Pickleball Road Trips & Dingles? | Mounir Gad w/ Pickleball Forever Substack

We’re coming in hot with:
 🔹 Things we shouldn’t Google over 40.
 🔹 Buc-ee’s stops completely destroyed the game plan.
 🔹 Dingles?

Plus, Mounir Gad from Pickleball Forever Substack joins us to talk mindset, growth, and why pickleball creates meaningful human connection. From basketball habits to “creating collisions,” this episode explores what happens when competition meets community.

🎧 Listen now before another roadside stop ruins the arrival time.
 #BigDinkEnergy

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Transcript

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speaker-0 (00:00.48)
what makes road trips great and what can make road trips suck really quickly. The starting time arrival time is something to be beat.

speaker-1 (00:09.806)
When you beat the GPS,

speaker-0 (00:12.3)
is the best.

speaker-2 (00:13.326)
And that is why you get so pissed when we have to stop. Oh yeah. Because you're like, is the time. truck 13 times now.

speaker-1 (00:19.042)
He's adding to-

speaker-0 (00:21.794)
Yeah, I've got to re-pass everybody I've passed already. This is Big Dink Energy, the pickleball podcast that's half insight, half nonsense, and all entertainment. If you love pickleball, don't take yourself 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!

speaker-2 (01:00.01)
It's a nightmare for us. don't know, because I really couldn't understand what you were trying to

speaker-0 (01:02.136)
Who's saying that?

White Snake, David Coverdale. Originally written for Tina Turner though. Really? Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, you are. This is love and you're not dreaming. This is the official podcast of Pickleball coming to you. Now, we are semi-pro over here, so guess what? We have a sponsor. Sponsor time! This is gonna be a quick one. Let me tell you about Dink and Dash. It's a Pickleball app. Yep, not one of those stat-heavy take yourself too seriously apps. No, no, no. This is for people who play for fun. Reckonite Chaos, yep.

Random partners, you bet. The games you actually remember all in there. You log your memories, tag your pickle pals, earn badges, and keep track of the courts you visit. It's free. No ads, no upsells, no weird pop-ups, even if you wanted them. If you've ever said, wait, why are we laughing so hard last week? This is the app for you. Just search Dink and Dash in the App Store or Google Play Store. Search Dink and Dash in the App Store or Google Play Now. So.

I thought in honor of a couple of things we have going on in our life, you all probably have heard we're going to Picklecon. Sunday, Sunday. Saturday and some other days too. It's not monster trucks, but we are going to Picklecon. We're gonna have a booth. We're gonna have booty on the court. You may have seen the booty already. If you go over to our socials, you will see the booty that is going to be on the court. And I can just speak for myself. It's a booty you're gonna wanna be part of.

I've been part of it for 23 years. Okay, we're getting off the path.

speaker-1 (02:36.334)
This is not

speaker-2 (02:36.91)
It's gonna be a fun dance. I'll make it sound like it's a stripping event.

speaker-0 (02:39.054)
It's a fun dance.

Hey, it depends how you enjoy PickleCon. To each their own. What happens at PickleCon stays at PickleCon. And booty on the court. So you're driving out there. I'm not gonna make it. I have other stuff going on. Sadly, sadly, sadly. You're driving out there and we do a ton of road trips. You do a ton of road trips. That's how Dink and Dash was born by road trips. You and your sister. So I thought, why don't we talk about what makes road trips great, what can make road trips great, and what can make road trips suck?

really quickly.

speaker-2 (03:13.794)
Yeah, we've had over hundreds of hours on the road. I know for one, something that makes road trips the best is the person you're with. Like that really matters. I can be on a long road trip, 50, 60 hours with my sister. Same with you, same with Paddle Princess. But there's some people that I'm like, hell no. Like not even four minutes down the road. I mean, not even that.

speaker-0 (03:24.31)
Yes. Love the one you're with.

speaker-0 (03:39.474)
I'm gonna be second-degree with

speaker-2 (03:42.348)
far of a stretch. mean, there's just some people y'all know, like you can't be in the car that long with those people. So that's definitely something that I would say would make a good road trip. A terrible road trip is when there's construction for like no reason. Like you're looking around and you're like, what the F is going on and why are we sitting here?

