May 27, 2026 • 37 mins
On this episode of the STL Bucket List Show, we sit down with Ross Chaifetzand Andrew Haines of the St. Louis Shock to talk about building one of the fastest-rising franchises in professional sports and why St. Louis has become one of the biggest pickleball markets in the country.
Ross shares the origin story behind the St. Louis Shock—from identifying pickleball as an emerging investment opportunity during the pandemic to launching an expansion franchise in just two weeks and transforming it into one of Major League Pickleball’s premier teams.
The conversation dives into the explosive growth of professional pickleball, why St. Louis was chosen as the home market, and how the Shock are building much more than a team through investments in facilities, technology, apparel, media, and nationwide player development programs.
They also discuss bringing Major League Pickleball back to Chaifetz Arena, creating a world-class fan experience, the rise of young professional players, and how social media and content have helped redefine what a modern sports franchise can look like.
From sports innovation to community impact, entrepreneurship to entertainment, this episode explores how the St. Louis Shock are helping shape the future of pickleball while putting St. Louis on the national stage.
They discuss:
- The founding of the St. Louis Shock and Major League Pickleball expansion
- Why St. Louis became a top pickleball market
- Investing in the future of pickleball beyond the team itself
- Building a professional sports franchise in just two weeks
- Bringing MLP events to Chaifetz Arena
- Youth athletes and the future of the sport
- Growing the Shock nationally through player programs
- Shock & Awe and building a sports content brand
- Social media, fan engagement, and modern sports marketing
- The future of professional pickleball and MLP Saint Louis
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📍 Recorded at Bucket List Podcast Studio, St. Louis, MO
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Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
Drafted a 12-year-old.
Yeah, 12-year-old female.
Elsie Hendershot.
SPEAKER_02 (00:04):
I'm babysitting now, too.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (00:05):
So we got a new babysitter responsibility.
But our bet again is on thefuture of the sport.
And you talked about theaccessibility.
It's one thing that's unique isyou know, on an MLP court, you
have literally 12-year-oldscompeting against 45-year-old.
SPEAKER_00 (00:21):
If you wanna hear about St.
Louis, tune into the bucket listshow weekly.
Hear what Marissa and Luke say.
It drops every Wednesday.
Got a dope new guest everysingle week.
Buckle up for the ride.
Who's it gonna be?
Who's on the show today?
They rap St.
Louis.
What to do in the loo on a latenight?
(00:43):
I maybe what to do on a datenight.
Yeah.
Bucket list as you covered, theyknow what's going on.
What's going on?
They'll give you hate.
18 different things to do on 19.
If you need one more to choose,yeah.
The city, city, city is a placewe call home.
A place we call home.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (00:59):
St.
Louis, welcome back to the STLbucket list show.
Um, the hottest podcast in St.
Louis, highlighting the people,places, and events that make St.
Louis special.
Shout out to Julia on the onesand twos, producing each and
every episode.
We come out with new episodesevery single week right here in
Maplewood, Missouri.
Um, we got a special episode,one of the biggest sporting
events of the year happening umin June.
(01:20):
So just a week from today.
Um I got Ross Schaeffitz um andI got Andrew Haynes from STL
Shock.
Um, you guys might have heardhim last year.
Now we got Ross on this year totalk more about it.
But thank you, gentlemen, forcoming in today.
SPEAKER_02 (01:30):
Thanks for having us.
SPEAKER_03 (01:31):
Um, so I want to, you know, just to educate the
crowd, we we have some newlisteners.
Um, tell us what the St.
Louis Shock is, you know,because obviously, you know,
this is a new sport.
It's uh you guys are investing alot in St.
Louis and and in your team umand putting on one of the
biggest pickleball events in thecountry, you know, here right
here in St.
Louis, something we should beproud of.
SPEAKER_01 (01:50):
So the St.
Louis Shock is the best team inthe fastest growing sport in the
world.
Um we compete in Major LeaguePickleball.
Uh the team was founded threeyears ago in 2023 as an
expansion franchise.
Um, and everything we do, we doas big and as strong as
possible.
And in three quick years, we'vebuilt this team into really the
(02:11):
leading franchise in MajorLeague Pickleball and in the
sport.
Uh last year we were 26 or 27and one.
We were regular season championsuh and we won the MLP Cup.
Uh not only are we winning onthe court, we're winning on the
business front.
We lead the league in just aboutevery single metric from social
following to commercialsponsorships to, of course, our
our on court record and ourchampionships.
(02:33):
Um Major League Pickleball, as Imentioned, is the uh fast
growing league in the world'sfastest growing sport.
Uh Major League Pickleballmerged with PPA just a few years
back to unite uh the two leaguesthat were at the time competing.
And we now have unified whatwe're calling UPA, um, which is
the holding company of ourleagues.
Um so the St.
(02:54):
Louis Shock is has now becomethe the leading team and the
North Star of the sport.
We're proud to be based righthere in in St.
Louis.
And last year we held our ourfirst ever Major League
Pickleball St.
Louis event at Schafitz Arena,and we're excited to come back
uh this year to do it again,June 4th through 7th at
Schafetz.
SPEAKER_03 (03:11):
That's awesome.
So why pickleball?
What what what was that firstconversation like?
Because obviously, you guys, youknow, everybody knows the
Shaffitz Arena and everythinglike that, basketball and all
these different things, but whypickleball?
You know, obviously it's a newersport.
I just started playing.
I was at the Missouri PickleballClub the other day.
Obviously, chicken and picklehas had us out a few times.
Like you see it, but like whowas the first person that was
(03:32):
like, hey, we need to payattention to pickleball here?
Is that you?
SPEAKER_01 (03:35):
So so that was me.
The story dates back to late2022.
And in my day job, I manage ourfamily office Schaeffitz Group,
where we're uh investing acrossa wide array of strategies from
venture capital to privateequity to real estate and
sports.
Uh and in 2022, the back half ofthe pandemic, the sport was
really, really exploding.
Uh and major league pickleballwas in its its infancy at the
(03:58):
time, uh, but they had publiclyannounced that they were going
to go through uh an expansionprocess to sell two new teams.
Uh and we, wearing our sportsinvestor hat, were seeing all
the trends in pickleball.
Uh, but the sport was really amess because it was moving so
quickly.
And we couldn't figure out, youknow, we knew we wanted to be in
pickleball, but how did we wantto play it?
Did we want to be in the paddlebusiness, the technology
business, the court constructionbusiness, the facility business,
(04:20):
the league business, the teambusiness?
We didn't know.
But we uh sort of drew ananalogy to what was happening
with now the major four leagues.
Uh, when you think about NBA,NFL, MLB, back in the 70s and
the 80s, where you had massiveplayer adoption and massive
player growth, uh, but not yetfull maturity of the leagues and
the commercial business models,we saw those similarities.
(04:43):
Uh, so pickleball growth was,you know, 5x year over year
during the pandemic.
And we said to ourselves, look,if if the players here are here
and they're not going away, theleagues and the professional
side of the sport will soonfollow hereafter.
So when the league announcedthat they were gonna go through
this expansion process, youknow, our family office reached
out and we were essentiallytold, uh, yeah, you want an
(05:04):
expansion team, you know, youand everybody else, 50 teams are
applying, you know, get in line.
Um, and, you know, ultimatelythey came back to us and said,
hey, you know, it's time forexpansion, put your best foot
forward.
They got 50 to 60 bids.
Um, and they already had teamsin some of the uh, at the time,
mature pickleball markets likeFlorida and California and
Texas.
Um, and, you know, as you know,we have a very strong affinity
(05:27):
and relationship here in St.
Louis with some of the thingsyou mentioned, uh, St.
Louis University, Shave It'sArena, a variety of technology
and real estate investmentshere.
And we know this ecosystemreally well.
And the one thing that we areaware of is just how passionate
they are about their sportsteams.
But what surprised me when wewere digging into our research
and our diligence aboutpickleball was at the time St.
Louis was a top five pickleballmarket in the US.
(05:49):
And not many pickleball playersknew that.
Missouri Pickleball Club here intown was a first mover uh in
introducing facilities, whichultimately created the flywheel
around players and and demandfor the sport.
And so when we were offered theopportunity to buy the team, it
was my mom, actually, who was aPadel player in her father past
life, who said to my dad, if youdon't buy this team, I'm gonna
(06:09):
kill you.
Verbatim.
So what that meant was um weultimately had to overpay, um,
which in hindsight was a gooddecision, but we had to overpay
for at the time was essentiallya hope and a dream.
So, as I mentioned, it was anexpansion franchise, which meant
we had nothing.
Um, we were awarded thefranchise, us and the DeVos
family, who are owners of the uhOrlando Magic, we were awarded
(06:32):
the franchise and essentiallysaid, Hey, great news.
You won the franchise.
We like the St.
Louis market, write us a check.
Your first event is in twoweeks.
And so, what that meant for mewas my full-time job, at least
temporarily, shifted frominvestor to end-to-end team
operator.
So that two weeks became asprint around all aspects of
(06:52):
building a team.
Everything from logos to rostergeneration to hiring folks on
social media and business andcommercial leadership,
everything souped to nuts.
We launched in two weeks.
Probably in hindsight, one ofour proudest moments was how
much we were able to accomplishin two weeks.
And so that's kind of the storyof how this thing got going.
And fast forward three yearslater, and here we are, as I
(07:13):
mentioned, we're kind of thenorth star of the league and uh
we're we're the envy thateverybody's chasing now.
SPEAKER_03 (07:19):
For over 150 years, SSM Health has been providing
hope, healing, and opportunitiesto the St.
Louis community.
With over 40,000 employeesacross four states, they're not
only delivering exceptionalcare, they're one of the
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We're proud to present SSMHealth as the official
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If you've dreamed of a careerwhere you're truly making a
(07:41):
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Learn more at their website inthe link in the show notes.
That's so cool.
And and you know, you werecompeting against people like
LeBron and Mahomes and Brady andlike some pretty big players,
not only financially, but starpower.
Like if it's my league, I wantthose guys in my league.
And now you're in a league withthose other people.
(08:02):
So what no, Andrew, how did youget involved with it?
Were you part of that two-weekblitz or was it?
SPEAKER_02 (08:07):
I came on after the fact, thank God.
But uh, I still feel like I wasthrown into the fire like that.
Yeah, I didn't know pickleballwhen I got in.
I've been in minor league sportsfor 25 years and definitely knew
the Chafus family from frombeing in St.
