Starve the Ego Feed the Soul
Starve the Ego Feed the Soul
Finding Connection and Community: DJ Young’s Journey From Troubled Kid to Pickleball Professional
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What if you could find serenity and strength in the chaos of modern life through a simple game? Meet DJ Young, a 24 year old professional pickleball player who moved from Spain to the United States, overcoming cultural and language barriers to find success and community in this rapidly growing sport. Discover how pickleball has not only transformed DJ's life but also how it offers a powerful antidote to isolation, anxiety, and the challenges of today's fast-paced world.
We share DJ's compelling journey from his early days in Spain to his struggles as a teenager in Oceanside, California. Hear about the anger and isolation he faced and how finding pickleball at 18 became a turning point, channeling his energy into something positive. Through DJ’s story and personal reflections, we highlight the transformative potential of sports for personal development. You'll hear how pickleball brings people together across generations, offering structure, competition, and joy, even during times of adversity and recovery.
Balancing professional pursuits with personal growth, we explore DJ's experience of becoming a father and how it reshaped his outlook on life. We delve into the unique challenges of maintaining top athletic performance while navigating the responsibilities of parenthood and building a supportive community. From starting a pickleball podcast to sharing genuine conversations with notable figures in the sport, this episode is a heartfelt recommendation to pick up a paddle and experience the incredible benefits of pickleball firsthand. Tune in to understand how this sport can enrich your life and help you build meaningful connections.
Warmly,
Nico Barraza
@FeedTheSoulNB
www.nicobarraza.com
Keep pushing, keep pushing, keep pushing. And I need you to be a minister for a moment and find somebody sitting in your general vicinity. Look them dead in the eyes if they owe you $20, and tell them neighbor, whatever you do, keep pushing, keep pushing, keep pushing, keep pushing, keep pushing. It's hard to keep pushing in the world that we're living in right now. How is one supposed to find serenity and sanity and strength in the world we live in right now?
Speaker 2:I keep pushing on in love with this sport. For so many reasons. It sort of saved me from, you know, going through all these surgeries and really having my arm wrecked by these surgeons and people ask me how to put pickleball ball. I'm in pain all the time. Obviously, you know I'm recovering from my fifth surgery now, but it really just allowed me to have something to work out again. You know, as an athlete and it's a type A person my whole life I need things to focus on. It just keeps me sane, it gives routine right and I need things to be competitive at because I just I love that. I love that part of life.
Speaker 2:I found Pickleball right at the end of September in 2023 and quickly got humbled by a couple of 70, 80 year olds. It's everyone's story, you know. You go out there thinking you're hot shit and an athlete and they just pummel you and they pickle you and I just fell in love with it and now playing at a much higher level and have made a bunch of wonderful friends, connected with a lot of great people as well too and there's assholes in pickleball too, just like every other sport but I've met a lot of awesome human beings and, yeah, it's just brought a lot of joy into my life and so many of my clients and people that come work with me as a counselor on a lot of different things, especially after a certain age, when you're out of college and you're in your 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and, let's say, you're single, or even if you're trying to do anything with your partner or your spouse a lot of people are like how do I build community If I don't want to go to church or if I don't want to practice religion? How do I build community? And that's one thing. This is why pickleball is blowing up. It's the fastest growing sport in the country right now. It will be the fastest growing sport in the world, right after paddle. Pretty soon, too, it will be an Olympic sport. It will be a D1 sport, but it's growing so fast not just because the sport is super fun and addicting, but it's because you can build a family and connect with people.
Speaker 2:You can take your paddle, fly anywhere in the US right now and find a court and just meet tons of people, right? People that you can connect with, people that you don't want to connect with, people that you want to stay away from, but you'll meet friends. You'll meet friends of every age group. I mean it's a cross-generational sport. That's incredible and really it's an antidote for a lot of the diseases we're facing, whether it be depression, diabetes, anxiety, all these mental health things. Right, isolation I mean we live in the age quote unquote of connection with these cell phones. Dude, these things aren't worth shit everybody. These things are disconnecting us.
Speaker 2:Get your face out of your screen and go play some pickleball. You will meet some actual friends, not just Instagram friends. You know, and be open, right, be humble. Go out there, learn Like, whether you're super athletic or not, it doesn't matter, just go. You'll find someone. You'll find people to play at your level with. Start there and keep going up.
Speaker 2:Work on yourself, work on your game. It gives you something to work at. It also is a great exercise. You'd be surprised. The court's not big, but even in doubles, if you wear a step counter or an Apple watch or something like that, you'll move around a lot. It's super surprising. If I go out and play two hours of hard, high-level pickleball, I'll probably take 20,000 steps, 30,000 steps. If I go play singles pickleball oh my God, singles pickleball you actually take more steps than singles tennis, believe it or not, it's literally more aerobically hard, which is crazy. They've done some studies on this already.
Speaker 2:So we're going to talk about pickleball in this episode, but it's really focused on DJ's upbringing, growing up in Spain, coming to the US right before high school and how that transition, how he experienced racism and a bunch of stuff that went on in his younger years and how he came to that adversity. And now, when I interviewed him, he's 24, and he's crushing it, making solid money as a professional pickleball player, and it's a really intriguing story. It's a really relevant story, specifically for this day and age. But before we get into the story, I want to let you all know that I don't really run ads on this show, but there's two pickleball companies that are incredible that they've been supportive to me since I've started this sort of what is it? Because it's not a career, but this obsession with pickleball and one is obsession with pickleball and one is paddle tech.
Speaker 2:So I use paddle tech, paddles and primarily Annalie Waters paddle. She's like been the. She's the best pickleball player in the world, by far Um best female player, but literally the best all around player in the world, and the girl is just like the fucking best and, uh, I love their paddles. They last forever, uh, and if you start playing pickleball, you will need to get a paddle. The cool thing about paddle tech is they have a bunch of different levels of paddle, whether you want to spend, you know, like not that much money, like you know a few bucks, or if you want to spend a couple hundred bucks, um, and get you know a really nice one that's going to last longer. But, uh, I recommend getting one of their paddles. They're they're super stable, they last.
Speaker 2:There's, you know, sizes and shapes for everybody, depending on your weight, that you want to play with. And as you get into this, you'll realize how people customize their paddles with using lead tape and all this other stuff people do. You'll get you'll just get super into it, trust me. And you'll be watching Pickleball FX reviews and John Q's reviews just like I do, and all this, all this other geeky, nerdy paddle shit. Shout out to my dude Braden for Pickleball FX.
Speaker 2:The guys do an awesome work, but they gave me a little discount code, uh. So if you go on PaddleTech's web website, you can use NICO 10 and it's all caps, n-i-c-o and just 10. So one zero, uh, and that'll get you 10% off, um, any anything on their website. So they sell gear, they sell bags, they sell, obviously, paddles. But you're going to need to get yourself a paddle. Um, do your research, obviously, before you order, see what's good for you. Go demo some if you can, but you can't really go wrong with PaddleTech's paddles. They have a new one coming out pretty soon too, the ESQ. That's supposed to be pretty dope. But yeah, go get yourself a paddle, just go buy one.
Speaker 2:Go to a court, go play pickleball, make some friends and then come back and tell me how happy you are. For real, I want to hear. I want to hear, like, go play for a week or two, cause it's frustrating the first week You're gonna be like this shit sucks, right, I suck. What the fuck? What is a drop? What is a dink? Like I just want to hit the crap out of the ball. Uh, you know, but if you're, you'll get better and you start watching the game and it's even even game.
Speaker 2:Now, one thing that I wish is I hope it gets quieter. I hope that quiet paddles become more of a thing, because that's the biggest hurdle right now building it in neighborhoods, that the game is super damn loud, like I think the paddle face should be rubber like more like a ping pong paddle face with more spin, and we can, we don't? That's a whole tech geeky thing that I'm into. But I think that you know, as the game becomes quieter it'll be even more enjoyable. It'll be even more sort of sound like tennis. But it's never going to be tennis, it's pickleball. It's a different game. Now, the name's silly. I used to have a problem with it for a while. Like pickleball really, guys, come on, americans could be coming with a better name, you know like. But hey, it is what it is, man, we're the pickle people. So we NICO10, n-i-c-o, one zero, all caps for 10% off anything on the PaddleTech website.