speaker-0 (04:01.707)
yeah, they're doing a remake of Back to the Future and they're going way far into the future and I-35 is still under construction.

speaker-1 (04:08.91)
Valid.

speaker-2 (04:09.166)
It's just so ridiculous.

speaker-0 (04:11.662)
For me, one of the things, one of the most important things as the pilot of the vehicle going down the highway is a good playlist. I will set it initially, but I do depend on my co-pilot to help out with it. Yeah. And now what makes it bad for me personally is stopping every 300 miles to pee. A good peeing place is good. That's not me. That's not me with the hummingbird bladder.

speaker-2 (04:26.764)
Yeah, that's a good one.

speaker-2 (04:39.566)
I do have to go to the bathroom literally every, I don't know, 30, 45 minutes. And I do like me a Bucky's. They have the cleanest restrooms. The best coffee and Beaver Nuggets.

speaker-1 (04:44.514)
gives you a chance to stretch your legs.

speaker-3 (04:48.76)
Please.

speaker-1 (04:49.336)
Yes.

speaker-0 (04:57.425)
the- A buggy's- Listen, do not sleep on the Philadelphia burrito.

speaker-1 (04:57.612)
Beef and nuggets are so...

speaker-2 (05:02.446)
A Bucky's

speaker-1 (05:04.77)
Yes, I agree.

speaker-0 (05:05.794)
Yeah, I mean, but to your credit, you pee, mean, super fast. If there was a contest, you would get a medal.

speaker-2 (05:14.03)
Okay, can we not talk about my booty and my pee and everything else?

speaker-1 (05:17.246)
I'm getting a little too personal for stuff.

speaker-0 (05:19.125)
I don't think going to be all over the

speaker-2 (05:19.278)
What do you like paddle princess about road trip? We're over it

speaker-0 (05:23.778)
Got her booty.

speaker-1 (05:26.282)
My favorite thing for road trips, it's going to make it good as organization. I cannot stand a messy car where things are just thrown everywhere. You guys know I like to have the wet, cold food with the cold stuff. The stuff, the trash, the utensils.

speaker-0 (05:39.208)
my god.

The dry pantry.

I've a shout out. If you've never road trip with Paddle Princess, please find a way to do it. brings you a snack pack with your name all glittered on it and everything.

speaker-2 (05:51.778)
He has it on.

speaker-2 (05:57.632)
Y'all, he's not lying.

speaker-1 (05:59.214)
I like it to be organized because it there's always just things are gonna get messy when you're in the car anyway, so Where are the other way?

speaker-2 (06:06.584)
I wanna know where those tissues are. Exactly. Can you reach the dream?

speaker-0 (06:11.18)
wipes. Yeah. Why is that sticky?

speaker-1 (06:13.63)
Why did you just throw that wrapper on the floor when there is a trash bag right here? this is designated for trash. You put your trash in it so when we stop at the gas station we just switch it out.

speaker-2 (06:23.854)
Exactly. I also love when you just have that time that passes so fast because you're just laughing. And that just happens so much. And then you look down and you're like, we only have 52 hours left. Right.

speaker-0 (06:24.662)
Keep farting.

speaker-0 (06:35.522)
Yeah.

speaker-1 (06:41.784)
You know?

speaker-0 (06:42.862)
500 more miles to the turn. Don't let me miss it.

speaker-1 (06:45.996)
We're almost out of Texas!

speaker-0 (06:47.852)
so that brings something up that I love and I know my guy friends out there jump into the comments and let us know if this is true for you. It is true for me. The starting time arrival time is something to be beat.

speaker-2 (06:59.445)
yes.

speaker-1 (06:59.818)
When you beat the GPS, that is...

speaker-0 (07:01.89)
Beating the Jeep.

speaker-2 (07:02.798)
And that is why you get so pissed when we have to stop Because you're like that truck 13 times now

speaker-1 (07:08.27)
I know. Yes.

speaker-0 (07:12.782)
Yeah, I've got to re-pass everybody I've passed. And that's why I stage it like a SWAT operation. Shoes on now, we're hitting the exit. I love that Stand in the door.