Louis before and saw how hotpickleball is.
I mean, it's it's everywhere.
I was living in St.
Pete, Florida, and everywhereI'd go, you'd see pickleball
(08:30):
courts, people out thereplaying.
I didn't realize there was thiswhole professional side to it.
And then when I did see that, II was shocked that they were so
young.
The players like our playerswhen I first joined were 18
years old, two of our guys.
I mean, they're they're kids,you know, and and they're just
unbelievable.
So I think that's that's a bigthing.
And then just taking this andturning it into a viable
(08:52):
business.
I mean, that's really what whatRoss has been able to do over
the last three years.
And I've been able to come inand help, you know, grow that
business side.
Um, and I got hooked.
I've been playing.
I've got I'm scuffed up fromplaying this weekend, diving
around like I'm still like akid.
I'm not.
I'm sore today, but uh but it'sa lot of fun.
(09:13):
It's it's hard not to gethooked.
SPEAKER_03 (09:14):
And we talked last time about the accessibility
because that's what's beautifulabout it.
It's almost it almost reminds meof golf in a way because you're
you can play four generationsall out on the course all at one
time.
You know, your 10-year-old,40-year-old, 80-year-old, you
know, grandpa can all play.
And not every sport's like that.
If we all went out and playedfootball tomorrow, we're all
gonna be really hurt, you know.
But pickleball kind of has that.
And you guys are betting onpickleball, not just in St.
(09:35):
Louis, but the MLP and and youguys are also a part of that
group now, too.
And and uh, I mean, where do yousee it?
I mean, do you see this?
Um, we're professionalpickleball, like obviously you
mentioned the big four, but likeyou see pickleball rising in
that way, obviously, because youguys are betting on it.
SPEAKER_01 (09:49):
You know, yeah, yeah.
I think the the growth isundeniable.
And, you know, when we werefirst starting to build this
team in 2023, and even whenAndrew came on in 2024, a lot of
the pushback we got from sponsorprospects was hey, we see
pickleball, you know, we playpickleball, we believe in
pickleball, but persuade us thatthis isn't just a fad.
(10:10):
Persuade us that pickleball isgoing to be around for the long
term.
Um, and fast forward to now,we've done that and we are
continuing to do that.
And I think, you know, from aninvestment perspective, our
investment thesis really evolvedfrom, hey, let's acquire a team
to let's build a portfolio inpickleball.
Yeah.
And so again, fast forward twoor three years, and we've built
uh really the largest standalonepickleball uh investment
(10:33):
portfolio in the sport.
So when you think about theflywheel effect we've created by
first acquiring the St.
Louis shock, we've now wrappedaround all these other ancillary
assets and investments aroundit.
So we have uh investments intechnology with platforms like
Duper, which is the universalrating system.
We have investments infacilities when you think about
Pickler, who's the largestfranchise or of facilities uh in
(10:54):
the US.
We have an investment in a courtconstruction company, Pickle
Tile, who build builds uh courtsand sound suppressing solutions.
We have investments in uhapparel with a company called
Stack, who's essentially theLululemon of pickleball.
We have Vulcan, which ispaddles, accessories, bags,
balls, you name it.
So we're building a portfolio ora mutual fund or an ETF, if you
(11:15):
want to use financial um, youknow, uh similarities, uh,
because we believe this sport ishere to stay.
Now, I I'm honest when I tellpeople I don't know what line of
business is going to win.
I don't know if it's going to bethe team, if it's software, if
it's facilities, if it's uhequipment, whatever it may be.
So we're building a diversifieduh approach and our investment
in the team and in the shock andin our players and in our
(11:37):
personnel uh is what has, youknow, led us to the forefront of
the sport.
And as I believe, one of therecognized uh sort of builders
and leaders in pickleball.
So we're we're hyper, hyperbullish.
You know, what's to come in thefuture is is TBD.
Uh, but I think we are veryconfident in saying that, you
know, when you wake up in thefuture, whether it's three years
down the line, five years downthe line, 10 years down the
(11:58):
line, the sport is only going tocontinue to grow.
Uh the financial aspects of thebusiness will only uh continue
to uh mature.
And I think, you know, we seethat every day.
I see it on the investmentfront.
And Andrew sees it when he talksto our sponsors and our
partners.
SPEAKER_03 (12:11):
Yeah.
And then, you know, let's shiftto MLP St.
Louis.
You know, obviously, you know,at your guys' home base, get to
transform the stadium.
I remember driving our officeused to be on North Grand, right
at the on God Hearts Hotel, alittle bit, a little bit north
of you guys.
And I remember driving by thestadium and seeing the pictures
of the your team up on.
I mean, how cool is that?
When you really get to see, wetook a pic, I think we posted a
(12:32):
picture last year of like fromlike across the highway, like
looking up at the building andjust seeing this huge billboard
of these younger people.
I mean, them on a platform,professional athletes.
SPEAKER_02 (12:41):
How is it for them too?
I mean, think about it.
You know, they started a fewyears back.
I, you know, the guysspecifically, they started when
they were about 14 years old.
So they've been playing andthey've been playing at places
like Missouri Pickleball Cluband and that, and now they're
rising up to a professionalarena like Chafus Arena, and
then they see their selves up onthe the side of it.
I mean, everyone throughout theleague uh was blown away with
(13:04):
with the venue, with with that.
Like this is the place thatpeople want to play.
Um you're putting St.
SPEAKER_03 (13:09):
Louis on the map in that way.
You know, St.
Louis is the mech of pickleball,you know.
Yeah.
It's beautiful.
SPEAKER_02 (13:14):
Bringing people, not just you know, St.
Louis people, but we're bringingpeople from all over the country
to come here.
They they recognize that this isone of the top pickleball events
in the country or world, and uhthey want to be here.
So this year it's it's theinterest, the you know, from
sponsorships, from fans, fromticket sales, everything is
trending upward.
So it's looking to be anothergreat event.
SPEAKER_01 (13:36):
Yes, and I think I think it speaks to the maturity
of the sport.
The fact that we're even in aposition where we can play in a
world-class arena like this thatseats 10,000 people, you know,
if you look back to where MLPwas in its early years, just a
few years back, I mean, we wereplaying on um, you know, uh on
on small courts with bleachersthat would seat, you know, 300
people.
(13:56):
And the growth that the leaguehas experienced to be able to be
in a position of financialviability, to be able to afford
to play in a place like SheaFitz speaks to the attraction uh
of the fans and the sponsors.
Because what people don'trecognize is it's not just that
you show up and you you play ina 10,000 seat arena, right?
Uh there's a PL and there's anexpense profile to this.
(14:18):
And we're only doing it.
We only did it because we havepure lines of sight and
confidence to the fact that ourrevenue can now offset the
expenses.
So I think, you know, there's abusiness side to it, but there's
also the player experience thatthat Andrew spoke to.
I mean, just a few years ago, uhplayers like Hayden Patriquin,
who are on our team, you know,he was growing up as a surfer
boy in California.
(14:38):
Never in his wildest dreams washe expecting to be a
professional athlete, you know,18 years old in pickleball, the
arguably the best man in theworld right now, playing in a
10,000 uh, you know, seat arena.
And when they were here lastyear, our team, our players,
look, they've been in thehottest markets in the US from
Dallas to Miami to NewportBeach, where pickleball is on
(15:00):
fire.
And the one thing they told ushere that I think really
surprised us was they were like,you know, oh shit, like we were
in Walmart and people recognizeus here.
They feel like they're proathletes, you know, on the
biggest stage here in St.
Louis.
And it's because of theinvestments our making, it's
because of the simple things,you know, that you mentioned
where we're putting them on thethe side of a world class arena,
we're legitimizing the sport,uh, and it's creating a direct
(15:22):
impact on on the PL of theexpenses and and the player
experience.
SPEAKER_03 (15:25):
Yeah, and being able to get those corporate.
I mean, I see DoorDash is a bigpartner this year.
SPEAKER_02 (15:29):
And yeah, mega, mega partner with the league.
I mean, multi-year, you know.
The the league does a reallygood job as well, just you know,
marketing and developing um, youknow, the partnership side.
And a lot of it now is turnedover to the teams and and
developing on the local andregional level.
And that's helping drive some ofthose partnerships as well.
(15:50):
And and I think for usspecifically, I mean, it's it's
continued to grow.
Um, the last, you know, this isgoing into my third year, and
we've had great growth um, youknow, these last two and a half
years.
SPEAKER_03 (16:01):
The STL bucket list show is proudly sponsored by
Sway Dispensary with 11 Missouriarea locations.
Sway does so much for the St.
Louis community.
We've been working with thisteam for a couple of years back
since Medical was here, andwe're excited to support their
new product launches, events,and community initiatives.
We couldn't be happier to workwith this premier cannabis
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(16:23):
Enjoy the rest of the podcast.
And at the end of the day, Imean, I Ross, I kind of want to
toss this to you too.
Like what I think is sobeautiful is that it's a St.
Louis story, but it's biggerthan that.
You're showcasing St.
Louis with your family.
So at the end of the day, it's afamily business, but now you're
in the sports world.
So are you technically theday-to-day GM now?
Or kind of tell me about thatdynamic with what you guys got
going.
SPEAKER_01 (16:42):
Yeah, so um, you know, one of the things that's
unique about the shock is we'reowned 100% by our family.
Yeah, it's beautiful.
So I run the the day-to-day ofthe team.
Uh Andrew kind of has as myright-hand guy helping to
oversee the commercial side ofthe business.
Um, but you talked about some ofthe celebrity ownership in the
in the league, you know, peoplelike Kaigo, LeBron James, Tom
Brady.
Many of these um, of these otherteams are uh highly fragmented
(17:07):
in terms of their ownership.
There's 25 people that make upthe ownership group.
And so that creates a lot ofclogs in the system when you
think about decision making.
Who do we draft?
Who do we hire?
What kind of sponsors do we wantto work with?
For us, you know, we're 100%owned by our family.
So decisions ultimately comedown to the people that you're
looking at in this room righthere, which allows us to act uh
really, really quickly.
(17:28):
Um, and you know, bringing itback to St.
Louis, you know, when we thoughtabout where it would be the best
market to introduce this newpickleball team, you know, we're
obviously hyper familiar withSt.
Louis because of what we've donewith, you know, things like St.
Louis University basketball.
We know that they feed off theirsports and their fandom and
their and their passion for uhfor professional teams here.
