Emergency Pod: A Pickleball Brand Just Sold for MILLIONS

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[00:00:30] Alright, so it was just announced that Bread & Butter was being acquired by Selkirk and the internet pretty much immediately had some skepticism over whether or not Bread & Butter would retain its own brand identity. What the role of Doug is going to be. Doug, the owner of Bread & Butter and, you know, the face of Bread & Butter. And so we figured might as well ask him these questions. And so we've got Doug from Bread & Butter on for an emergency pod.

[00:00:59] Bring back the emergency pods. Let's go. Hey everyone and welcome to a special emergency pod edition of the PicklePod. I am your co-host Nico the Lefty. We have Zane and we have a shirtless hot tub celebrating Doug from Bread & Butter slash Selkirk here

[00:01:28] to celebrate and share a little bit about what is happening with the biggest acquisition maybe in the history of Pickleball. At least I think maybe the most consequential when it comes to Pickleball battles. Excited to have you Doug. It's so cool to be on with you guys. I'm sitting in a hot tub talking to Zane and Nico the Lefty. I mean, come on. Wow. What a great Wednesday, right? Yeah. What a great Wednesday.

[00:01:53] Dude, this is absolutely a first. And we were just talking off camera about, you know, we might need to do a top Bachelor Party hang episode with other people in Pickleball. And Doug, you just, I think you're at the top of that list. And so, you know, I heard this news and initial gut reaction is, ah, shit. Like, Doug's not gonna be able to do the fun stuff that he always does.

[00:02:17] But I mean, honestly, seeing you show up here in your chain with some wine in a hot tub shirtless on the podcast, that definitely makes me feel a little bit better about Bread & Butter's marketing. No, man. That's one of the biggest things that people, I think, were concerned about. Like, we've been getting all these comments and, you know, DMs on Discord and reading Reddit. I'm trying to stay out of it. But, like, you know, people send me stuff, obviously.

[00:02:45] And then, you know, you get on the rabbit hole and start reading more and more. And one of the biggest things is, like, you know, you got some haters out there. But then you have people that are just like, man, this is gonna be cool as long as Doug continues to be able to do what he does, which is, like, have fun doing the marketing for B&B. And it's not changing. It's not changing. Good, good. So, yeah, I mean, like, that's it.

[00:03:11] I think that's, you know, you probably acknowledge that that's a pretty reasonable concern from the consumers. I feel like, you know, something I put in my little video about it was people, you've done such a good job of building a relationship between Bread & Butter and the consumers. Like, when people buy a Bread & Butter paddle, they feel like they, you know, they do know the owner of the company.

[00:03:35] And so, you know, I understand the, you know, the operational scale and the ability to get into big box retailers and all that stuff. So you're, you know, you're committing here that Bread & Butter marketing is staying the same?

[00:03:52] Yeah, I mean, I mean, that's the thing is, so when I first, I first met with Rob and Mike and the rest of the marketing team from Selkirk in Dallas at Worlds, actually. They flew in and wanted to talk. We kind of talked a little bit about the possibility of this thing happening. And I'm going to admit to you guys, when, like, I knew they wanted to talk, I was, like, in my head, like, how would this even look?

[00:04:19] Like, like, do they even, first of all, do they even, like, do they want to just buy us? And, like, I go away and they do something different with it? And I was like, that doesn't really make sense. I can't imagine that that's what they would, like, want to do. But I was like, let me just, like, talk to them in person and hear them out and see, like, what their plan is and what they wanted to do. And very, very, very quickly, I don't know that I would call them fans of it, but, like, of what we're doing. But, like, kind of in a way, they were like, man, we think what you do is ridiculous and fun. And we love that side of pickleball.

[00:04:49] And it's not really, like, what our marketing and branding is. It's not. But they were like, we think that there's value in keeping recreational pickleball fun. And that's what I, I think the reason that I did that to start off is because it's no secret. Like, I didn't play pickleball when I started this thing. I started these things and build them. I have since become a very, very solid 3.7.

[00:05:14] Sometimes I have 4-0 days when the 5-0s let me play because I own a pickleball company. And all of a sudden, I'll mysteriously find my hands a little faster than they used to be. So I've gotten better at the game. And I actually love to play. I mean, you can tell by this physique of mine that I don't love to work out. So that's the one thing. Yeah, you and Ed and Walter look like two, you guys need to do a collab. Honestly, yeah. If he wasn't with Bolaire, he would be like your guy. He would. I love Evan.