speaker-2 (07:15.788)
already and I'm just like

speaker-2 (07:23.022)
And the number one thing for me on a road trip, the best thing is for me to be the passenger to drive.

speaker-2 (07:33.006)
I don't even want to sit over there for half a minute.

speaker-1 (07:36.608)
No, I hate driving. I will sit there. I will organize everything for you. I will give you your wet wipe for your face, like whatever you need as long as you're driving and I don't have to be it. I will be the best passenger princess ever. Agreed.

speaker-0 (07:49.292)
Yeah, I like personally those tiny little naps I get to take while I'm driving. then the road will wake you up. The road wakes you up. You know what mean? The road will take care of it for

speaker-1 (07:58.798)
my god.

speaker-2 (08:01.582)
I did not used to like road trips and now I absolutely look forward to that.

speaker-1 (08:06.334)
Yeah, I think they're a lot of fun. I would say that the one thing that I absolutely do not like that makes that will ruin a road trip and that had happened to us was when we were driving back from Wisconsin and about halfway through the trip, my husband got COVID and he got like knocked completely out and he did.

speaker-2 (08:27.768)
But I mean, he still had to drive.

speaker-0 (08:29.08)
Yeah.

speaker-1 (08:30.732)
He did keep driving until we got to Dallas, and then once we hit Dallas, I drove the rest of the way.

speaker-2 (08:38.265)
I would have been like, we get a hotel for a week?

speaker-1 (08:40.333)
I tried, I really tried, but he was like, I am way too sick. can barely, like I can't be conscious right now. So getting sick or being with someone that's sick on a road trip is the absolute worst.

speaker-2 (08:53.34)
That's a great one. Yeah, I would just be you get need to get out

speaker-1 (08:56.94)
Well, at first we didn't know what was happening. He just he started getting like really sweaty and feeling like anxious and like so he was like, maybe I just had way too many energy drinks. I need to stop and get like a sandwich. So he stopped and he got a sandwich and he ate that. Then he threw that up. And then he was like, can you just see if I have a fever? And I touched him and I was like, OK, you're dying. Like, yeah, I need you to get in the back and don't breathe on anyone. Yeah, like.

It was pretty bad. He was really sick, but it does.

speaker-0 (09:27.918)
Put them on the top like national lantern.

speaker-1 (09:30.862)
Yeah, getting sick would be the absolute worst thing.

speaker-2 (09:36.854)
Agreed.

speaker-0 (09:37.418)
So, I mean, this is why the Dinkin' Dash app was invented. And I think it's important to say that we always try to build in pickleball courts along the way too. As little rest stops, little points of respite, if you will.

speaker-2 (09:50.656)
So we're looking forward to our road trip to Picklecon.

speaker-1 (09:54.07)
I'm so excited. It'll be a fun girls

speaker-2 (09:57.614)
So it's going to be very efficient. It's going to have everything we need. We're going to get there on time. Organize. It's going to be organized. It's going to smell good. We're going to have good tunes. We're going to have everything packed. Easy peasy.

speaker-1 (10:12.078)
And we're going to laugh the entire time, which is just going to be so much fun.

speaker-0 (10:16.514)
Biologically, by the time you get back, everybody will be synced.

speaker-2 (10:19.502)
Hahaha!

speaker-0 (10:21.294)
Tell us what you think. Get all up in our comments and our socials about syncing, about the Dinkin' Dash app, about road trips, about what's important for you. Talk about my wife's booty and on the court. Whatever you want to. Get all up in the socials, bdepalkguys.com.

speaker-0 (10:40.974)
All the way down in the fan mail bag, we have one I pulled out from Benjamin Butt Better. Benjamin Butt Better said, hi, I love your content. And he also said they're doing the leg thing too. Now that may sound weird to you. That's because you're not over on our socials. Go figure it out. What is the leg thing that people are doing that Benjamin Butt Better said?

speaker-2 (11:01.198)
That's about me being really cool.

speaker-0 (11:03.822)
The coolest.

