Iryna Ryzhuk is the CEO of Xcel Padel, where she leads the company’s vision for growth and innovation in the rapidly expanding sport of padel. With an extensive international background in business operations, marketing, strategic planning, and global expansion, she brings a dynamic mix of expertise to the industry. A recognized leader in the management and development of sports clubs, Iryna has a proven track record in driving revenue growth, operational excellence, and brand partnerships. She also serves as an advisor for U.S. padel investment groups, leveraging her deep industry knowledge, powerful corporate network, and ability to forge key partnerships with major corporations and brands.
📣 QUOTE: "I want to be surrounded by people who are driven and motivated the same way as I am." 💪 - Iryna Ryzhuk
Level 🆙 Take-Aways
🔹 Valuable Time-Stamps🔹
🕒 [00:03:00] – Discovering Padel and Building Connections
🕒 [00:07:00] – Creating Community Through Sports
🕒 [00:10:00] – The Xcel Padel Experience🕒 [00:17:00] – Coaching, Culture, and Growing the Game
🕒 [00:25:00] – Leadership, Adaptability, and Vision
🌐Xcel Padel Website
🔗 Xcel Padel LinkedIn
🔵 Xcel Padel Facebook
📷 Xcel Padel Instagram
You Can Find Iryna from Xcel Padel Here:
Phone: (305) 834-2521
Email: irina@xcelpadel.com
📣 QUOTE: "I want to be surrounded by people who are driven and motivated the same way as I am." 💪 - Iryna Ryzhuk
Level 🆙 Take-Aways
- Build communities, not customers — belonging drives growth. 🤝
- The unfamiliar is where opportunity hides — lean into it. 🚀
- Deliver value worth paying for — quality always beats quantity. 💼
- Create moments that connect — gatherings turn strangers into communities. 🎉
- Think long-term, act daily — small disciplined moves create unstoppable momentum. ⏳
- Lead where the action is — presence builds trust and excellence. 👣
🔹 Valuable Time-Stamps🔹
🕒 [00:03:00] – Discovering Padel and Building Connections
🕒 [00:07:00] – Creating Community Through Sports
🕒 [00:10:00] – The Xcel Padel Experience🕒 [00:17:00] – Coaching, Culture, and Growing the Game
🕒 [00:25:00] – Leadership, Adaptability, and Vision
🌐Xcel Padel Website
🔗 Xcel Padel LinkedIn
🔵 Xcel Padel Facebook
📷 Xcel Padel Instagram
You Can Find Iryna from Xcel Padel Here:
Phone: (305) 834-2521
Email: irina@xcelpadel.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Are you ready to level up?
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Do you wish to live a life of options and
not obligations? You've gone to the right place. Thank you
for stopping on by to hear knowledge nuggets from Coach
Fergie and his top tier guest to help you lean
into your ultimate human potential.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Now let's level up with Coach Fergie. Hey Varsity Squad,
Welcome back to another powerful edition of level Up Conversations
with Coach Fergie with time to Shine Today Coaching. I'm
your host, Scott Ferguson, blessed to be your gap coach
specializing in performance mental conditioning, working with business leaders, entrepreneurs, entertainers, athletes,
c suite and students to help them bridge their success
gap to live a life of options and not obligations.
(00:38):
On this platform, we're stoked to bring you high performers
who are not just chasing and entertaining success, but redefining
it through providing above and beyond service. And for our
really quick coaching knowledge nugget this week's squad. A lot
of people are just They wait until something happens before
they jump in. They wait till it's safe before they
jump in. They wait until the trend has proven the
crowd is cheering and the risk is gone. That's not
(01:00):
how legacies are built. Early adopters they see potential before permission.
They lean into the unknown. They don't need guarantees, they
need a challenge. While others are waiting for validation, they're
already getting their reps in learning, adjusting, and stacking small wins.
Being an early adopter isn't about luck. It's about courage
wrapped in preparation. It's about betting on your vision when
no one else can see it. The world doesn't reward hesitation,
(01:22):
it rewards movement. Every big opportunity starts quietly. The future
always shows up disguised is something unfamiliar, and that's where
the few separate themselves from the many. So, whether it's
in business, sport, or life, stop waiting for the crowd.
Step into what feels new. Do it before it's popular,
Do it before it's easy. That's how you level up
and squad. Speaking of people who move before the crowd,
(01:45):
my guest's next guest, Irene Ruschek, is one of them.
We're diving into the hottest sport you've probably never heard
of or played yet. It's called padel, a mix of tennis,
rackaball and social connection that's exploding across Europe and Latin
America and now it's making major waves right here in
the US. Leading that charge is Arena, the powerhouse CEO
behind Excel Padel. She's not just growing a sport, She's
(02:07):
building a movement. With deep international experience in business marketing
and global expansion, Arena is bringing the world class vision
to create America's next obsession on the court. From forging
partnerships with top brands to helping investors catch the Padel
wave early, She's changing how people play, connect and compete.
So let's get ready. We're introducing you to the sport
(02:27):
of paddle, which I was pronouncing it paddle before, which
I love that it stands out. But Arena, thank you
so much for coming on. This is I'm a sports
not kind of guy, so this is like a lot
of fun for me. So what's something about you that
people might not know about that might surprise them a
little bit?
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Yeah, thank you so much for having me. Actually, Spanish
warst puddle and all the world calls it puddle, but
justin US they call it padel. And something about me
I used to do cross with it I used to
compete back home back to Ukraine. When I moved to
you five years ago in pandemic, I started playing puddle
and it became another one competitive way for me to
(03:07):
spend my free time. And also I figured playing puddle
in Miami that it's like an amazing networking opportunity and
majority of my business connections coming from puddle, right, So
that became like number one sports for me so far
as a hobby, this is something that I do in
my free time and as the business that I enjoy doing.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
So you know, for the listeners out there that like,
are hearing about paddle for the pedal for the first time,
So how do you describe it in a way that
would instantly get them interested.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Sure, it's a good mix of tennis and squash, so
we always play doubles. We have walls and you can
hit off the wall. Score is the same as in tennis,
and it's easy to start to always say hard to
master if you want to go professional, right, but as
long as you know how to hold the racket and
keep the ball in play in fifteen minutes, you're going
to have lots of fun.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
Right, Like your visionary I did a little deep dive
and you you've did a lot of marketing, You've helped
turn companies around, really kick butt out there, right, So
this is kind of a leap of faith for you
become the CEO of a company of a sport that's
really not known, right, that's out there. So how are
you shaping the vision for this company? Like what kind
of made you say, yeah, I'm going to go all
(04:17):
in on this and shape that vision.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Right.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Obviously, we've done our research and I was watching the
growth of bud in the United States for five years.
