we
perceive to be as a problem with the ballto make that ball a better experience for
players of all levels, and also tohopefully make it more sustainable ball
that breaks less, you need to replace itless, which is both cost savings
(07:31):
and better for the environment.
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
And Zane definitely knows the sport.
He's been at it for a long time.
And if Zane likes it, then I like it.
I haven't had a chanceto play with it yet.
I know, I believe Dan is sending me a few,and we're going to be trying them out
and then giving our feedback on it.
But certainly the fact that the PPA andthe MLP are willing to put the ball in
(07:52):
play says a lot as well about the ball.
And I believe thatthis episode is dropping sometime around
We've owned the PPA and MLPs out in SanClemente, so they're going to
be using the balls out there.
So we're going to be on the look out tosee how the ball performs out in
the San Clemente West Coast weather.
It had some East Coast weather in Atlanta,now we're getting some West Coast weather,
and I'm sure the ball will do great there.Exactly.
(08:16):
So it will, as you're mentioning, the LT,the ball will be used at the PPA in
Rancher San Clemente and thenMLP immediately following.
So we will be seeing a ton ofbuzz and feedback from the pros.
We have heard some very notable topplayers Our big fans of how it plays.
So really excited to see theball continue to get experience.
(08:36):
Yeah, that'll be awesome.
And I'm always a big fan of anything thatmakes our sport stronger,
anything that improves our sport.
And obviously, just like we need courts,we need balls to play.
And if the balls last longer,kudos for that development.
So that's a great news that your foundertook some time to focus on
that, some of his attention.
Lydia, share with us a little bit aboutyour You and I were talking
(09:01):
about your father, right?
And your father, a lot of players outthere, the sport getting younger, right?
But still a lot of the players inour sport are a little bit older.
And I believe you said your fatherwas in his 70s, I believe, early 70s.
Tell us a little bit aboutyour father's experience.
You just saw him and yourinteractions with your father in the sport
of pickleball and how that's improved hisquality of life, I guess,
(09:24):
or his experiences.
All great questions, Tony.
So my parents, my sister and I alldiscover pick a ball
together at the same time.
My dad and I have really becomefully pick a ball addicts.
We play as much as possible.
We love to play together.
My dad just turned 71 over the weekend, sohe came to New York City along with my
(09:46):
mom, and we played picka ball every single day.
It was incredibly fun.
So on Saturday, it was myself, my fiancé,one of our friends, and my dad got
together here at Life Time Pen, and we foran hour and a half, my dad and
I won three out of five games.
That is not to embarrass myfiancé and our friend via.
(10:09):
That is just because pick a ball is one ofthose sports that it really does put
precision over power, even though I willalso say my dad does get quite
a bit of speed on that ball.
But at 71 years old, my dad and I togetherwere able to meet, we were able to
consistently win against and show up andperform against two middle-aged
(10:31):
men, which is incredibly satisfying.
When we were leaving the game or when wewere wrapping up the day, Viet, our friend
who played with us, was like,Wow, your dad is so good.
Not necessarily what you're expecting fora 71-year-old man, he tore his
meniscus last year playing pickleball.
So he shows up, he wears his knee brace,he wears an ankle brace for his Achilles,
(10:54):
and yet he can stillhave a strong presence.
He can feel really goodabout how he plays.
He can still show up on that court.
And from my dad being active in hispickleball community, he and my mom moved
to Philadelphia around twoand a half years ago now.
And their social life really originatedthrough people they met on the
(11:14):
pickleball courts out of the gate.
It was those early relationships thatthrough which they found other friends.
They now found volunteer opportunities.
They also are very involved in Bridge.
So clearly, my parents arejust gamers in general.
But pickleball really brought so muchcommunity, friendship,
physical activity to their lives, and justthat sense of togetherness when
(11:36):
they're moving to a new community.
I love to travel, but I prefer to reallytravel to places where there is more
pickleball because that way, even if I'mgoing by myself or with friends or with my
fiance, we'll inevitably find morepeople that we enjoy through pickleball.
Whether that means we're actually going toget a meal or a drink with them later or
(11:59):
even just hearing what theirrecommendations are in the place that they
call home is just incredibly fruitful.
Yeah, that's an awesome way to engage withthe sport is, the sport
has such a ripple effect right in ourlives, not just, okay, we
get to play this thing.
It's all the other benefits that we getfrom it, socially travel and otherwise.