Speaker 2:Get yourself some PaddleTech paddles. And the other company that I've been working with is this company called Slice, and they're out of Phoenix, arizona, david shout out to David and his family who just they own this manufacturing place that does a lot of aluminum and steel and all this like fabricated metal work. They sort of started in different industries. They were in the horse industry for a while, which they still are, and David is a pickleball player and he started to make these weighted butt caps, basically the end of your handle of the pickleball paddle. And, as I said, you're going to get into customizing your paddle, but these things are, I mean, so many pros are playing with them. Now I play with one. It really does help balance the paddle out a little bit. It just puts way more weight at the end of your paddle, so it lowers the balance point and so it makes your paddle easier to swing and more stable too, but it also gives you more plow through through the ball as you swing. If you don't understand all this stuff, just go play with a stock paddle a little bit and you'll you'll figure it out. But these things are really cheap. They're like 20 bucks and it lasts forever. It's metal, so, like you can transfer it from one paddle to the next, you really only need to buy one or two, depending on how many paddles you have, but you, just you take care of them even better. But Slice, pickleball go check them out. That's S-L-Y-C-E. And they gave me a code too. It's a different code. It's FEEDTHESOUL10, capital F. So FEEDTHESOUL10, 10% off all your Slice stuff. I use this on all my paddles. Again, huge shout out to Slice stuff. I use this on all my paddles. Again, huge shout out to Slice and David for hooking us up with this discount code. And again, I don't really promote stuff on the show. Guys, both these companies are amazing to work with. They're doing great things in the community, they're giving back, they're just great people. And so if you get a PaddleTech paddle and you get a Slice cap for that PaddleTech paddle, this show will get a small little kickback. But also you'll get a discount and you'll have some rad gear and you'll go out there and get better and improve and hone the skills. And ultimately, the reason I wanted to have a pickleball or a couple of pickleball episodes is really because of the community. No, I'm not kidding.
Speaker 2:If you are feeling lonely, if you are feeling lonely, if you're feeling disconnected, if you're feeling down, go play pickleball. Get out there, just go play. Go find a core. Yeah, it's going to be nerve wracking. You're going to be a little scared at first, whether you're an athlete or not, or unathletic or overweight or out of shape or in super shape, it doesn't matter. Like, you'll find friends, you'll be accepted and you'll have some games to run and you'll just get better in all aspects and practice your mental health out there too, because there could be some people you'll get around that are really unhealthy and they're there just enacting their childhood trauma. But you don't have to be around those people, right? Pick who you play with, and also the location makes a big difference. Not every club, not every court has good vibes or good energy. Make sure you figure out where, where those people are playing at, and go, go out there, and you will make a family. You will bring it together.
Speaker 2:So, um, all right, that was a really long intro. Uh, without, without further ado, I want to get into the episode with Mr DJ Young. Uh, I hope you all enjoy and thank you so much for being here and I'll see you on the pickleball courts. Dj Young, thank you so much, brother, for joining me on the star of the ego feed the soul podcast. I had the pleasure of coming on your show conversation, conversations with dj just about a month ago, was able to meet you connected instantaneously. I could not believe you're only 24 years old like you carry yourself so well. You know you've done a lot already in your own life. I'm happy to have you on my show and we're going to get into some, some deep parts of yourself.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I do. Thanks for the first and foremost, a quick shout out to my podcast and thanks for coming on. And yeah, dude, like you said, it was a supernatural reaction. Just got along well, really well, and you know it's got out there play some pickleball, got some coffee and here we are just good friends.
Speaker 2:Absolutely there, play some pickleball, got some coffee and here we are just good friends. Absolutely, bro, thank you. Thank you so much, and yeah, we'll talk a little bit more about your show at the end so we can we can get people to tune into that too, because you're doing some awesome things. They're interviewing some very, some, very awesome people in the pickleball space and having some good conversations. I definitely tune in, tune in weekly too. So let's start off with this, like for people that don't know who you are, you know, I want you to give us a run. I mean, you're one of the best pickle players in the in the world right now. And so for people a lot of people know what that sport is, and people that don't, you know, tell me a little bit about, like, like your, your background. You know, like, where did you grow up? You know where do you come from? I know you, you grew up in Spain a little bit and then you you were raised kind of in Southern California. But give me, come from, yeah for sure.
Speaker 3:So, my, you know I go by dj, uh, dj young. I actually have two last names instead of a middle name, so it's uh, dj young, essenzio, but they don't use that out here in the us. Um, that's it. My first name is actually darian, uh, for the people that don't know, you know, but in the pickleball world I'm known as dj, so darren jr. And yeah, I was born and raised in sp, born in 2000. I'm 24 now.
Speaker 3:Moved to the US when I was 13. Basically, from you know, four to 13, played a lot of tennis, quite a bit of soccer kind of, with the friends, but, you know, mostly trained tennis, right. And at 13, my parents decided that it was best to, you know, for the whole family to move to the US due to the uh, I think it's called crisis, um, you know, in spain and in europe, and so we ended up moving to california and san diego. So the first place that we went to was, uh, oceanside and we lived there, uh, in a house, for like x amount of years. Uh went to middle school for the eighth grade there, then did uh high school, skipped on college because of pickleball, basically. And yeah, dude, here I am. I didn't speak any english whatsoever, so I I pride myself a little bit in, uh, my ability to do so now.
Speaker 2:So dude love it. I mean, your english is, obviously, but you're american, but it's like it's funny, because we were talking about, uh, fed federico, who's a who's a pro pickleball player, when he was, you know, saying that shit on the court, um, when he was playing jack sock and you were kind of poking at him a little bit when he said, hey man, stop talking shit you know talking shit man, that was that that made me laugh so hard, dude.
Speaker 2:That was great. So one of the things we connected on is kind of our upbringing. You know you you had mentioned before you got into pickleball. You know, uh, you were having some times, maybe in in in middle school and in high school where you were getting in fights, maybe hanging out with the wrong crowd, like talk to me a little bit about like, like younger DJ, I know you're only 24, but like, so this wasn't that much long, much longer ago, but like, how was that? Like how, like how are you as an adolescent, as a child? You know how did you get into, you know who you are today.
Speaker 3:Yeah for sure. So I mean kind of like growing up, honestly, like between, like you know, four and maybe like 10 or so, I was kind of like a kind of chubby, like chubby and short, no-transcript. Basically I was just a completely normal kid. You know, I think in spain it's kind of normal to just kind of get into fights. I know it's not very normal here, um, but in spain it is, and that's just kind of what you do. There's like no guns, so you're not, you know, threatened by being shot or whatever, because you're are in a disagreement with a, with a friend, right. When spain you get into disagreement, you fight, then you shake hands, you go back to class, right.
Speaker 3:So that's kind of how it worked for us so I got a lot into a lot of fights there and then when I ended up moving to the U? S and especially, like you know, the first year that I was here was eighth grade I was I was dealing with a lot of just kind of like anger inside of me, basically, and just kind of like, oh, like all my friends are back there, like I missed it on my life, like my 10 is there, I'm going to speak English. Like people are making fun of me because of how I speak, you know English. Like people are making fun of me because of how I speak. Uh, you know, I didn't, you know, probably saying I mean, I don't know them, but probably saying things behind my back and all these things. And so it was.
Speaker 3:It was tough to make friends, you know. And then a lot of the people that you try to connect with like it's already very difficult, first of all because of the language barrier, um, and secondly because I'm like I'm not right, so I don't know if that's, if that has anything to do with it. I'm European and so a lot of the maybe morals, values, things like that, especially growing up like everyone's so different, right, so being a 13 year old that doesn't speak the language, in a brand new country where everything's bigger, everything's crazier. Um, and then you know, just like not really knowing how to connect with these people because I don't know how they act, I don't, I don't even know what they're saying, right? And then you know me saying something or trying to speak, and then somebody like shutting me off and making fun of what I'm saying, things like that, like it just built up a lot of anger in me.