So it just felt like the rightfit.
(17:49):
But one of the things that Ithink we've tried to do is
broaden the appeal outside ofSt.
Louis while make maintainingties to this market.
So one of the things that we andand Andrew have have focused on
over the last year or two is thenationwide rollout of our minor
league program.
Uh so we have a minor leagueprogram where anybody can
compete uh not only in the St.
Louis market, but nationwideunder the shock brand.
(18:11):
We have a hundred players herein uh St.
Louis, and we have, I think,almost 200 now nationwide,
growing to 500 by the end ofthis year.
Uh, and again, it just ties backto that flywheel effect of the
investments we're making in theteam, but we're always trying to
maintain that St.
Louis tie back.
So these players that competeall around the country, whether
they live in Dallas or Wisconsinor Memphis or Alabama, they show
(18:33):
up to these events, they'recompeting in five, six, seven
tournaments throughout the year,and they're wearing St.
Louis shock stuff.
So they're proud of the team,they're proud of this market,
and it's our goal to maintainthose ties as we build this
thing.
SPEAKER_03 (18:43):
Yeah, St.
Louis is just different.
I mean, you've worked all overthe country.
Yeah, the fan of St.
Louis.
I mean, we just saw SLUobviously, you know, winning a
tournament tournament game andthen going up and playing one of
the best games against Michigan,and like people were going crazy
over what you guys did withSlough basketball.
And um, but yeah, St.
Louis, I mean, from Windsvilleto Belleville to the counties to
(19:03):
all these different littleeverybody loves their sports.
And what you guys are doing isyou're introducing another thing
for people to get excited about,similar to what the MLS did,
another thing that people canget excited about.
And you know, obviously you seewhat the blues do, you see what
the Cardinals do, and what youguys are doing in pickleball.
What I love about it is howinnovative it is, how social it
is, the social media strategy,the amount of posts that I see,
(19:23):
like the mic up moments with thekids yelling and screaming, and
you guys I've seen you guys onthe social media too.
You know, it's it's it feelslike you're in it even though
you're not in it.
And and when we go, when we comedown on, you know, June 4th
through the 7th, you know, beingable to get as close as possible
to these athletes is isdifferent, you know.
So, you know, what what is theevent gonna look like?
(19:43):
You know, obviously it's athree, three-day event.
Um, so kind of walk us throughkind of you know what teams are
gonna be there, what thatevent's gonna look like, and
what exciting things that maybeyou guys haven't shared yet.
SPEAKER_02 (19:53):
Yeah, it's it's uh four-day event.
Um, Thursday, Friday, Saturdayis uh pool play.
And then Sunday becomes um thethe top eight teams um then
compete and it's it's pointbased uh for the standings.
But we've got you know some ofthe top players in the world
coming.
Obviously, our whole team is uhtop ten players, so yeah, um
(20:14):
that that's a good start.
Uh Ben Johns is on the LA MadDrops, which uh, you know, Ben
Johns is number one player, um,men's player out there.
So um, but Brooklyn has been a avery uh tough competitor of
ours.
Uh a lot of a lot of greatmatches with them.
So um definitely want to checkit out.
We play the four o'clock matchon Thursday and Friday.
(20:38):
So I know that's a work day, butmaybe you can get out a little
early, come out and check thosethose out.
And then Saturday we have twomatches, um 11:30 and uh four
o'clock as well.
And then Sunday it's based on uhhow we perform in those first
four days, uh first three days.
So um we have single single daytickets and we also have two-day
and a uh four-day pass.
(20:59):
So if somebody wants to come outall four days, you get
discounted tickets.
You got VIP where you got food,drinks included, like you're
right on the action.
A lot of the players hang out inthe VIP area.
Nice.
Um that that's the unique thingabout this sport too, is like,
you know, you'll you'll see theplayers, you know, and and they
recognize how important the fansare.
And you know, I've never seenanybody not take photos or sign
(21:22):
autographs, and you know, um,you know, it's it's really about
having that connection with thefans.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_03 (21:29):
Yeah, yeah, no, that's special.
And especially these kids.
I mean, you mentioned there'sthere's they're adults now, but
it's like you got Hayden andGabe are gonna be down there,
Kate um and the rest of yourteam.
I mean, seeing them becomesuperstars has to be pretty
special for you guys too.
SPEAKER_01 (21:42):
Yeah, that I mean that's that's a proud moment for
us when we when we drafted,especially some of these younger
girls.
Proud Papa.
I mean, andrew's literally heredoing laundry for some of our
teammating stuff.
But I said I said to him whenwhen we when he was hired the
job is not limited to solelywhat's in the job description
and Now he's taking that quiteliterally.
(22:02):
You got to start up, you know.
Yeah.
You know, we drafted these boyswhen they were 16 years old.
And, you know, uh the thoughtprocess was at the time, you
know, we were building thisthing not just for for for then
or now, but in the future.
And look, it's paid off.
I mean, we've had one of the toprecords in the league the last
two years, MLP Cup champions,regular season champions.
So it's working.
And we're repeating the processthis year, you know, with our
(22:24):
fifth and sixth player slots.
We uh drop uh drafted a boy, uhJohn Lucian Goines, who at the
time was 17, now 18, a topsingles male specialist.
We also drafted a 12-year-old,yeah, 12-year-old female Elsie
Hendershot.
SPEAKER_02 (22:38):
I'm babysitting now, too.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (22:40):
So we got a new babysitter responsibility.
But but our bet again is on theon the future of the sport.
And you talked about theaccessibility.
It's one thing that's unique isyou know, on an MLP court, you
have literally 12-year-oldscompeting against 45-year-olds.
I mean, name anotherprofessional sport where that
where that's possible.
I think you'd be hard pressed tofind one.
Um but the competition structureis extremely unique.
And one of the things thatAndrew, you know, touched on,
(23:01):
which uh we've actually changedthis year over last year, is is
uh we now have a group playformat where teams are assigned
into two groups where they playround robin style Thursday,
Friday, and Saturday here atShafits this year.
Uh and then Sunday, what we'renow calling Super Sunday, is
when we'll have first place,third place, and fifth place
matches uh where the teams thatadvance out of those groups will
(23:22):
play one another for standingspoints.
So uh the competition structurehas changed this year, and you
know, it all comes to a head.
Each uh event on Sundays wherethere'll be some really, really
good competition, and uh we'rehoping for a very solid uh
matchup against the uh Ben BenLand uh LA Mad drops on Sunday.
SPEAKER_03 (23:41):
The STL bucket list show is fueled by Upshot Coffee.
My friends at Upshot Coffee havesome of the best beans in town.
I got some of their newpackaging here.
Look at this bag.
Look how big this is.
Um, they have four St.
Louis locations, their flagshipin Coddleville, the break shop
over by Lindenwood in St.
Charles, their Clayton locationcalled Hi-Fi, um, and then flyby
(24:02):
over in Tower Grove, theirnewest location.
Um, and they also sell theircoffee online everywhere.
If you guys haven't added UpshotCoffee to your STL bucket list,
it's time to try it.
Some of the my favorite peoplein the industry and some of the
best coffee in the game.
Yeah, no, that's special.
I mean, what you guys have builtis inspiring and and and really
it's a St.
Louis story.
(24:22):
And I know that this is the STLbucket list show.
So, what other local partnersand local people are are a part
of this?
I mean, any other, you know,local businesses that really
help make this thing possible.
SPEAKER_02 (24:33):
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, I mean, definitely.
I mean, you know, Pickleman's isone of my favorites, right?
I don't know if you've had theirchocolate chip cookies, but I I
sure have.
Um everyone on our team hasbecause if I do the order, we're
gonna sure have chocolate chipcookies from Picklemans, but it
is the joke around the team.
Uh there's always chocolate chipcookies.
SPEAKER_03 (24:53):
It just makes sense to have picklemans a part of it.
I mean, a pickle pickle in thename right by the stadium.
Literally, you could throw arock and hit their location
right in midtown there.
Um great, great, great people.
SPEAKER_02 (25:02):
Yeah, they're they're they're a great company.
They're they're also like us,like they want to grow
nationally.
And uh they've got locations inuh in Dallas, uh out in Phoenix,
uh Kansas, Oklahoma.
So they're they're continuingtheir expansion as as we are.
Um so we're really excited aboutthat partnership.
(25:23):
Um but we've been very fortunatewith partners.
Um we just um signed on HeatController, they're more of a
national company.
Um, Charles Schwab, Comsych, ThePickler, which uh Ross alluded
to earlier.
They're the largest franchise uhpickleball venue um company out
there.
So um that that's gonna continueto grow as we continue to
(25:45):
develop these programs.
One of the things that's nice tohelp us, you know, expand our
brand is our show Shock and All.
I don't know if you checked thatout last season, but it's it's
the best way to get behind thescenes.
You see, you see it raw.
Like, I mean, you know, we'rewe're a little out of control
sometimes.
And uh but you know, there'sthere's one thing no one will
(26:06):
ever question, and that is justthe passion that the entire
organization has from ownershipdown to volunteers.
Like we we want to win ateverything that we do, whether
it's on the court, off thecourt, uh we'll be in your face.
Um, you'll like it or you'llhate it, but uh we're gonna be
there, we're gonna be authentic,and so we're excited.
(26:28):
Yeah, exactly.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_03 (26:30):
I mean that's the it's content, man, and you guys
understand that as a 2026business.
It's gotta have some fun.
You know, of course, like yes,we want to sign those TV deals,
yes, we're gonna be on ESPN,yes, we want to be on the
streaming services.
But at the end of the day, a lotof your fans, especially these
younger ones, are gonna bewatching you on TikTok, they're
gonna be watching you onInstagram.
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (26:46):
They know Ross for sure.
Yeah, yeah.
They got Ross for sure.
They gotta show up.
SPEAKER_01 (26:49):
And that's really a key element of the business
strategy that that I envisionedand that we've now implemented.
I mean, when we launched thisshock and awe thing last year,
it was really kind of just likea hope and a dream.
And I I said to Andrew and ourmedia team at the time, I said,
Hey, I want to do like a veryraw, like locker room type
experience to show people whatit means to be a professional
(27:09):
pickleball player.
Because people heard of thisthing, major league pickleball,
like what is major leaguepickleball?
And it was really ouropportunity to show what it's
like on the business side andfor some of these teenage pros.
Um, and you bring that to lifethrough very raw emotions.
