Episode 150: All Things Diadem

[00:00:00] Welcome to Everything But The Kitchen Dink, the podcast where we discuss all things pickleball with your hosts Rob and Andy.

[00:00:12] Welcome back to Everything But The Kitchen Dink. Welcome back everybody. I'm moving the mic. I want it here. I want it here. I'm just setting it up. Guess what? What? It's our 150th episode this one. Is it? Yeah. How insane is that? 150? Wow. I mean, I knew we could talk bullshit. That is another level, isn't it?

[00:00:33] Do you know, it's a bit of a milestone really. Yeah, it is. It is. I never even realized. That's fantastic. Yeah. 150 episodes. So we've got a slightly different kind of episode today because we are, this is the annual Diadem episode. Yes. From when I went to visit their HQ in the States. Yeah. Unfortunately, I wasn't there. So you did it on your own. And I actually, I'm excited to see this episode as well. Yeah. I haven't actually, yeah, I haven't seen it myself. So the reason why I just want to say that the reason why we go to Diadem,

[00:01:03] apart from the fact that it's 15 minutes down the road when I'm there, they really, first of all, it's a very undervalued, under-talked about brand in this country, I feel. And they embody, listen to the interview, especially if you haven't heard any of the previous ones, but they just embody everything that is good about Pickleball.

[00:01:29] Well, they're also very welcoming whenever we've been. Yes. Yeah. You know, they've given us tours around the facility. Anyway, I'm not going to go into it. No. And I just feel like their paddles, particularly in this country, are very underrated. Yeah. Yeah. So give that a listen. And then we've got lots of other things coming up as well. Before you do that, I just need to mention our sponsors, the Pickleball People. Go to their website, pickleballpeople.co.uk for all your paddles, balls, nets, whatever you need.

[00:01:58] They have the top of the range paddles there. You can get a discount with our code EBTKD15. Their new facility, just an update on that destination, Pickleball. Yeah. There was a video posted on Facebook actually today of the actual facility now cleared out. I mean, you can see now how it's going to pan out. So they're ready to start doing the work. They're ready. You said they've got ProFlex coming in to do the courts now to have a look. And it's very exciting. It looks really good.

[00:02:27] So we're all very excited to see how it looks and the finished product there. But exciting times for Pickleball in Stoke. Exciting for me. I cannot wait. Yeah, it's going to be good. Yeah, it's going to be good. Well, give this a listen. Yeah, but before we get into it, there are some other things. You're turning into me. You're turning into me. Say God forbid. I just want to mention the Northern League.

[00:02:56] I played in that this weekend. I'm not going to talk about it now because this is all about the Diadem episode. We'll go into it. A shout out to them, to Danielle and all the hard work. Yeah, it does take a lot of work. The only thing I'll mention is we got our kit as well. And I got... Why is it... You know that you've got a hoodie? Yeah. So they give me a hoodie with a little zip here like this. Oh, a quarter zip. A quarter zip. Yeah, I hate those. I mean, give me a full zip. And then you've got to take it all off and it's tight and your belly's showing. Exactly.

[00:03:26] So just give me a proper zip up hoodie next time. Yeah. My only concern. But I'll talk about my games and everything that went on there in the next episode. But they're doing a great job at the Northern League as well. So give this episode a listen. Obviously, you won't hear my sultry tones. It'll just be handy. Have a nice break, everybody, from Robert's dulcet tones. Enjoy. Well, we're back here. It's been another year. This is our third visit here. You look younger every year.

[00:03:56] Mike Mangalardi, CEO of Diadem. Yeah? We're not a big title company. Okay, fine. If you're happy with us, sure. If you're pissed at us, then I can point to other people. So it's been a year. I mean, last time we were with you, you had the big paddle with the question mark on. So you were doing the big, well, it was even before the launch.

[00:04:23] We played with this, which you can tell us all about. But how's it gone for the year with the new range? Yeah, well, first of all, I want to thank you for coming back. Oh, thanks for having us. Because most people don't come back and see us a second or third time. It must be the air in the office. But I appreciate you coming back. It is the highlight. The second thing I'll say is, with time, your vision must be getting worse if you think I'm looking younger.