[00:05:44] He's super cool. We've talked before a bunch. But a bunch. A few times we've talked, and he's great. But the point is, is like, I wanted to feel them out. I wanted to see what Selker wanted to do. And they were very clear from the beginning. They were like, hey, we want you to continue to run this. We want you to continue what you're doing. Continue design. I oversee all the design. I was a graphic designer by trade. So I no longer design all that stuff. Sometimes I'll start off on the iPad and procreate.

[00:06:14] And I'll sketch some stuff up and then forward it on for ideas. But I oversee all of that. And they were like, we just want you to keep doing it. And I was like, that's cool. And as we got talked more and more, I actually got more and more excited about them being the ones to hand this baton to as far as ownership in the sense that I don't think people realize.

[00:06:37] I know people in the industry in the know realize, but I don't think people realize how organized and powerful they are with production and distribution. And they run like a really well-oiled machine, which is like, you know, quite frankly, if there is a challenge, it's getting us up to speed and their systems to be able to operate with them at the speed and scale in which they operate.

[00:07:02] And so even though, you know, I just took a check, if you will, I'm working really hard right now. We're all working really hard to get this thing cranking because the biggest thing that I want to see is I want to see bread and butter, like go up to the next level and continue to get bigger and bigger. And I am so excited about all the things that are coming. And man, it's a lot, but it's going to be awesome. That's exciting.

[00:07:29] So Doug, one question is, you mentioned, you know, they approached you. What are they looking to do? How is this going to work? I guess my thought is, what were they buying when they acquired bread and butter? Like, is it you? Is it they want rec pickleball? Like, I guess, what is Selkirk missing that bread and butter brings? And how is that going to work? Like, how is that going to work with the two of them?

[00:07:56] Is people, everybody's been asking me, is bread and butter going to be in the hands of pro pickleball players now? Like, are we changing a little bit there? Or what is that looking like? You know, I don't know. I don't know that I think it's too early for us to talk about what pro pickleball looks like with bread and butter. I think that's too early. That has not been a lion's share of the conversations. I will say that there's some grit stuff that we're talking about doing that I would rather not get into yet because I don't want a million messages asking when, when, when, when, when.

[00:08:25] But it is coming and there's some cool stuff. You said it, so you're getting it. That's the cool part. I just say it. It's like, and it can happen. That's the crazy thing with Selkirk. So like, yeah, but like to answer your question, like directly Nico and not like beat around the bush.

[00:08:44] Like I'm going to use like a, a brand, like I'm going to throw brands out there like chubbies or, um, bad birdie golf for any of those brands that have crazy wild shorts and polos and shirts and all of these all over sublimated patterns that are full color and amazing. Let me ask you guys a question. Could you see Selkirk with like aliens and like samurais on any of their gear, like running around?

[00:09:14] No, I usually just see the gigantic Selkirk across the shirt. Right. As big as it possibly can be. Yeah. Which is cool. That's, that's them. And that's their, they're a performance brand and that's what they do. There are no rules with what we do. Like we dream it, we can do it. And I think that it's not, it's not so much about me. Like sure. Like me being involved and helping move the brand forward helps with the marketing and stuff like that.

[00:09:40] Um, but I think the real deal is, is that this really is about Selkirk being able to open the floodgates on all kinds of product lines that are pickleball, um, that they normally, you know, otherwise couldn't, couldn't pull off. And, and I think they see that opening in that window and dude, we're going to do it. We're going to do it. It's going to be great. I'm talking shoes, bags, shirts of all different kinds, shorts, apparel. I mean, I don't know. Track suits.

[00:10:09] We do track suits. If I say that, do we get track suits? Just say it and it'll happen. It'll make it happen. She might be magic. Let me ask you, like backing up, like, why'd you say yes to Selkirk? Are you going to, is there going to be like a bread and butter version of Selkirk shoes, bread and butter, design shoes, bread and butter, other stuff? Because I mean, like you guys were, we're crushing it, but you could argue somewhat one dimensional and that the main product was obviously the, the paddle.

[00:10:38] Are you going to expand now bread and butter's influence to some of these other, uh, pickleball products, but with more of the design and whatnot that you bring to the table? Yeah, that's absolutely the plan. Like, that's the deal is coming out with all that stuff. And that's what got me excited is like, look, man, even if, even if, even if Doug, like doesn't have to have a nine to five anymore and can go do whatever I'm going to do.