Uh, and I think people canrelate to that.
Um, you know, you contrast thatwith a very professionally
edited 30 for 30 on ESPN, and itfeels almost so overly produced
(27:33):
that it's inorganic.
And we wanted to make sure thatwhat we provided was raw.
So um, I will warn you, uh, it'snot for young children.
Uh, there are our occasionalcurse words in there, uh, but we
can promise you that it's thatit's always, you know, 100%
authentic.
And one of the things that I'vesaid to Andrew is, you know,
we're not a traditional sportsteam.
Um, we are also a contentbusiness, we're a content
(27:53):
engine.
And so we've invested heavily insocial media and some of those
things like shock and awe.
And it's, you know, that wholepicture that's created uh this
the scenario where we're nowleading the pack in major league
pickleball.
SPEAKER_02 (28:03):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Excited to have season twocoming soon.
SPEAKER_03 (28:06):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, that's coming out soon.
Yep.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's it shows the investment andit shows that obviously, you
know, you look at your team.
I mean, your team's 18 to 21.
It's like you need to be wherethey're at.
And I I keep saying that.
And there's some pro teams thataren't doing that.
And they have way bigger staffs,way bigger budgets, and way
bigger things going on that arein other major sports that can't
seem to get their social mediaright.
(28:27):
And you guys understood thatfrom the beginning, and it and
it helps having youngerownership too.
SPEAKER_01 (28:31):
And it's and it's quite counterintuitive to what
people who don't play pickleballthink pickleball is.
Yeah.
If you turn on TV and you see,you know, a prescription, you
know, advertisement, they're nowusing pickleball in those
prescription advertisements for70-year-olds who have arthritis
in their knee or have XYZ issue.
So pickleball has had thisstigma, for lack of a better
(28:52):
term, that it's only associatedwith older folks.
It's a way for them to get outand play.
Right.
But what people don't realize isthe average age of a pickleball
player has dropped by almost 10years.
The average age is now down tothe low to mid 30s.
It's dropped 10 years just sincethe pandemic.
And, you know, you look at ourteam, you look at the new
players who are entering thesport.
(29:14):
You know, you go to anelementary school or a middle
school or a high school now,people are electing to skip
baseball, skip basketball, skiplacrosse, skip field hockey.
They want to play pickleballbecause it's fun.
And the youth kids are changingthe game.
You know, year over year, if youwatch professional pickleball
stylistically, the way the gameis being played is changing
because the youth are bringing anew energy and a new speed to
(29:35):
the game.
Now you have teenagers who aremaking literally millions of
dollars.
You know, Anna Bright on ourteam, who we drafted for$1.2
million.
Uh, people like her, people likeBen Johns, people like Annalie
Waters are making$1 million,$2million,$3 million a year.
They're making more than uh someof the highest paid WNBA
players.
Who would have thought in theirwildest dreams that professional
(29:56):
pickleball players could bemaking two to three million
dollars a year?
It's crazy how much.
Yeah, this is a lot of things.
You know, it's still so young.
SPEAKER_03 (30:01):
Yeah.
Yeah, no, that's uh that's true.
And and I noticed that becausemy wife's a high school teacher
and they started implementingpickleball in school.
And it starts in the youth.
And it's I was reading somethingabout hockey, and it's like the
reason we have so many kidscoming out of St.
Louis for hockey is because notonly the guys that are in the
NHL, but kids see peopleplaying.
And once you know a 10-year-oldcomes to this event at Sha at
(30:22):
Shea Fitz, they're gonna belike, oh my gosh, I want to be
like him or I want to be likeher.
SPEAKER_02 (30:25):
And now they can make real money as well.
SPEAKER_03 (30:28):
Yeah, and it's viable, it's not just a hobby
sport, it's not just a littleneighborhood thing, you know,
like you mentioned where it's atthe YMCA or at Lifetime, you
know.
This is in every neighborhoodacross St.
Louis.
And I would love to see somefootage of that because like
every neighborhood you go to inthe county, ain't the city.
Tower Grove Park has apickleball league, Forest Park
has a good racket, it's racketsports in general, and it's like
that's becoming so and so somuch popular.
(30:49):
Um, so you guys obviously havethis data now, but it is so new
that every year you're growing.
I bet the TAM of the market, youjust can't even you don't even
know it yet because you're stillgetting new, you still have so
much discoverable fans.
You know, new fans every year.
It's exciting, man.
And and and it and like Imentioned, everybody can play.
You can play if you have youngkids, you can play with your
kids.
You know, that there's so muchstuff going on that, you know, I
(31:11):
know we just watched LeBron playwith his son in the NBA, but
that's an anomaly.
You know, that doesn't reallyhappen in real life.
That's uh that's not real, butit is it is for them.
But yeah, what you guys havebuilt, and I know I met you guys
last year and and I I know someof the guys that were doing the
social media, and I I've watchedyou guys for the last couple of
years, super excited to be outthere at the event this year.
How can people support?
How can the city of St.
(31:32):
Louis?
I know we want them to buytickets, we want them to
support.
Is there any other way?
You know, if they can't make theevent, is there any other way
that they can support you guys?
SPEAKER_01 (31:38):
Yeah, I would say just look, first of all, if you
can show up and show out, I canpromise you whether or not
you've seen pickleball before,professional is an entirely
different game, uh, literally.
And playing at Shea Fitz, againin a professional arena, in a
professional environment, ifyou've seen PPA, if you've seen
MLP in other environments,playing at Shea Fitz is nothing
(31:59):
like you've ever seen before.
You know, the full uhpyrotechnic capabilities and AV
capabilities and lighting, Imean, we really make it a fun
show.
So whether you're looking for anouting uh with your family,
you're looking for a date night,you're looking for something to
do with your friends, you know,this is accessible to everybody.
And if you can't be there, youknow, we spent a lot of time
talking about content and socialmedia.
(32:20):
Follow us online.
I guarantee we're a worthyfollow.
Uh, you'll enjoy our content.
It's fun, it's edgy, it'sinnovative, it's conflictual at
times, but in a fun way.
We're doing things differently.
And I can promise that uh we'renot gonna be a traditional count
that you may follow on socialmedia.
So check us out at STL ShockMLP.
(32:40):
We're on Instagram, we're onTwitter, we're on Facebook,
we're on TikTok.
You know, you name it.
We got fun content everywhere.
We've got uh fun uh merch andand swag that again is not tied
only to pickleball, but tied toSt.
Louis.
So no matter who you are, nomatter how invested in
pickleball you may or may notbe, uh, we're trying to give
something to everybody.
So check us out, attend theevent if you can, follow along.
(33:02):
Our shock and awe series is areally, really fun way to figure
out what this true uh uh majorleague pickleball thing is is
really like.
SPEAKER_02 (33:08):
Yeah, it's a good way to get to know us all too.
Shock and awe.
I mean, it's it's I can't tellyou how many times I'm I've
traveled somewhere and peopleare like, oh, I I've seen shock
and awe.
You're the security guy, oryou're the second guy.
SPEAKER_01 (33:20):
And believe it or not, fights do break out uh on
the sidelines in professionalpickleball.
They do.
SPEAKER_02 (33:25):
And sometimes I go back to thinking I'm a
linebacker.
Yeah.
And uh, you know, but uh yougotta protect your team, man.
SPEAKER_03 (33:31):
You gotta protect your family.
How important and how vital isthe arena that you guys have,
having that asset and havingthat world-class arena.
I mean, what advantages doesthat give you in the sport?
SPEAKER_01 (33:42):
It just takes us to the next level.
Yeah.
I mean, we could be like everyother major league pickleball
team where we say, hey, we'regonna host this in our local
pickleball facility, you know,no disrespect to you know, some
of the facilities here like Archor Major League Pickleball or
Paddle Up or Chicken and Pickle.
Great places to play pickleball.
But what we're trying to do iswe're trying to
institutionalize,professionalize, and mature the
sport.
And the best way to do that isto bring it to a world-class
(34:03):
arena that people have seen onnational TV and can draw those
professional correlates to.
So again, like the viewershipexperience, simple things.
The sight lines in an arena likeShayfit's are very, very
different from what you wouldsee at a traditional pickleball
venue, the proximity you canget.
If you want to sit courtside andbe right next to the players,
you can do that.
(34:24):
If you wanted a suite, uh, youknow, 80 to 100 feet up and get
a bird's eye view of pickleball,which is really something that
has never been offered untillast year, you know, obviously
full concession optionality,full VIP hospitality, food, bev,
whatever you want, really uniquemerch offerings, uh way to get
behind the scenes and access ourteam and the players and the
fans.
But these are all things thatthings that Schafitz Arena
(34:46):
brings that traditionalpickleball venues don't.
And it also attracts um a uniqueconsumer and and customer base.
You know, what you're gonna getif we were to host this at a
traditional pickleball venue ispeople who play pickleball.
And what you get by hosting thisat Shayfitz is you get uh
attention and attraction frompeople who maybe haven't seen
the sport before.
Maybe, maybe you're an avidfollower and season ticket
(35:07):
holder of the Cardinals or theor the Billikens or the Blues or
whoever it may be.
And seeing that pickleball iscoming to a professional arena
might legitimize this sport inyour eyes.
So every time we get a new uhindividual, a new person to step
into Shave It's Arena, we findthat that person most likely
becomes a fan.
And so these are all the things,the benefits that come with you
know hosting this in aprofessional level arena and not
(35:28):
just a traditional pickleballcourt.
SPEAKER_02 (35:30):
But I like it's climate controlled.
Yeah, some of these events wereoutside.
It's yeah, it's hot, it's brutalor it's raining.
Like you just you can't controlit.
Here it's it's it's perfect,right?
You know, you can really enjoyit as a fan.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_03 (35:44):
The sound, the light show that you guys do.
I mean, you guys do anincredible job.
I've been to that arena so manydifferent times for with whether
it's with my kids for Disney onlike kids' events to big events
to you know, obviously SLUbasketball, which was one of the
most electric gears that we'vehad.
And it was just so fun to watchyou guys this year.
And and uh, you know, I'mexcited to be out.
I'm gonna be out at the eventthis year to um hopefully get
(36:05):
down there and get some behindthe scenes content.
I always get it.
I'll get you out there playing alittle bit.
Come on now, come on now, I'llplay.
Um we gotta I gotta get in thethe shock and also STL bucket
list in there.
I appreciate you guys for comingon.