I've been living here for five years and Miami is
just booming. We have so many courts, so many facilities.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Oh in Miami, that's course of facilities.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Okay, It's like at least you can find ten different
investment groups that are growing the sport and new and
they started from Miami and just watching that, playing that
and understanding, you know, like this is the formula when
you do something that you love so much and never
feel any more like you work, right, And that's what
happened to me. And we knew that indoor facility is
(04:54):
going to succeed. And we were investigating the market and
target audience and the stand that so many pickleball and
tennis players are in Palm Beach County and founding West
Lake is a new city that is still growing, so
many new families building houses there, so basically this is
the only thing that they can do almost that way. Yeah,
(05:15):
I had been having a couple of gyms and puddle
like is the core activity for the city and Palm
Beach West Palm Beach facility that is going to be
open in November. It's also amazing spot for us. We
have around fifty thousand cars in front of our facility
daily and we also cover downtown and Barrington area, which
(05:36):
is kind of focused.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
If you're out west or even down on the coast,
you can catch it. And I'd love that you picked
Palm Beach because it reminds me of a sport this
kind of died alcohol highlight. Not how it's played, but
like it's just kind of like people were like really
into it. Yeah, and I remember going to it when
I was a kid. But this actually really piques my
interest because you know, I'm fifty three years old. My
knees are shot, you know, and it's something that I
(05:58):
can play because there's doubles right right, Okay.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
It's still competitive. Yeah, and again comparing with Dennis, I know,
a lot of people want to have a partner to
play whis to share excitement, you know, and having four
people on the court, it's always lots of fun. It's
like it's it's a fun cardio and it's community place
where people can hang out spend time together. You know,
like we have a restaurant where they can also have
(06:23):
fun and lots of other it's.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
Added the social dynamic. To my producer, Brian Mudd, We're
gonna have to double up some time ago, you know. So,
but with like where I'm sorry, where is it at
in West Palm Beach.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
It's close to Fairgrounds Southern Boulevards. Okay, yeah, it's a
huge excel Padel sign. It's hard to miss it, gotcha.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
And so you've worked internationally across kind of multiple industries, right, Like,
what kind of global lessons did you learn as you
kind of you're bringing this this it's not newsports because
around the world it's it's play, but bring the sport
into you know, the mainstream here in you know, a
hotbed of Miami Palm Beach. And so what kind of
lessons you're bringing forward from your global time right.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
So back to Ukraine, I was running business development for shopping,
more restaurants, hotels and sports clubs and moving countries. I
can see that community is the key key focus for
now building community, getting to know locals. Let's say my
first touch was west Lake was at the fourth of
July el when I was able to speak to locals
(07:30):
like I spoke to fifty people and I realized that
people don't know what puddle is. They played peopleble, they
played tennis, and I was like, okay, so this is
something new, something exciting for you guys, and what we
need to do. We need to get in touch with locals.
Mayor is the biggest advocate, Amer Connor, mayor of west Lake.
He got so excited about having these facilities. He's actually
(07:52):
calling this exactly what city needs, the sexist facility in
the city, which was so cool and yeah, and he
brings so much attention and starting learning the community, starting
understanding that was like a more family oriented community and
we should create that place to be for families to
hang out, when you can bring your wife, when you
(08:14):
can bring your kids, and there is something to do
for all of them. So I would say that that
experience is something crucial. You need to know who you're
working with, you need to know how to bring them in.
And we organized so many events, like last night, we
had a lattin night and we had lots of people
that our facility dancing, which is unusual. Right. We go
to the sports clubs so you can hang out, you
(08:36):
can play, you can go to the restaurant, you can dance,
you can have lots of fun. And I can tell
you that people can spend up to four hours at
our facility.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
I love that you know a good friend of mine
and you're near pr rep over here. Kirsten Miller that
introduced us, you know, she said that the restaurant there
is also kind of geared around the healthy, kind of
health wise as well. So you can go and go
in and socialize, eat a really good healthy and refuel
after you've sweated out a little bit.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Right, And this is the Mediterranean slow cuisine we brought.
He leave our restaurant partner from Miami. He has so
many years of experience. He was running restaurants in New York.
And I also understand that this is something unique for
this market and we don't have that many restaurants around
the facility. When we were in construction, I was always
looking where I can have lunch, and now it's the place,
(09:25):
and now people coming there and just like, oh god,
we never tried even chicken sandwich. It's so unique and
so special. Yeah, you actually try it, like I've never tried.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
So are you getting more like crowds of earlier in
the day or later at night? Is it like are
you finding like when are you finding time? Or really
people kind of come out because I'll tell you what.
I go to some gyms around here in Palm Beach
and it's like the people even work, they're packed at
like eleven am, right, So like, are you finding that
they're coming, you know, at all times of the date
(09:55):
of your facility in Westlake?
Speaker 3 (09:57):
Yes, So facility is open from seven am to ten
p every day. We have happy hours five to seven pm.
Also daily every day you can have happy hours at
our facility. We do have peak times and off peak times.
Usually people will play before work starting seven am up
to eleven or noon, okay depending what you do, and
(10:17):
they come back around four pm, five pm and up
to ten pm. They just have fun on the court.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
I love it and squid out there. It sounds like
a really fun way to get your exercise in. Plus
you get a partner. It's a two on two.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Kind of things set up, always doubles.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
Right, and then they're open now from seven am to
ten pm and the happy hour from five to seven pm.
So what do you think that your facility separates itself
from other kind of up and coming clubs that you
know might start popping up. What do you guys do different?
Speaker 3 (10:47):
First of all, way, I endure and we have forty
five thousand square food in West Lake and sixty five
thousand square food in West Palm, and the concept is
puddling wellness. So in the West Pound facility, we're going
to have a gym and steam room, sauna and plunge pulls,
wow again restaurant. That's why I'm telling you that up
to four hours, you always have stuff to do. You
go to work out at the gym, you have your
(11:09):
cardio on the court, you go to the restaurant, you
have your meeting with your partners, or you know, like
you can have corporate events. You can actually consider this
venue as an event venue for any types of events.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Almost kind of like a we work, but with like,
you know, a sport to play.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
Yeah, and that's how they call it, or yeah, they
call it equinoques of puddle or lifetime of puddle. You know,
like that's yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
I love it. And so you play, I do? Okay?
Do you play competitively?