speaker-2 (11:07.512)
Just the tip. Just the tip. Quick pickleball wisdom in and out before you know it. And this one comes from our friend Geo Ocho on Instagram. It's Geo.Ocho.PB. And he says, this is a pickleball tip that I shared with pickleball Nikki for her tournament. And that is keep the drops low and the vibes high. And we have to definitely agree, vibes definitely matter. Love that.

speaker-0 (11:32.45)
vibes all the way. You literally have I just wanted to say the last thing.

speaker-1 (11:36.075)
Ha ha!

speaker-2 (11:37.04)
You

speaker-0 (11:37.698)
Just the

speaker-0 (11:43.24)
It's time for Pickle Pals!

speaker-0 (11:49.166)
yes. Now our guest here today, he doesn't like to talk about it, but I'm going to say he's got over 12,000 followers watching him unpack pickleball. Beyond the highlights, Mounir Gad, who goes by Moe, is a former basketball player turned pickleball content creator who runs the Substack Pickleball Forever. Do yourself a favor, mark that and go read that. He almost didn't try pickleball at all. Now he's on a mission to spread positively, explore the mindset and bring people along for the journey. From Los Gatos, California, Moe, glad to have you here on the Big Dink Energy podcast.

speaker-3 (12:19.022)
Guys, good to be here, man. Thanks for having me on.

speaker-0 (12:21.046)
This is awesome. I'm so glad we got to do this. Now, listen, first and foremost, our listeners are going to want to know how you go from basketball to pickleball.

speaker-3 (12:28.588)
Man, it's a good question. Honestly, I didn't want to try it at first. I was so reluctant. I never played racket sports. I was a basketball dude. And me and my good friend Jake, we were at our club, just lifting weights, working out. And a buddy of ours was like, you got to try this. And we were so reluctant for so long. Like, Like what? Mini tennis? Not doing it. Not doing it. Anyways, long story short, we reluctantly tried it. And the day...

The moment I picked up a paddle basically I fell in love with the sport and got the bug almost instantly.

speaker-0 (12:59.214)
Yeah, yeah. And so many stories like that. A lot of stories come out of COVID, know, it was COVID, so we tried this, it was the only thing we could do. But you're right, I was kind of the same way, you know, tried it and then, okay, now I'm at Walmart buying the wooden paddle and the set of balls for $29, right? And then just go on from there. We have like 18 paddles around the house now, so. Oh, that's a Yeah, yeah, I'm a rookie, right?

speaker-3 (13:22.83)
Yeah, you gotta get those numbers up.

speaker-0 (13:25.856)
So is there anything that comes from your background with basketball that translates to the court really well?

speaker-3 (13:31.682)
Honestly, you know, they say you can't teach height. think, you know, the height is a blessing and a curse. It's tougher to get low in general. And if you can't get low, you can't play pickleball. But, you know, I think basic coordination, know, athleticism, coordination, and then all the intangibles, right? Like communication, right? That's a big thing in basketball. You got to be able to communicate with your team. There's five guys on the floor there versus two here. But, you know, I would just say coordination, athleticism, you know.

vertical leap on lobs perhaps, but not a lot. It's frustrating. I have a good friend who is a former pro tennis player. I mean, the day he, I was with him the day he picked up a paddle and he's probably like a five, five, five, five the day he picked up a paddle. And here I am. Brush the what hug the line. And I'm trying to understand that, know, so I'm like a perfectionist. I want to do things the right way. it's, it's frustrating.

It's frustrating because I've never enjoyed something I was so mediocre at. I want to be good. Typically when you do something for so much time, you're good at it.

speaker-0 (14:34.522)
Right. Yeah, but you know, all the former sports athletes that come out, you know, it's easy to pick up because like you said, the communication, knowing foot placement, knowing how your body responds in space. mean, those are things you picked up as you went through basketball. So I'm sure they translate to the court really, really easily. And then was going to ask you about the lobs. You know, I'm guessing you're over six foot, right? So yeah.

speaker-3 (14:57.934)
You don't want to lob me. I'll go up and get it. I mean, it's got to be really good. Your margin for error is low. You get it up and over me and drop it in, not past the baseline there. That's impressive. I'll tip my cap and give it to you. But that's a tough shot.