Um Andrew, good to see youagain, Ross.
Nice to meet you.
Thank you guys so much.
And uh, you know, for you guys,go to stlshock.com.
You can go to their website, goto their event calendar, and you
can go buy tickets onTicketmaster, right?
(36:26):
Yep.
So um grab tickets, like yousaid, this is uh the more so
work that we can get for this isputting St.
Louis on the map as a top fivemarket for pickleball.
Like you mentioned, is like howhow are we?
You know, we're a sports town,and this is just another one of
the sports that we can getbehind and and love that you
guys are here and and doing yourthing.
So I appreciate you guys forcoming on this week.
Yeah, thanks for having us.
All right, thank you so much.
Appreciate it, Ross.
(36:46):
St.
Louis, thanks for listening.
Everything we do here is abouttelling the story of this city,
and that doesn't stop with thisshow.
On the Bucketlist PodcastNetwork, we're diving even
deeper into the people, places,and moments that make this city
what it is.
Meet Me in Music with NeilSalsick captures the sound of
the city, past and present,ending each episode with a live
performance.
For my foodie lovers, the saucewith Lauren Healy brings you
(37:07):
inside the restaurants thatdefine our culture every
Tuesday.
Gateway to Growth with JamalCornelius highlights the stories
behind the people that make St.
Louis work.
And every Thursday, Bryce breaksdown your weekend with This Week
in St.
Louis.
More stories, more voices.
Explore the full bucket listpodcast network wherever you
listen.
Drafted a 12-year-old.
Yeah, 12-year-old female.
Elsie Hendershot.
SPEAKER_02 (00:04):
I'm babysitting now, too.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (00:05):
So we got a new babysitter responsibility.
But our bet again is on thefuture of the sport.
And you talked about theaccessibility.
It's one thing that's unique isyou know, on an MLP court, you
have literally 12-year-oldscompeting against 45-year-old.
SPEAKER_00 (00:21):
If you wanna hear about St.
Louis, tune into the bucket listshow weekly.
Hear what Marissa and Luke say.
It drops every Wednesday.
Got a dope new guest everysingle week.
Buckle up for the ride.
Who's it gonna be?
Who's on the show today?
They rap St.
Louis.
What to do in the loo on a latenight?
(00:43):
I maybe what to do on a datenight.
Yeah.
Bucket list as you covered, theyknow what's going on.
What's going on?
They'll give you hate.
18 different things to do on 19.
If you need one more to choose,yeah.
The city, city, city is a placewe call home.
A place we call home.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (00:59):
St.
Louis, welcome back to the STLbucket list show.
Um, the hottest podcast in St.
Louis, highlighting the people,places, and events that make St.
Louis special.
Shout out to Julia on the onesand twos, producing each and
every episode.
We come out with new episodesevery single week right here in
Maplewood, Missouri.
Um, we got a special episode,one of the biggest sporting
events of the year happening umin June.
(01:20):
So just a week from today.
Um I got Ross Schaeffitz um andI got Andrew Haynes from STL
Shock.
Um, you guys might have heardhim last year.
Now we got Ross on this year totalk more about it.
But thank you, gentlemen, forcoming in today.
SPEAKER_02 (01:30):
Thanks for having us.
SPEAKER_03 (01:31):
Um, so I want to, you know, just to educate the
crowd, we we have some newlisteners.
Um, tell us what the St.
Louis Shock is, you know,because obviously, you know,
this is a new sport.
It's uh you guys are investing alot in St.
Louis and and in your team umand putting on one of the
biggest pickleball events in thecountry, you know, here right
here in St.
Louis, something we should beproud of.
SPEAKER_01 (01:50):
So the St.
Louis Shock is the best team inthe fastest growing sport in the
world.
Um we compete in Major LeaguePickleball.
Uh the team was founded threeyears ago in 2023 as an
expansion franchise.
Um, and everything we do, we doas big and as strong as
possible.
And in three quick years, we'vebuilt this team into really the
(02:11):
leading franchise in MajorLeague Pickleball and in the
sport.
Uh last year we were 26 or 27and one.
We were regular season championsuh and we won the MLP Cup.
Uh not only are we winning onthe court, we're winning on the
business front.
We lead the league in just aboutevery single metric from social
following to commercialsponsorships to, of course, our
our on court record and ourchampionships.
(02:33):
Um Major League Pickleball, as Imentioned, is the uh fast
growing league in the world'sfastest growing sport.
Uh Major League Pickleballmerged with PPA just a few years
back to unite uh the two leaguesthat were at the time competing.
And we now have unified whatwe're calling UPA, um, which is
the holding company of ourleagues.
Um so the St.
(02:54):
Louis Shock is has now becomethe the leading team and the
North Star of the sport.
We're proud to be based righthere in in St.
Louis.
And last year we held our ourfirst ever Major League
Pickleball St.
Louis event at Schafitz Arena,and we're excited to come back
uh this year to do it again,June 4th through 7th at
Schafetz.
SPEAKER_03 (03:11):
That's awesome.
So why pickleball?
What what what was that firstconversation like?
Because obviously, you guys, youknow, everybody knows the
Shaffitz Arena and everythinglike that, basketball and all
these different things, but whypickleball?
You know, obviously it's a newersport.
I just started playing.
I was at the Missouri PickleballClub the other day.
Obviously, chicken and picklehas had us out a few times.
Like you see it, but like whowas the first person that was
(03:32):
like, hey, we need to payattention to pickleball here?
Is that you?
SPEAKER_01 (03:35):
So so that was me.
The story dates back to late2022.
And in my day job, I manage ourfamily office Schaeffitz Group,
where we're uh investing acrossa wide array of strategies from
venture capital to privateequity to real estate and
sports.
Uh and in 2022, the back half ofthe pandemic, the sport was
really, really exploding.
Uh and major league pickleballwas in its its infancy at the
(03:58):
time, uh, but they had publiclyannounced that they were going
to go through uh an expansionprocess to sell two new teams.
Uh and we, wearing our sportsinvestor hat, were seeing all
the trends in pickleball.
Uh, but the sport was really amess because it was moving so
quickly.
And we couldn't figure out, youknow, we knew we wanted to be in
pickleball, but how did we wantto play it?
Did we want to be in the paddlebusiness, the technology
business, the court constructionbusiness, the facility business,
(04:20):
the league business, the teambusiness?
We didn't know.
But we uh sort of drew ananalogy to what was happening
with now the major four leagues.
Uh, when you think about NBA,NFL, MLB, back in the 70s and
the 80s, where you had massiveplayer adoption and massive
player growth, uh, but not yetfull maturity of the leagues and
the commercial business models,we saw those similarities.
(04:43):
Uh, so pickleball growth was,you know, 5x year over year
during the pandemic.
And we said to ourselves, look,if if the players here are here
and they're not going away, theleagues and the professional
side of the sport will soonfollow hereafter.
So when the league announcedthat they were gonna go through
this expansion process, youknow, our family office reached
out and we were essentiallytold, uh, yeah, you want an
(05:04):
expansion team, you know, youand everybody else, 50 teams are
applying, you know, get in line.
Um, and, you know, ultimatelythey came back to us and said,
hey, you know, it's time forexpansion, put your best foot
forward.
They got 50 to 60 bids.
Um, and they already had teamsin some of the uh, at the time,
mature pickleball markets likeFlorida and California and
Texas.
Um, and, you know, as you know,we have a very strong affinity
(05:27):
and relationship here in St.
Louis with some of the thingsyou mentioned, uh, St.
Louis University, Shave It'sArena, a variety of technology
and real estate investmentshere.
And we know this ecosystemreally well.
And the one thing that we areaware of is just how passionate
they are about their sportsteams.
But what surprised me when wewere digging into our research
and our diligence aboutpickleball was at the time St.
Louis was a top five pickleballmarket in the US.
(05:49):
And not many pickleball playersknew that.
Missouri Pickleball Club here intown was a first mover uh in
introducing facilities, whichultimately created the flywheel
around players and and demandfor the sport.
And so when we were offered theopportunity to buy the team, it
was my mom, actually, who was aPadel player in her father past
life, who said to my dad, if youdon't buy this team, I'm gonna
(06:09):
kill you.
Verbatim.
So what that meant was um weultimately had to overpay, um,
which in hindsight was a gooddecision, but we had to overpay
for at the time was essentiallya hope and a dream.
So, as I mentioned, it was anexpansion franchise, which meant
we had nothing.
Um, we were awarded thefranchise, us and the DeVos
family, who are owners of the uhOrlando Magic, we were awarded
(06:32):
the franchise and essentiallysaid, Hey, great news.
You won the franchise.
We like the St.
Louis market, write us a check.
Your first event is in twoweeks.
And so, what that meant for mewas my full-time job, at least
temporarily, shifted frominvestor to end-to-end team
operator.
So that two weeks became asprint around all aspects of
(06:52):
building a team.
Everything from logos to rostergeneration to hiring folks on
social media and business andcommercial leadership,
everything souped to nuts.
We launched in two weeks.
Probably in hindsight, one ofour proudest moments was how
much we were able to accomplishin two weeks.
And so that's kind of the storyof how this thing got going.
And fast forward three yearslater, and here we are, as I
(07:13):
mentioned, we're kind of thenorth star of the league and uh
we're we're the envy thateverybody's chasing now.
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That's so cool.
And and you know, you werecompeting against people like
LeBron and Mahomes and Brady andlike some pretty big players,
not only financially, but starpower.
Like if it's my league, I wantthose guys in my league.
And now you're in a league withthose other people.
(08:02):
So what no, Andrew, how did youget involved with it?
Were you part of that two-weekblitz or was it?
SPEAKER_02 (08:07):
I came on after the fact, thank God.
But uh, I still feel like I wasthrown into the fire like that.
Yeah, I didn't know pickleballwhen I got in.
I've been in minor league sportsfor 25 years and definitely knew
the Chafus family from frombeing in St.
Louis before and saw how hotpickleball is.
I mean, it's it's everywhere.
I was living in St.
Pete, Florida, and everywhereI'd go, you'd see pickleball
(08:30):
courts, people out thereplaying.
I didn't realize there was thiswhole professional side to it.
And then when I did see that, II was shocked that they were so
young.
The players like our playerswhen I first joined were 18
years old, two of our guys.
I mean, they're they're kids,you know, and and they're just
unbelievable.
So I think that's that's a bigthing.