[00:04:49] Because this racket sport thing is certainly aging all of us. And my wife is quick to point out some of the greys that come poking through in my beard every now and then. I seem to remember you had a baby last time as well. I've got a baby on the way, actually. Oh, congratulations. Kevin had just had his second baby the last time you guys came to visit. And then we found out a few months ago that my wife's pregnant. Oh, fantastic. Well, maybe next year you might.

[00:05:14] I'll definitely have a few more greys for you next year and hopefully some good stories and maybe the future industry-leading pro pickleball player at one years old. Well, yeah. It's interesting. Is it too early to bet on the future of our kids and their pickleball careers in like six months? It's funny because I was actually thinking about, I was going to discuss with you about sponsoring players.

[00:05:42] Because I know we've spoken to Gene in the past who has always said you don't sponsor pro pickleball players. But I noticed she sponsored tennis players. Is there a reason why or is that something you're going to go down the road of? Yeah. The statement of we don't sponsor pro pickleball players obviously went out the door when I found out my wife was pregnant. Because we're going to have to sponsor my son. Of course. And Evan's going to want some sponsored kids. Six-figure contracts. For sure.

[00:06:11] The biggest you can draft up. But no, in all seriousness, we do sponsor pro pickleball players and will continue to invest in that layer of the sport. Our philosophy, especially in the last couple of years, was that the value of pro players and what they were getting paid by other brands and other sponsors was a bit richer than what we wanted to invest in our money.

[00:06:39] And we put that money into other parts of the sport. Which I would love to talk with you more about. But we will sponsor pros. Right now, we actually sponsor Yuta, who is the number one player in Asia. He's from Japan. And he raced here. He's had some real success on the PPA tour over the last year. And we actually made him a signature paddle that we launched earlier this year.

[00:07:04] And we've had a handful of other pros that compete on the PPA tour that are using the Diadem brand. The big difference when you look at our tennis division and our pickleball division on the pro level is the maturity of the sport. Okay. And one of the things that everybody has noticed in the last year or so is that pickleball has gone through this extreme stage of maturing, especially here in the U.S.

[00:07:33] Where tennis, you know, there's a standard. There is a following that remains pretty much the same every year. And so it's not that it's a better investment. It's a more confident return on your investment. You know if you sponsor, you know, like on the tennis side, we have two top 10 pros. One in men's, one in women's. We more or less know what the return on those pros will be. Where in pickleball, it's a bit more uncertain.

[00:08:02] And I think that's a beautiful thing about the sport. But it makes it tougher to confidently spend your dollars on the pros, especially when the market value is set at a certain level. Okay. So I remember when the Speed Pro came out, that was the thing you invest in the paddles, which obviously you're still doing. But now you just felt that the time was right of where pickleball was at. Yeah.

[00:08:27] And Yuta in particular is a very unique case because he is a Japanese player, because he has a following in Japan. And he came from a soft tennis background. He was a world champion. So when he switched to pickleball, you know, we pretty much knew he was going to be a high level player. And did he move over here because of you guys? Because of pickleball. And he actually splits time, but he does spend a lot of time here in Florida.

[00:08:56] But because of where the sport is going in Japan, and we have a great partner that's based in Japan that does diet and distribution. We felt that was the right partnership to make because it would allow us to not just have a pro on tour, but have a pro on tour based in a market where diet really wants to grow. Okay. Yeah.

[00:09:19] Because all I hear is, well, Japan actually was sort of behind India and other parts of Asia that are the massive emerging markets. So I assume you want to approach all those areas. Yep. So one of the things we've invested in in the last year has been our international infrastructure.

[00:09:43] So that doesn't just mean pro players like Yuta, but also distributors, fulfillment operations, and the ability to get product into players' hands all around the world. I mean, Southeast Asia is booming right now. It's great for the sport. It's great for the brands. It's leading the sport. Europe is also starting to see some growth. They're still a bit further behind. Yeah. There is growth there. Yeah.