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (11:39):
I have one of my background. It seems like you
can pete pretty much and everything.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
You know Eastern European nature.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
Yes. I started playing five years ago in Miami. I
started playing tournaments. I'm still intermediate level, like beginner almost,
and I feel like it's more about the spirit and
good attitude on the court. You know, like as long
as you have a positive vetitude and that's a game
with your partner when you can, you know, communicate on
the court with each puddle player would tell you that
(12:10):
key's success is having a good partner and good communication
between two or you, and then that's where you can
kill it. You know that you could just go and.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Just doubles at Wimbledon or something like that. You're going
to have if they key off of each other and squad.
We're going to throw it to my good buddy Steve.
Our awesome sauce sponsor from Rise Mortgage to kind of
give you a market update, but when we come back,
I'm going to kind of go through the experience of
when someone walks in the door, how they're greeted, and
what they hope to take away from them. So Steve
(12:40):
take it away.
Speaker 4 (12:42):
Thanks Scott. Happy Saturday everyone. This is Steve Austin with
the Rise Mortgage Dynamic team with your mortgage market recap
for the week of October sixth. It was pretty much
a snowsfest this week in the market. With the government
shutdown without as much data for investors to make moves,
things weren't a small up and down window. The biggest
news this week came out Friday that the USBLs has
recalled a small amount of employees to be able to
(13:03):
get the CPI report for September finished ahead of the
Social Security and Fed timelines. The CPI inflation report is
a crucial piece of data for the Fed to make
their decisions on their policy position. It's likely not going
to be ready for its typical release date of October fifteenth,
but the fact that it will be available before the
end of the month is great news.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Good vibes.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
We stay on the same path with the data and
market to see continued relief and rates moving forward. That's
it for this week. Have a great weekend everyone. This
is Steve Austin, your branch manager and MLS seven six
two three two eight with the Rise Mortgage Dynamic Team
MLS one six zero four six sixty three and Equal
Housing Lender.
Speaker 5 (13:38):
Are you looking to finance your dream home, vacation getaway
or an investment property. The Rise Mortgage Dynamic Team and
Company is here to help. Steve Austin and his team.
They're expert loan advisors combine local knowledge with cutting edge
technology to make your financing process efficient and seamless. Whether
it's your first home or your next investment, trust Steve
(14:02):
Austin and the Rise Mortgage Dynamic Team and Company to
guide you every step of the way. Visit them today
and experience the perfect blend of technology and personal touch.
Steve Austin's Rise Mortgage Dynamic Team your local experts in
residential financing. Call Steve today at five six one three
five two ninety two seventy eight. That's five six one three,
(14:26):
five two nine two seven eight five six one three
five two nine two seven eight and MLS number one
six zero four six sixty three.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
Hey, Steve, thank you so much for the update. You
rock and thank you so much and blessed to have
you as a sponsor and so Irena. Tell us about
someone walks in, I mean some people might be intimidated,
you know kind of walk in. Are they greeted like,
tell give me a little walk through the experiences they
walk into excel Padel.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
We wanted to create that customer journey and one of
our design they actually built a house for the Wayne Johnson,
the guy, so when you come in, you will see
all those details that matter, you know. Entering the facility,
you can see our beautiful brush shop where you can
rent rackets and purchase some merchandise, you know, like you
all want to wear cool outfits when we go to
(15:19):
the gym. Right to show up on the court. This
is part of the experience restaurant. Has I already told
you amazing During the day, you can have your lunch,
you can have your dinner, you can have your business
meetings there and happy hours. Five to seven. Ten courts
in west Lake facility, which is huge and so far
as the largest nationwide and door facility. The opening second
(15:40):
one which has twelve courts, which is even we beat
ourselves and yeah, and the West Pound facility has a
gym like with actual weights where you can live weights.
It's not just a stretching area. It's like an actual gym.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
We have like a gym.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
Yeah, and sunny and plunge pulls and steam rooms and
PT services as well. We want to have massage, therapist
IV services, so anything wellness related it's going to be there.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Very cool. So mentioned that it can be a one off,
like you can kind of just go in and you
know the facility once or do you guys have membership
set up or like, how's that working?
Speaker 3 (16:20):
We have both and we made sure that people can
start playing easily, especially when people never played puddle. It
takes time to understand what it is, you know, and
you always can pay per play a ninety minute game
for people on the court. Easy to start anytime during
the day. You can book a court and we have
an app where you can just go and time.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Okay, and I saw that actually on the It's like,
what is the name of the app.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
It's Playtomic.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Yep, that's what I saw.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
Yeah, super easy. You just book the court, invite your friends.
You can split the cost for the court. And this
app so it's just superstructors there. Yes, we have professionals
and we're going to host leagues and tournaments and having
professional background. One of our partners is Marcus del Pilar.
(17:08):
He is like a big name on the market. They
called him god father of puddle in the United States,
and he has his own, let's say, academy. He had
certified coaches. So far, he certified one thousand coaches. Yes,
so we have like a very strong approach to the
education and we're making sure that we have a system
and people are trained and they know what puddle is,
(17:29):
you know, like this is the only way to deliver
this message of the excitement of the sport. And yeah,
having coaches, you can just book the game and get
the feel of the game and get educated. And then
you from tri puddle sessions as kind of initial introduction
to the puddle, you go to openplay where you can
(17:50):
meet people because it's a social game, and have what's
Up chat where you can interact with people and find
your level of player to play with. And then it's
all about the growing talk a little smack yeah yeah, yeah, yeah,
that's after the after the letch, it's usually who you
need to blame your partner. It's always your partner, Paul.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
So you know you've there's several kind of investment groups
that are kind of in this and I'm thinking that
best plumb is not your last stop. I think we're
going to expand right, like what is the kind of
the long term plans of excel it out right?
Speaker 3 (18:24):
And I appreciate my partners because we are moving smart.
You know, we very fine a validate numbers. First, it's
going to be the first year for us, and second
facility is going to be open in a month from now.
So we are watching the dynamics. We are watching how
city reacts. Obviously a lot of pickleball and tennis players
coming to Plate and it helps a lot to bring
(18:44):
the sport because they are familiar with racket sports and
door facility makes a huge difference for the Florida market.
So we don't have issues with the weather. We always open.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
Right and climate controlled and area yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
See yeah, And that's the coach. And as we go,
as we see that numbers are growing and we are
ready to open the second facility, like a third facility
at this point going to be open soon as well.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
So if we're fast forward the twenty thirty five, like
you know, ten years from now, Like what is your
kind of vision of plan and having all this community
that you're bringing together, right, so what are you seeing
in the next you know, one hundred and twenty months.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
The number of courts and number of players are growing,
and based on statistics and numbers that we look at,
you know, like on a monthly and yearly basis, we
can see that as of now, let's say we have
four hundred courts in Florida, it's going to double very soon.