And then just taking this andturning it into a viable
(08:52):
business.
I mean, that's really what whatRoss has been able to do over
the last three years.
And I've been able to come inand help, you know, grow that
business side.
Um, and I got hooked.
I've been playing.
I've got I'm scuffed up fromplaying this weekend, diving
around like I'm still like akid.
I'm not.
I'm sore today, but uh but it'sa lot of fun.
(09:13):
It's it's hard not to gethooked.
SPEAKER_03 (09:14):
And we talked last time about the accessibility
because that's what's beautifulabout it.
It's almost it almost reminds meof golf in a way because you're
you can play four generationsall out on the course all at one
time.
You know, your 10-year-old,40-year-old, 80-year-old, you
know, grandpa can all play.
And not every sport's like that.
If we all went out and playedfootball tomorrow, we're all
gonna be really hurt, you know.
But pickleball kind of has that.
And you guys are betting onpickleball, not just in St.
(09:35):
Louis, but the MLP and and youguys are also a part of that
group now, too.
And and uh, I mean, where do yousee it?
I mean, do you see this?
Um, we're professionalpickleball, like obviously you
mentioned the big four, but likeyou see pickleball rising in
that way, obviously, because youguys are betting on it.
SPEAKER_01 (09:49):
You know, yeah, yeah.
I think the the growth isundeniable.
And, you know, when we werefirst starting to build this
team in 2023, and even whenAndrew came on in 2024, a lot of
the pushback we got from sponsorprospects was hey, we see
pickleball, you know, we playpickleball, we believe in
pickleball, but persuade us thatthis isn't just a fad.
(10:10):
Persuade us that pickleball isgoing to be around for the long
term.
Um, and fast forward to now,we've done that and we are
continuing to do that.
And I think, you know, from aninvestment perspective, our
investment thesis really evolvedfrom, hey, let's acquire a team
to let's build a portfolio inpickleball.
Yeah.
And so again, fast forward twoor three years, and we've built
uh really the largest standalonepickleball uh investment
(10:33):
portfolio in the sport.
So when you think about theflywheel effect we've created by
first acquiring the St.
Louis shock, we've now wrappedaround all these other ancillary
assets and investments aroundit.
So we have uh investments intechnology with platforms like
Duper, which is the universalrating system.
We have investments infacilities when you think about
Pickler, who's the largestfranchise or of facilities uh in
(10:54):
the US.
We have an investment in a courtconstruction company, Pickle
Tile, who build builds uh courtsand sound suppressing solutions.
We have investments in uhapparel with a company called
Stack, who's essentially theLululemon of pickleball.
We have Vulcan, which ispaddles, accessories, bags,
balls, you name it.
So we're building a portfolio ora mutual fund or an ETF, if you
(11:15):
want to use financial um, youknow, uh similarities, uh,
because we believe this sport ishere to stay.
Now, I I'm honest when I tellpeople I don't know what line of
business is going to win.
I don't know if it's going to bethe team, if it's software, if
it's facilities, if it's uhequipment, whatever it may be.
So we're building a diversifieduh approach and our investment
in the team and in the shock andin our players and in our
(11:37):
personnel uh is what has, youknow, led us to the forefront of
the sport.
And as I believe, one of therecognized uh sort of builders
and leaders in pickleball.
So we're we're hyper, hyperbullish.
You know, what's to come in thefuture is is TBD.
Uh, but I think we are veryconfident in saying that, you
know, when you wake up in thefuture, whether it's three years
down the line, five years downthe line, 10 years down the
(11:58):
line, the sport is only going tocontinue to grow.
Uh the financial aspects of thebusiness will only uh continue
to uh mature.
And I think, you know, we seethat every day.
I see it on the investmentfront.
And Andrew sees it when he talksto our sponsors and our
partners.
SPEAKER_03 (12:11):
Yeah.
And then, you know, let's shiftto MLP St.
Louis.
You know, obviously, you know,at your guys' home base, get to
transform the stadium.
I remember driving our officeused to be on North Grand, right
at the on God Hearts Hotel, alittle bit, a little bit north
of you guys.
And I remember driving by thestadium and seeing the pictures
of the your team up on.
I mean, how cool is that?
When you really get to see, wetook a pic, I think we posted a
(12:32):
picture last year of like fromlike across the highway, like
looking up at the building andjust seeing this huge billboard
of these younger people.
I mean, them on a platform,professional athletes.
SPEAKER_02 (12:41):
How is it for them too?
I mean, think about it.
You know, they started a fewyears back.
I, you know, the guysspecifically, they started when
they were about 14 years old.
So they've been playing andthey've been playing at places
like Missouri Pickleball Cluband and that, and now they're
rising up to a professionalarena like Chafus Arena, and
then they see their selves up onthe the side of it.
I mean, everyone throughout theleague uh was blown away with
(13:04):
with the venue, with with that.
Like this is the place thatpeople want to play.
Um you're putting St.
SPEAKER_03 (13:09):
Louis on the map in that way.
You know, St.
Louis is the mech of pickleball,you know.
Yeah.
It's beautiful.
SPEAKER_02 (13:14):
Bringing people, not just you know, St.
Louis people, but we're bringingpeople from all over the country
to come here.
They they recognize that this isone of the top pickleball events
in the country or world, and uhthey want to be here.
So this year it's it's theinterest, the you know, from
sponsorships, from fans, fromticket sales, everything is
trending upward.
So it's looking to be anothergreat event.
SPEAKER_01 (13:36):
Yes, and I think I think it speaks to the maturity
of the sport.
The fact that we're even in aposition where we can play in a
world-class arena like this thatseats 10,000 people, you know,
if you look back to where MLPwas in its early years, just a
few years back, I mean, we wereplaying on um, you know, uh on
on small courts with bleachersthat would seat, you know, 300
people.
(13:56):
And the growth that the leaguehas experienced to be able to be
in a position of financialviability, to be able to afford
to play in a place like SheaFitz speaks to the attraction uh
of the fans and the sponsors.
Because what people don'trecognize is it's not just that
you show up and you you play ina 10,000 seat arena, right?
Uh there's a PL and there's anexpense profile to this.
(14:18):
And we're only doing it.
We only did it because we havepure lines of sight and
confidence to the fact that ourrevenue can now offset the
expenses.
So I think, you know, there's abusiness side to it, but there's
also the player experience thatthat Andrew spoke to.
I mean, just a few years ago, uhplayers like Hayden Patriquin,
who are on our team, you know,he was growing up as a surfer
boy in California.
(14:38):
Never in his wildest dreams washe expecting to be a
professional athlete, you know,18 years old in pickleball, the
arguably the best man in theworld right now, playing in a
10,000 uh, you know, seat arena.
And when they were here lastyear, our team, our players,
look, they've been in thehottest markets in the US from
Dallas to Miami to NewportBeach, where pickleball is on
(15:00):
fire.
And the one thing they told ushere that I think really
surprised us was they were like,you know, oh shit, like we were
in Walmart and people recognizeus here.
They feel like they're proathletes, you know, on the
biggest stage here in St.
Louis.
And it's because of theinvestments our making, it's
because of the simple things,you know, that you mentioned
where we're putting them on thethe side of a world class arena,
we're legitimizing the sport,uh, and it's creating a direct
(15:22):
impact on on the PL of theexpenses and and the player
experience.
SPEAKER_03 (15:25):
Yeah, and being able to get those corporate.
I mean, I see DoorDash is a bigpartner this year.
SPEAKER_02 (15:29):
And yeah, mega, mega partner with the league.
I mean, multi-year, you know.
The the league does a reallygood job as well, just you know,
marketing and developing um, youknow, the partnership side.
And a lot of it now is turnedover to the teams and and
developing on the local andregional level.
And that's helping drive some ofthose partnerships as well.
(15:50):
And and I think for usspecifically, I mean, it's it's
continued to grow.
Um, the last, you know, this isgoing into my third year, and
we've had great growth um, youknow, these last two and a half
years.
SPEAKER_03 (16:01):
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Sway does so much for the St.
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(16:23):
Enjoy the rest of the podcast.
And at the end of the day, Imean, I Ross, I kind of want to
toss this to you too.
Like what I think is sobeautiful is that it's a St.
Louis story, but it's biggerthan that.
You're showcasing St.
Louis with your family.
So at the end of the day, it's afamily business, but now you're
in the sports world.
So are you technically theday-to-day GM now?
Or kind of tell me about thatdynamic with what you guys got
going.
SPEAKER_01 (16:42):
Yeah, so um, you know, one of the things that's
unique about the shock is we'reowned 100% by our family.
Yeah, it's beautiful.
So I run the the day-to-day ofthe team.
Uh Andrew kind of has as myright-hand guy helping to
oversee the commercial side ofthe business.
Um, but you talked about some ofthe celebrity ownership in the
in the league, you know, peoplelike Kaigo, LeBron James, Tom
Brady.
Many of these um, of these otherteams are uh highly fragmented
(17:07):
in terms of their ownership.
There's 25 people that make upthe ownership group.
And so that creates a lot ofclogs in the system when you
think about decision making.
Who do we draft?
Who do we hire?
What kind of sponsors do we wantto work with?
For us, you know, we're 100%owned by our family.
So decisions ultimately comedown to the people that you're
looking at in this room righthere, which allows us to act uh
really, really quickly.
(17:28):
Um, and you know, bringing itback to St.
Louis, you know, when we thoughtabout where it would be the best
market to introduce this newpickleball team, you know, we're
obviously hyper familiar withSt.
Louis because of what we've donewith, you know, things like St.
Louis University basketball.
We know that they feed off theirsports and their fandom and
their and their passion for uhfor professional teams here.
So it just felt like the rightfit.
(17:49):
But one of the things that Ithink we've tried to do is
broaden the appeal outside ofSt.
Louis while make maintainingties to this market.
So one of the things that we andand Andrew have have focused on
over the last year or two is thenationwide rollout of our minor
league program.
Uh so we have a minor leagueprogram where anybody can
compete uh not only in the St.
Louis market, but nationwideunder the shock brand.
(18:11):
We have a hundred players herein uh St.
Louis, and we have, I think,almost 200 now nationwide,
growing to 500 by the end ofthis year.
Uh, and again, it just ties backto that flywheel effect of the
investments we're making in theteam, but we're always trying to
maintain that St.
Louis tie back.