[00:10:10] I was saying that we went over to a tournament in Spain, Revolution Cup, which has been going for a while now. And the Spanish, I mean, I've seen over the past couple of years, the Brits go and dominate. And all of a sudden, they're barely winning any medals. All the Spanish are currently European champions as well. And it's great to see for a country that is, I mean, we call it Paddle, you call it Paddle.

[00:10:35] But, you know, for a country that is dominant with that, for Spain to be so dominant in the pickleball world in Europe, it's amazing. It just shows the growth. I think from a British point of view, I get very frustrated because I've been coming here for years and there doesn't seem to be, you know, you've got the diadem center here and there isn't really, they're sprouting up.

[00:11:01] But not enough paddle is really taking a hold over pickleball in the UK. But I guess we just have to be patient. Yeah. I mean, that's where Europe has always struggled a little bit. It certainly isn't with the demand. There are people that love the sport and want to play the sport. But there's just not that many places to play, you know, really all throughout Europe.

[00:11:26] But especially in the markets where you would think, like here in the U.S., we converted tennis courts to pickleball courts overnight. Yeah. We were taking apartment complexes and city parks that were going unused and switching those to pickleball courts. That was very easy to do because of the surface. In Europe, you're running into, you know, red play and colder climates. Yeah. And so it's not as easy of a conversion as it has been here in the U.S. Yeah.

[00:11:54] And I think the fact that a paddle needs a facility to play, otherwise you can't play. Whereas pickleball, you could just use a badminton court. I think that goes against it. But things are happening, you know, and that's why it's great for me to come here. And there's courts everywhere. And it's real pickleball. It's just fantastic. But talking about the Diadem Center, you've opened up a new one, haven't you? Yeah, we've actually opened a couple of new facilities.

[00:12:22] So over the last year, since the last time we got a chance to sit down, we launched the Edge Blue Court, which was the unknown paddle that you had tried in our demo day last year. And that paddle's done phenomenal for us. It's been really well received as a power paddle that still offers that control towards the net, especially on your dinks. But the paddle business is, you know, has been a part of what Diadem's done since 2020.

[00:12:49] And we're continuing to invest and develop that part of the business. What I've been most excited about in the last year from Diadem Pickleball has been our investment into the facility space. Okay, so was this, I mean, I visited the DPC and we've talked about it and it's been a great success. I assume even the fact that others have opened, other companies have opened up facilities hasn't affected it.

[00:13:20] To the point where you, well, you've opened two more, but what was the thought process there? Is that something that you wanted to do right from the beginning? So I can't say that we had this five-year plan to get into the facility business. It happened very organically, but what was always driving that decision for us was in pickleball, we had the opportunity to create new customers. Right. And that's a very rare opportunity to have.

[00:13:49] You can take people, bring them into an intro class, show them this beautiful sport called pickleball, and have them as a part of the Diadem Pickleball complex and the Diadem brand for the rest of their lives. And so we saw that with our Coconut Creek facility. We taught thousands of people to play in just the first year. And we started to build what was a really special community of lives and healthy living and people that were connected with one another.

[00:14:18] And we wanted to replicate that. So right now we have six facilities open, a handful, four in the states, all based in Florida, and then a couple internationally that have been really good for our distribution partners and what we're doing throughout Asia. But the idea with having facilities is, you know, it doesn't have to be about the Diadem brand.

[00:14:47] It's about teaching people to play, teaching people the fun of the sport, and then giving that sense of home base where whether you're a, you know, 1-0 starting for the very first time or a 5-0 plus trying to compete in tournaments, you can come to this place where you can play, get better, and be a part of the community. So where are they in Florida? So we have our flagship facility in Coconut Creek. And that's the one that you've been to a couple of times.

[00:15:15] Gene DeVito, who is our national director of pickleball. So is he still there? Yep. He runs that facility and has been a part of the expansion of the DPC. But that's home base for him. We opened up a facility in Jensen Beach, Florida earlier this year, which is about two hours north of here along the coast. We've got one in Sandsford, Florida, which is in Orlando. That's Orlando. Orlando, yep. And then one in Emerald Coast, which is Panama City Beach.