We have around one hundred thousand players so far and
also like a prospective shows us that number is going
(19:48):
to grow tremendously. And in our case and our case
of our investment group, our five years plan is to
open ten facilities. But again we will talk in a
year from now, let you know where we are ually.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Like I'm a big believer in Inchpin incis a cent
right the art. It's hard, like if you try to
do too much, you're gonna fall in your face a
little bit with that, but so you know, squad out there,
like the highest ranked man American man is like twenty
and forty two, which is Lewis Estrada like, so let's
get the Americans out there, let's get him from the Yeah,
you know, so where did it what was it born? Like,
(20:22):
where did it, you know, come from?
Speaker 4 (20:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (20:24):
It came from Mexico in nineteen sixty nine.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
Yeah, it's huge in Argentina and Spain and majority of
professional players from You said about Louis Estrada, he's Venezuela.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
And right, Venezuela.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, so all this Latin cultures coming to
us then or something like that. He's American?
Speaker 1 (20:46):
Yeah, American? I thought he came here as well. Is
the American Americans American?
Speaker 3 (20:50):
Yeah, let's go yeah with that.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
So you know, like again, people that are pickleballs just
kind of literally exploded down here not too long ago. Right,
So are do you feel like you're in direct competition
with them or do you feel that there's ways that
you guys can you know, maybe play off of each
other a little bit?
Speaker 3 (21:14):
Yeah, And usually people ask us if we're going to
build pickable courts, and I'm where you want to st
for investorspeakable, it's not that. The feeling is it's very
hard to monetize the sport when you still have so
many courts for free, pickable courts for free. Yeah, and puddle. Yeah,
they consider puddle is an expensive sport comparing to playing
puddle in Spain. Let's say, and you pay like four
(21:36):
times less than you pay in the United States. Obviously,
people from Spain coming to us and they're like, oh wow,
that is expensive. But that's why it's so appealing for investors. Right,
you pay in our case forty dollars per ninety minute game.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
I'm sorry much for zero forty.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Dollars for ninety per person, right per person court. Yeah,
it's super approachable, you know, and obviously pickable is cheaper.
We do not consider pickaball as a competition because we
have different target audience. But also we have still so
many people that never played in your racket sport on
the market. That's why we're so welcoming other investment group
(22:12):
coming to Palm Beaches and build facilities. They're obviously going
to help us to build awareness about the sport. And
this is the key right now.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
I feel that if you keep it welcoming. This is
my just experience because I have played pickleball, you know,
and I play in the league with my partner's eighty six,
and he absolutely kills it, right. But when we're finding
out that a lot of the courts aren't welcoming, like
you go there and you have your bullies and you
have your stuff like that, I just it's part.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
Of the experience. You know, you need to do it
to blow a little bit, you know, it's part of it.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
I feel that as long as you guys keep it controlled,
like you said, because again, like I have with walking
distance from my house in Palm Beach guards, I probably
have twenty pickaball courts, right, So it's just like it's
I love that you're staying exclusive yet being opening and
inviting and providing in that professional atmosphere. And love that
you said about the modernization as well, that you know,
(23:05):
because you can go play pickaball anywhere. This is we
get them excited about. Is this something that could be
an Olympic sport one day?
Speaker 3 (23:11):
It's going to be. They are working hard for this
to become It's not going to be Olympic in La now,
but next to Olympic Games, yes you really?
Speaker 1 (23:19):
Yeah? Okay, how about like your guys is hosting some
big events because I'm sure there's like kind of like
you know, golf has the Masters and the US Open
and stuff like that. They have big events. Is you
as going to be a hub and maybe at your place.
Speaker 3 (23:32):
Palm Beach is going to be a hub and as
we are building two facilities with twenty two courts in general,
and we have two future courts which is professional courts
for hosting professional tournaments Invest Lake and four courts in
West Palm. We're working with different tennis associations and organizations
that are bringing tournaments to our facilities. And we have
(23:55):
the whole upcoming year kind of all tournaments lined up
that we're going to host at both facilities. And all
those professional players, big names on the market, you all
will see them at our facilities.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
I love in your role as a CEO. Are you
are you driving more of the growth and expanding these
companies or inviting you know, growth from outside or like
is it a mix of both? Like what is kind
of your situation of the CEO?
Speaker 3 (24:21):
Yeah, I was just speaking of another podcast and I
had a same question when people were asking me, you know,
how is it to be in a startup and growing
the sport that people still not familiar with. And I
can tell you, like everything that I learned in my
MBA education. When you need to plan, when you need
to strategize, when you need to verify a valid date numbers. First,
(24:42):
you don't have time. But this in startup world, you
basically learn as you go and you create your playbook
as you go. That's why you need to be super flexible,
super attentive to changes and change things fast adapt and
that's what we do. And my presence as the CEO
of the company, I'm like the day to day in
(25:03):
operations and making sure that employees are train, that they
know what the sport is that they all play, that
they all communicate the value of the sport that they
bring people in. Obviously, it's all about the customer service,
so I need to be present there. I'm big on
outreach and building relations with the city mayor chambers, sport
commissions and so on. But at the same time, I'm
(25:24):
coming back to the facility making sure that we operate
in the right way and we bring that value that
we have behind, like vision and mission of what we do.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
Love that. So I have a can question I ask
all my guests, right, so how does Irena want her dash?
Remember that little line in between your incarnation date and
your expiration date, your life date and that date. Hopefully
it's way down the line, right. But how because you're
such a giver, you know you're out there. I see
you also do volunteer and you take on a lot
of stuff. How do you want to be remembered to
(25:53):
this world?
Speaker 3 (25:54):
I feel like one of my personal mission is to
help people, and I can see how I help them
on a daily bit is bringing them to this community,
bringing this excitement because this is the lifestyle and I'm
having goosebumps right now. I deeply believe in this. This
is how I live my life. I know what kind
of lifestyle puddle bring into my daily schedule right Like
(26:16):
I'm staying active, I'm staying excited, I'm meeting new people,
I'm always on the move basically right. And this is
the type of life that I want to live. And
I want to be surrounded by people who are driven
and motivated the same way as I am. And it's
inspiring for me to build the community and see the outcome,
to see this excitement, to see this happy faces and
(26:40):
so many beautiful words like think you think you that
you are doing this and this is what I enjoyed
day by day, and that's how I see myself for
the future.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
It's what I love that about what Irena saying. She's
just legitly planting trees. She's never gonna sit in the
shade of and she's doing it from a place of service.