speaker-0 (15:13.646)
Yeah, yeah, no kidding. So, you know, I got to talk about the substack too, because I read the last one, I read them all that you have up there and it's growing and the Dunning Kruger was the last one. I loved it. I absolutely loved that. That kind of parallel. Yeah, absolutely. So kind of talk us through that. How did that start? Were you a natural writer or is it just something you're like, man, I got to get this out of my head and on paper.

speaker-3 (15:36.366)
You know, it was the latter. It wasn't even supposed to... I didn't even think I was gonna go public with it. I just wanted a place to put pen and paper for different things, pickleball related that I was thinking. That, you know, very similar to the Instagram channel. I just, you know, wanted to start toming up. You know, if you look at some of the old stuff, man, was I terrible. And, you know, still have so much work to do. you know, like I was telling you, I'm a storytelling guy. I like organic, cool stories and...

I think the substacks sort of the same thing. was just, I started putting pen to paper for myself and then I think I shared an article with a friend and he's like, hey, you should probably, I really enjoyed this. You should probably go wide, as he said. And I was like, all right, whatever. And here we are.

speaker-0 (16:18.062)
Yeah. And it's great because it, you know, you see the headline, then that draws you in. But then when I got into reading it, I'm like, this is really bringing me in. You know, it's not just like surface level stuff. It's really well thought out. it is from a storyteller's perspective, you bring the reader in right away. So I highly recommend it to anybody. After you're done listening to this, I have, I say, go get into the Substack out there. talking about, you know, being an athlete and all that kind of stuff, what,

What kind of mindsets does that allow you to bring to the court? Not just coming from basketball, but just your background in general. What kind of mindsets does that allow you to bring to the court?

speaker-3 (16:57.358)
Well, know, think honestly, I think the general high level stuff, the X-factor stuff has really carried over. In basketball, we used to always say, be the first guy in, the last guy out. That's something we can control is how hard we can work. There's so much in life that's out of our control, but what is in our control, let's knock out and check those first and foremost. So first in, last out, always communicate. know, things like that are general things that I think have carried over.

But I think also the mindset is different in terms of, like, it's not all good, I guess is the point. There's a lot of things I gotta get over. Like, in basketball, it was just different. I was very hard on myself, very hard on myself. And it's been a blessing for most of my life. It keeps me going. But there's sort of this inflection point where it becomes more harm than good. And I think that shines a lot more in pickleball than it does in basketball. In basketball, I would have...

I'd have 25 coins, we'd win the game, which should be all that mattered. And I'd walk out of the locker room pissed because I missed two free throws. went eight for 10. You know what mean? And I was legit upset with my, how could you miss a free throw? You know, whatever. So that mindset is very detrimental. think it helped in basketball and in other parts of life, I think to a certain degree. But I think when it comes to pickleball, you really, want to be driven and work hard, but you want to be smart about what you're doing, the mindset, because it's so mental.

It's very similar to golf, but if you can't control that, I call it having amnesia, right? You made a mistake. Forget about it. You have amnesia. Next point, right? In basketball, we call that next point mentality, right? Things like that. And I'm fortunate enough, I'm good friends with my buddy Graham. He's the mental skills coach for many NBA players, some of the greatest NBA players there are. He's a good friend of mine. I've known him 20 plus years. So I'll call him every now and again when I want to get my ego in check and have him tell me just how bad I'm.

Give me some pointers of things I could be doing better. It's funny just how you think about things, the lens in which you think about things. It fascinates me. And it translates. When you start to take it seriously, you know, I do a lot of deep breathing and stretching and all non-court, non-physical fitness stuff. It translates. It helps. It helps with the mindset on the court. You're able to stay calm. There's so many different benefits from doing things outside of your traditional...

speaker-3 (19:20.788)
Encore or NGIMM related stuff, if that makes any sense.

speaker-0 (19:23.936)
Yeah, no, that absolutely makes a ton of sense, know, and cause when you talk about basketball, you're surrounded by other guys. you're any, any mistakes you make could be minimized or, you know, not on a grand scale. They call it deodorant. Yeah. And pickleball, it's you and another dude. So now you're magnified in any, you know, mistakes that you have. And so you have to be mentally prepared for that. And, you know, I look at shooting as well, shooting, pickleball, all of it. I'm a great shot.

