From Couch Potato to Pickleball Obsessed + Alex Aitken | The Pickleballer Jock

Are they like do they look like Tommy Boy? Are they in shape?

No, no, they're very inchain. They're they're good.

I see Paddle Princess. This is Big Dink Energy, the pickleball podcast that's half insight, half nonsense, and all entertainment. If you love pickleball, don't take your stuff too seriously and think a little trash talk makes the game better. Welcome home. This is the place where life and pickleball intersect. We celebrate the chaos, call out the nonsense, and put the fun back in dysfunction. You're either in or you're out. And if you're still listening, you're in. So let's go. Big Dink Energy starts now. Reminds me of childhood. Big Dink Energy Podcast, what it reminds you of. We are the official podcast of Pickleball. Right here, live and in your ear holes right now. Now, listen up. Paddle People Tag T. No, this is our sponsor, Paddle People. This week's episode is sponsored

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Kitchen Talk - Hot takes, weird news, and what’s on our minds this week

So, what do we want to talk about tonight?

So I want to kind of talk about something.

Talk about, talk about, talk about.

So this is like almost things that are like a lava lamp to you. So this came up when we were working out this morning. And so I thought I would bring it up. So I want to be very clear like I support you, but I'm also gonna watch you. Okay, that's kind of where I'm at with this. So I think anybody doing whatever they're doing is great. I'm not trying to make fun of people, but there's these guys at our gym, and this has been like the third time I've seen it. They are full on karateing. No, there are bags set up.

Are they in a ghee?

No. Okay. Not really kickboxing. But okay, so there are these bags that are set up and they're doing they are doing the most. Okay, let me just say. I mean, and so g go for it. Do you, but don't expect me not to be watching because it is very entertaining. It's like a full-blown production. It is. They were doing lots of and I told them about it today. I was like, oh, those are the and then I was like, wait, wait for it. And then they started.

Are they the karate kids?

They knife hands, knife hands, and they are like dancing around the bag, like doing a box step and then coming in and when the bag swings back.

I mean, there is so much jabs and ducks, and oh and they're not all together. These these guys are doing things separately, except one guy went over to the other guy, one older guy went over to the other guy and then started giving him a little lesson. So I mean, if you're gonna I I mean, they're not doing like the Jean-Claude split, because if that that would be pretty cool, but it's I just kind of want to talk about like, are there things out there where like people are doing things and you're not trying to be rude, but you're like, what am I supposed to do? I mean, you're doing all of this out in public. Yeah. And it was funny because my sister's like, I just think that needs to be reserved for your garage.

But I feel like so you're I they're not selling it all the way up, they're not in their ghee with their bag.

No, it's kickboxing.

I I get it, but you should you can still be in a ghee in kickboxing as well.

But uh and that's the thing, it's like you're at the gym, and I get it, they have the equipment there for you, which is great. But this this guy was doing like practicing like his turn your heel to 90 degrees, lift the leg up, and then sidekick. Yeah, and then duck around and then kick the bag, and then it swings back, and he's doing all these maneuvers. Is there a which I mean it was really cool, but it's something like I'm gonna watch.

I'm gonna I mean, I'm gonna watch you.

Are they like do they look like Tommy Boy? Are they unshaped?

No, no, they're very unshaped.

They're they're good.

Easy paddle princess.

I mean, they're they're they're not bad, but it it's and then the one guy was just doing like a whole Tai Chi lesson out in the open, which okay, more power to you. I think I think that's awesome.

Two things. But did was there a crane kick that anybody did a crane kick?

He was doing a lot of wax on, wax off.

And did anybody sweep the leg?

Sweep the leg.

I mean, if you're gonna do it, let's let's go.

But I figured there's so many other things out there like that where like another thing that I always end up like almost like when you're watching a train wreck, you know?

Um I've watched one.

Like when someone is trying to back up a trailer, yes, and you're down a boat ramp.

Yeah, or down a yeah, and you're just the Lord or trying to get the boat onto the onto the trailer. You just kind of want to stop and watch.