And those are the kind of people that we want
to be around, right And you know another thing, I've
noticed that she does it for the intention, not the attention.
She's not out there like look at me, look at me.
She's out there building businesses, providing a service where people
(27:10):
can come socially, gather and grow their lives together. So
before we leave, how can we find you?
Speaker 3 (27:16):
Two facilities West Lake and West Palm Beach Excel Padell.
Just google it and I'll meet you there.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
So it's it's x X X C E L the
A D E L. Is there a number that they
can reach out at all right now? Or is it
better just to go online or like what's.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
I would say that better to go online? But you
can always find me and Instagram and just reach out
to me directly.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
It's under Excel.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, And I'm always super responsive. We
have so many one on one meetings where we can
give you a tour and just be rady to wear
your sports shows and have fun on the court in.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
The West Palm Beach Facilities, November nineteenth. That's what we're
looking at, right, Okay, got you, and so they can
follow you either on the app or Instagram. Now the
app is for scheduling, right. Instagram is to kind of
follow the events start going in squad. I'll put that
in the show notes as well. And thank you so
much for coming on.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
Thank you so much for having me. I had lots
of fun.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Yay, thank you againing my good friend Kirstin Miller for
bringing her in, my producer Brian Mudd, WJ and O.
Everybody go out and have yourself a great days. Blubble up.
Are you ready to level up?
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Do you wish to live a life of options and
not obligations? You've gone to the right place. Thank you
for stopping on by to hear knowledge nuggets from Coach
Fergie and his top tier guest to help you lean
into your ultimate human potential.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Now let's level up with Coach Fergie. Hey Varsity Squad,
Welcome back to another powerful edition of level Up Conversations
with Coach Fergie with time to Shine Today Coaching. I'm
your host, Scott Ferguson, blessed to be your gap coach
specializing in performance mental conditioning, working with business leaders, entrepreneurs, entertainers, athletes,
c suite and students to help them bridge their success
gap to live a life of options and not obligations.
(00:38):
On this platform, we're stoked to bring you high performers
who are not just chasing and entertaining success, but redefining
it through providing above and beyond service. And for our
really quick coaching knowledge nugget this week's squad. A lot
of people are just They wait until something happens before
they jump in. They wait till it's safe before they
jump in. They wait until the trend has proven the
crowd is cheering and the risk is gone. That's not
(01:00):
how legacies are built. Early adopters they see potential before permission.
They lean into the unknown. They don't need guarantees, they
need a challenge. While others are waiting for validation, they're
already getting their reps in learning, adjusting, and stacking small wins.
Being an early adopter isn't about luck. It's about courage
wrapped in preparation. It's about betting on your vision when
no one else can see it. The world doesn't reward hesitation,
(01:22):
it rewards movement. Every big opportunity starts quietly. The future
always shows up disguised is something unfamiliar, and that's where
the few separate themselves from the many. So, whether it's
in business, sport, or life, stop waiting for the crowd.
Step into what feels new. Do it before it's popular,
Do it before it's easy. That's how you level up
and squad. Speaking of people who move before the crowd,
(01:45):
my guest's next guest, Irene Ruschek, is one of them.
We're diving into the hottest sport you've probably never heard
of or played yet. It's called padel, a mix of tennis,
rackaball and social connection that's exploding across Europe and Latin
America and now it's making major waves right here in
the US. Leading that charge is Arena, the powerhouse CEO
behind Excel Padel. She's not just growing a sport, She's
(02:07):
building a movement. With deep international experience in business marketing
and global expansion, Arena is bringing the world class vision
to create America's next obsession on the court. From forging
partnerships with top brands to helping investors catch the Padel
wave early, She's changing how people play, connect and compete.
So let's get ready. We're introducing you to the sport
(02:27):
of paddle, which I was pronouncing it paddle before, which
I love that it stands out. But Arena, thank you
so much for coming on. This is I'm a sports
not kind of guy, so this is like a lot
of fun for me. So what's something about you that
people might not know about that might surprise them a
little bit?
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Yeah, thank you so much for having me. Actually, Spanish
warst puddle and all the world calls it puddle, but
justin US they call it padel. And something about me
I used to do cross with it I used to
compete back home back to Ukraine. When I moved to
you five years ago in pandemic, I started playing puddle
and it became another one competitive way for me to
(03:07):
spend my free time. And also I figured playing puddle
in Miami that it's like an amazing networking opportunity and
majority of my business connections coming from puddle, right, So
that became like number one sports for me so far
as a hobby, this is something that I do in
my free time and as the business that I enjoy doing.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
So you know, for the listeners out there that like,
are hearing about paddle for the pedal for the first time,
So how do you describe it in a way that
would instantly get them interested.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Sure, it's a good mix of tennis and squash, so
we always play doubles. We have walls and you can
hit off the wall. Score is the same as in tennis,
and it's easy to start to always say hard to
master if you want to go professional, right, but as
long as you know how to hold the racket and
keep the ball in play in fifteen minutes, you're going
to have lots of fun.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
Right, Like your visionary I did a little deep dive
and you you've did a lot of marketing, You've helped
turn companies around, really kick butt out there, right, So
this is kind of a leap of faith for you
become the CEO of a company of a sport that's
really not known, right, that's out there. So how are
you shaping the vision for this company? Like what kind
of made you say, yeah, I'm going to go all
(04:17):
in on this and shape that vision.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Right.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Obviously, we've done our research and I was watching the
growth of bud in the United States for five years.