And I've had the pleasure, me and my wife,we had the pleasure of the same
(12:23):
interaction with this wonderful sport.
One last question, Lydia.
I know that you havea busy schedule today.
What are you guys seeing at Life Time interms of if you have this up your head,
like growth of the sportin terms of engagement.
I know you mentioned the two million, Ithink you call them moments
and things like that.
But are you guys seeing that to be like aconstant for you guys where
(12:46):
the courts are in use?
Obviously, again, we'rehearing the courts.
We're recording this aboutmidday, and so it's active.
Are you guys still seeing that spread outthroughout the country,
the same demand growth?
So Life Time's Year over yearnumbers just continue to increase.
Our percentage of players is up.
Our percentage of members engagingin pick-up all is increased.
(13:08):
As you're mentioning, we're recordingthis in the middle of the day on a Monday.
Our courts here at Penn in the heartof Manhattan are always packed.
You'll hear about peak times versus offpeak here in New York,
it is always peak times.
We've even extended our club operatinghours by an hour so that we are open until
midnight during the weekend until 11 (13:27):
00 on the weekends because there is
that much demand for pickleball.
We're seeing that across the nation.
We are continuing to build more courts.
We want lifetime to beyour home away from home.
We offer the best saunas, the best spas,incredible recovery, small group training.
We really bring the boutique-stylefitness class to you.
(13:51):
But then also with pickleball on top ofit, we understand that Pickaball can be
competitive or it canbe really more social.
We want offer our members and ourcommunity basically whatever
they want under one roof.
I know people that stay at Life Time.
I work from here, and they'rehere just as long as I am.
(14:12):
It's a luxury experience.
Like my Life Time is that athletic countryclub, so they are able to pay for their
membership while also spending asignificant amount of time
here all day, every day.
I love to see it.
People have their routines down.
They pick a ball, then they to the cafeand get their smoothie, then they take
some calls, then maybe they get back onthe court, then maybe they go back to that
(14:35):
cafe to get lunch a littlebit later in the day.
And in between,you see those people you know.
You're waiting from across the court.
I sit here with my headphones out onon calls as you mentioned, courtside.
And I see people and friends I know whoare wildly waving from across the court.
And it's like, I'm on a call.
And then sometimes I'll be on an importantcall and all of a sudden a ball
(14:56):
will come right in my head.
So it keeps That keeps us on our toes.
But ultimately,the love for a pickle ball within Life Time
just continues to grow and reallymotivates us to be delivering on that best
possible experience, whether that isyou're traveling to one of our courts.
(15:17):
In Atlanta, Life Time has over 60 courts.
My fiancé and I were traveling to CostaRica over the holidays to
play pickle in Costa Rica.
We ended up getting stuck in Atlanta for24 hours through a misconnection
due to a Delta breaking system.
And guess what we did?
We went to one of our Lifetime clubs andgot an extra day in of pick-up all in.
(15:39):
Was it in Costa Rica?No.
But was it really great tobe able to enjoy that type?
Make the most of it, see some otherbeautiful lifetime experiences,
and pick up that paddle?
So we definitely...
It was not a waste of day.
That is awesome.
And that's awesome aboutlifetime commitment.
If someone wants to follow you,do you I don't have your ledia.
(16:00):
Pickaball on Instagram?You're still using that thing?
Yes, it's ledia.Pickaball.
I need to pick up mynewsletter again, too.
I am really just excited about everythingI look at as the pickaball lifestyle.
I love fashion.
I love pickleball clothes.
I now wear skorts, Ithink 90% of the time.
If I have to put on what I call hardclothes, it really just throws me off.
(16:22):
I think there is so much to thatcommunity, to that lifestyle of pickaball,
and really how it can reallytouch every of your life.
And then I'm also really lucky to have acareer that also highlights the business
side, because I do just think that as thesport continues to grow and evolve, we're
still early in the future of pickle.
(16:43):
I think pickleball is justgoing to continue to rise up.
And I really feel so privileged to be ableto see it from both sides, to be able to
experience pickleball from the fun, thefriendship, that joy in community, but
then also from that business side, and howlifetime can continue to grow and develop
those core experiences, which really justcontinue to bring more and more desirable
(17:06):
into our brand, into our reallyincredible memberships.
Yeah, that's awesome.So, Lydia, that's pickleball.
We'll put it in the show notes.
Then Is the ball availableyet for the general public?