Well, yeah, so that's a skill. I will watch that. That's the thing. I've always said, you know, you can tell a lot about a man if he walks by a motorcycle and does a look at it. And the same thing goes here. If if a man is backing up a trailer and you don't watch, then I think that says a lot about you as a man too.

Well, I think it says a lot if you're not watching all the people doing kickboxing and I don't know, maybe. But I I feel like that okay, so there's that. I always watch somebody back up because I'm just like, where is this heading? Yeah. And then also, I hate to admit this, but like when people are arguing in public 100%. Okay, okay, okay. Yes, 100%.

I am so I'll take a side right away though, too.

And and when I'm like talking to somebody else, like I'll drown them out because I'm like so invested now, trying to keep my ears open. Exactly. To listen over there. And then I know we've done this, you know, Guy and I, and I'm just like, oh my god, do you hear what's going on? And then we just come up with like other stories of how it got there. Yep. Definitely one of those.

So I'm one of those that I uh I look at how you're how you're showing up on the pickleball court too. What are you wearing? What kind of paddle do you have? What are your shoes?

See, I don't do that, Chingna.

Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah. I'm a people watcher by nature.

Are you judging them by that?

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, a little bit. A little bit.

That is so hypocritical.

I don't have to be good at pickleball to judge people at pickleball.

You're in your swim trunks to the last uh thing that we did together.

I don't know if it was gonna rain.

It was not if you were watching if you watched yourself walk in, oh my gosh, swim trunks with the headband and the tall socks and just looking a hot, crazy mess.

Please don't let people think my socks were up to my knees like Karim Abdul Jabbar.

I was like, Do you got diabetes socks then? Why are you wearing those? These are compression socks. So you're judging others rolling up to a tournament looking like that. Yeah, for sure. I got you.

If you've got the $350 paddle, I expect to see some $350 playing. I guess. Another one, one for me that I'll watch, especially if it comes on TikTok or something like that, is woodworking. Like if someone's doing like making something. Yeah, like a making.

I'm more talking about like out in the wild.

Like I watch it in the wild too. I just don't see it all that often. Is that okay?

No, I get it. Because I like to watch, like if we're driving in construction, I like to watch construction equipment do construction-y things.

Oh, look at you with all the terminology.

Yeah, like you know what I'm saying. If a crane is moving, I'm like, oh, I'm watching this.

You sound like a project manager with I am. Do your construction things. Yeah, do this stuff.

But have you ever seen those huge cranes where they are moving things? I don't know. I like to stare and watch that.

Here's a theory. Here's a theory our son has, and I kind of support it. Cranes just spawn in places. I understand that. I don't I've never seen it. Maybe you've seen one moving down the road, I don't know, but they seem to just spawn in places.

You're right, because it's not there and then like the next day it's there.

Yeah.

How about somebody how about somebody trying to carry something that's like way too heavy for them? Or like two people carrying a washer like upstairs or oh yeah. Like I want to watch those things. I just want to see what's gonna happen.

I will watch bigger people try to do something sporty.

So like you watch me play pickleball.

I mean if the big misfits. No, I like if you s if someone who's disproportionate, you know, like overly big, but then they're getting ready to do attempt something sporty, I'm just like, oh man, are do you okay? So one like um like someone who is big and they think that they're gonna they're gonna hang on to a zip line. Okay, you see what I'm saying? Like you are grossly under misunderstanding how much you weigh and how much grip strength you weigh. Grip strength. I couldn't either, especially with the biggest thing. Stuff like that. Stuff like that out in the wild where people are I I know you you think you can jump off of that. I've that was five that was 50 pounds ago that you last jumped.

I have seen two people fall off those track slides at pumpkin patches, two grown ass adults. Yeah, those is that what they're called? Track slides? We call them track slides.

But the zip lines, like they hold on to them and it was like going and that yeah, that you'll see them at the at the park, like some of the the nicer parks, you'll see those zip those little tracks. That and and they'll misunderstand the slack in the line. So I know you go to you go to step off the platform and your body weight takes you right to your knees, dragging along the ground. So yeah, I will watch that for sure. I also like to watch people get pulled over.