I've been living here for five years and Miami is
just booming. We have so many courts, so many facilities.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Oh in Miami, that's course of facilities.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Okay, It's like at least you can find ten different
investment groups that are growing the sport and new and
they started from Miami and just watching that, playing that
and understanding, you know, like this is the formula when
you do something that you love so much and never
feel any more like you work, right, And that's what
happened to me. And we knew that indoor facility is
(04:54):
going to succeed. And we were investigating the market and
target audience and the stand that so many pickleball and
tennis players are in Palm Beach County and founding West
Lake is a new city that is still growing, so
many new families building houses there, so basically this is
the only thing that they can do almost that way. Yeah,
(05:15):
I had been having a couple of gyms and puddle
like is the core activity for the city and Palm
Beach West Palm Beach facility that is going to be
open in November. It's also amazing spot for us. We
have around fifty thousand cars in front of our facility
daily and we also cover downtown and Barrington area, which
(05:36):
is kind of focused.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
If you're out west or even down on the coast,
you can catch it. And I'd love that you picked
Palm Beach because it reminds me of a sport this
kind of died alcohol highlight. Not how it's played, but
like it's just kind of like people were like really
into it. Yeah, and I remember going to it when
I was a kid. But this actually really piques my
interest because you know, I'm fifty three years old. My
knees are shot, you know, and it's something that I
(05:58):
can play because there's doubles right right, Okay.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
It's still competitive. Yeah, and again comparing with Dennis, I know,
a lot of people want to have a partner to
play whis to share excitement, you know, and having four
people on the court, it's always lots of fun. It's
like it's it's a fun cardio and it's community place
where people can hang out spend time together. You know,
like we have a restaurant where they can also have
(06:23):
fun and lots of other it's.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
Added the social dynamic. To my producer, Brian Mudd, We're
gonna have to double up some time ago, you know. So,
but with like where I'm sorry, where is it at
in West Palm Beach.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
It's close to Fairgrounds Southern Boulevards. Okay, yeah, it's a
huge excel Padel sign. It's hard to miss it, gotcha.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
And so you've worked internationally across kind of multiple industries, right, Like,
what kind of global lessons did you learn as you
kind of you're bringing this this it's not newsports because
around the world it's it's play, but bring the sport
into you know, the mainstream here in you know, a
hotbed of Miami Palm Beach. And so what kind of
lessons you're bringing forward from your global time right.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
So back to Ukraine, I was running business development for shopping,
more restaurants, hotels and sports clubs and moving countries. I
can see that community is the key key focus for
now building community, getting to know locals. Let's say my
first touch was west Lake was at the fourth of
July el when I was able to speak to locals
(07:30):
like I spoke to fifty people and I realized that
people don't know what puddle is. They played peopleble, they
played tennis, and I was like, okay, so this is
something new, something exciting for you guys, and what we
need to do. We need to get in touch with locals.
Mayor is the biggest advocate, Amer Connor, mayor of west Lake.
He got so excited about having these facilities. He's actually
(07:52):
calling this exactly what city needs, the sexist facility in
the city, which was so cool and yeah, and he
brings so much attention and starting learning the community, starting
understanding that was like a more family oriented community and
we should create that place to be for families to
hang out, when you can bring your wife, when you
(08:14):
can bring your kids, and there is something to do
for all of them. So I would say that that
experience is something crucial. You need to know who you're
working with, you need to know how to bring them in.
And we organized so many events, like last night, we
had a lattin night and we had lots of people
that our facility dancing, which is unusual. Right. We go
to the sports clubs so you can hang out, you
(08:36):
can play, you can go to the restaurant, you can dance,
you can have lots of fun. And I can tell
you that people can spend up to four hours at
our facility.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
I love that you know a good friend of mine
and you're near pr rep over here. Kirsten Miller that
introduced us, you know, she said that the restaurant there
is also kind of geared around the healthy, kind of
health wise as well. So you can go and go
in and socialize, eat a really good healthy and refuel
after you've sweated out a little bit.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Right, And this is the Mediterranean slow cuisine we brought.
He leave our restaurant partner from Miami. He has so
many years of experience. He was running restaurants in New York.
And I also understand that this is something unique for
this market and we don't have that many restaurants around
the facility. When we were in construction, I was always
looking where I can have lunch, and now it's the place,
(09:25):
and now people coming there and just like, oh god,
we never tried even chicken sandwich. It's so unique and
so special. Yeah, you actually try it, like I've never tried.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
So are you getting more like crowds of earlier in
the day or later at night? Is it like are
you finding like when are you finding time? Or really
people kind of come out because I'll tell you what.
I go to some gyms around here in Palm Beach
and it's like the people even work, they're packed at
like eleven am, right, So like, are you finding that
they're coming, you know, at all times of the date
(09:55):
of your facility in Westlake?
Speaker 3 (09:57):
Yes, So facility is open from seven am to ten
p every day. We have happy hours five to seven pm.
Also daily every day you can have happy hours at
our facility. We do have peak times and off peak times.
Usually people will play before work starting seven am up
to eleven or noon, okay depending what you do, and
(10:17):
they come back around four pm, five pm and up
to ten pm. They just have fun on the court.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
I love it and squid out there. It sounds like
a really fun way to get your exercise in. Plus
you get a partner. It's a two on two.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Kind of things set up, always doubles.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
Right, and then they're open now from seven am to
ten pm and the happy hour from five to seven pm.
So what do you think that your facility separates itself
from other kind of up and coming clubs that you
know might start popping up. What do you guys do different?
Speaker 3 (10:47):
First of all, way, I endure and we have forty
five thousand square food in West Lake and sixty five
thousand square food in West Palm, and the concept is
puddling wellness. So in the West Pound facility, we're going
to have a gym and steam room, sauna and plunge pulls,
wow again restaurant. That's why I'm telling you that up
to four hours, you always have stuff to do. You
go to work out at the gym, you have your
(11:09):
cardio on the court, you go to the restaurant, you
have your meeting with your partners, or you know, like
you can have corporate events. You can actually consider this
venue as an event venue for any types of events.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Almost kind of like a we work, but with like,
you know, a sport to play.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
Yeah, and that's how they call it, or yeah, they
call it equinoques of puddle or lifetime of puddle. You know,
like that's yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
I love it. And so you play, I do? Okay?
Do you play competitively?
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (11:39):
I have one of my background. It seems like you
can pete pretty much and everything.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
You know Eastern European nature.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
Yes. I started playing five years ago in Miami. I
started playing tournaments. I'm still intermediate level, like beginner almost,
and I feel like it's more about the spirit and
good attitude on the court. You know, like as long
as you have a positive vetitude and that's a game
with your partner when you can, you know, communicate on
the court with each puddle player would tell you that
(12:10):
key's success is having a good partner and good communication
between two or you, and then that's where you can
kill it. You know that you could just go and.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Just doubles at Wimbledon or something like that. You're going
to have if they key off of each other and squad.
We're going to throw it to my good buddy Steve.
Our awesome sauce sponsor from Rise Mortgage to kind of
give you a market update, but when we come back,
I'm going to kind of go through the experience of
when someone walks in the door, how they're greeted, and
what they hope to take away from them. So Steve
(12:40):
take it away.
Speaker 4 (12:42):
Thanks Scott. Happy Saturday everyone. This is Steve Austin with
the Rise Mortgage Dynamic team with your mortgage market recap
for the week of October sixth. It was pretty much
a snowsfest this week in the market. With the government
shutdown without as much data for investors to make moves,
things weren't a small up and down window. The biggest
news this week came out Friday that the USBLs has
recalled a small amount of employees to be able to
(13:03):
get the CPI report for September finished ahead of the
Social Security and Fed timelines. The CPI inflation report is
a crucial piece of data for the Fed to make
their decisions on their policy position. It's likely not going
to be ready for its typical release date of October fifteenth,
but the fact that it will be available before the
end of the month is great news.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Good vibes.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
We stay on the same path with the data and
market to see continued relief and rates moving forward. That's
it for this week. Have a great weekend everyone. This
is Steve Austin, your branch manager and MLS seven six
two three two eight with the Rise Mortgage Dynamic Team
MLS one six zero four six sixty three and Equal
Housing Lender.