speaker-3 (19:36.13)
the ball are you?

speaker-0 (19:51.586)
But when I show up to a range, I start with basics. I do draws, dry, fire. There's no bullets going down range for like 20, 30 minutes. I'm going through all the basics first, make sure I remember those, the base that I built everything on. And I find it the same way with pickleball. I'm figure out, okay, I'm not breaking my wrist. I'm not flicking the paddle. I'm going to step here, just thinking through the basics and where my base is. And then I can build on those skills from there.

So the mental game is fantastic. I love exploring that. I'm so glad you touched on that. Now, we talked earlier off air before we came on here about the 12,000 followers and how that was just not expected. And you were just kind of doing it for yourself. But I mean, now there's a community that's depending on you, right? At 12,000 and growing, how has that changed anything that you do?

speaker-3 (20:41.742)
Well, I don't know if I'd I would I appreciate the words. I don't know if I would characterize it as depending on me. I think they just they're tuned in. They think it's cool. You know, the substacks actually growing a lot and that filters through Instagram. But people like the videos. People, you know, it's fun. Like you walk in to the hub or to one of these gyms around here. People want to get in the videos. People, you know, you're playing against somebody and you're recording. It's become a cool thing. And it's so much more off the court of, you know,

I've developed a lot of really good relationships, some of which have translated into business style things and others just friendships through the sport and the channel and it's cool. I was just out in Calabasas down in Southern California for a tournament this past weekend. Shout out Calabasas Pickleball Club. Brad's doing a great job there. But in any event, people there knew me. Wow, yeah, okay. They all call me Jomo, like, hey Jomo, hey, how you doing? I don't even care, whatever, it's fine.

speaker-0 (21:38.88)
Have you had to sign any babies or anything yet?

speaker-3 (21:41.1)
You know, I can't confirm or deny that guy. I can't confirm or deny baby signatures. But what I can confirm is that pickleball, it's almost inexplainable what it's done in terms of, I call it creating collisions. It's something I've actually done my whole life. you know, I, like, hey, you know, I did this, there was a good, a good, one of my sort of good friends, mentors in the game. He, you know, he's like a five-o-plus, really good, his name is Justin Ho. He, you know, I love people that are super nice.

to me when they don't, you know, there's a lot of jerks in the sport. And when I, when I was first starting, I was God awful. I mean, I still consider myself not great, but in any event, he was a total gentleman from the jump. Him, this gal, Janae, these are like really, really great players that had no business talking to me and they were super nice. But in any event, it's funny, like the things that it turns into, like, you know, Justin and I were talking and he said something, he's a serial entrepreneur. You've probably seen one of the videos on him, but in any event, he was saying something about something specific.

and it clicked in my head. I know somebody in that industry or whatever. I'm not really sure what's gonna come of this, but let me just create that collision. He plays pickleball, you play pickleball, he's in this, you know. And you create these collisions and even when you don't know what's gonna come of it, I'm not really positive, but I know that this won't be a bad use of time. And so I'm gonna just introduce you guys and good luck. And so much cool has come of things like that. Just strategic introductions and traditions where you can kind of get a sense for what this person's about and be like, wow, I gotta marry these two together kind of concept.

speaker-0 (23:08.972)
love that. You know, I say all the time, I don't think as a society or humans, we are ever met to virtually connect as much as we have in our world, because then that leads us away from the human actual physical connections that we're supposed to be having with people. know, it's the difference of walking down the street and looking at your phone versus with your head up and saying hi to people as they approach you. Yeah. So I love that idea of collisions. We are supposed to collide with one another and share with one another and sharpen one another.

speaker-3 (23:38.37)
Yes, iron strapping's iron.

speaker-0 (23:39.894)
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. I absolutely love that. So sounds like you read the same book that I do. Love that, love it. Yeah, it is. So you get to spread positivity and that's one of the things you're famous for saying and through Pickleball and that's just sometimes a space that can get shut down or can get closed off, especially when you get to the fives and above. So how do you find...