[00:11:06] Like, I'm not the type of person, like I talk to people that wake up and they're like, oh yeah, I retired at 45 or I retired at 50. And all I do is play pickleball like 10 hours a day or it's five hours a day. And they maybe just gulp and piddle around the yard. Like that's not me. Like I actually do like to work and I like to build things and I like to do things.

[00:11:31] And so like, this is a cool situation where like a lot of my, you know, past worries are like taken care of and solidified. And now I get to do what I like to do, which is develop products and see the success of that. And most importantly, like I really do want to see bread and butter be like a major force in pickleball, um, the fun brand and, and, and with all kinds of cool gear.

[00:11:56] So yeah, that's absolutely the mission Zane is to like expand and grow and bring product. And, and I think you kind of asked like, why did I select Selkirk? And it's because as we dated, if you will, and we're talking, I mean, you get on a zoom call, dude, and I meet like three new people every single time and they do this thing and they do it very well. And it's like coming from our office, it's like, you know, Aurora is doing 50 things. I'm doing 50 things. Devin, everyone's doing 50 things.

[00:12:25] And like, we do, we do a lot, we were doing a lot of it well, but at some point you get large enough where it's like, Hey, I have to make the decision whether I'm going to go ahead and bring in a CEO and step back and turn this into a, you know, much bigger thing. And I, candidly, like I've successfully built things from zero to, I don't know, call, I'm not going to throw a number out there, but like low millions of dollars, right?

[00:12:55] You get things going, you get a viable business going and everything's out there. And then at some point you realize that there's a skillset difference between getting the hype and building a customer base that has good customer service, good products and all that. But then at some point you realize that you end up having to go to the next level. And those are, I'll admit, those are a set of skillsets that are a skillset that I don't have. And you know who does? The Barnes brothers. They're really good at it.

[00:13:22] So you find you're very good at that, at that first couple million bucks and not as great at turning a company from a $5 million company into a hundred million dollars. Correct. Correct. So that's why it's exciting to bring them in is because, you know, you let them operate. You let them put systems in place. You let their distribution and everything take over on their team.

[00:13:48] And, you know, I get to do what I like to do. And if I'm happy and they're happy and we're all, you know, trucking along together and money's being made and customers are happy and fulfillment is taking place, like what better thing?

[00:14:31] Yeah. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not.

[00:14:56] I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not.

[00:15:47] I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not.

[00:16:41] I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. Like that's done. You know what I mean? So like, I don't know.

[00:17:03] I don't know what happens with other brands, but I think that where you would see that to sum it all up is if another brand has some IP that a bigger brand wants, then yeah, maybe it happens. But other than that, I don't know. There's one performance brand by another performance brand that has the same paddles that kind of do the same thing, but there's like basically no differential when marketing is in play. I don't know. That's a good. I really don't. I don't know. But who knows?

[00:17:31] Doug, I have one question I have is around who's going to be making bread and butter paddles. Like is this if it's going to be bread and butter continuing to do R&D research, develop their own paddle line? Because I think what I keep thinking about, and as I've been kind of hearing about the IP and bread and butter and what they bring to Sellkirk, one thing I realized. And so I think that, for example, Volair. Why not? Why not?

[00:18:00] We're getting deep. We're getting deep. We're starting to talk about. You're outside of my wheelhouse. We're talking about innovation. Go ahead. No, so Volair, for example, I feel like is a brand that has tried to have a similar identity, but they have not been nearly as successful. You know, I think we're just talking probably off camera about how, you know, you kind of remind us of fit to serve of Evan Slaughter, right?

[00:18:24] But they haven't probably been as successful because they have never made a paddle that was unanimously everybody's favorite paddle. You know, the Loco was every paddle nerd, you know, across the board's paddle of the year, right? And so I guess my question is, marketing aside, you know, which I think is great, who's going to make the next bread and butter paddle of the year? Is it you all? Is it Sellkirk? How does that look? I made a joke. You didn't catch it. I said we paid them all off. I don't want that to be awkward.

[00:18:54] That was a joke. No, so no. Like, in fact, we actually, bread and butter actually has the lowest commission rates in all of the affiliate marketing with paddles. But anyway, yeah, so it's an interesting question. I think the thing is, is like there's behind the scenes things that happen with paddles, right? You have like companies that are innovating and then you have Chinese manufacturers and factories that are innovating.

[00:19:22] And a lot of times when you get something really good, it's when the two people come together, right? Like, it's hard to sit in an office with a tie on behind AutoCAD and design as an engineer exactly what you think is going to work well when you've spent like no time on a factory floor understanding how a factory is actually laying up and making these paddles, right?