So if someone wants to try it out, theycan go ahead and get some,
or is that still coming up?
Yep, you can get the pickle ball on our LTshop, and also we are building a
relationship with Pickleball Central.
(17:27):
So everybody is welcome toexperience the LT pickleball.
Please do.I would love your thoughts.
I cannot wait to hearwhat you think, actually.
It is so much fun when I play with otherballs now for any reason,
they feel a little slow and heavy.
The timing is off, whereas thisball, it is so much fun to play with.
(17:48):
And again, it doesn't break.
So I carry them around inmy bag everywhere I go.
Sometimes, depending on where it is, I'llleave them with other players I meet
because I know it has a long life ahead.
Love it.
So we'll put that inthe show notes as well.
So if you want to check out the LTpickleball, and if you want
to follow Lydia on Instagram.
Lydia, it's been a pleasurehaving you on here.
(18:08):
It sounds like they need a fourth outthere on the court, so
I'm going to let you go.Really appreciate your time.
Thank you so much, Tony.
I really appreciate it, too.
Hello and welcome to this specialepisode of Pickleball Therapy.
I'm your host, Tony Roig.
For this episode, I had the pleasure ofspeaking with Lydia Hirt, who is the Vice
President of Marketingfor Life Time Fitness.
Now, you may have heard that Life TimeFitness is involved with Pickleball, but
what you may not know is that Life Time isactually the largest facility operator of
pickleball courts anywhere in the world.
And also, Life Time has developed what'scalled the LT Ball now, which is a new
(00:28):
ball that's making its wayamong pickleball players.
In this interview, I talk to Lydia aboutthe growth of the sport, the new ball, as
well as Lydia's own personalexperience in the sport of pickleball.
Enjoy the interview.Hello, Lydia.
It's a pleasure to have you onthe Pickleball Therapy podcast.
How are you doing today?I'm doing well.
Thanks so much for having me, Tony.
It's a pleasure to have you on.
Lydia, I've already let everybodylistening know that you've been at
(00:52):
Lifetime for about almost ayear now, going on a year now.
Talk to us a little bit about how you gotinto pickleball as an individual, and then
we'll talk a little bit about your story.
We had some nice conversation earlierabout you being able to play with
your father and how awesome that is.
Let's just work through it a little bit.
So tell us a little bit how yougot involved in the pickleball.
So, Tony, like so many other people, Idiscovered the ball in
(01:14):
2021 during the pandemic.
I was with my family.
We were renting a place down in Floridafor the winter, and we discovered the ball
as something that my sister andI could do with our parents.
It was fun.It was safe.
It got us out the house.
It got us moving, and it ended upcompletely changing the
course of my entire life.
(01:35):
That's awesome.
That's the story of so manyof us, myself included.
I'm glad you got exposed to pickleball.
Unfortunately, in circumstances,but the result was good for you.
Tell me a little bit about...
I believe you were working in publishing,and then you've been
working at Life Time now.
How does your experience with pickleballtranslate into Life Time's commitment to
(02:00):
the sport of pickleballand how it's growth?
Yeah, great question, Tony.
I had a fantastic career in bookpublishing for around a dozen years.
I was at Penguin Random House, where Iworked with many of the world's best
authors in the fictionand non-fiction space.
If you're a fan of reading, you probablyhave read some books that I
have been very proud to publish.
(02:21):
Luckily for me, marketing is transferable.
When I discovered pickleball, came back toNew York City from Florida, where I live.
Pickleball in New York, it wasreally hard to find at the time.
Again, this is 2021.
People were played inparks, in public settings.
But if you did not really know how to getin the door through,
(02:43):
at that time, it was a lot on teamreach through specific invite codes.
You really had to knowsomebody to get in the door.
So it was a very popular community.
You just had to figure out how to getyour foot in the door.
I got involved on a local level to reallyraise that of how to play
pickleball in New York City.
I started my Instagram account, Vidia.
(03:04):
Pickleball, to really help more peopleget involved at the community level.
I was doing all of that in my free timewhile I was also working this
very corporate publishing job.
From there, I met the two womenwho were starting City Pickle.
My initial foray into pickleball was theChief Marketing Officer at City Pickle,
which did incredible things forpickleball in New York City.
(03:25):
From that experience, I met some peoplewho work at Life Time
who really with me that opportunity ofLife Time is the world's
largest pickleball operator.