[00:15:44] And those have all been under one of our licensing partners, Rene Kratz, who's been just a huge advocate for the sport and not just diet and has been a part of the pickleball community and really growing it. And he's been a big part in opening those facilities for us. Okay. And plans for more? Plans for more. Yeah. By early next year, we'll have 10 that are open. With another three in the pipeline for the later part of next year.

[00:16:14] I mean, it's great because I have heard people talking about facilities saying that, you know, they're all going to eventually hurt each other. But that can't be the case, can it? I think in certain markets, it will be. You know, there is going to be oversaturation. And that's why our philosophy when it comes to opening facilities is it starts with the real estate. It has to be a good real estate deal where we can afford to operate.

[00:16:41] And it has to be a building where you can offer premium pickleball experiences. So, you know, we're always looking at the court layout, the ceiling height, obviously indoor air conditioning as some of those driving features that we have to have before we even consider the market demos and haters. You know, this market makes sense for us. Is there oversaturation? Because if you sign up for a losing deal, no matter what you do, you could have the best programming in the world.

[00:17:10] It's hard to make. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you don't want to be under pressure from the start, do you? Got it. But yeah. Okay. So that's great to hear. Any plans for one in England? We actually had somebody that approached us last week and was asking about England. Was it Robert? Confidential. We can only share so much here for the public.

[00:17:33] But there has been interest in Europe and especially in England, which is one of the stronger pickleball markets, as you know. Yeah. Yeah. Nothing that's signed, nothing that's formalized. Okay. It's a start. For this time next year. But there is interest. And we would love to do it. I mean, for us, you know, and I talked to you about this the last time we sat down. Our core business is product.

[00:17:57] We are a product brand driven by paddles, shoes, rackets. Yeah. For those who use the tennis word, we do do a little bit of tennis business. But when we can open facilities as a way to expand the brand and show people what pickleball is all about, that's a huge win for us. And so we're looking at anywhere in the world where it would make sense. Amazing. Amazing. Okay.

[00:18:27] Let's get on to this baby. So last time we were with you, we had, this hadn't launched. We came down to the fort, which is an amazing place. You still go to the fort? So it had a big question mark on and you were inviting people to try this new paddle.

[00:18:48] And at the time I had a pro four and immediately it felt like you bettered that. So just talk us through the range. We, we didn't, I don't think at the time it was the finished product that we used. Is that correct? Yeah. It would have been a finished construction, but an unfinished cosmetic. Right. Okay. And it was amazing. It played amazing out of the box. It was just, we loved it.

[00:19:16] And I've had to imagine having to wait a year to come back and see the finished article. Um, and immediately one of the guys I played with, um, at Patch Reef had one of these and he wouldn't let me play with it, but he liked them. Yeah. Yeah. So all the good stuff. Um, but there is amazing brand loyalty for Diadem, particularly here. Um, and I've just been dying to hear about this range.

[00:19:43] So can you talk us through, um, it launched, I think, did it launch September? It would have been September. Yeah. It was unveiled in October. It went to the. Okay. Yeah. And, and is it just been an explosion for you? It's been a great paddle for us. Uh, what's crazy about pickleball. And I don't know when this episode will come out. Um, and, and depending on when we may have to cut this part, but we've already got something new. So. Oh my God. This is the current performance paddle from Diadem. Okay.

[00:20:13] I mean, we're going to have something in a couple of months that, that to be honest, blows that away. I mean, this is, this will go out probably in a couple of weeks. Okay. So maybe it'll be a good teaser. Maybe for, uh, for the loyal fans that are following along, we're dropping them a little nugget. I always love to come and get an exclusive and playing with the question mark last year was amazing. Yeah. So the, the edge blue core was the power family of Diadem's performance line.