So these players that competeall around the country, whether
they live in Dallas or Wisconsinor Memphis or Alabama, they show
(18:33):
up to these events, they'recompeting in five, six, seven
tournaments throughout the year,and they're wearing St.
Louis shock stuff.
So they're proud of the team,they're proud of this market,
and it's our goal to maintainthose ties as we build this
thing.
SPEAKER_03 (18:43):
Yeah, St.
Louis is just different.
I mean, you've worked all overthe country.
Yeah, the fan of St.
Louis.
I mean, we just saw SLUobviously, you know, winning a
tournament tournament game andthen going up and playing one of
the best games against Michigan,and like people were going crazy
over what you guys did withSlough basketball.
And um, but yeah, St.
Louis, I mean, from Windsvilleto Belleville to the counties to
(19:03):
all these different littleeverybody loves their sports.
And what you guys are doing isyou're introducing another thing
for people to get excited about,similar to what the MLS did,
another thing that people canget excited about.
And you know, obviously you seewhat the blues do, you see what
the Cardinals do, and what youguys are doing in pickleball.
What I love about it is howinnovative it is, how social it
is, the social media strategy,the amount of posts that I see,
(19:23):
like the mic up moments with thekids yelling and screaming, and
you guys I've seen you guys onthe social media too.
You know, it's it's it feelslike you're in it even though
you're not in it.
And and when we go, when we comedown on, you know, June 4th
through the 7th, you know, beingable to get as close as possible
to these athletes is isdifferent, you know.
So, you know, what what is theevent gonna look like?
(19:43):
You know, obviously it's athree, three-day event.
Um, so kind of walk us throughkind of you know what teams are
gonna be there, what thatevent's gonna look like, and
what exciting things that maybeyou guys haven't shared yet.
SPEAKER_02 (19:53):
Yeah, it's it's uh four-day event.
Um, Thursday, Friday, Saturdayis uh pool play.
And then Sunday becomes um thethe top eight teams um then
compete and it's it's pointbased uh for the standings.
But we've got you know some ofthe top players in the world
coming.
Obviously, our whole team is uhtop ten players, so yeah, um
(20:14):
that that's a good start.
Uh Ben Johns is on the LA MadDrops, which uh, you know, Ben
Johns is number one player, um,men's player out there.
So um, but Brooklyn has been a avery uh tough competitor of
ours.
Uh a lot of a lot of greatmatches with them.
So um definitely want to checkit out.
We play the four o'clock matchon Thursday and Friday.
(20:38):
So I know that's a work day, butmaybe you can get out a little
early, come out and check thosethose out.
And then Saturday we have twomatches, um 11:30 and uh four
o'clock as well.
And then Sunday it's based on uhhow we perform in those first
four days, uh first three days.
So um we have single single daytickets and we also have two-day
and a uh four-day pass.
(20:59):
So if somebody wants to come outall four days, you get
discounted tickets.
You got VIP where you got food,drinks included, like you're
right on the action.
A lot of the players hang out inthe VIP area.
Nice.
Um that that's the unique thingabout this sport too, is like,
you know, you'll you'll see theplayers, you know, and and they
recognize how important the fansare.
And you know, I've never seenanybody not take photos or sign
(21:22):
autographs, and you know, um,you know, it's it's really about
having that connection with thefans.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_03 (21:29):
Yeah, yeah, no, that's special.
And especially these kids.
I mean, you mentioned there'sthere's they're adults now, but
it's like you got Hayden andGabe are gonna be down there,
Kate um and the rest of yourteam.
I mean, seeing them becomesuperstars has to be pretty
special for you guys too.
SPEAKER_01 (21:42):
Yeah, that I mean that's that's a proud moment for
us when we when we drafted,especially some of these younger
girls.
Proud Papa.
I mean, andrew's literally heredoing laundry for some of our
teammating stuff.
But I said I said to him whenwhen we when he was hired the
job is not limited to solelywhat's in the job description
and Now he's taking that quiteliterally.
(22:02):
You got to start up, you know.
Yeah.
You know, we drafted these boyswhen they were 16 years old.
And, you know, uh the thoughtprocess was at the time, you
know, we were building thisthing not just for for for then
or now, but in the future.
And look, it's paid off.
I mean, we've had one of the toprecords in the league the last
two years, MLP Cup champions,regular season champions.
So it's working.
And we're repeating the processthis year, you know, with our
(22:24):
fifth and sixth player slots.
We uh drop uh drafted a boy, uhJohn Lucian Goines, who at the
time was 17, now 18, a topsingles male specialist.
We also drafted a 12-year-old,yeah, 12-year-old female Elsie
Hendershot.
SPEAKER_02 (22:38):
I'm babysitting now, too.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (22:40):
So we got a new babysitter responsibility.
But but our bet again is on theon the future of the sport.
And you talked about theaccessibility.
It's one thing that's unique isyou know, on an MLP court, you
have literally 12-year-oldscompeting against 45-year-olds.
I mean, name anotherprofessional sport where that
where that's possible.
I think you'd be hard pressed tofind one.
Um but the competition structureis extremely unique.
And one of the things thatAndrew, you know, touched on,
(23:01):
which uh we've actually changedthis year over last year, is is
uh we now have a group playformat where teams are assigned
into two groups where they playround robin style Thursday,
Friday, and Saturday here atShafits this year.
Uh and then Sunday, what we'renow calling Super Sunday, is
when we'll have first place,third place, and fifth place
matches uh where the teams thatadvance out of those groups will
(23:22):
play one another for standingspoints.
So uh the competition structurehas changed this year, and you
know, it all comes to a head.
Each uh event on Sundays wherethere'll be some really, really
good competition, and uh we'rehoping for a very solid uh
matchup against the uh Ben BenLand uh LA Mad drops on Sunday.
SPEAKER_03 (23:41):
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Yeah, no, that's special.
I mean, what you guys have builtis inspiring and and and really
it's a St.
Louis story.
(24:22):
And I know that this is the STLbucket list show.
So, what other local partnersand local people are are a part
of this?
I mean, any other, you know,local businesses that really
help make this thing possible.
SPEAKER_02 (24:33):
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, I mean, definitely.
I mean, you know, Pickleman's isone of my favorites, right?
I don't know if you've had theirchocolate chip cookies, but I I
sure have.
Um everyone on our team hasbecause if I do the order, we're
gonna sure have chocolate chipcookies from Picklemans, but it
is the joke around the team.
Uh there's always chocolate chipcookies.
SPEAKER_03 (24:53):
It just makes sense to have picklemans a part of it.
I mean, a pickle pickle in thename right by the stadium.
Literally, you could throw arock and hit their location
right in midtown there.
Um great, great, great people.
SPEAKER_02 (25:02):
Yeah, they're they're they're a great company.
They're they're also like us,like they want to grow
nationally.
And uh they've got locations inuh in Dallas, uh out in Phoenix,
uh Kansas, Oklahoma.
So they're they're continuingtheir expansion as as we are.
Um so we're really excited aboutthat partnership.
(25:23):
Um but we've been very fortunatewith partners.
Um we just um signed on HeatController, they're more of a
national company.
Um, Charles Schwab, Comsych, ThePickler, which uh Ross alluded
to earlier.
They're the largest franchise uhpickleball venue um company out
there.
So um that that's gonna continueto grow as we continue to
(25:45):
develop these programs.
One of the things that's nice tohelp us, you know, expand our
brand is our show Shock and All.
I don't know if you checked thatout last season, but it's it's
the best way to get behind thescenes.
You see, you see it raw.
Like, I mean, you know, we'rewe're a little out of control
sometimes.
And uh but you know, there'sthere's one thing no one will
(26:06):
ever question, and that is justthe passion that the entire
organization has from ownershipdown to volunteers.
Like we we want to win ateverything that we do, whether
it's on the court, off thecourt, uh we'll be in your face.
Um, you'll like it or you'llhate it, but uh we're gonna be
there, we're gonna be authentic,and so we're excited.
(26:28):
Yeah, exactly.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_03 (26:30):
I mean that's the it's content, man, and you guys
understand that as a 2026business.
It's gotta have some fun.
You know, of course, like yes,we want to sign those TV deals,
yes, we're gonna be on ESPN,yes, we want to be on the
streaming services.
But at the end of the day, a lotof your fans, especially these
younger ones, are gonna bewatching you on TikTok, they're
gonna be watching you onInstagram.
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (26:46):
They know Ross for sure.
Yeah, yeah.
They got Ross for sure.
They gotta show up.
SPEAKER_01 (26:49):
And that's really a key element of the business
strategy that that I envisionedand that we've now implemented.
I mean, when we launched thisshock and awe thing last year,
it was really kind of just likea hope and a dream.
And I I said to Andrew and ourmedia team at the time, I said,
Hey, I want to do like a veryraw, like locker room type
experience to show people whatit means to be a professional
(27:09):
pickleball player.
Because people heard of thisthing, major league pickleball,
like what is major leaguepickleball?
And it was really ouropportunity to show what it's
like on the business side andfor some of these teenage pros.
Um, and you bring that to lifethrough very raw emotions.
Uh, and I think people canrelate to that.
Um, you know, you contrast thatwith a very professionally
edited 30 for 30 on ESPN, and itfeels almost so overly produced
(27:33):
that it's inorganic.
And we wanted to make sure thatwhat we provided was raw.
So um, I will warn you, uh, it'snot for young children.
Uh, there are our occasionalcurse words in there, uh, but we
can promise you that it's thatit's always, you know, 100%
authentic.
And one of the things that I'vesaid to Andrew is, you know,
we're not a traditional sportsteam.
Um, we are also a contentbusiness, we're a content
(27:53):
engine.
And so we've invested heavily insocial media and some of those
things like shock and awe.
And it's, you know, that wholepicture that's created uh this
the scenario where we're nowleading the pack in major league
pickleball.
SPEAKER_02 (28:03):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Excited to have season twocoming soon.
SPEAKER_03 (28:06):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, that's coming out soon.
Yep.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's it shows the investment andit shows that obviously, you
know, you look at your team.
I mean, your team's 18 to 21.
It's like you need to be wherethey're at.
And I I keep saying that.
And there's some pro teams thataren't doing that.
And they have way bigger staffs,way bigger budgets, and way
bigger things going on that arein other major sports that can't
seem to get their social mediaright.
(28:27):
And you guys understood thatfrom the beginning, and it and
it helps having youngerownership too.
SPEAKER_01 (28:31):
And it's and it's quite counterintuitive to what
people who don't play pickleballthink pickleball is.