Yes. I like to watch people get pulled over a lot too.

I do, I do too, and I do too.

But I like to just be like, oh, what's in there? Are they getting do they have to get out? Do they have to what's going on?

Yeah, why are they standing on the side of the road?

Which is why you go like two miles an hour.

Yeah, yeah.

Oh, there's two police cars. This is some someone's going to jail.

Someone's going to jail.

Oh, another one for me. Watching watching people go through airport security. Like, like I wonder, is this the first time some people like, is this the first time you've ever flown?

Like it could be.

Yeah.

No, I don't pay attention to that.

Oh no, it's it's a tragic mess. Because I I mean I'm TSA Pre. So But like when they have to go back and it's always me.

Can you remove your ascot?

Can you remove your ascot, sir?

I always get pulled out. Always.

Yeah, you look like a terrorist.

I think there's those things, and then I think there's also like things people do, and myself included, that I feel like you can't be mad if people are staring at you. Like you did the thing for some reason. Colored hair, for instance, you know. But like when you are tatted head to toe and you walk past me at Walmart, like I'm kind of interested. I'm looking at you. And and some people, you know, will be like, oh, like don't stare. And it's like, you you want me to like obviously look that way for a reason. Right. You wanted the attention, or you have all these piercings, and I'm trying to figure out holy shit, how do you eat?

Not only that, is there a magnet present?

Right.

I fear for you.

Right. And so there's nothing wrong with them. And I'm not saying they shouldn't do it, but I'm saying, you know, we're there's a reasonable expectation of people staring at you.

Of attention. When you look, when you intentionally make yourself different, completely different. Yeah, absolutely. Not just like, oh, I'm wearing a different t-shirt today, or I'm wearing flashbacks.

Like if you're wearing flashy clothes, like we're gonna look at you, but why would you wear flashy clothes?

If you're going to Walmart in a ball gown, I would expect everyone to be staring at me. Because that's like, what the heck are you doing? You're not in pajamas. But I can't get mad at people for staring at me if I walk into Walmart and a baller round. You kind of you invite that invitation onto yourself. Yeah, absolutely.

A couple others for me is I'll I will always watch police body cam footage. I love body cam footage. It's a good show. Yeah, I can't stop watching that.

It's the drunk ones for me.

I mean, just well, that was my next one is watching at a party, at a social event, watching people get drunker and drunker, and then figuring out, okay, what kind of drunk is this person? Oh, yeah. Are they happy drunk? Are they happy drunk?

Are they they're they're home drunk?

Are they happy smurf?

I mean, between us three, I mean, we we just sit around. I mean, we're not we're not going to parties. We don't go anywhere, we don't watch people get drunk.

Nobody ever invites us.

But I do know what you're saying because even, you know, when we were at PickleCon, we were like, okay. That's a lot. That's a lot.

What's your blood alcohol content, buddy?

Yep. I just thought that that's funny. I'm sure there's tons more out there. I just know that those are certain ones for me that I just love to wrap her neck on.

Oh, yeah, all of mine are kind of aligned with what you were saying. I'm just a people watcher in general. Yeah. Tell us what you think. Get all up in our comments and let us know what is the thing that you like to do or uh turns you into a spectator against your will, if you will. See what I did there? Bdpodcast.com.

Fan Mail (Shout Outs, Comments, Love)

Fammail!

Let me tell you, y'all have been doing a great job. Our mailbag is getting filled up and I like it. Keep doing it. Don't think you can't get in. We have plenty of space still. We got we bought a giant bag. Sandra Hilton said from Facebook says, love it. You guys are hilarious. Thank you, Sandra. I see the nod to me after obviously in there.

Yes. Just the tip.

Just The Tip - Pickleball Wisdom

Just the tip. Quick pickleball wisdom in and out before you know it. Just because you're not the best player on the court doesn't mean you don't deserve to be on the court. You're allowed to be learning, you're allowed to miss easy shots, you're allowed to be the weakest player in the foresome sometimes. You're allowed to play before you're actually good. Everybody better than you now sucked at some point, too. So stop waiting until you're good enough to feel like you belong.