[00:20:42] So last year we launched the blue core technology, which is our version of the foam core. So I had that one from last year, been using it. I always felt it was such an understated paddle. The warrior blue core. Yes. A hundred percent. Uh, the all black paddle. Yep. Um, I've been using it and it's, it's almost like, well, certainly in England, it's, it's

[00:21:09] gone under the radar as just an amazing all round paddle to the point where every time I used it, people were surprised and it just played so well. So I, I, I've not used one of these yet. I can't imagine that it betters that, but I'm sure it does. So depending on what you're looking for as a player, it could be better.

[00:21:33] It could be worse, but the idea with our 2025 line that's rolled into 2026 and quickly will become outdated here in a few months is that we wanted to have the control family and the power family. So the warrior was a part of that control family. And to your point, it's probably one of the more underrated paddles in the market for people that are looking for that style.

[00:21:57] If you remember in the beginning of 2025, all people could talk about was power, power, power, power. And so as the market gravitated towards more of those explosive paddles, you saw less people coming to a paddle like the warrior. And more people going towards paddle like the edge blue core. That is that ultimate power, power. Yeah. Um, but yeah, so both of them have done well for us under the blue core family.

[00:22:24] The edge blue core has done a lot better than the warrior because of the power that it offers. Um, and then within the edge line, we introduced a new shape for diadem, which was the hybrid shape. And that's the shape. Yes. Cause I like the hybrid. I mean, actually I'd like to get your thoughts on the shapes because I've had, I've spoken to various people and some people say, why wouldn't you use a wide body paddle?

[00:22:53] It has a bigger sweet spot, but I think there's almost like a stigma attached that if you're a better player, you use an elongated and a wide body is, is for a beginner. And you know, I've heard various thoughts around that. And you know, what do you think? I think that the majority of, uh, amateurs and recreational players would benefit from either a hybrid or a wide body. I think the stigma, like you said, is a hundred percent there.

[00:23:22] It does look a little bit clunky when you see it has a different shape. Yeah. So I think there is some psychology behind that. Um, but yeah, bigger sweet spot is always going to be better. You look at the majority of average or even above average pickleball players after they're done with a session and you'll see ball marks. Yeah. Yeah. All over the paddle.

[00:23:47] And so one of the things that we've really tried to focus on in our development of our 2026 line is how do we expand that sweet spot and how do we give players that same feeling when they hit the ball right here in the perfect spot, dead center, when they're a little off center or when they're a little high left. And that's been the driving force of our development this year is can we expand the sweet spot and give that, that's so good feeling all over the paddle.

[00:24:16] Um, but to your question on shapes, yes, hybrid is going to be great for the widest audience of players. It's going to feel a little bit more balanced and a bit more maneuverable than a wide body would. Um, but it is going to have more forgiveness than a pro or elongated shape. Um, but you know, pickleball has its stigmas and as the sports develop, there are some,

[00:24:42] uh, you know, reputations or, or some, uh, you know, mindsets about what paddle is right for what type of player. Yeah. And that's always going to drive purchasing just like it does. Yeah. Yeah. And I guess that's why you need four different ones. I mean, I personally, I like the hybrid, but for no, no other reason that, you know, probably because I don't want to use the wide body and the elongated is it are all elongated in this range, a longer handle as well.

[00:25:12] So yeah, which I don't have. So yeah, everybody has different tastes. Um, but you have, you had another one, uh, the green one, was it, uh, soft foam device. No, in this range, you've got the, Oh, we had the C foam. C foam. That's it. Yes. Yep. So the C foam is just the color. Limited color. Okay. Fine. Fine. I wasn't sure if C foam was some kind of special.

[00:25:41] No, everybody likes new colors and that's something we try to incorporate in all of our products, even looking at shoes. But yeah, we dropped a couple of new colors of the edge blue court earlier this year just to give people more options. Okay. Um, you know, it's, it's fun to be able to use your paddle as a form of expression. I mean, it has to look good, doesn't it? Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

[00:26:04] Although I will say the market five years ago wanted beautiful cosmetics, beautiful designs on the faces, loud colors. And the sport has found its way more into that sleek performance looking product. And I think the edge blue court is a beautifully designed paddle. I mean, I love the, the edge around it. Right. It's really nice.