At this moment in time, we have795 courts at 143 clubs nationwide.
We have millions of people playing Wealready have more than 2 million moments
(03:47):
of participation at our Clubs forpickleball in the first five
and a half months of this year.
So at scale, Life Time's commitment to thesport of pickleball and growing that
within our own members and elsewhere isjust incredibly compelling and exciting to
me as a marketer, as a brand leader, andsomebody who is really committed to the
(04:10):
sport of pickleball and think it trulydoes have the ability to change lives.
Yeah, that's awesome.
I can hear there's some there's somethere's some there's some
play going on right now.
So that's- There is there'ssome going on in the background.
I'm at our beautiful Pen-1Club in the heart of Manhattan.
We're right across the streetfrom Madison Square Garden.
We're right above Penn Station.
Hundreds of thousands ofpeople walk by every day.
(04:33):
Our seven pick-up courtsare on ground level.
Sometimes it's like you're playing onChampionship Court at a public setting
because you'll have peoplepeering in through the windows.
Sometimes we have familiesstopping to cheer for us.
It's a ton of fun.
That sounds like an awesome facility.
I might have to check it out when I gotup to New York for the MLP upcoming.
So I'll swing by and take a look at.Definitely should.
(04:53):
So,Lydia, so it sounds like, obviously,
Life Time's all in on pick-up,which is phenomenal, right?
I'm, and it sounds likeyou are too, right?
Such a fan of growth of this sport becauseof the impact that it can have
for so many folks out there.
And obviously we need facilities, right?
No pickleball courts, no pickleball play.
And so it's great to hear about Life Time'scurrent and also planned growth
(05:16):
in the sport of pickleball.
One of the other things that we talkedabout was one of the areas that's
different parts of the country, you playwith different balls, balls
have evolved over time.
You had the Dura, Franklinhas a big in place right now.
Core has been involved.
There's all these differentnames that you hear about.
But my understanding is that Life Time hastaken a step in that direction as well?
(05:39):
Yes.
Oh, my gosh, Tony, I haveit in my hand right now.
We have our patent pending LT a ball,it is an incredible ball to play with.
So our Lifetime founder and CEO,Buram Akradi, is a trained engineer.
So he saw a problem that the ball for apickleball does not
always bounce correctly.It's not sustainable, it's not durable.
(06:00):
It's not the speed atwhich he likes to play.
So he went out to solve that problem.
We now have ourproprietary LTE pickleball.
You'll actually see, unlike otherpickleballs, it is actually two sides,
like a roter motor.
Let me get back to you onexactly how that's produced.
But it's two actual sides fit together,and it has 48 holes, evenly space.
(06:25):
The holes have champered edges,which means that this ball rolls.
It won't get caught in one ofthose holes like other balls.
It also is incredibly sustainable.
I have personally notactually seen our ball crack.
I do know if it does, it cracks along thatseam, it doesn't get those annoying
hairline fractures where you play a coupleof points and then realize, one of these
(06:46):
holes is cracked, how far do you go back?
It is fast.
It is an incredibly fun ball to play with.
Ppa, MLP Pro, Zane Navrittal just recentlydid an entire YouTube review of the LT
pickle ball after it was played with atthe PPA event in Peachtree, and
he had incredible things to say.
He did say this is the best bouncing ballwith that most consistent bounce
(07:10):
that he has ever played with.
We at Life Time are incredibly excited toreally be fixing something that we
perceive to be as a problem with the ballto make that ball a better experience for
players of all levels, and also tohopefully make it more sustainable ball
that breaks less, you need to replace itless, which is both cost savings
(07:31):
and better for the environment.
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
And Zane definitely knows the sport.
He's been at it for a long time.
And if Zane likes it, then I like it.
I haven't had a chanceto play with it yet.
I know, I believe Dan is sending me a few,and we're going to be trying them out
and then giving our feedback on it.
But certainly the fact that the PPA andthe MLP are willing to put the ball in
(07:52):
play says a lot as well about the ball.
And I believe thatthis episode is dropping sometime around
We've owned the PPA and MLPs out in SanClemente, so they're going to
be using the balls out there.
So we're going to be on the look out tosee how the ball performs out in
the San Clemente West Coast weather.
It had some East Coast weather in Atlanta,now we're getting some West Coast weather,
and I'm sure the ball will do great there.Exactly.
(08:16):
So it will, as you're mentioning, the LT,the ball will be used at the PPA in
Rancher San Clemente and thenMLP immediately following.