Speaker 3:So, um, you know also coming back from you know the fact that I was missing my friends, my family and all this stuff from Spain as well. And yeah, I just got into a lot of fights, got into, you know, basically getting suspended, quite often lying a lot, like you know, like I remember one time, like I was literally on my phone and then the student sorry, the teacher came and she was like like Darren, give me your phone and I'm like 13, right, and I'm like what are you going to do to like to like a teacher, you know, and I'm like 13. Um, and I just put it back in my pocket and she's like well, you're going here.
Speaker 1:So it was, it was just everything.
Speaker 3:It was like anger back then and then around. Uh, actually, the time that I found Pickleball at 18 is when I started to come down a little bit.
Speaker 2:That's interesting, so really rebellious, you know, I think, at a young age, like, where do you talk about this anger? Where do you think this anger really originated from? Like, was it someone with your family? Was it really just because you're in this new environment where you know, like, obviously, like being at that age, like you know our, our egos are playing these different roles and you know when people are picking on you or you know making you feel like shit or sort of just like making you feel bad for who you are, where you come from, how you speak the language. Right, like you, if you brought up, was it that? Like, where did the anger come from?
Speaker 3:I actually I mean it's hard to pinpoint, right, but I cause I don't think anything is. It's kind of the way that I view life right, like if, if you're, if your wrist hurts, right, a lot of the times it's like from a elbow thing that you had a shoulder injury from right, so it's like always kind of connected to something right. So the way that I view it is like I don't think there was just one reason. I think it was like a lot of, you know, people making fun of me, me being frustrated not being able to speak English, not being able to like understand anything that I'm reading or saying or listening to. You know, missing my family back at home, my friends back at home, right. And then, obviously, like you have social media, even back then you're texting them, everyone's having fun and you're just like what the fuck is going on here Like like hello, how are you Like what you know?
Speaker 3:And then, and then you know some stuff. Like I mean, my parents are amazing and they've always done the best thing they could do, uh, for me and my siblings. But back then, like the way it is in your mind is like, oh, they took me away from my friends, right, you know? And now I'm visiting, I'm in this country and I don't know where I'm gonna see my friends. I think it was like a little bit of everything, a lot of uh, probably a lot of, like you know, victimism and stuff like that too. Uh, yeah, but yeah, I couldn't pinpoint like one thing. You know, I had to like get down. I think it was like a bunch of like different things just kind of coming in together.
Speaker 2:That's a great answer. I mean I can relate to that too. The interesting thing you brought up social media. I didn't grow up in the like in the time when social media was in my hands, when I was in high school. I didn't really get a smartphone until I was out of college. So for you to sort of still grow up in that environment like you, bring up how social media affected you and kind of gave you like that, that FOMO almost about your friends you know being back home and you missing that environment, like do you, how do you think social media at that point like affected your mental health and the way you related and viewed the world in the U S?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I would say so to be honest with you.
Speaker 3:I don't I don't remember which social media and stuff, like you know it kind of was happening, but there was this really uh popular one in spain specifically called 20 and that was like a facebook, basically, right, and that's what, like the younger people used, uh, in spain a lot, uh, you know whether it was like posting or test texting, whatever, and so you know, you're just doing life whatever, and I have this like samsung galaxy 3 or whatever, it was mini, and then all I'm seeing is, like you know, my friends hanging out and having fun and and doing all these like crazy things at 13 and I'm and I'm stuck in this like uh country where I don't speak the language and I don't have any friends, right, so it's just a lot of like built up, like like what is going on, like what's, what's it going to be of my life, right, and and I think it's really hard for everybody, you know, even if you, even if you just get sick, right, like you're thinking of like worst possible scenario a lot of the times right after that, when realistically, it might just be like your throat hurts, yeah, but you're like, well, I think I have something wrong with my neck, right.
Speaker 3:It's like it's one of those things on my head at the time. It was like, like you know, I'm gonna be stuck here, I'm never gonna learn the language, I'm never gonna have any friends and I'll be like this as a 13 year old. That really matters, right, absolutely um. So yeah, it was just kind of one of those things where everything kind of built up in me and I started just uh, you know, um, yeah, he's doing rebellious.
Speaker 2:You had to navigate it right, and that was the way you navigate. Respond anger, I mean I. I understand that in in similar context. So, like, did you know no english when you moved to the us? Like I know your dad's american, your mom is from spain. Like, did you know no english at all when you came over here?
Speaker 3:Right, so I knew I knew zero. So basically, um, my, so, my dad's American. He's actually from La Jolla, san Diego, but, that said, when, when we were growing up well, especially my brother, cause he was the first one when we were growing up Um, he would try to teach my brother english and then my brother would try to learn it, and then we would have like friends and family in spain that would make fun of my brother. So, like you know, vice versa, why are you like, why are you speaking english? Like you know you're going to be stuck here your whole life like who cares, whatever? So, and you know you're little, so you don't want people making fun of you, right? You're like self-conscious and all this stuff.
Speaker 3:And so you try with my brother that didn't really go anywhere tried a little bit with me. You know, same thing basically happened. Like what are you doing? Like, just, you know whatever. And so, yeah, I never really learned. And then it's one of those things, too, where you do learn a little bit of english and, and you know, in middle school, in spain or whatever it is- right but it's very simple.
Speaker 3:A lot, a lot of it is kind of wrong, right, we're like. Instead of saying pants, you say like trousers, like, like things like that, right. Or like. Instead of saying like, hey, bro, how you doing, you're like hello, how are you you know and like nobody says that right. So it was one of those things like, yeah, I knew like open the window, but that that's not really going to help me much.
Speaker 2:Yep. So I guess when you, when you got here, were you in like English as second language classes, like how did you integrate and start to learn English? Cause 13 is like that's, that's at a level of like people are speaking sophisticated language already, right, so you, you can. You get here, you can't really communicate, you can't really relate unless you're speaking to Hispanic kids that know Spanish, right, so like, how did? You, how did you start to learn Like? How did you get into like, any sort of friend group, like?
Speaker 3:Yeah for sure. So middle school and both in high school, both they both have like an English language development class. It was like EL, I think it's called ELD, and so basically that counts as another. Um, instead of taking like French, right or whatever, like I take this class and that's my class that I take instead of French, yeah, uh, in high school specifically, but yeah so, and then a lot of people in there are the ones that you know.
Speaker 3:There are some Asians in there, you know.
Speaker 3:There were, uh, mexicans in there as well, um, and you know, you kind of talk to those people and stuff, but, like you know, you also fall into the thing where I mean, it's obviously different now that I'm older and it's kind of dumb to think about it, but at the time, right like then again, like I'm like everything that I know it's so different than somebody from Asia or Mexico knows, right, so then you're not really able to connect on the same level when you haven't lived the same, when you haven't lived anything of the similar experiences that each other have Right Right Now.
Speaker 3:If you're like five years in the US, then yeah, you can connect a lot deeper, in my opinion, because you're living in the same town or whatever you know, a lot of things are going on living similar lives. If I'm from, you know, a small town in Europe and then you're from, like Tijuana or whatever, like, I just don't see like the resemblance there, right, especially when I don't even know what Tijuana is like when you know when I'm 13. Right, like when you know when I'm 13, right, you know. So that's kind of like what it. What it was like to me it was it was really difficult to make friends.
Speaker 2:So how did you even like when you first got here? How did you outside of the ELD like class, how did you know what the teachers are saying? Like how did, how could you even study if they're up there like giving a lecture or like you know what I mean? Like how, how did you do homework?
Speaker 3:Dude, I did understand anything. So it was one of those things where a lot of the teachers were nice enough to like give me basically a little bit of a break with everything, especially in middle school the first year. And then, on the other hand, I kind of got lucky because the English teacher that I had spoke some Spanish, you know, she was like a spanish level four speaker sort of thing. So she was like, okay, you do this, do that, whatever. And then my history teacher in middle school was, uh, mexican actually. So you know he would say something whatever. He'd come up to me and like kind of tell me a couple things in spanish and kind of leave whatever. Uh, so I got pretty, pretty lucky there.