Speaker 5 (13:38):
Are you looking to finance your dream home, vacation getaway
or an investment property. The Rise Mortgage Dynamic Team and
Company is here to help. Steve Austin and his team.
They're expert loan advisors combine local knowledge with cutting edge
technology to make your financing process efficient and seamless. Whether
it's your first home or your next investment, trust Steve
(14:02):
Austin and the Rise Mortgage Dynamic Team and Company to
guide you every step of the way. Visit them today
and experience the perfect blend of technology and personal touch.
Steve Austin's Rise Mortgage Dynamic Team your local experts in
residential financing. Call Steve today at five six one three
five two ninety two seventy eight. That's five six one three,
(14:26):
five two nine two seven eight five six one three
five two nine two seven eight and MLS number one
six zero four six sixty three.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
Hey, Steve, thank you so much for the update. You
rock and thank you so much and blessed to have
you as a sponsor and so Irena. Tell us about
someone walks in, I mean some people might be intimidated,
you know kind of walk in. Are they greeted like,
tell give me a little walk through the experiences they
walk into excel Padel.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
We wanted to create that customer journey and one of
our design they actually built a house for the Wayne Johnson,
the guy, so when you come in, you will see
all those details that matter, you know. Entering the facility,
you can see our beautiful brush shop where you can
rent rackets and purchase some merchandise, you know, like you
all want to wear cool outfits when we go to
(15:19):
the gym. Right to show up on the court. This
is part of the experience restaurant. Has I already told
you amazing During the day, you can have your lunch,
you can have your dinner, you can have your business
meetings there and happy hours. Five to seven. Ten courts
in west Lake facility, which is huge and so far
as the largest nationwide and door facility. The opening second
(15:40):
one which has twelve courts, which is even we beat
ourselves and yeah, and the West Pound facility has a
gym like with actual weights where you can live weights.
It's not just a stretching area. It's like an actual gym.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
We have like a gym.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
Yeah, and sunny and plunge pulls and steam rooms and
PT services as well. We want to have massage, therapist
IV services, so anything wellness related it's going to be there.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Very cool. So mentioned that it can be a one off,
like you can kind of just go in and you
know the facility once or do you guys have membership
set up or like, how's that working?
Speaker 3 (16:20):
We have both and we made sure that people can
start playing easily, especially when people never played puddle. It
takes time to understand what it is, you know, and
you always can pay per play a ninety minute game
for people on the court. Easy to start anytime during
the day. You can book a court and we have
an app where you can just go and time.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Okay, and I saw that actually on the It's like,
what is the name of the app.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
It's Playtomic.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Yep, that's what I saw.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
Yeah, super easy. You just book the court, invite your friends.
You can split the cost for the court. And this
app so it's just superstructors there. Yes, we have professionals
and we're going to host leagues and tournaments and having
professional background. One of our partners is Marcus del Pilar.
(17:08):
He is like a big name on the market. They
called him god father of puddle in the United States,
and he has his own, let's say, academy. He had
certified coaches. So far, he certified one thousand coaches. Yes,
so we have like a very strong approach to the
education and we're making sure that we have a system
and people are trained and they know what puddle is,
(17:29):
you know, like this is the only way to deliver
this message of the excitement of the sport. And yeah,
having coaches, you can just book the game and get
the feel of the game and get educated. And then
you from tri puddle sessions as kind of initial introduction
to the puddle, you go to openplay where you can
(17:50):
meet people because it's a social game, and have what's
Up chat where you can interact with people and find
your level of player to play with. And then it's
all about the growing talk a little smack yeah yeah, yeah, yeah,
that's after the after the letch, it's usually who you
need to blame your partner. It's always your partner, Paul.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
So you know you've there's several kind of investment groups
that are kind of in this and I'm thinking that
best plumb is not your last stop. I think we're
going to expand right, like what is the kind of
the long term plans of excel it out right?
Speaker 3 (18:24):
And I appreciate my partners because we are moving smart.
You know, we very fine a validate numbers. First, it's
going to be the first year for us, and second
facility is going to be open in a month from now.
So we are watching the dynamics. We are watching how
city reacts. Obviously a lot of pickleball and tennis players
coming to Plate and it helps a lot to bring
(18:44):
the sport because they are familiar with racket sports and
door facility makes a huge difference for the Florida market.
So we don't have issues with the weather. We always open.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
Right and climate controlled and area yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
See yeah, And that's the coach. And as we go,
as we see that numbers are growing and we are
ready to open the second facility, like a third facility
at this point going to be open soon as well.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
So if we're fast forward the twenty thirty five, like
you know, ten years from now, Like what is your
kind of vision of plan and having all this community
that you're bringing together, right, so what are you seeing
in the next you know, one hundred and twenty months.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
The number of courts and number of players are growing,
and based on statistics and numbers that we look at,
you know, like on a monthly and yearly basis, we
can see that as of now, let's say we have
four hundred courts in Florida, it's going to double very soon.
We have around one hundred thousand players so far and
also like a prospective shows us that number is going
(19:48):
to grow tremendously. And in our case and our case
of our investment group, our five years plan is to
open ten facilities. But again we will talk in a
year from now, let you know where we are ually.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Like I'm a big believer in Inchpin incis a cent
right the art. It's hard, like if you try to
do too much, you're gonna fall in your face a
little bit with that, but so you know, squad out there,
like the highest ranked man American man is like twenty
and forty two, which is Lewis Estrada like, so let's
get the Americans out there, let's get him from the Yeah,
you know, so where did it what was it born? Like,
(20:22):
where did it, you know, come from?
Speaker 4 (20:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (20:24):
It came from Mexico in nineteen sixty nine.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
Yeah, it's huge in Argentina and Spain and majority of
professional players from You said about Louis Estrada, he's Venezuela.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
And right, Venezuela.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, so all this Latin cultures coming to
us then or something like that. He's American?
Speaker 1 (20:46):
Yeah, American? I thought he came here as well. Is
the American Americans American?
Speaker 3 (20:50):
Yeah, let's go yeah with that.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
So you know, like again, people that are pickleballs just
kind of literally exploded down here not too long ago. Right,
So are do you feel like you're in direct competition
with them or do you feel that there's ways that
you guys can you know, maybe play off of each
other a little bit?