Pickle Pals - Deep Dive with a Pickleball Court, Club or Influencer

It's time for pickleball. Well, I'm gonna tell you, this is a special one for me. Today we're going all the way across the Atlantic to Edinburgh, Scotland. Our guest did not play a single sport, nothing, until January of 2025. In his words, he was a typical couch potato. Maybe some of you out there can resonate with that. Overweight, done with all that. Then he found pickleball, the sport we all love here on the Big Dink Energy Podcast. Less than a year later, he's fit enough that he's thinking about running a 5K. We'll talk to him about that. This isn't a pro, this isn't a coach. This is the exact person this show is for. This is Alex Aitken, all the way from Scotland, the motherland, as I call it. I love it. I haven't been there to visit yet, but now that we know Alex, we're probably going to go visit. Alex, welcome to the Big Dink Energy Podcast.

Thanks very much for having Little Old Mew on your podcast. It's very humbling.

Yeah well, okay. First things first.

I've given it all she's got, Captain. I could probably do that slightly better in in the Scotty way. I've given it all she's got, Captain. Anyway. Yeah, James Dooley, right? Yeah, but who's actually Canadian? He was Canadian. Oh no. No, yeah. Sorry to spoil that. He was Canadian but played a Scotchman. Dang it's Scotty. Fantastic.

Dang it, Scotty.

Yeah.

And and you know, the other big thing that I love is I don't know if you've seen Mike Myers do his Scottish stuff on uh if it ain't Scottish, it's crap.

Yep. We slightly cringe when we watch that now and again. Oh I bet. It's like everything else. So we all slag each other off and try different accents. I've tried my American accent now and again, and I seem to go rather southern um with an accent. Okay, let me hear. Okay, let's let's hear the let's hear the American. Okay. Hello there. I'm from the South. My name's Ellie. Yes, I love it.

There you go. Yeah, I know.

I could try Boston. Give me some clam chowder.

Yeah, yeah. We gotta go park the car. That's it. I gotta get the cohkies. Is that your khakis? No, it's the cockies. Okay. I I don't think that's i what anybody came to listen to from what you say. So you are all like like a lot of us out there's couch potato for a while, right? And then came into pickleball. Tell me a little bit about the app. Take us back to December, I guess, 2024, when you're just like, man, I I've got to do something, and then pickleball came into your life.

Well, I was I was wanting to get fit for fifty uh for fifty, but that never came around. So I'm saying I need to try and get fitter for fifty too. So I was just having a look around uh I was just having a look around different sports and I th I I ruled out squash because that would kill me. Um tennis would probably kill me as well, and it can be very expensive. So I just happened to look uh for sports that were doing for doubles and uh and I came across I came across pickable. Never heard about pickleball before in my life. Um had a wee look and then I researched um if there was any pickleball clubs in Edinburgh, and where I actually stay is in East Lothian, so it's just outside Edinburgh. Um so there was a club and basically went along, did a tester session, which was two hours, they just give you a quick intro into pickleball and that was it. That was it. Never looked back since. So yeah, I mean I'd I'd be the same thing.

So no rugby, right? Uh that's that's out. I like my teeth, I like what I like where they are. Yeah. No, as you call it, football. Yep. Um, that's for me, for me, yeah, soccer. That's a lot of running for me, and that's I'm not all about that either. So yeah, pickleball, it's great because I think, and and you probably found this too, I can call myself an athlete, right?

Well, I haven't gone that far yet. I've got an enthusiastic beginner athlete, shall we say, but I haven't gone that far to call me an athlete yet, no.

Now, are there any are there any famous Scottish pickleball players other than you, obviously?