Speaker 3:But as far as like, uh, schoolwork goes and stuff, it was basically uh, just memorizing what. What well, the school let me rephrase that, the schoolwork that I did do to begin with, it was basically just memorizing what I could, without understanding it. Okay, you know, especially like history, like I was saying like it's all, like it was like old dates for me, like war, okay, 1972. Great.
Speaker 3:It was just like as simple as you could possibly make it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that makes sense. I can't you know. It's interesting.
Speaker 2:I can't relate to that. So I grew up in a similar environment where, like my entire family is Mexican, they all speak pretty fluent Spanish, and in our, in my generation, it was like really sort of frowned upon on certain level to speak Spanish to your kids. Because you're American, you should speak English, you know. And so I grew up with being spoken to in Spanish, but I never really was encouraged to speak Spanish, and so it wasn't until I was 22, where I moved to Chile and Argentina, where I was inundated in the language and nobody spoke English and so my.
Speaker 2:Spanish started to come out and I could actually speak more, you know and speak better and actually have converse in it. And but I couldn't imagine being 13 and having such a culture shock moving to a completely different country, knowing zero of the language and then being able to try to like relate as a 13 year old going through puberty, like going through seeing girls trying to communicate, girls trying to have friends, you know, trying to play sports, like I.
Speaker 3:just that seems like such a like extremely stressful, hard thing to deal with with no support yeah, for sure, and and the support that I had was basically, like you know, my brother, sister, mom and dad, right, but that said, like the reason why we moved is so my dad could like work and and make money for all of us, or a lot of times he was gone working, whatever, and you have my mom, which doesn't speak english. Um, so you know, we were just kind of like in a bubble to some extent. And then I played, I played tennis, uh, two after school, and it was kind of like the same thing where you know everyone's like friends with a friend of a friend of a friend, and then you try to like come in and hang out and it's like well, first of all, I don't speak the language. Second of all, I don't even know what the coach is saying, you know. And thirdly, then again, like I, it's really, it's like really actually difficult to connect because we're living such different lives.
Speaker 2:Right. So you, you were a very high level tennis player already in Spain, Right, and you get to the U S, you go to like um high school where you immediately like top like tennis player at your high school because of the the skills you got in Spain.
Speaker 3:For sure. Yeah, so in Spain I was basically like from like eight to like 12, I was always kind of like the number two guy in my age group. Uh, the number one kind of changed, uh, but it was never me. And then when I moved here, um, the first two years of high school, I actually didn't play for my high school because I was too good for the high school.
Speaker 3:And actually the coach came up to me and she's like hey, like, we want you to play, you don't have to come to practices, but you know, we would love for you to like be there, be an example, whatever, like just, you know, be part of the team and whatever. And I was like, no, I'm good, like I'm trying to like, you know, know, play tennis here and do other stuff and right, and kind of like branch out, you know, yep. And then I ended up quitting tennis at 16, which is like at the end of my scene, uh, sorry, end of, uh, sophomore year. And they came out again and they actually knew that I had to quit tennis. And then the coach was really smart. She was like hey, I know, uh, I know you quit tennis. We would love for you to play for us. What we can do for you is you can drive yourself to practices and matches instead of taking the bus, and we can make your girlfriend at the time a manager or something of the team or whatever it was.
Speaker 2:You're so good, they're offering you incentives like a pro player to play on the high school team.
Speaker 3:I love it. Yeah, basically, and she can just go with you. We just have to, like, write a referral and then you can meet us there and then you can just go do whatever you want after. Yeah, I just kind of sat there for a day and I was like okay, so basically I get to leave school early, beat up some kids in tennis and hang out with my girlfriend. Fuck, sounds, sounds pretty good to me. Perfect. So I ended up playing tennis the last two years.
Speaker 2:It's interesting because tennis, like golf and like soccer, because there's such international sports like in the US you don't have to play in high school. You can still compete and get on like the pro level if you're that good, right. Whereas like baseball, basketball, football team sport, very big in high school right, you have to be high school, play high school to get recruited to go to college or to get recruited by the pros. But in the individual sports you don't really have to do that. So you can still be like this incredibly talented athlete playing full time and never really play a high school sport in those specific sports in in high school. So you ended up playing on your high school team your last two years.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So I ended up playing the last two years, basically know, so I could skip on some more school, because you know, I was already skipping a lot of school, um. So I ended up doing that. And then, yeah, and then I kind of knew that I didn't want to go to college because I didn't know what to study. I was still like, pretty like, even even though I had calmed down a little bit, I was still pretty bad, um, like, my first two years of high school was like failing a lot of classes because I wouldn't even show up um. And then my uh senior, I picked, I basically picked everything up and I graduated with like a 3.33 gpa or something, which okay, I don't even know, that's a big comeback.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I went from like nothing to like that in one year.
Speaker 3:So it kind of like worked out pretty well at that, you know because I did everything in one year when I could have done it before so what switch like?
Speaker 2:what switch in your mind outside of getting better with the language that made you put in the effort and want to actually like try in school dude.
Speaker 3:At that point I think I was just uh, I just felt more um, it's hard to pinpoint, but I think I was just like I felt more like myself, if that makes sense like I. I for some reason, when I look at like middle school, through you know, the end of my junior year, everything is like a huge blur, like I don't know what I did and didn't do and all this stuff, like I kind of have an idea but I couldn't pinpoint stories. I was like what year did this and that? And then, for some reason, like scenery, I just kind of walked in and I was already like, already, kind of like that, my car I had like a four focus, I was like leasing and I was like driving around and all this stuff.
Speaker 3:I felt like I just felt like an actual, like person where every other year I just I was just trying to keep up with everything basically and I felt like I was always behind and and, uh, you know, just lack of uh, connections and friends and things like that. So, uh, senior year is kind of the year where I was like oh, like, okay, like I'm a big guy. I'm like you know, I'm six. Two, I'm like you know, I'm like I'm a big guy. I'm like, you know, I'm 6'2". I'm like I'm good, looking like whatever. I'm driving a car, like I kind of felt like I was a human family.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I feel that. So at some point you like stopped tennis entirely and you found the sport of pickleball, and that's like in its infancy stages, when it like started to get more popular even before then really tell me the story about how you found the sport, because you kind of explained to me on your show a little bit on how, like you know, bobby riggs and the dawson's were involved and how that started as sort of a tennis relationship and then evolved into pickleball. Like how did you find this sport?
Speaker 3:that's really sort of changed the direction of your life yeah, so basically I was, I was 18, fresh off of high school, and I didn't want to go to college. And Steve Dawson, which is the owner of the Bobby Rick's uh racket and paddle club here in Encinitas in San Diego, uh, he was one of my coaches uh, and so, funny enough, he calls me and he's like hey, man, like you know, you're one of my few students are not going to college. Uh, that said, I understand not a big deal, uh, but I actually think I found the perfect sport for you. So if you just, you know, want to give me like two hours of your time, you can come back to the club. Uh, you know, like, I'll show you how to play this and this. And at first I was like you know, kind of a normal 18 year old.
Speaker 3:Like what are you talking about? Like, like there's no such thing as like perfection, like you know, all this, all those negative things, right, and I actually ended up going with my dad because my dad was a huge um like, he played a huge role in kind of like trying to like help me get out there and do things, because I was very, very, uh like introvert, introverted sort of speak because, I just didn't want to do anything like.
Speaker 3:I was just so negative for so long and he was just like, okay, like let's just go do it, let's go do it together, I'll do it with you. And then we actually ended up going to um pickleball together and we had some things around and got like this ten dollar, uh initiation, uh lesson, and I hated it. I was like this is like the dumbest thing in the world. I will never do this again. And my dad actually liked it, which is hilarious.