[00:19:46] Like, the best, a lot of times the best engineers are guys that are standing on the floor and actually working at materials because they're working within the confines of their own equipment, right? And you're using their equipment and their facility to make your stuff. So the thing that kind of separates Selkirk is, is like they do understand a fair amount of that.

[00:20:11] And I would say, and sometimes it's weird because I just joined them and I don't want to say too much, but I will say this just objectively. In the last couple of years, they have really started to work on coming out with great stuff and they have. I mean, you've got the SLK era and you've got the boomstick and they, they've got new stuff coming that I actually know about a little bit now, like behind the scenes. So which, which I can't talk about.

[00:20:37] So like some of that's like super cool and to see them like using their engineering experience and then working with the factories and their experience to see all of these new things come is, is really exciting. So to kind of answer your question, like who's going to be designing the paddles? I think it's like a team effort, right? Like it's, it's Selkirk heavy. That's like, I'm like, I'm marketing. Right.

[00:21:00] But like the cool thing about these guys is like, you know, I'm possibly going to be in Asia this coming summer. And if not shortly after that, and we still have a very good relationship with the factory and we talk to those guys all the time. I mean, they send us like Chinese cookies and we send them American whiskey and we're like friends with each other. Right.

[00:21:23] Like, so, um, there's like this whole thing that like, they, they share with you what you're, what they're doing and what you're working on and you're trying to get information out of them. So I think like at the end of the day, if I learn about something, probably 0% chance that like Selkirk's not only working on it or trying to make it better. But I think that they're going to take the answer to your question. They're going to take the lead on engineering.

[00:21:44] Um, and my job is like, as a founder, that's no longer an owner that still has, um, I mean, have you guys ever heard of an earn out before? Yeah. I was actually going to, going to ask, like, so you're no longer, you know, you've got an earn out meaning that like, yeah, you are very incentivized to, to earn based on what you guys do. Okay. Of course. Yeah.

[00:22:13] And at the end of the day, explain that a little bit to, to somebody who might not know like Nico. Yeah. Dude, look at his hair. There's no way he doesn't know. He knows everything. When you have that good of a head of hair, you got to know everything. Yeah. Basically the most simple way to say it is when another company approaches another, another company to buy them, they put a valuation on the company.

[00:22:35] And a lot of times the company that's buying will, you know, offer a certain amount of money up front and then they'll incentivize the original founders to stay on, to help with the turnover and then hit certain financial goals. And if you do, you get the rest of that cash. And if you don't, you don't. So I am incentivized to stay on.

[00:22:57] And, and that's like, I guess where I'm going with that is like, it's exciting because I still want to like, back to the point is like, if I see something that's happening and trending, and I don't think that like bread and butter is like totally on it. I can go to Rob and Mike and be like, Hey guys, can I like, is this worth talking about? And like take their knowledge, which is vastly greater than mine when it comes to like engineering stuff and be like, Hey, there's a reason we're not doing this. Or we think this is better. We're waiting for this.

[00:23:25] But the cool part about these guys, I mean, Rob and I, and Mike and I, we've all had intimate conversations about decision makings with the business moving forward. And I got to tell you, that's the most refreshing thing is like, A, they're letting me do my thing. I'm sitting here in a hot tub with you guys talking. I didn't approve that with them. Like we're doing it. Hopefully, hopefully they're not mad. If you guys are like, send me an email. I have a new Selkirk address. Just like send it there.

[00:23:51] But my point is, is like at the end of the day, like they respect me and I respect them. And like, that's, what's cool about them is I feel like I could say, Hey, I'm really looking at this. Do you guys think this is valuable? And they're going to listen and be down to like talk about it. I may get shot down or they may say, Hey, it's great. But overall, like it's a very synergistic, synergistic, synergistic relationship. That word gets a lot harder the more wines you have too. So I get it. No, I know. It's very difficult. I have a hard time talking in general.

[00:24:20] So like, anyway, but so, um, what is a, are you able to, to let us know how, how long something like that goes over or the period of time? Like that, that you would are incentivized over or that you would be, have to be involved, want to be involved. Like, I guess just tell us how long bread and butter and Doug and Selkirk, what we're looking at. Well, here's what I'll say.

[00:24:47] I don't really want to answer that question in totality, but I will tell you is it's a long window and I'm going to be here and we're going to do it. And dude, I'm kind of retired. I got nothing else to do. I mean, there's only so much time I can sit. I mean, already like I'm sitting in this hot tub. It's like 102 degrees. You can't sit in it all day. Like, so I'm like, there's no time window.