[00:26:30] It's a sharp looking paddle, but it's not flashy, you know, it's not a flashy paddle. And I think that was something that was fun about the early days of pickleball is you could have some of that flashy look and people were into it. I mean, you did some great collaborations yourself with some great looking puddles as well. We've had some fun. We did a collab with monopoly for their 90th anniversary. Oh yes. I saw that. That was this year. Wasn't it? Yeah. We made an edge blue core with monopoly for their 90th anniversary of really sharp. That's amazing.

[00:27:00] And a couple other fun ones. Yeah. So they, they sold while I shoot. Yeah. Yeah. And that became a collector's house. Yeah. You know, as much as people bought them to throw them in their bag, I think most people kept them in their bag or even put them up on their, their wall and just held onto them as a piece of history. Amazing. So that they were a limited edition. They were. Yeah. So if you've got any other collaborations coming up, you can tell us about.

[00:27:25] We've done a ton of pickleball partnerships with sports teams. Okay. So we've done three consecutive years of pickleball night with the Florida Panthers. Wow. And actually two of those three years, they won the Stanley Cup. Amazing. So Diadem will take a little credit for it. We've done some with Miami Hurricanes, Jacksonville Jaguars, and a handful of other sports teams. So you, you're creating a paddle for that night. We are. Yeah. We're creating the paddle as well as doing the activation.

[00:27:55] So like with the Florida Panthers, we would come out, set up a court, run clinics, do some open play and actually let people try pickleball when they were walking into the stadium. That's amazing. That goes back to our mindset around the facilities and just empowering people to play. Yeah. I noticed you didn't say Miami Dolphins. We'd love to do the Miami Dolphins. We would love to, but the NFL is tricky. I mean, all sports teams have their rules and their regulations, but there is none other

[00:28:25] like the NFL. I mean, they're just a beast in how they operate. Okay. That's so cool. But if any NFL teams want to do a collab, we're all ears. Amazing. So for the previous generation, you had the 14, 16, and 19 in the shapes. Is that the same for the Edge Blue Core? So the Edge Blue Core offers two shapes and two thicknesses. We have the 14 and the 16, and then the Pro and the Hybrid.

[00:28:55] And so the 19 millimeter, similar to your comment about the max shape, we've had the 19 millimeter thickness in the Warrior V1, Warrior V2, and then the Warrior Blue Core. So that's been a signature model within our Warrior family. Okay. But it's very, very unique. There's no other brand, to my knowledge, doing 19 millimeter. Okay. So there's a smaller audience.

[00:29:19] And as the sport's grown and gotten more developed, you see more players falling into that 14 or 16 category. Okay. So you decided not to carry on with the 19? For the Edge Blue Core, yeah. Yeah. We didn't do it 19. Okay. And anything more you can say about the new generation or you don't really want to at this point? I can say it's going to be powerful. Okay.

[00:29:42] But even more importantly than that is it's going to have a much larger, much more forgiving sweet spot than other paddles on the market, including ours. And, you know, that would be one area where the Edge Blue Core could be improved is give people more of its surface to feel that power with. Right. And that's what we're really working on with this new paddle. And it's already done. I mean, the paddle's done. It's been lab tested. It's been improved. It's been play tested.

[00:30:13] And so now we're in the stages of finalizing some of the marketing and then we'll be teasing that out. Okay. So as a paddle, it's done. Oh, it's done. It's just fine tuning everything else. Yeah. I mean, it's really nothing to do with the paddle at this point. Yes. It's the marketing, the production, the seating samples, but the paddle's done and it's fully tested. Okay. And that will be a usual range of different shapes. But again, it will just be 14 and 16.

[00:30:42] We'll have a couple of shapes, a couple of thicknesses that players will be able to offer. We are going to keep that line a bit tighter. And sometimes what we've seen is more options can be overwhelming. Yeah. Everybody likes options, but they don't like too many. No, of course. So we're narrowing it down, but we are going to have a range for players. Okay. And then are you already thinking about the following year as well? Of course. Of course. We're always thinking about the future. That's insane.