Speaker 3:And yeah, like three, three, six months later he kept, he kept on playing, playing and playing. And he was like, hey, dude, like I actually know how to play now and it's pretty fun. Just like, come and do it and you'll see. And I did it and I was like, okay, whatever we can play singles, it's not like you'll ever beat me because I play tennis right. He's like he actually beat me because I couldn't hit a ball over the net and I got so upset that I was like, okay, well, I guess I'll just play until I'm better than you. And then I kept on playing and playing, to the point where I would show up by myself and play for six hours and everyone at riggs was, like you know, super, super, uh positive about having somebody young like join the sport and be so interested, and so I got a lot of support, a lot of like free tips and coaching from like local five o's and stuff like that.
Speaker 3:And yeah, I just like I actually got good to the point where I just actually enjoyed doing it instead of like, let me just be my dad you know, so, so that that that was when you were 18 years old. Yeah.
Speaker 2:So that was before, like pro tour sponsorships really existed right, that you could actually make a living on it Right.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So then how did you get from that point to where you are now in 24? Obviously, we have the PPA, which is a pro tour that you're playing on um. You've had a ton of success with it. You know you're doing this full-time, you're making a great living off of it, right, and you've built a following off of it like you're a known member of the community. How did you go from, like the 18 year old who now gets the drive right this is sport I want to play, I'm having fun to like, wow, this could potentially be something I do, you know for income and make a living off of it?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean, honestly, it was very like I would. I would start with saying that I'm like, first of all, extremely lucky and like blessed, honestly, to like do so, because it's one of those things that you don't know which direction whatsoever is going to take, right, you just have no idea, like you're just out there hitting a wiffle back and forth and you happen to be decent, but there's nothing you can really do about it. And so, for me, I just got really lucky, because the Dawson's and I always speak about them when you know, when I'm on any podcast, even if it's my own but they were like so good to me and basically I started working the shop which Bobby Riggs, which allowed me to be at the club, which allowed me to like play more often, right, and on top of that, get paid, and I started making all these connections. And so, once I started making those connections, steve came up to me. He's like hey, um, you know you got really good. Everyone loves you here. Um, why don't you come shadow me and Callan for, like you know, 10, 15 hours worth of lessons and you know I'll pay you some of my lesson money because you're there, and so it's not a waste of time for you, sort of thing, which you didn't have to do, right, like it's just so nice. And then he was like and you can start teaching lessons here at Bobby Race? And I was like, yeah, sounds good.
Speaker 3:So then I went from like you know 14, 15 hours sitting at a desk talking to people to now I was like a hybrid of you know teaching for like 60, 70 bucks an hour at 18 and you know working some of the desk, and then it kind of fully transitioned into just teaching. And then I was like, okay, well, I'm teaching so much, I'm getting so many reps, but I really want to practice. So then I cut down my, uh, my hours in teaching. I started practicing a bunch because I was already there, and then every now, and then you know I just go, I would drive, go play a tournament here, go play a tournament there some of them closer than others play one in vegas, come back, didn't do well, try to get in arizona. And I was just paying everything out of pocket.
Speaker 3:Um, and then eventually you just got to the point where you're doing it so often and the app came through, ppa came through and you're like seeing all this like slightly bigger, like purses, right of like money and like, oh, like I can win this thing for like 200, or I can go here make a quarters and I can make like 800, like that's crazy. And so I basically put like every, every single penny that I had in my account I put into, like taking my little four focus that I bought in high school, and then I just drove away to like vegas and, like you know, slept on somebody's couch and I played the tournament and then, okay, I'm gonna drive to arizona. Now I'm playing another tournament there. So it was, it was like grinding, it was like grind season yeah, yeah, people that don't know the sport.
Speaker 2:They don't understand the dedication. Even if you are an athlete, even if you come from high level tennis, like it takes a lot of dedication to practice this sport because it's such a like finesse game with the wiffle ball right it's hard to predict ball bounce is different, right, and there's a lot of different ways to play.
Speaker 2:Like your, your style of play is very exciting. Like there's a lot of like trickiness, a lot of deception, which, honestly, a lot of players of the pro level they don't have. Like they actually comment on your ability to hit shots. I remember listening to thomas wilson talk about like he was interviewed on how to build the best pickleball player and he picked like a bunch of attributes. You might have listened to this. He picked a bunch of attributes from different, uh, people and he picked you for like the trickiest shots. He's like I, he's like I don't know how that guy hits some of his shots, you know. And then, when I've obviously seen you play, it's like you, you have, like this, you know, finesse and stability with your wrist and just you know where your eyes move that aren't going where the ball is. Like there's a, there's a certain level of your play that's like very um, it's artistic, like it's very nice to watch.
Speaker 2:You know, it's like, it's like you have a paintbrush exactly, it's like picasso you're like a paintbrush and you're, you're, you're sort of commanding the court with with certain shots that really you don't, you don't see a lot of other people are very, they hit the same shot, they're very consistent, but, like, when you're on, your level is like so high you, you know. So how much, like how much time were you putting into you know when, when you started to make money, when you started to travel all the place and get better, like were you? Were you putting in like 10, 20, 30 hours a day? Like how much were you actually playing and drilling? And like how much required of your time did you require to like be so focused at this thing to get to where you are right now?
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's a good question. I mean, I would say, from like from the time that I was like 18 and got hired, uh, bobby riggs, to the time that pp and app came about, which I think is about like 2021 or so, it was honestly like every every single day. Wow, like every single day I'm like working the shop for like four hours, teaching five or six hours of pickleball and then trying to get some open play in the middle of it or something. Okay, so it was, and that was like every single day of my life. And then when I moved to texas, um, I don't remember, everything is kind of a blur, but you know, um, maybe 2021 or 2020 or something like that um, like, everything that I did was like four pickleballs, like I would wake up and go to the gym, come back, eat, drill, uh, eat, come back, eat some more, like go play games for two, three hours and then at that point you're just exhausted.
Speaker 3:You know, because if you've done like eight or nine hours of exercise, um, and then you just go to bed and do it again so it's been, this year and last year are the only like some of this year and some and last year are the only, like some of this year and some of last year, were the only two times where I was like like let me live like a little bit of a normal life too, right, uh, but until on, up until like the second half of last year it was it was all just pickable, pickable, pickable. I wouldn't even go home, I would just go from. Like you know, if I'm living in te, I go from Texas to Utah, to California, to Vegas, to Florida. Like I wouldn't even like stop back at home, I just like go from place to place to place and just like play and practice every day.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so traveling like that, you were like what? 22 at the time, 21?.
Speaker 3:Yeah, 21 to 23.
Speaker 2:So you must've been like one of the younger players doing that Cause.
Speaker 3:now, like there's, there's even younger, even younger, more young players, but like that that you're probably one of the younger players to be like at that level, I imagine yeah, at the time yeah, I mean there was most of them were like older, like later 20s and then, like you know, 30s, 40s, yeah, but like that young, it was like me and like ben basically so how was that like being around that environment, being this young person where money is flooding the sport and you know like there's a lot of fame coming up involved, like how have you, how have you dealt with that?
Speaker 2:how have you dealt with like the pressure and dealt with like the austerity and honestly, becoming, like you know, now pro pickleball players are becoming quite famous in that industry. You know like you go to, you go to tournaments and people are asking for your autograph, people are asking to take photos with you. Like how was that transition?
Speaker 3:yeah, I mean to be completely honest with you because I've been around it for so long. For me it wasn't like zero to a hundred, right, it was more. Because, like now you could argue that somebody like gelman, which is really good at pickleball, you know like played a tournament, did the quarters, played a second tournament, made the finals and men doubles, and now he's like a celebrity sort of thing, right, so then that happens really quick. But for me it just went from like you know, a local player at Riggs to like okay, like he's a really good, like California player. Oh no, he's like going out of town and you know driving to like close States like Vegas, utah, arizona oh, he's doing well there. And then like PPA comes through. So I'm starting to do some PPAs and like winning some matches. So it's not like I was like winning right away or everything kind of happened together. It was like a gradual, like you know, a little bit more, a little more, a little bit more. So I mean, for me it's like I'm the same person that I well, well, not the same. I'm matured, but obviously, you know, when it comes to like morals and values, I'm the same person that I was like two, three years ago.