Yeah.
If you turn on TV and you see,you know, a prescription, you
know, advertisement, they're nowusing pickleball in those
prescription advertisements for70-year-olds who have arthritis
in their knee or have XYZ issue.
So pickleball has had thisstigma, for lack of a better
(28:52):
term, that it's only associatedwith older folks.
It's a way for them to get outand play.
Right.
But what people don't realize isthe average age of a pickleball
player has dropped by almost 10years.
The average age is now down tothe low to mid 30s.
It's dropped 10 years just sincethe pandemic.
And, you know, you look at ourteam, you look at the new
players who are entering thesport.
(29:14):
You know, you go to anelementary school or a middle
school or a high school now,people are electing to skip
baseball, skip basketball, skiplacrosse, skip field hockey.
They want to play pickleballbecause it's fun.
And the youth kids are changingthe game.
You know, year over year, if youwatch professional pickleball
stylistically, the way the gameis being played is changing
because the youth are bringing anew energy and a new speed to
(29:35):
the game.
Now you have teenagers who aremaking literally millions of
dollars.
You know, Anna Bright on ourteam, who we drafted for$1.2
million.
Uh, people like her, people likeBen Johns, people like Annalie
Waters are making$1 million,$2million,$3 million a year.
They're making more than uh someof the highest paid WNBA
players.
Who would have thought in theirwildest dreams that professional
(29:56):
pickleball players could bemaking two to three million
dollars a year?
It's crazy how much.
Yeah, this is a lot of things.
You know, it's still so young.
SPEAKER_03 (30:01):
Yeah.
Yeah, no, that's uh that's true.
And and I noticed that becausemy wife's a high school teacher
and they started implementingpickleball in school.
And it starts in the youth.
And it's I was reading somethingabout hockey, and it's like the
reason we have so many kidscoming out of St.
Louis for hockey is because notonly the guys that are in the
NHL, but kids see peopleplaying.
And once you know a 10-year-oldcomes to this event at Sha at
(30:22):
Shea Fitz, they're gonna belike, oh my gosh, I want to be
like him or I want to be likeher.
SPEAKER_02 (30:25):
And now they can make real money as well.
SPEAKER_03 (30:28):
Yeah, and it's viable, it's not just a hobby
sport, it's not just a littleneighborhood thing, you know,
like you mentioned where it's atthe YMCA or at Lifetime, you
know.
This is in every neighborhoodacross St.
Louis.
And I would love to see somefootage of that because like
every neighborhood you go to inthe county, ain't the city.
Tower Grove Park has apickleball league, Forest Park
has a good racket, it's racketsports in general, and it's like
that's becoming so and so somuch popular.
(30:49):
Um, so you guys obviously havethis data now, but it is so new
that every year you're growing.
I bet the TAM of the market, youjust can't even you don't even
know it yet because you're stillgetting new, you still have so
much discoverable fans.
You know, new fans every year.
It's exciting, man.
And and and it and like Imentioned, everybody can play.
You can play if you have youngkids, you can play with your
kids.
You know, that there's so muchstuff going on that, you know, I
(31:11):
know we just watched LeBron playwith his son in the NBA, but
that's an anomaly.
You know, that doesn't reallyhappen in real life.
That's uh that's not real, butit is it is for them.
But yeah, what you guys havebuilt, and I know I met you guys
last year and and I I know someof the guys that were doing the
social media, and I I've watchedyou guys for the last couple of
years, super excited to be outthere at the event this year.
How can people support?
How can the city of St.
(31:32):
Louis?
I know we want them to buytickets, we want them to
support.
Is there any other way?
You know, if they can't make theevent, is there any other way
that they can support you guys?
SPEAKER_01 (31:38):
Yeah, I would say just look, first of all, if you
can show up and show out, I canpromise you whether or not
you've seen pickleball before,professional is an entirely
different game, uh, literally.
And playing at Shea Fitz, againin a professional arena, in a
professional environment, ifyou've seen PPA, if you've seen
MLP in other environments,playing at Shea Fitz is nothing
(31:59):
like you've ever seen before.
You know, the full uhpyrotechnic capabilities and AV
capabilities and lighting, Imean, we really make it a fun
show.
So whether you're looking for anouting uh with your family,
you're looking for a date night,you're looking for something to
do with your friends, you know,this is accessible to everybody.
And if you can't be there, youknow, we spent a lot of time
talking about content and socialmedia.
(32:20):
Follow us online.
I guarantee we're a worthyfollow.
Uh, you'll enjoy our content.
It's fun, it's edgy, it'sinnovative, it's conflictual at
times, but in a fun way.
We're doing things differently.
And I can promise that uh we'renot gonna be a traditional count
that you may follow on socialmedia.
So check us out at STL ShockMLP.
(32:40):
We're on Instagram, we're onTwitter, we're on Facebook,
we're on TikTok.
You know, you name it.
We got fun content everywhere.
We've got uh fun uh merch andand swag that again is not tied
only to pickleball, but tied toSt.
Louis.
So no matter who you are, nomatter how invested in
pickleball you may or may notbe, uh, we're trying to give
something to everybody.
So check us out, attend theevent if you can, follow along.
(33:02):
Our shock and awe series is areally, really fun way to figure
out what this true uh uh majorleague pickleball thing is is
really like.
SPEAKER_02 (33:08):
Yeah, it's a good way to get to know us all too.
Shock and awe.
I mean, it's it's I can't tellyou how many times I'm I've
traveled somewhere and peopleare like, oh, I I've seen shock
and awe.
You're the security guy, oryou're the second guy.
SPEAKER_01 (33:20):
And believe it or not, fights do break out uh on
the sidelines in professionalpickleball.
They do.
SPEAKER_02 (33:25):
And sometimes I go back to thinking I'm a
linebacker.
Yeah.
And uh, you know, but uh yougotta protect your team, man.
SPEAKER_03 (33:31):
You gotta protect your family.
How important and how vital isthe arena that you guys have,
having that asset and havingthat world-class arena.
I mean, what advantages doesthat give you in the sport?
SPEAKER_01 (33:42):
It just takes us to the next level.
Yeah.
I mean, we could be like everyother major league pickleball
team where we say, hey, we'regonna host this in our local
pickleball facility, you know,no disrespect to you know, some
of the facilities here like Archor Major League Pickleball or
Paddle Up or Chicken and Pickle.
Great places to play pickleball.
But what we're trying to do iswe're trying to
institutionalize,professionalize, and mature the
sport.
And the best way to do that isto bring it to a world-class
(34:03):
arena that people have seen onnational TV and can draw those
professional correlates to.
So again, like the viewershipexperience, simple things.
The sight lines in an arena likeShayfit's are very, very
different from what you wouldsee at a traditional pickleball
venue, the proximity you canget.
If you want to sit courtside andbe right next to the players,
you can do that.
(34:24):
If you wanted a suite, uh, youknow, 80 to 100 feet up and get
a bird's eye view of pickleball,which is really something that
has never been offered untillast year, you know, obviously
full concession optionality,full VIP hospitality, food, bev,
whatever you want, really uniquemerch offerings, uh way to get
behind the scenes and access ourteam and the players and the
fans.
But these are all things thatthings that Schafitz Arena
(34:46):
brings that traditionalpickleball venues don't.
And it also attracts um a uniqueconsumer and and customer base.
You know, what you're gonna getif we were to host this at a
traditional pickleball venue ispeople who play pickleball.
And what you get by hosting thisat Shayfitz is you get uh
attention and attraction frompeople who maybe haven't seen
the sport before.
Maybe, maybe you're an avidfollower and season ticket
(35:07):
holder of the Cardinals or theor the Billikens or the Blues or
whoever it may be.
And seeing that pickleball iscoming to a professional arena
might legitimize this sport inyour eyes.
So every time we get a new uhindividual, a new person to step
into Shave It's Arena, we findthat that person most likely
becomes a fan.
And so these are all the things,the benefits that come with you
know hosting this in aprofessional level arena and not
(35:28):
just a traditional pickleballcourt.
SPEAKER_02 (35:30):
But I like it's climate controlled.
Yeah, some of these events wereoutside.
It's yeah, it's hot, it's brutalor it's raining.
Like you just you can't controlit.
Here it's it's it's perfect,right?
You know, you can really enjoyit as a fan.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_03 (35:44):
The sound, the light show that you guys do.
I mean, you guys do anincredible job.
I've been to that arena so manydifferent times for with whether
it's with my kids for Disney onlike kids' events to big events
to you know, obviously SLUbasketball, which was one of the
most electric gears that we'vehad.
And it was just so fun to watchyou guys this year.
And and uh, you know, I'mexcited to be out.
I'm gonna be out at the eventthis year to um hopefully get
(36:05):
down there and get some behindthe scenes content.
I always get it.
I'll get you out there playing alittle bit.
Come on now, come on now, I'llplay.
Um we gotta I gotta get in thethe shock and also STL bucket
list in there.
I appreciate you guys for comingon.
Um Andrew, good to see youagain, Ross.
Nice to meet you.
Thank you guys so much.
And uh, you know, for you guys,go to stlshock.com.
You can go to their website, goto their event calendar, and you
can go buy tickets onTicketmaster, right?
(36:26):
Yep.
So um grab tickets, like yousaid, this is uh the more so
work that we can get for this isputting St.
Louis on the map as a top fivemarket for pickleball.
Like you mentioned, is like howhow are we?
You know, we're a sports town,and this is just another one of
the sports that we can getbehind and and love that you
guys are here and and doing yourthing.
So I appreciate you guys forcoming on this week.
Yeah, thanks for having us.
All right, thank you so much.
Appreciate it, Ross.
(36:46):
St.
Louis, thanks for listening.
Everything we do here is abouttelling the story of this city,
and that doesn't stop with thisshow.
On the Bucketlist PodcastNetwork, we're diving even
deeper into the people, places,and moments that make this city
what it is.
Meet Me in Music with NeilSalsick captures the sound of
the city, past and present,ending each episode with a live
performance.
For my foodie lovers, the saucewith Lauren Healy brings you
(37:07):
inside the restaurants thatdefine our culture every
Tuesday.
Gateway to Growth with JamalCornelius highlights the stories
behind the people that make St.
Louis work.
And every Thursday, Bryce breaksdown your weekend with This Week
in St.
Louis.
More stories, more voices.
Explore the full bucket listpodcast network wherever you
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