[00:31:10] No, we develop in six to 18 month cycles. Right. Depending on which product bucket it falls under. Something like a new colorway you can do in a much shorter window. Something like a new paddle family or a new racket family. You're thinking a year to... In tennis, we're thinking three years ahead because of the development cycles and also just the marketing and sell-through cycles.

[00:31:37] You can't have a new product every 90 days or people are going to get fatigued and it's going to make your retail partners really suffer. So we've got some new tech that's in the works for 27, as well as some different families that we're working on to expand the diet and offering. And you, yourself, going over to China? So we have three partners, myself and Evan, who you've met. AJ Bartlett is our third co-founder.

[00:32:07] He's based in California and a huge part of his role is the international travel. The guy is a road warrior. He's in Asia and Europe five to six times each per year. So he's going to all of our factories and doing in-person QC inspections on top of our China-based team that does the QC inspections.

[00:32:32] But then he's also going to major events, visiting distributors and just being out there in the global market. Okay. And you've got the shoes here as well. Has anything happened in the past year? Because I know when we arrived last time, you did have the new shoes out. But has anything happened with that range? The shoes have been just such a blessing to the company. I see you. I don't recall this one. Is that just a new addition?

[00:33:00] So this is the court-burst shoe. So this is actually our flagship shoe. Okay. With some changes that were made over the last year. And we've put a lot of our energy towards making an incredible court shoe that you could use for both tennis and pickle rights. That could help open doors we wouldn't normally be able to open with just, say, paddles and balls. So earlier this year, we launched our wide shoe. So our double E model.

[00:33:30] This was... And one of the things that we have in our product development matrix is customer feedback. Obviously, any good brand is going to listen to customers and hear what they have to say. The number one request that we got in shoes was that we needed a double E wide model. And so that required entirely new molds, tooling, lasts. It was a major investment for us. But we saw it time and time again.

[00:33:59] So earlier this year, we launched two different models of our wide shoe. It's done phenomenal for us. And so I'm appreciative because the customer that gave us feedback also took the next step and purchased the product based on that feedback. So we launched those. The second most common piece of feedback on the shoes was we want more colors. We want more colors. Give us more options.

[00:34:23] And so just earlier this month, we launched these two new colorways of the core burst, putting us at like 10 unique colors of the shoe. So it's a pretty wide range, but these were the latest two. And something different for people, you know, a bit more unique. You can mix and match with different outfits and different paddles. But that's where we've been putting our footwear energy over the last year.

[00:34:51] We do have like paddles. We always have something new in the work with footwear. I noticed there was a, I was just looking over there before and you had a slider. Yeah. That's pretty cool. Yeah. We did the slides. Slides are great. Yeah. I grew up in Florida. So we always have three, four, six different pairs of slides. So are they in different colors? And they look, they're more than just a flip-flop. They are. They're recovery slides. Yeah. So they're designed for comfort.

[00:35:23] We used two different foams. So the outer foam is more of a, a hard, rigid foam to give it durability and shape. And then the insert foam is a really, really soft foam. So when your footbed sits on top of it, you really sink into it, but it's designed for recovery. Yeah. Coming on and off the court in between matches or at a tournament, you know, in between days. Um, that's what the slide was designed for. Yeah. Well, being in my fifties, I use recovery slides.

[00:35:53] So yeah, I get, I get it. I get it. If you're wearing them to the office, my only demand is that you wear socks. I don't need toes floating around the office. We have a strict no dogs in the office policy and that includes toes. Yeah. We'll get you a pair of socks. Well, when I, when I started having foot pain, uh, within the last couple of years and I, and I got into these, um, I had to ask my kids like, you know, it was almost like you can't wear socks.