Speaker 3:And the good thing about pickleball itself for me personally is that there's definitely like a little bit of fame and stuff that comes with it, but it's only really within the pickleball world, yeah, and so you know, it's not like I walk outside and like people are like, oh it's that, dj? Nobody really cares, nobody really knows me. And then when you do go to a tournament, you get a couple of pictures, you sign a couple of autographs. You know people introduce themselves, but it's like a very nice, genuine, sort of like interaction instead of just like you know, when you watch Justin Bieber getting harassed, going into like his car, outside of his house, like it's nothing like that, right? So obviously I don't make that kind of money, sure, um, but that said, like for me it's just a very natural and normal. Like I'm at a tournament, I'm checking in, somebody knows me. I just say, hi, what's up, bro? Like how you doing, like I hope you have a good tournament. I kind of move on, you know.
Speaker 2:Yep, yeah, it's still. It's still a small community in the greater context of like fame that. That being said, it's growing, you know like it's like you know there's more money coming in, there's more people coming to pickleball it's been the fastest growing sport in the U? S in the past four years. It's growing all over the world now. Um so so now being like a full-time you know, sponsored pro doing this like you know, as your day-to-day job. Like how long do you think it's going to last? Like, how long do you envision being the spore? Like, what are your, what are your future plans with it? You know, like, what's, what's your, what's your main goal?
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's a good question and I talked about it in in in like a different, different podcast too. It's uh, it's just, I think it's really tough when you're like truly being honest with yourself which I try to be most of the time to get the most out of things, is that, like you, not everybody wakes up and wants the same thing out of life every day, right, you know. So for me, I just kind of find that there's a period in my life where I'm like for three months I'm like I want to get in really good shape and I want to be the best player that I can be, so I'm like eating really healthy for three months, right, and then I'm going really hard and I'm cut and whatever. And then, like there's like two weeks where I'm like, man, I'm exhausted, you know, and then those two weeks I'm like, okay, let me just like focus with you know, my family, you know whatever it is, my friends. And then I kind of get back and I'm like, okay, I don't want to get jacked, you know. And then I go to the gym really hard and I lift like heavy weights, and so it's like it really.
Speaker 3:It really depends, right, but I guess for the most part, like you know, kind of how, what I said before is like it's trying to be the best version of yourself and whatever that means to you, and in that particular moment, I do think, obviously being a good person and showing discipline goes a long way, uh, but I don't think there's anything wrong with, like you know, one day, uh, wanting to be the best and like two months later, you're like, okay, like you know, let me. Let me take a quick break and I kind of get back.
Speaker 3:You know, I don't think we're not robots, right, so it's, I think it's completely okay to be honest with yourself and be like okay, maybe, and I personally do want, especially now that I have a kid and that, and you know I want to be an example for her, uh, but that said, uh, I don't think there's anything wrong with, uh, you know, changing goals and stuff, you know, if you feel like you've somewhat accomplished the one before, you know.
Speaker 2:I appreciate you, you being really honest at the level of of the sport you're at, because you know being you being really honest at the level of the sport you're at, because you know being at your level, like being honest about. You know, sometimes I have this motivation, I have this drive, I want to be the best, and then it goes down, you know, and that's a reality for any human. But a lot of athletes don't admit that. I think everyone goes through that thought process, you know, and everyone goes through that mentality.
Speaker 2:But it's also really important to like take a rest, reconnect with people you care about, be a family member, like be a friend, and I I respect you saying that because a lot of people wouldn't admit that they're just like, no, I grind 24 7, you know, every day and I'm like, no, it's impossible. You know you wear yourself out, you get injured or you lose it mentally. You know you have to have those periods of of just being a normal human and not being so obsessed with this one thing, because obviously you know, being a professional athlete, it requires a, you know, very unique you said set of discipline skills where you're just focusing on this thing, like it's this craft you're honing every day, right. It's like being a painter, being an artist, being a metal worker, whatever, being a physician. You're just doing this one thing, and so it can get very exhausting because it's there's no like, there's no diversity in it. You know, you're just like this one thing every day.
Speaker 2:So I think I appreciate how you you make it a point and especially with the awareness to be still so young, at 24, and still prioritize other things. Now you mentioned you know having a very young child and that I want to ask you about that. Like, you know being a new father and you know bringing a kid into this world at 24, that's, that's super young. And you and your, you and your partner just had a kiddo. Like how has that changed your perspective, if at all, on like what you're doing right now and how you're living life?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean it's changed a lot. Honestly, it's like I tell everyone all the time it's just one of those things that you know. Like you ask your dad, it's like how does it feel to have a kid? And he's like you'll know when you have one. You know, and it's yeah, it, you'll know when you have one, you know, and it's yeah. It's like it's really and actually ineffable. You can't really explain it and so it's honestly just it's amazing.
Speaker 3:This changed, like the my outlook on life just to be like overall, more positive. Uh, you know, do bigger and better things and and, honestly, like it kind of changes the outlook because everything that I used to do, um, she's three months now. So everything that I used to do, like you know, three months ago, even when she was in the belly, it's like for yourself, you know, okay, I need to go train. Like my life is about me, like you know, what are you doing Right? And when you have the kid, you start to realize that there's like bigger and better things that are not you Right, and there's like all these like emotions and feelings that come with it and, too, like I mean you just I just look at my child and she's like laying there like this and I just like smile, like like I can't even help it and I'm not I'm not a huge, like like I'm not huge and just like smile with everybody.
Speaker 3:You know what I mean. But she's like laying down on the ground and she was like playing with the toy at three months and I'm like like that's just so like touching to me, you know, and it's just super exciting. So, yeah, I mean it's kind of changed everything. Just kind of knowing that anything that I do and say, especially even I know you're a, I know you know when it comes to you know, know you're a therapist when it comes to relationships, and just kind of knowing that whatever I do and say and show it's going to have an impact on her future as well Makes me want to be a better person as well, because I don't want her to be with somebody that's not going to treat her the way that I would treat her right?
Speaker 2:Did I say that right, Absolutely. I don't want to confuse anything. No, no, that sounded that's. That's amazing, man, I, I. You pointed out a very interesting thing that I think a lot of people go through when they become parents, and I think it's, it's a beautiful thing of parenthood is when you know, especially being an athlete, being a pro level, it's like it's a very selfish thing in a way.
Speaker 2:Right, you have to be selfish in that sense to be good at something like that, because every day you're waking up to dedicate yourself to be a better you right, and really that might benefit people around you. But it really is going to benefit you, right, because you're going to get better, you're going to compete better. But then you bring this kid into the world and, if anything, it brings the selflessness out of you because you realize that it's not all about you anymore, even if you're successful. How you behave around her, how you act around her, how you show up as a man, how you show up as a father around her, you know those things become as important, if not more important, than your success as a player. You know, and I think that's that's a beautiful thing to go through, specifically at such a young age, because it gives you this different perspective that a lot of people don't have.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, absolutely, and I completely agree, I think. I just think that there's like time for everything you know, and I can go and train and do even touching, you know, kind of touching back on what we're talking about before. Like, even if I don't feel like now I want to be the best player in the world, I'm still doing the training because that's like what I need to be doing, right, but my priority is somewhere else for that certain time, you know uh. But that said, yeah, I mean everything that I do now I mean just kind of has to do with you know, uh, how I want her to like view me or view the relationship with between me and, you know, my fiance or something, and so it just kind of like changes everything for sure so you mentioned your fiance, right?
Speaker 2:like obviously you travel a lot for these tournaments. How do you guys like navigate you being gone so much? Right, because obviously you fly out, you fly back a lot, so you're not gone super long, but you're gone quite a bit because there's basically a tournament every weekend or every other weekend with the PPA, and then you still have to train, find time to run your podcast and these other things that you're doing so much Like. So how have you guys navigated that? Right, because she's a high level pickleball player herself and she's obviously, you know, pretty much staying at home being a mom. Now, how have you guys, you know, navigated that being young?