[00:25:14] Like, I think, I think the reality is, and that's, what's cool about this is it's like, if they're having fun and I'm having fun and everything is working together. I mean, I think it could be a long time. Like there's no, there's no, there's no window. Yeah. I think that's, that's basically the question that we can't answer or confirm. You know, everybody wants to know, like, how is this going to look in two years or three years? Like what's bread butter going to be like? Right.

[00:25:42] And I think that as much as you say you want to be on, as much as Selkirk says they want you on, it's just basically, it is a series of events and releases. So I, you know, I don't think anybody can, you know, often. Yeah. Let me, let me, let me, yeah. Let me, let me fill you in on something. Listen, I, the last company that I built got acquired in 2021 and I got fired at nine months.

[00:26:08] Like, like fire, like straight up CEO called me in the office and he was like, Hey, like, and it wasn't be, and I, I didn't even have like a social media like presence. Like, like, like I do with this, I wasn't doing this, but it was more about them wanting to take things in a totally different direction that like I didn't ever, we never talked about.

[00:26:32] And so my point of even bringing that up is this isn't my first rodeo. And when Selkirk interviewed me, I was also interviewing Selkirk. And to be clear, I was making a lot of money when Selkirk and I were talking, like there was no reason for me to be like, Hey, this is a distressed business. Like I'm sick of it. I hate it. Like, dude, I was, we were killing it.

[00:27:01] Printing cash. Like, it's great. So for me to like make the move, it had to make sense. And at the end of the day, the reason why I chose to do this with them is based on my previous experience. And every vibe that I got from them was like, no, like go do your thing and have fun. And I guess that goes back to like me needing to have a purpose in life. And it's like, it's not always just about money. It's about having fun and doing what you want to do. I mean, let's make a really good point right here.

[00:27:31] There's not a lot of pro pickleball players that are like making a ton of money. They're doing it because they love it. They're not doing it for the money. I mean, there's a lot of people that like have degrees that can make a lot more money sitting in an office from nine to five and have a better career and be packing money into a 401k rather than worrying about coming out of a freaking main draw. Let's be honest. So I don't know that you might not have watched my YouTube video on how much pro pickleball players are making. I did watch it.

[00:28:00] I did watch it. And I guess I guess you have to quantify how much is a lot of money. But also let's look at the percentages, because the one that got me on your video was talking about the lowest level players and how much money they're losing. And I guess that's what I'm that's that's what I'm talking about is like, you know, at the end of the day, like I chose. Soker, because I can continue to like it to this. I'm not going to be working 50 hours a week, man.

[00:28:29] I mean, there's a gargantuan number of selfish employees like send an email that seems to get done. And like there's like 50 people on it. So my life just got a lot easier and I get to focus on doing fun stuff. And I think that's like the that's what I'm looking forward to is like I can focus on what I'm doing and what I'm good at. And I feel lucky, man, like very lucky.

[00:28:51] Nice. Well, I think I speak for for everybody when we say that, you know, we really do hope that that bread and butter stuff stays the same. That's obviously what you probably saw as the main concern in the in the community and whatnot. And and yeah, like everything that you outlined on paper looks looks really, really solid. And yeah, so I think I think time will obviously tell and the community loves you, Doug. So hopefully hopefully everything stays like that.

[00:29:20] And, you know, Nico, I feel like we should I feel like we should release Doug from the hot tub. He looks like he's getting a little hot or we can try and keep him in there for forever. Filibuster this shit. See how long he'll see how long we get. Turn him into a raisin. How long does Doug stay with Sucker only to only till he has a cardiac event in his hot tub five days after closing? Now, Zane, I appreciate I appreciate you guys talking and thanks for having me on.

[00:29:49] And like, you know, you said that the pickleball company loves me. And like, that's just like it's crazy because like. I didn't I didn't start doing this being like like I kind of hinted at this before we got on it, like started recording and doing this whole thing. But like. Dude, this is not like me being an idiot and like runner. I'm not someone like I actually get online and see social media people that like are trying to get likes and views to grow their own like personal brand and stuff.

[00:30:18] And like I have to admit, like I kind of get grossed out by that a little bit. Like I'm not like a huge fan of it. And sometimes we shoot these videos and we do this stuff and I upload it. And as I'm uploading it, I'm like. Oh, my God, what am I doing? Like, it's like it feels ridiculous. And a lot of stuff that we've made, you know, we go back and watch. And I I I was scrolling the other day kind of being nostalgic over the whole thing. And I was like, man, like I don't quite understand why people like.