Not really. There's there's a lot of players that are coming through. Basically, pickleball's still fairly new here. Our national association, pickable Scotland, has only been on the go since about 2019. So we're a little bit obviously way behind the states. We're also behind England, where they've got a lot of good players and facilities as well. They've just had the English Open, which was the biggest indoor pickable open in the world. And hardly anybody knew about it. They had fifty-two courts there. So they had a couple of quite a few English players like Louis Laville, he's a good player, and etcetera. A lot of the players came in from America as well to play also, but like we say, nobody really knew about it. Out with the pickable community. You know, it's strange, it really is strange.

Now, are the courts you play at, are they indoor?

Oh yes, indoor, just good old community halls or gym halls. We've got pickable mate nets, and we just play on the badminton courts, but we mark out the kitchen lane. So yeah, I haven't yet played on a proper pickable court, and that's one thing I need to get started, Charlie.

Well, yeah, uh yeah, because I would imagine for you guys, you you would if you had outdoor courts, you would get two months of good playing and then uh two months of well, we gotta we gotta try to get around the weather.

Yeah. Predictable, uh unpredictable, sorry. You can get four seasons in one day here. But luckily and well, can we say lucky enough it's got to do with climate change? Things are warmer now, things are changing, so you never know there could be a couple of outdoor courts po uh prop up, but um no, we are mainly indoors, so I'd imagine that'd be the way that we'd be cool, probably, is indoor courts if it ever a specific course for pickable. For sure.

Yeah, and yeah, pickable has has swept through Asia pretty quickly. Yeah, I would imagine coming through the highlands, coming through England, but you know, a little bit of lag time there for sure. But man, with that with that big tournament there, that's that's gotta be driving some interest.

I would like to think so, yes, but there was like no mainstream media there to pick it up. Um and I think if we just need one little bit from either Sky TV or or local, you know, or national broadcast or BBC here to pick these up, then that would bring a bit more concentration to the game. But we seem to be going the other way with Paddle. I think you call it Padel over there.

Padel.

Yeah. Um which is sweeping the board a little bit more. And I can't understand why, because it's a bit more expensive. You need bigger courts, you need more enclosed courts. You can't really play it indoors where we've got facilities indoors at the moment for like setting up an X, whereas Padel with Paddle, you have to set up a proper court for that, you know.

Yeah, I haven't tried it yet. We had the developer, we had the guy that that developed it on, and it sounds really interesting, and it looks really interesting. I just haven't had a chance to try it yet. But it it looks like you know, you added pickleball to racquetball kind of thing, uh, maybe a little squash in there. Yeah, it so uh yeah, I'm interested to try it whenever we get a chance to. Now, with you, when you first started this, you yeah, like you almost crashed and burned, right? You were terrible, you were dying, you're out of breath, and all that kind of stuff.

Yeah.

And but then but then you kept coming back, right? What what drove you to keep coming back?

I think it's because it's a fairly straightforward sport to get into once you remember the scoring and get over and get over the Oh my gosh, isn't that the worst? Why is it zero zero two? And still can't understand why it is zero two. But once you get over that and um but it's like everything else, I think you can you can take your time with it or you can go full bull pelt with it. Yeah. And it it was just a bug uh to so much so that I did the ambassador course with Pickable Scotland, so that allows me to teach intro course for two hours to new people who's interested in it, and so much so that I'm going through my referee Scotland course at the moment to be a pickable referee, which I think might be a poison chalice, but there you go. Be no referee in anything. So it's it is I've just grabbed that bug and I can't put my finger on it. Why? And so many other people say they can't put their finger on it, why? It it just seems to be a good inclusive sport for everybody. Disabled players as well, elderly players. Hopefully, eventually we'll get the younger players coming through in Scotland as well once they realise how straightforward a sport. I wouldn't say it's easy, it can be easy. It's how you do it. It's how you want to play it. Yeah. But it's one of these sports that can adapt quite quickly, I think.

And yeah, you know, the thing the great thing about it, I don't know if it's the great thing, but you it's it's a sport where you can get smoked by an eleven year old or an eighty year old all on the same day.

I had a you know I had a s I'm sorry, dear, I had a 70 year olds when I first started smoke meat, basically.