[00:36:20] Like when I was a kid, you can't wear socks with flip flops. So I had to get permission. And yeah, of course, socks is a thing. Now, thankfully for everybody, you don't have to look at my toes, but yeah. Okay. Well, that's a good rule. We'll thank the young folks for setting that trend and bringing it back. It protects us all. Yeah. Yeah. Um, I mean, it's just been amazing to be back. You know, it's always the highlight of my trip. Um, how are you guys still in this same place?

[00:36:47] I mean, I think you were outgrowing it when I first came here. Don't send this to our warehouse manager, but we're still outgrowing it. We're busting at the seams in space. Um, we've had a great team and we've built a great team over the last several years. That's one of the things that I'm most proud of. With diadem is the people that make this company special. Uh, you know, we've had people that have been with us, you know, from the earliest days, our

[00:37:16] very first hire and one that came shortly after that are still two of our most tenured salespeople. And so, uh, we've got a great team. Uh, we're a little bit short on space. We've got great product and we're very short on space there, but, uh, Are you going to be moving? We have looked at, uh, other warehouse spaces. Right. So we'd like to keep our HQ and our nucleus of people here in South Florida.

[00:37:43] You mentioned earlier about the loyalty diet and brand in South Florida. A lot of that stems from being our headquarters and being the place where our people play and work. There's connections to our company that can go to all of the parks and facilities in the area, but there are, uh, other warehouse spaces that we've looked at. So as we, as we grow and we expand our fulfillment operations, having warehouses in different parts of the country, speed up that.

[00:38:13] So you'll keep this HQ. Yeah. Um, we, you know, built our lives, built our team's lives all here in South Florida. Um, but as we grow on the operation side, there's always going to be room for fulfillment in other markets. Right. Amazing. Well, thank you once again. Of course. Thank you for coming by. It's just amazing. Yeah. Yeah. And hopefully Robert will be with us next year. We'll save a seat for Robert when you watch this. Just know we're ready for you.

[00:38:42] We might even have a special paddle for you next time. Thank you. Thanks guys. Well, that was cool. I just love them. I just love them. They're just so welcoming. Yeah. I can't wait to go back next year and I'm so sorry you weren't there. Yeah. But I will hopefully be there next time. Yeah. Um, you know, I'm excited. It'll be two years for me. So, yeah. So a lot will have changed. Yeah. Um, I'm excited for the paddles they're bringing out as well. So yeah, it's going to be good. It's going to be good.

[00:39:11] So, uh, just a shout out to our sponsors again, the Pickleball people, uh, pickleballpeople.co.uk for all your pickleball needs. Oh, go on our website. Oh yeah. Yeah. We do have one. Yeah. EBTKD.co.uk. Um, merch. It's got all the links to the podcasts on there as well. And we have merch for sale. So go on there. Also rate us, follow us, you know, share friends, share us, like us. Um, it means a lot to us. Send in your comments. Don't forget.

[00:39:39] We love to hear from you and take care of everybody. And also, oh, hold on. Oh, hold on. I'm rushing again. Yeah. Um, it's just one thing I want to say, two things I want to say. I just want to thank everybody for the messages. Yes. Because it's just so nice. And, and I have to say, I'd have probably given up pickleball a long time ago, um, in a fit of rage if it wasn't for you guys out there. So stop sending them in. Good one. Thanks.

[00:40:09] Anyway. So the next one, the next episode is going to, is going to be out when it's the nationals. Yes, it will. So I think, should we just replay last year's nationals? Yeah. Um, I'm looking forward to it. I can't wait to read those words. I cannot wait. It's going to be exciting. So listen now, it's going to be the weekend of the nationals when it's out. I hope you've enjoyed this episode and, uh, yeah, we'll speak so much. Take care guys. Well, listeners that wraps up another riveting episode of everything, but the kitchen dink.

[00:40:39] We hope you've enjoyed it. A massive thank you to our incredible community for tuning in. We couldn't be more grateful. Don't forget to show some love and rate and review us for those who want to connect. You can on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram. Slide into our DMs with your burning questions, epic stories, or just to say hello. Until next time, this is Rob and Andy signing off for Everything But the Kitchen Dink. Happy dinking, everyone. Happy dinking, everyone. Bye.