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, so it was actually pretty easy because she doesn't, she doesn't work, and I'm kind of like all about working at the same time, like I just love being busy, because otherwise I just get in my head and start, like you know, thinking like the worst possible outcome in life, and so obviously the, you know, when it comes down to the traveling is not easy for for anybody, but at the same time it's kind of one of those things that just needs to get done right, like not because it's hard, you're not going to do it right yeah and so it's just.
Speaker 3:It's just kind of having a mutual understanding that you know I need to go play a tournament. Uh, obviously I'm going to come back between tournaments and then I might leave the next day, whatever it is. But, um, I try to be, I try to be as fair as I can. You know, instead of just leaving for two, three weeks and coming back, like now, I'm going to come back for the day or two or three, whatever it is, and I'm going to leave again and I'm going to make sure that when I'm back, even though I'm still like doing the podcast and practicing and whatever, that when I'm here, then I'm actually like that I try to be as prescient as I possibly can.
Speaker 3:Um, but yeah, then again, like I'm, you know whether it's for me or for you know them, I it's not easy when I'm, when I'm gone, right, especially if I'm having like a really bad tournament, or if I leave and you know my wrist hurts really bad and I lose to somebody that I don't feel like I should lose to or whatever, and I'm like, okay, I don't know where my pickleball career is gonna go, my wrist hurts, you know. You start thinking all these like worst possible case scenarios, right, but then you know, you just know you get back home and then there's, like you know your family, like there's, I feel, like there's nothing like that. That's like the best feeling in the world I love that, that man it's.
Speaker 2:I hope people listen to this Like it's crazy. When I met you I was like I didn't know how old you were. You know, I knew you're, but I thought this guy was like 29, 30, because you carry yourself so maturely and it might be probably from being from where you come from, right, being from Spain, being from Europe, but also, just, I think, money off of it, having a kid at a young age. You know, having to be responsible, having to practice some selflessness in that and be more self-aware because, again, if you bring a kid in this world all of a sudden, all right, now it's not just about me, me, me, me, me, it's about, like, my family, it's about what I'm bringing to the table.
Speaker 2:You know, in you're on this pro tour, the pro pickleball association pro tour, ppa, and you're traveling all the time and you're in this sort of like community, all these pros that travel together, and there's a lot of different like social cycle dynamics that happen within competition. You know, much like pro tennis and pro golf, you're seeing the same faces all the time. Like how do you go through in your mind, like you know, for, let's say, people that you've lost consecutively to like. You know for let's say, uh people that you, that you've lost consecutively to like. How do you approach going into playing people and believing in yourself every time that you have a chance and a shot to be successful and to win?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think everybody's different, though, but for me personally, you know, kind of like I mentioned before, it's just pure preparation. You know, kind of like I mentioned before, it's just pure preparation, right. And secondly, you just have to be honest with yourself. Um, there's, I think there's a lot of people and I don't want to like make it about other people, but just to kind of like justify my point like there's a lot of people out there that you know, say, talk and do as as like what they want to be and what they want to do, instead of like what they're actually doing, right.
Speaker 3:So, for me, I kind of learned the hard way that if my wrist hurts really bad and I'm playing you know, because recently it's been happening and I'm playing the tournament and I haven't been able to practice beforehand because I want my wrist to be feeling better by the time I play I have to really change my expectations to something realistic, right, like I'm not going to be like, oh, like if, if I was healthy, like I would beat them, like yeah, but you're not right, like, but you're not healthy.
Speaker 3:So, so it is what it is. And so you know, you kind of have to like change your, your mindset into, into, into something that's realistic, that actually works. Because if you go always with these false sense of expectations, a false sense of who you are and what you're doing, you're always going to be disappointed. But if you go into a tournament and you're like, okay, I've been practicing, I've been eating right, I've been doing all my exercises, I've been doing all my film've been doing, you know whatever, all my film, and even to this tournament, you have high expectations.
Speaker 3:I think that's fair yeah right, but I think, if you're not, then you shouldn't have them, yeah, um, so for me it's just kind of being realistic with myself then again, and and and truly, just, you know, just not lying, really like, okay, that haven't been training, does my wrist hurts? Okay, it does hurt, I haven't been training, so what are you know, just not lying really like, okay, that haven't been training, does my wrist hurts? Okay, it does hurt, I haven't been training, so what are? You know? What am I gonna do, like second round? Sure, that's kind of what happens. You know what I mean. And then I just think everything translates like I don't think there's like many coincidences, like if you've been practicing a lot and you're healthy and you make a quarter or semi-finals, like guess what, like you've been practicing, like that's gonna happen, right, so kind of goes both ways yeah, I love that.
Speaker 2:It's like this, this level of self-honesty, knowing where you are and and gauging expectations appropriately, right, not expecting too much of yourself at the time, based on where you are and how much time you've had to prepare, and injuries and all that stuff that goes into that. Right, how does like, how has been, how has like been like building a community in this tour? Because there's a lot of different personalities, right, there's people you get along with, people you won't, right, people that are, you know, there's a lot of personalities. That pro tour. I've been able to go to two events down, kind of observe. Um, you know how people, how pros, act around each other. You know a lot of people have the headphones on, like head down, like not talking to each other. Some have their little clicks to hang out with.
Speaker 2:Like, how have you gone? Obviously you know a lot of the north county pros you're friends with personally. Like, how have you gone about building your community at the pro level with people you like, connect with, relate with, can practice, because obviously at your guys's level you you have to train with people at that level. Right, that's how you stay at that level. I mean to play high level pickleball, you have to play against high level pickleball players and you know, if you don't, you kind of stay lower, right, it's just kind of how the sport works. So how have you gone about like, building community, being able to stay in practice at that level? Like are you? Do you gravitate towards certain players and certain people you know? Do you choose to stay away from others?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I'm, that's funny, yeah, I would say, for me personally, I'm more of a like I just like I like people and like experiences Right, like I just like I like people and like experiences Right, and I think I have a pretty good like a radar as to like you know who I, who I align with and who I don't. And so for me, it's just, you know, I'm going to be nice to everybody, I'm going to crack some jokes and whatever, but if everything that I hear about a person or something is negative and then I have like a negative, negative, like uh, form of experience with this person, then not naturally, I'm just going to kind of stay away. You know, I'm still going to wish them the best. It is what it is, but it's like you know, if, if all they, if I hang out with them and all they do is like talk shit about somebody else, um, then I know that my turn is going to come at some point. So why would I want to be around that right? So I'm kind of a I'm kind of a very logical person when it comes to that thing.
Speaker 3:It's like you know, uh and I think you see that too with who I've always been friends with uh, you see, on the, on the ppa and probably a lot of different uh sports too like this person gets along with this person, but then, like they break off and they go to these people and then break off, and these people and you always see like, oh, like this person's hanging out with this person at this event, but in the next event they're not hanging out. You know, and it's kind of interesting to me because for the last like two, three years, I've been hanging out with pablo federico, mario dylan j Callan, and I'm always mentioning with the same people. So for me it's easy to maintain those relationships, right? Yep, instead of just like, you know, I'm going to be really good friends with Nico and then Nico says something that I don't like. So fuck Nico, and I'm going to go be friends with Nika.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean.
Speaker 3:Like it's just it's just one of those things where I think you just have to be just more conscious and just kind of figure out who you are as a person and who you want to be around.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it seems like one of the things about you is being 24, it seems like you really do know who you are. There's this level of confidence when I'm around you. That's palpable. That is pretty rare. I feel like for someone your age, maybe it's more common in the sport of pickleball. Because you need that confidence, I think, to succeed. You really believe in yourself.
Speaker 2:You know, I see that maybe with the, even when I watch some of the younger players play at the pro level, they say have a little bit of that too. So so now, like, given where the sport is right, like what do you envision, you know, the next like five years of of your life to look like within pickleball? Do you envision yourself still playing pickleball, like through your twenties up until your thirties? Like, obviously, playing recreation, you're probably never going to stop playing. It's such a fun sport. But I mean like, as far as like doing this full time, do you, do you want to get in the business side of pickleball? Do you just want to be a pro player? Like, what are your? What are your? What are your goals, aspirations, as far as that goes, yeah, that's a good question.