So we will be seeing a ton ofbuzz and feedback from the pros.
We have heard some very notable topplayers Our big fans of how it plays.
So really excited to see theball continue to get experience.
(08:36):
Yeah, that'll be awesome.
And I'm always a big fan of anything thatmakes our sport stronger,
anything that improves our sport.
And obviously, just like we need courts,we need balls to play.
And if the balls last longer,kudos for that development.
So that's a great news that your foundertook some time to focus on
that, some of his attention.
Lydia, share with us a little bit aboutyour You and I were talking
(09:01):
about your father, right?
And your father, a lot of players outthere, the sport getting younger, right?
But still a lot of the players inour sport are a little bit older.
And I believe you said your fatherwas in his 70s, I believe, early 70s.
Tell us a little bit aboutyour father's experience.
You just saw him and yourinteractions with your father in the sport
of pickleball and how that's improved hisquality of life, I guess,
(09:24):
or his experiences.
All great questions, Tony.
So my parents, my sister and I alldiscover pick a ball
together at the same time.
My dad and I have really becomefully pick a ball addicts.
We play as much as possible.
We love to play together.
My dad just turned 71 over the weekend, sohe came to New York City along with my
(09:46):
mom, and we played picka ball every single day.
It was incredibly fun.
So on Saturday, it was myself, my fiancé,one of our friends, and my dad got
together here at Life Time Pen, and we foran hour and a half, my dad and
I won three out of five games.
That is not to embarrass myfiancé and our friend via.
(10:09):
That is just because pick a ball is one ofthose sports that it really does put
precision over power, even though I willalso say my dad does get quite
a bit of speed on that ball.
But at 71 years old, my dad and I togetherwere able to meet, we were able to
consistently win against and show up andperform against two middle-aged
(10:31):
men, which is incredibly satisfying.
When we were leaving the game or when wewere wrapping up the day, Viet, our friend
who played with us, was like,Wow, your dad is so good.
Not necessarily what you're expecting fora 71-year-old man, he tore his
meniscus last year playing pickleball.
So he shows up, he wears his knee brace,he wears an ankle brace for his Achilles,
(10:54):
and yet he can stillhave a strong presence.
He can feel really goodabout how he plays.
He can still show up on that court.
And from my dad being active in hispickleball community, he and my mom moved
to Philadelphia around twoand a half years ago now.
And their social life really originatedthrough people they met on the
(11:14):
pickleball courts out of the gate.
It was those early relationships thatthrough which they found other friends.
They now found volunteer opportunities.
They also are very involved in Bridge.
So clearly, my parents arejust gamers in general.
But pickleball really brought so muchcommunity, friendship,
physical activity to their lives, and justthat sense of togetherness when
(11:36):
they're moving to a new community.
I love to travel, but I prefer to reallytravel to places where there is more
pickleball because that way, even if I'mgoing by myself or with friends or with my
fiance, we'll inevitably find morepeople that we enjoy through pickleball.
Whether that means we're actually going toget a meal or a drink with them later or
(11:59):
even just hearing what theirrecommendations are in the place that they
call home is just incredibly fruitful.
Yeah, that's an awesome way to engage withthe sport is, the sport
has such a ripple effect right in ourlives, not just, okay, we
get to play this thing.
It's all the other benefits that we getfrom it, socially travel and otherwise.
And I've had the pleasure, me and my wife,we had the pleasure of the same
(12:23):
interaction with this wonderful sport.
One last question, Lydia.
I know that you havea busy schedule today.
What are you guys seeing at Life Time interms of if you have this up your head,
like growth of the sportin terms of engagement.
I know you mentioned the two million, Ithink you call them moments
and things like that.
But are you guys seeing that to be like aconstant for you guys where
(12:46):
the courts are in use?
Obviously, again, we'rehearing the courts.
We're recording this aboutmidday, and so it's active.
Are you guys still seeing that spread outthroughout the country,
the same demand growth?
So Life Time's Year over yearnumbers just continue to increase.
Our percentage of players is up.
Our percentage of members engagingin pick-up all is increased.
(13:08):
As you're mentioning, we're recordingthis in the middle of the day on a Monday.
Our courts here at Penn in the heartof Manhattan are always packed.
You'll hear about peak times versus offpeak here in New York,
it is always peak times.