Speaker 3 (21:14):
Yeah, And usually people ask us if we're going to
build pickable courts, and I'm where you want to st
for investorspeakable, it's not that. The feeling is it's very
hard to monetize the sport when you still have so
many courts for free, pickable courts for free. Yeah, and puddle. Yeah,
they consider puddle is an expensive sport comparing to playing
puddle in Spain. Let's say, and you pay like four
(21:36):
times less than you pay in the United States. Obviously,
people from Spain coming to us and they're like, oh wow,
that is expensive. But that's why it's so appealing for investors. Right,
you pay in our case forty dollars per ninety minute game.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
I'm sorry much for zero forty.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Dollars for ninety per person, right per person court. Yeah,
it's super approachable, you know, and obviously pickable is cheaper.
We do not consider pickaball as a competition because we
have different target audience. But also we have still so
many people that never played in your racket sport on
the market. That's why we're so welcoming other investment group
(22:12):
coming to Palm Beaches and build facilities. They're obviously going
to help us to build awareness about the sport. And
this is the key right now.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
I feel that if you keep it welcoming. This is
my just experience because I have played pickleball, you know,
and I play in the league with my partner's eighty six,
and he absolutely kills it, right. But when we're finding
out that a lot of the courts aren't welcoming, like
you go there and you have your bullies and you
have your stuff like that, I just it's part.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
Of the experience. You know, you need to do it
to blow a little bit, you know, it's part of it.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
I feel that as long as you guys keep it controlled,
like you said, because again, like I have with walking
distance from my house in Palm Beach guards, I probably
have twenty pickaball courts, right, So it's just like it's
I love that you're staying exclusive yet being opening and
inviting and providing in that professional atmosphere. And love that
you said about the modernization as well, that you know,
(23:05):
because you can go play pickaball anywhere. This is we
get them excited about. Is this something that could be
an Olympic sport one day?
Speaker 3 (23:11):
It's going to be. They are working hard for this
to become It's not going to be Olympic in La now,
but next to Olympic Games, yes you really?
Speaker 1 (23:19):
Yeah? Okay, how about like your guys is hosting some
big events because I'm sure there's like kind of like
you know, golf has the Masters and the US Open
and stuff like that. They have big events. Is you
as going to be a hub and maybe at your place.
Speaker 3 (23:32):
Palm Beach is going to be a hub and as
we are building two facilities with twenty two courts in general,
and we have two future courts which is professional courts
for hosting professional tournaments Invest Lake and four courts in
West Palm. We're working with different tennis associations and organizations
that are bringing tournaments to our facilities. And we have
(23:55):
the whole upcoming year kind of all tournaments lined up
that we're going to host at both facilities. And all
those professional players, big names on the market, you all
will see them at our facilities.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
I love in your role as a CEO. Are you
are you driving more of the growth and expanding these
companies or inviting you know, growth from outside or like
is it a mix of both? Like what is kind
of your situation of the CEO?
Speaker 3 (24:21):
Yeah, I was just speaking of another podcast and I
had a same question when people were asking me, you know,
how is it to be in a startup and growing
the sport that people still not familiar with. And I
can tell you, like everything that I learned in my
MBA education. When you need to plan, when you need
to strategize, when you need to verify a valid date numbers. First,
(24:42):
you don't have time. But this in startup world, you
basically learn as you go and you create your playbook
as you go. That's why you need to be super flexible,
super attentive to changes and change things fast adapt and
that's what we do. And my presence as the CEO
of the company, I'm like the day to day in
(25:03):
operations and making sure that employees are train, that they
know what the sport is that they all play, that
they all communicate the value of the sport that they
bring people in. Obviously, it's all about the customer service,
so I need to be present there. I'm big on
outreach and building relations with the city mayor chambers, sport
commissions and so on. But at the same time, I'm
(25:24):
coming back to the facility making sure that we operate
in the right way and we bring that value that
we have behind, like vision and mission of what we do.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
Love that. So I have a can question I ask
all my guests, right, so how does Irena want her dash?
Remember that little line in between your incarnation date and
your expiration date, your life date and that date. Hopefully
it's way down the line, right. But how because you're
such a giver, you know you're out there. I see
you also do volunteer and you take on a lot
of stuff. How do you want to be remembered to
(25:53):
this world?
Speaker 3 (25:54):
I feel like one of my personal mission is to
help people, and I can see how I help them
on a daily bit is bringing them to this community,
bringing this excitement because this is the lifestyle and I'm
having goosebumps right now. I deeply believe in this. This
is how I live my life. I know what kind
of lifestyle puddle bring into my daily schedule right Like
(26:16):
I'm staying active, I'm staying excited, I'm meeting new people,
I'm always on the move basically right. And this is
the type of life that I want to live. And
I want to be surrounded by people who are driven
and motivated the same way as I am. And it's
inspiring for me to build the community and see the outcome,
to see this excitement, to see this happy faces and
(26:40):
so many beautiful words like think you think you that
you are doing this and this is what I enjoyed
day by day, and that's how I see myself for
the future.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
It's what I love that about what Irena saying. She's
just legitly planting trees. She's never gonna sit in the
shade of and she's doing it from a place of service.
And those are the kind of people that we want
to be around, right And you know another thing, I've
noticed that she does it for the intention, not the attention.
She's not out there like look at me, look at me.
She's out there building businesses, providing a service where people
(27:10):
can come socially, gather and grow their lives together. So
before we leave, how can we find you?
Speaker 3 (27:16):
Two facilities West Lake and West Palm Beach Excel Padell.
Just google it and I'll meet you there.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
So it's it's x X X C E L the
A D E L. Is there a number that they
can reach out at all right now? Or is it
better just to go online or like what's.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
I would say that better to go online? But you
can always find me and Instagram and just reach out
to me directly.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
It's under Excel.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, And I'm always super responsive. We
have so many one on one meetings where we can
give you a tour and just be rady to wear
your sports shows and have fun on the court in.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
The West Palm Beach Facilities, November nineteenth. That's what we're
looking at, right, Okay, got you, and so they can
follow you either on the app or Instagram. Now the
app is for scheduling, right. Instagram is to kind of
follow the events start going in squad. I'll put that
in the show notes as well. And thank you so
much for coming on.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
Thank you so much for having me. I had lots
of fun.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Yay, thank you againing my good friend Kirstin Miller for
bringing her in, my producer Brian Mudd, WJ and O.
Everybody go out and have yourself a great days. Blubble up.
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