[00:30:48] Like this so much, but it's not like in my nature to be like that guy to go out there and do like I other than bread and butter, like I don't really post on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter or anything else. I don't have a YouTube channel like I'm not like really like that. But at the end of the day, like I'm just grateful for the pickleball community that they did like it. And the pickleball community has was something that I never saw myself like in the very beginning called 2023.

[00:31:19] I wasn't like super into it. Like I actually, quite frankly, didn't quite get it. I was just like, I'm going to figure out. Then I started playing and I started hanging out with people and like go into Blue Agave and Vero and have a tacos after we did like a two hour, you know, session rec play wise. And I was like, OK, like my chubby ass is like getting out there and like losing a little bit of weight and like feeling like I did some cardio. And I was like, OK, like I get it.

[00:31:43] And so I've fallen a lot in love with this sport only because I decided to get into it business wise. And I think that's the other reason that I do want to stay involved in closing is that it's healthy for me, not only socially, but, you know, physically and all that. And I hope that now that this happens, I have time to to get better and keep playing. So I love the game. It's fun. And I love you guys so much.

[00:32:12] You know, Doug, we love you. And I can't let you go before I put my plug in. Next time you run one of those paddle nerd dark tournament, I am starting to create paddle reviews just so that I can be invited to your tournament next time you run one. Nico, are you right? What are you doing June 4th through the 7th? Oh, my God. Is it happening? Is it happening? June 4th through the 7th? At this point, I'm not doing anything. I'll clear my calendar. Book a flight. Aurora.

[00:32:44] Aurora's here. We need one more hotel room. Is that doable? She just looked at me and said, yeah. 4th through the 7th. That's the biggest moment. All right. I'm in. Yeah. I'm in. I might let you play with me. Maybe I'll just stand off the side and let you just not move very much and hit the ball. Not move? Oh, yeah. Just leave an entire open section.

[00:33:10] We'll just both stand there and just hope for the best. Perfect. I'm in. Yeah. Hit me up. Shoot a... When we get done, shoot me a text. And come out. The Selkirk team's going to be there. There's Paeia Night. I mean, I can't leak all... I'm getting yelled at. I can't leak all this. You hate to see it. Perfect. Yeah. All right. Cool. Let's do it. Awesome.

[00:33:39] Anyway, thanks, guys. Thanks, Doug. I won't get out of the hot tub. Zane, you're not invited. Deal. I didn't want to go. Dude, it wouldn't even be... I wouldn't even want... I want... The first time I ever saw... I'll let you go. But the first time I ever saw you play was at the Beer City Open. And you did this center court... Your chainsaw serve thing or whatever. And we were trying to return it. And I think that's when I was like...

[00:34:08] Man, I think Zane Navertil... And I will say this. I'm not trying to blow your head up. But I will say this. You're one of the guys in Pickleball, Zane... That I think is really instrumental... In keeping the game fun. And like keeping like... I don't know. There's a lot of guys that go pro. They get these big heads or whatever. And I feel like you truly love the game. And you're truly there for what the game is. And I've always thought that your attitude... And everything that you've done with the game is super rad. And I watched you interact with all those people...

[00:34:38] In Grand Rapids. I remember I told my wife... I was like... Hey, I was like... That guy... He's good for this. So... If that means everything... I hate that, man. I do. The work does not go unnoticed. It's been cool because I've been around the sport since 2013. Like when it was kind of nothing. See where it's come from. And you know, there are a lot of people who put in a lot of effort before me. And so it's like leaving the sport in a better place. And I think that we're still so freaking early on.

[00:35:07] We're six years into pro pickleball. And a lot of what I do is try to get into a little bit of the drama, the controversy, whatever. Because I think that's actually how you grow the game. The interesting points of contention a little bit. It's not to be dramatic. I think it's what people are interested in. And I think that helps them grow a little bit closer to the sport. And so I appreciate the kind words on that too, Doug. I appreciate it.

[00:35:37] No, you guys are the best. Nico, hit me up. You're coming to Florida. But I'm going to tell you right now, start hydrating because it is hot as crap down here. And in a few weeks, it's going to be, we're air conditioning the facility. So it's a little better. But like seriously, dude, like start drinking water like a week out and electrolytes and get yourself pumped up because it's going to be hot, dude. All right. I'm in. So. All right. We'll see you guys. Thanks for everything, man. Thanks, guys. We'll see you guys. Bye.