Speaker 3:I mean, I think I personally think like the five-year goal thing is like like outdated, because I think just everything happens so fast at all times, you know, um sure but, that said, I mean, yeah, it's, it's one of those things like I want to play professional pickleball for as long as I possibly can because I just I enjoy it. You know there's a lot of I have a lot of good friends in pickleball, uh, that we do a lot of these things together and you know, when I talk to them, it's like, you know, pickleball is almost like it's already as fun as it actually is. You even have more fun at the airbnb, like you know, talking shit until like two or three am, you know, uh, playing like liar's dice, which we the other time playing like, uh, sellers of katan, just like, just even kicking it, watching like more pickable, you know, and so those experiences are always like amazing. So I want to be able to do that for as long as I possibly can, while, you know, playing a high level of pickable, which I enjoy doing anyways. And then, yeah, obviously, like I, I want to do other stuff in life as well, and so, um, you know, as we talked about, I started the podcast, uh, for, you know, pickleball and I I hired up you know sick guys, his name is Christian to do my website, so we did my website and it looks amazing, uh, and so, so you know, I'm just trying to also trying to navigate, like, the business side of things, and I don't know what that's going to look like in the future, because that's 24, I would imagine I have, like you know, a lot of time left in the tank, as long as I'm healthy, to keep on playing the high level, uh.
Speaker 3:But yeah, definitely, dabbling a little bit into the business side of things as well, that would be amazing.
Speaker 2:So you mentioned the podcast. Like you know, there's a handful of pickleball podcasts. Yours is is unique in the sense that, like, you're really having sort of just you know, relaxed conversations with people and it's mostly focused on pickleball. But there's a lot of other stuff you talk about with the person, depending on who you're interviewing, like what motivated you to start that, what you to find a studio? You know and and have the confidence to start a podcast and and it's already done you know pretty well and it's infancy stages right now. You've had some big names on. Obviously you know, because of who you are in the sport, what motivated you to start it and you know what do you, what do you envision with it. You know how do you think it's going to develop yeah, I mean there's.
Speaker 3:It's just there's a couple things here and there for sure, right like I think, I think, as a professional athlete, uh, because you don't have like a real, are you here? Yeah okay, sorry, I thought you froze, I didn't want to like say it. But um, yeah, just because you don't have to be somewhere at all times, you end up having a lot of free time. Right, and free time is good when, like, you need uh to rest, but otherwise, I think you should be doing like you know, as many things as you possibly can right without doing too many things where you're burning out like every day or something.
Speaker 3:and so, yeah, just kind of sat down I was standing in honors with myself and I was like, okay, what am I doing with all this free time, you know? And then you know like I was playing a little bit of like World of Warcraft and stuff and I was like, okay, that's probably not what I should be doing with my free time.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 3:And so it kind of came down to okay. Well, you know what am I, what am I kind of good at? Okay.
Speaker 3:You know, and having conversations and being genuine and hanging out. And I ended up coming across my fiance's uncle, which he has a podcast and does real estate, and we're having dinner and he was like, you know, we're shooting questions back and forth and having a really good conversation and having fun. And he was like, do you start a podcast? I was like, oh, should I? He was like, yeah, man, we'll bring you the podcast, can like take a look at how everything looks, how to get it done? We can do one. And then, you know you, I think you should make one where you make one if you want to. And I was like, sounds good. They brought me out, showed me everything.
Speaker 3:I did the podcast, I loved it and I was like, fuck it, I'll just get it done. So then, within two days, I had, I had, you know, my homie Golden Tate I just come out and do one with me. And I had james blake. Um, but yeah, that's kind of like how everything started. And then, yeah, on the other hand, it's, you know, it's one of those things where I still have a lot of free time, believe it or not, even though I train, practice, travel, this and this. So you know, I teach, uh, I teach some lessons on the side to some people that I, you know, been good friends with. I've asked you kindly to come and join which you haven't, which you haven't, uh, fully accepted only because I've been busy.
Speaker 2:I'm not, I'm not turning down dj young pickleball lessons.
Speaker 3:Trust me um, but yeah, it's just you know a lot of like four or five, five hours that I used to teach and now I'm back in california and so they're like, hey, like we'll pay. You know, a good price for you to come out once a week and teach us. So it's like for me it works out really well because I have a really good time, I'm good, I'm good friends with them and I make pretty good money, um, and then obviously there's a lot of uh content creation that comes with everything as well. So obviously, you know, you know my boy neg that does all the podcasting stuff and we're working on a lot of uh.
Speaker 3:It's kind of like short form, uh, uh content for all the social medias, and then we're also kind of trying to dabble into long form content outside of the podcast. So, more like you know, eight, nine minute long YouTube videos that we can do together, whether it's like a blog, whether it's like how to hit a shot, whether it's like a day in you know, anything like that. But I'm also like a little bit like dude, like we're doing a lot of stuff right now and the podcast is not easy, so it's not I don't know.
Speaker 2:It's kind of like it takes a lot of time yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:So we're kind of like trying to see and obviously I think if I was single and stuff it would be a little bit different, but obviously I just want to spend more time with my family as well, so it's one of those things that I have to like dabble and just kind of like figure it out as I go I get that, my man.
Speaker 2:Well, dude, uh, I want to. I would talk to you forever. It's. It's been so great just to hear a little bit about your story and about your background, how you've gotten to pickleball and became so successful. And if anyone's listening that hasn't tried this sport yet, like, go go to a local pickleball club or go to just a local like rec place that the city sponsors and play the sports.
Speaker 2:Amazing, I mean, dude, like I got to meet people like you. You know I've met so many awesome people. Like it's honestly reinvigorated my life, brought some happiness when, after my injuries and after my shoulder surgeries, you know just being able to, um, to have fun and compete and and have a great time and meet, you know awesome folks. So, dude, I appreciate you coming on Um, let people know where they can find you. You know, with your, with your podcast, they can find you on social media because I want people to connect with you. And if they want to get into pickleball, you know, go watch dj play, because you'll learn a ton just watching him on youtube, on all the ppa recordings yeah, and, as a first and foremost, thank you so much for having bro.
Speaker 3:I really appreciate it. You know, I think, um, I can speak for both of us when we're just, you know, just having a genuine, super nice conversation with just two homies sitting down and, yeah, I mean, I think if you haven't played pickleball, I think you go and should you know, for me, like you know, as the pro, I get to meet people like you as well, right, so for me it's like a positive, like I get to do something that I love and I get to meet people like you, which is like, for me it's refreshing, because everyone that I tend to meet is like another pro pickable player, right, but to meet somebody that is not that's, like you know, cooler than a pro pickable player, it's better, right, and there's like, and whether you're a pro or not, or whether you're four or five or three, oh, like I know, you know, uh, so many like three, fives are just like such good, genuine people that go to bobby rakes, play and and I just love hanging out. So, yeah, if you just want to get into something that you know you're going to do for the rest of your life and enjoy, meet some cool people. You should definitely try pickleball, um, and yeah, that said you can. You know Instagram.
Speaker 3:You can find me at DJ Young PB. Uh, if you want to go watch my podcast, it's uh conversations with DJ, where you can find hours. Uh, that we did together. That was really good and, yeah, thanks again so much for having me, bro, and I can't wait to have you back in Cali.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Yeah, I can't wait to we got to get on that, that dual recording Cause I would love to have more conversations and yeah, it was. It was great to be on your show.
Speaker 1:So if you guys get Wednesday, I'm sure you'll enjoy them. I wish people could realize all their dreams and wealth and fame, so that they could see that it's not where you're going to find your sense of completion.
Speaker 2:Everything you gain in life will rot and fall apart and all that will be left of you is what was in your heart, in your heart, in your heart. Thank you so much for tuning in to Star of the Eagle, feed the Soul. Please leave us a five-star written review on Apple and Spotify podcasts. It's a free way you can give back to the show and show your support and, as always, if you want to work with me one-on-one, head over to wwwnicoborazacom.