So I was like, and they take such the problem is they take such joy in it. That's that's what really bothers me. It's I'd I've never heard nobody ever did they call me names when they're beating my butt like that and it it hurts my feelings.

Well I've not heard that yet, but I've had the odd smile and rye smile. It's like everything else, people can take it. And I I enjoy it. I and I'm not very competitive, but even in social play that we have here, we have members of our club that would just uh play it like it's a tournament and smash the ball back at you. I've had to hold my hands a few times without going over and smashing them a few times and say that this is just it's a rec game, it's social play. We're here to enjoy. If you want to do that sort of aggressive pickleball stuff, find another group, you know.

Yeah, that's right.

We're all here to enjoy ourselves and enjoy this. And yeah, maybe progress ourselves a little bit further because people do want to go into tournaments and things like that. But there's a time and a place, I think, to be that aggressive type player, you know?

Yeah, I I agree. And I I I think we s I see it a lot in the players that that are crossing from like a like a 3-8 into a four, you know, three-five into four, and then once you get into fours, you know, obviously you're you're taking it a lot more seriously. And it that's not what I'm in for, you know. I and I tell and I say it on the podcast all the time if duper is ever looking for a 1.5, that's me. Yeah, you know what I mean? I I hold myself to that really low bar there because it's easy to step over. I can look like a two on some days, you know. But it keeps it more fun that way.

It does. And and Dupra's just uh is a nightmare. So I just say yeah, because it's just had its glitch there. Over here anyway, I don't know what it was like in the States, but it went down for a few numbers of days over the weekend and trying to get back in for some people because we had just done a tournament and it was one of my first tournaments I entered. It was just a local one, it was up to three point five. I I don't enter tournaments because I d I just I don't really like them. A lot of pressure. It is, yeah. And I just uh I didn't do it for that. But I thought, well, it's a local one, it's up to three point five, it should be okay. We did we held our own, which was alright. Um we won one out of five matches. But we we were pickled once, but they were experimented players and we think they were ringers. So try and get the scores on Dupra and then obviously it went crazy. So I've ended up now with 2.30, which I'm quite happy with. I'm happy with that to start off with. But yeah, no kidding. But there's a lot of problems with that, and people manipulate it as well. And we had some players that were 3.5 who didn't come into the competition, and they came out and said, I don't want to play lower players because that'll lower my duper rate down. And it's like you know, come on, you know, we're all here to play, you know, to enjoy the sport, but yeah, you get that in every sport, don't you? The competitive lot and the people that just wants to have a good time and play and maybe do the odd competition and things like that. Yeah, I think a nightmare.

Yeah, I like I like the tournaments. I think it's it's fun, you know, because I'm not there to win. You know, if if that's the outcome, you know, surprise, surprise. I didn't I didn't know that was coming. So it's just fun, and it's fun to watch the other people and just be part of that, you know, because I think you get a lot different players out there, and you get a lot of different looks and a lift uh a lot of different games, and you challenge yourself a little bit too. So I kind of like that part of it, especially if it's for a cause. We a lot of our tournaments here are you know to raise money for one thing or another. Now, for you guys, there's got obviously that what you see on TV is different than what you guys are experiencing over there. You said you play on a lot of courts where you have to make the kitchen line and all that kind of stuff. D do you see or has there been any talk about it growing in your neck of the woods, in your area?

I think it's just getting investment in. I think there's a there's a explosion I said that earlier to you in Paddle. There's a few of them courts um and facilities popping up now more and they're not combining it with pickleball. And if we think if they did do both, I think pickleball will outweigh the paddle side of it here. So there's so we're just I think we're just needing that investor to take that chance here in Scotland. But again, yeah, you're up against local authorities as well that sometimes don't want to grant the planning permission. I don't know if it's the same sort of thing like there in the States, but you know, uh well we have to have this or you have to have that. So I think if somebody took the chance, I think they'll make money over fist.