We've even extended our club operatinghours by an hour so that we are open until
midnight during the weekend until 11 (13:27):
00 on the weekends because there is
that much demand for pickleball.
We're seeing that across the nation.
We are continuing to build more courts.
We want lifetime to beyour home away from home.
We offer the best saunas, the best spas,incredible recovery, small group training.
We really bring the boutique-stylefitness class to you.
(13:51):
But then also with pickleball on top ofit, we understand that Pickaball can be
competitive or it canbe really more social.
We want offer our members and ourcommunity basically whatever
they want under one roof.
I know people that stay at Life Time.
I work from here, and they'rehere just as long as I am.
(14:12):
It's a luxury experience.
Like my Life Time is that athletic countryclub, so they are able to pay for their
membership while also spending asignificant amount of time
here all day, every day.
I love to see it.
People have their routines down.
They pick a ball, then they to the cafeand get their smoothie, then they take
some calls, then maybe they get back onthe court, then maybe they go back to that
(14:35):
cafe to get lunch a littlebit later in the day.
And in between,you see those people you know.
You're waiting from across the court.
I sit here with my headphones out onon calls as you mentioned, courtside.
And I see people and friends I know whoare wildly waving from across the court.
And it's like, I'm on a call.
And then sometimes I'll be on an importantcall and all of a sudden a ball
(14:56):
will come right in my head.
So it keeps That keeps us on our toes.
But ultimately,the love for a pickle ball within Life Time
just continues to grow and reallymotivates us to be delivering on that best
possible experience, whether that isyou're traveling to one of our courts.
(15:17):
In Atlanta, Life Time has over 60 courts.
My fiancé and I were traveling to CostaRica over the holidays to
play pickle in Costa Rica.
We ended up getting stuck in Atlanta for24 hours through a misconnection
due to a Delta breaking system.
And guess what we did?
We went to one of our Lifetime clubs andgot an extra day in of pick-up all in.
(15:39):
Was it in Costa Rica?No.
But was it really great tobe able to enjoy that type?
Make the most of it, see some otherbeautiful lifetime experiences,
and pick up that paddle?
So we definitely...
It was not a waste of day.
That is awesome.
And that's awesome aboutlifetime commitment.
If someone wants to follow you,do you I don't have your ledia.
(16:00):
Pickaball on Instagram?You're still using that thing?
Yes, it's ledia.Pickaball.
I need to pick up mynewsletter again, too.
I am really just excited about everythingI look at as the pickaball lifestyle.
I love fashion.
I love pickleball clothes.
I now wear skorts, Ithink 90% of the time.
If I have to put on what I call hardclothes, it really just throws me off.
(16:22):
I think there is so much to thatcommunity, to that lifestyle of pickaball,
and really how it can reallytouch every of your life.
And then I'm also really lucky to have acareer that also highlights the business
side, because I do just think that as thesport continues to grow and evolve, we're
still early in the future of pickle.
(16:43):
I think pickleball is justgoing to continue to rise up.
And I really feel so privileged to be ableto see it from both sides, to be able to
experience pickleball from the fun, thefriendship, that joy in community, but
then also from that business side, and howlifetime can continue to grow and develop
those core experiences, which really justcontinue to bring more and more desirable
(17:06):
into our brand, into our reallyincredible memberships.
Yeah, that's awesome.So, Lydia, that's pickleball.
We'll put it in the show notes.
Then Is the ball availableyet for the general public?
So if someone wants to try it out, theycan go ahead and get some,
or is that still coming up?
Yep, you can get the pickle ball on our LTshop, and also we are building a
relationship with Pickleball Central.
(17:27):
So everybody is welcome toexperience the LT pickleball.
Please do.I would love your thoughts.
I cannot wait to hearwhat you think, actually.
It is so much fun when I play with otherballs now for any reason,
they feel a little slow and heavy.
The timing is off, whereas thisball, it is so much fun to play with.
(17:48):
And again, it doesn't break.
So I carry them around inmy bag everywhere I go.
Sometimes, depending on where it is, I'llleave them with other players I meet
because I know it has a long life ahead.
Love it.
So we'll put that inthe show notes as well.
So if you want to check out the LTpickleball, and if you want
to follow Lydia on Instagram.
Lydia, it's been a pleasurehaving you on here.
(18:08):
It sounds like they need a fourth outthere on the court, so
I'm going to let you go.Really appreciate your time.
Thank you so much, Tony.
I really appreciate it, too.
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