Yeah, you know, for us, I don't know how it is for y'all, but you know, our tennis courts aren't used as much as they used to be. And so we're seeing a lot of areas convert their tennis courts, which which is then an another injection of people, cash, uh, everything, right? And so that's that's one way to do it. And I like that because if we have public spaces and we can repurpose them like that, yeah, man, let's let's go. You know, let's get people outdoors and and doing something that raises all your good your chemicals in your body.

We have one laser facility in Edinburgh that's done that, they've they've converted a part of their uh tennis courts into pickleball courts and they're making money, hand over fist with that. But I think there's also that stigma with tennis courts as well. It's oh it's tennis. You know, you know, you know, no no no, we can't do pickleball there. Wimble done. You've got to go to wimble done. And I think it's got to do with something to do with the Lawn Tennis Association as well. They're they're combining themselves with paddle a lot as well, and not very much with pickleball. So you think, well, why did it combine all the three? Because they're all good sports, it's about getting people out, getting people healthier and and enjoying it. But I think it'll come, we'll probably get a surprise one day that somebody, hopefully maybe somebody from the states will say come in and say Edinburgh. Well, Edinburgh now, as you know, is an international city, it has the Edinburgh festival, so we are busy all the time. And my club, I'm a member of the Slotlian Pickable Club, but also the Edinburgh Pickable Club as well. And we get requests from people coming from you know the States, Canada, all over, saying any chance to play, um, play with you is yeah, and yeah, great, fine, uh, fine. But again, it's finding the facilities to do it because they're not always available or they're busy. So it just needs to take somebody to come in and say, right, go build a purpose-built core, and they'll make money. They will make money. I know it's going to cost money, but they will make money.

We need we need to send noisy pickleball over there too. He's a mutual friend, right? Yeah, we have to do it.

Yeah, I just yeah. I engaged with John when we first started setting up just doing Instagram stuff, you know, and it and it's not really great stuff, I don't think, that I'm doing. I'm just trying to put stuff on for beginners. Like what I learned as a beginner and is hopefully you know, spreading it out there. And John, I just hooked up with John with something um when he was doing his uh big giveaway. And I just like what he's doing, and obviously he's going across to the VAR system as well, and he keeps saying to me, Oh, go and join VAR. I say, John, I can't because our association and it's still too young here, you know, to do that sort of thing. So we're stuck with Dupra at the moment. But what he's doing is fantastic, it's just and that's the way it should be. It should be fun and noisy, basically. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely brilliant.

Yeah, uh maybe you need to get like a fish and chips and pickleball restaurant started, or you know, haggis and pickle haggis and pickleball or something like that.

We did we did thought about having drinking piss pickleball, and we were going to we were going to call it it's a slightly swear word, but you can whatever you want, it's called pist pick a ball. But we've been told you can't do that, and and I know you can get paddles now that are the shape of the flasks. I've never done it myself yet to fill it up and see how it plays. You know, one night we can have a nice tournament where you just get slammed on the court and then you get slammed as well. You might actually play pick a ball better. I don't know.

But get some get some Jameson or some log some Jameson sponsor, a log of woolen sponsor or something like that. Well, man, Alex, thanks so much for being how can everybody get a h a hold of you? Where where can they find you? Instagram, I'm guessing.

Yeah, just Instagram, and it's um Alex the Pickable. Well, it'll be the pickable or jock if you'd put that in there into Instagram, and you'll see see what I'm doing. You know? Awesome.

All right, Alex, thanks so much for being on the Big Dink Energy Podcast. Love what you're doing, love the accent, obviously. I'm gonna I'm gonna be speaking my Scottish accent around the house, annoying all my family later today because of this, and I'm gonna have to figure out how to get some Scottish merch from your pickleball courts over there.

Oh, yeah, yeah. Thanks so much for being on, brother. No problem. Thank you. Take care.

It's time to pick six.

Pick six is that little

Pick 6 ( 1 question and 6 answers)

game show we play where we take one question and each bring two answers and immediately regret to agreeing to this segment. Pick six tonight is things you pretend you're fine with, but you're absolutely not. Not serious stuff, but petty stuff out there. Pick the pick six, things you pretend you're fine with, but you're absolutely not.

Someone eating your leftovers that you were in your mind wanted.

Yes, that has been a fight in our house before. Yeah. It's been a fight in our house.

It's like, oh, I'm coming home, I'm gonna eat that, and it's like nope.

What you got, paddle?

People interrupting me.

Yeah. That's a good one.

I'm just I don't have the medical capacity to try to figure out what I was talking about and go back to it. So yeah, I just pretend like I'm more interested in what they have to say.

Yeah, and that's it, because they if you're thinking about what to say to somebody while they're talking, then you're not listening. Yeah, for me, someone parking in front of my house.

Oh yeah. Okay.

That's that's my land. That's my area out there. This land is your land? What do you park there for? What you what are you up to?

What's going on? I think this is so petty, but like if you have a usual seat or like a usual place, like for me, I have a place like I like to put my pickleball bag at my at the club we go to. And when it's taken, like it's it's not assigned, I get it, but I'm just I I'll walk in and the first thing I do is look over and I'm like, oh damn. Yeah, my my place is gone.

No, I totally understand that. Mine was going to be uh my unassigned parking spot at work. Okay, it is not my parking spot. It is. I mean, it basically is, but when I pull in and somebody's in my spot, I'm like, oh, get out. Like I it feels just off. Like it throws me completely off. I need to park like that. I do.

This one is well well well established and well known in our house. Summon drinking out of my glass.

Yeah, you don't like it. Not we all do it instead of it. No one listens to that. Everybody just I know you do. I know you do. All do it and then look at each other and I see. I see. You don't see it all. We do it all the time.

I see your little shifty eyes.

Everybody's doing it behind your back.

You guys don't. You're not good. Because I can feel your wet lips on my straw or my lid of my cup. Ugh. Stop it, wet lippers.

We do it all the time.

I know you do.

News you can use.

News You Can Use

Mr. and Mrs. America and all ships at sea.

Okay, Major League Pickleball is doing its first ever Nations Cup at Pickleball World Championships in Dallas, October 3rd through November 1st. So eight teams representing different countries, regions will compete. So we're kind of getting like the pickleball version of the World Cup.

Oh. That's cool.

My question for you guys about this is does putting countries behind the teams make you more likely to give a shit about watching professional pickleball or putting countries? Yeah.

Like Bill Cosby?

No, not putting cups.

Oh.

Putting countries behind the teams.

Oh, putting oh, I got excited for a second.

Putting on the Reds. Putting on the Rits! Because I think it's interesting now that you know we get to represent the United States.

I think that's kind of I mean it's cool, but it's not gonna make me watch it anymore, I don't think.

Is Kid Rock gonna do a concert? I feel like you've got to represent that way. There's gotta be a bald eagle flying. Kid Rock.

I mean, it is interesting to see like which country is gonna come out on the city. Yeah, I'm I'm interested.

Maybe it might make me I think I'm a little interested. Like, you know, like USA versus Australia versus Europe. Like, yeah, I don't know. Is it good?

Are we the best? We'll find out.

I guess we'll find out. Probably not.

We better be. I don't know. We better be. But uh you said who's putting MLP, you said?

Uh it's the major league pickleball, yeah.

So will that mean some of the the people that play on the PPA are gonna be? Oh, I'm sure.

Oh no, no, I'm sure that it'll be a col whatever collab. Collision? No, uh collab. I can't even think of it.

A collab.

No, not a collab. Anyways.

A cohort.

A conhany. A concoction? Concoction.

Cacophony.

A shit ton of those people will probably play, okay? A maligan is what I'm trying to say.

Oh, a myriad. Excuse us.

Love it. I don't know.

What do you got? You got a word a day calendar over here? That's it for this episode, unless you've got something to say. Think we got it wrong? Have a better take? We want to hear it. Find us at bdepodcast.com or at bdepodcast on the social. Drop us a message. We might just speak to you in the next episode. If you had a good time, well, stay into it. If not, make a try to deal with the wrong people. So you know the deal. Follow us show, tell a friend, and leave us

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