speaker-3 (23:45.07)
It sounds like I do, yeah.

speaker-0 (24:03.406)
There's a lot of ego and competitiveness in there. So how are you finding intentionality in spreading joy and positivity?

speaker-3 (24:11.374)
don't know if I'm known for spreading positivity. really, my thing that I say a lot is pickleball forever. That's the thing. Pickleball, and I'll use that as an entry into, again, trying to make folks laugh and start conversations and create collisions. But playing with, you know, I think when you find really good players, like there's certain people that everyone's in awe of, right? Like I remember when I first started here or there or whatever, you're like, my God, that's, you know, that's Jenae, that's Levi Daniel, all these pros, or that's Justin Ho. And...

Again, I think you have to be willing to put yourself out there if you want to get better. You have to be willing to look bad on the court sometimes. I think for me was just understanding that, I don't have a racket sports background. I didn't even know, I called it a racket, not a paddle for like a week straight. No, I don't get you a lot of cringe like weird looks, but in any event, I think people aren't as scary as you may think in your head. You're your own worst enemy.

speaker-0 (24:57.934)
Well that'll win you some friends.

speaker-3 (25:08.546)
They're human, people are human. They bleed the same blood as us. And the thing about Pickleball is people want to help for the most part. There's some jerks and there's there's elitism and things like that. But at the end of the day, it's, don't know if it's cathartic for them or they just have good hearts or that pay it forward type of thing. I think about spending time with some of the people that I've spent time with on the court. And it's like, this person has no business with me, none. you don't, what did Jordan say? Michael Jordan said, you miss 100 % of the shots you don't take. I was sort of fearless. Like, hey,

You're Levi Daniel, you're a pro, you're really good. I need you to coach me, thanks. I'm a nice person and whatever. Same thing with Janaye Sarkis. These people didn't blink. And I feel like there's more of that. People just make these stories up in their head, like, can't go talk to that person, I can't go hit with them. Man, why not? Go ask him to hit with them. And invariably, they're gonna give you some pointers, like, hey, you

that top spin is terrible or non-existent, here's what you need to be doing. Drop your paddle head, whatever. People like to share and help for the most part.

speaker-0 (26:10.582)
Yeah, in the pickleball community, that's so true. And you can tell when someone wants something from you or just wants to learn from you, there's a difference. I understand the so to speak celebs or the big names in pickleball.

everybody wants something from them all the time almost. But when someone like you comes up, when Joe Mo comes up and is like, can you show me something or can I glean some information from you? That's more genuine. And I think they are very giving in that regard.

speaker-3 (26:41.39)
I think that's a really good, and we talked earlier about the how, not the what. I think that's a really good point. It's how, it's how you approach folks and if you don't want anything other than inertia, I just want to learn. That's a good place to ask, that's a good position to ask somebody something from.

speaker-0 (26:56.224)
Absolutely. So for what you're doing, what's the next steps from you? Is it one year from now? What does it look like? Two years from now, what does it look like? What's your goals there?

speaker-3 (27:08.078)
Yeah, good question. so I mentioned that guy, Levi Daniel, he's a pro aerial sports guy and he's my coach now officially. You I do my lessons with him on a regular basis and we do, we put those up on the channel. Again, if it can help others, we're gonna, I mean, there's some really good technical sort of analysis in there. so, you know, you asked me what's next for me personally. Well, for starters, we launched this concept on these videos of better every day for our lesson, me and Levi for this lessons we're putting together.

And it's a concept of, it really stems from, again, basketball, Kobe Bryant and that mamba mentality, right? Oh yeah. Yeah, it's kind of like that. And it could be cheesy at times. It's really about, you have to go out there and do it. But, you know, as someone told me, if you're on a boat and you're driving a boat or a yacht or whatever, and you change the degree, just one degree of the direction you're going, in 30 days, you'd be on a different continent.

speaker-0 (27:44.64)
First one in, last one out.

speaker-3 (28:05.09)
than your original destination. And that resonated. That was powerful to hear. I need these big grandiose examples, because I'm too dumb to get the other stuff. So you got a boat, continent, OK, got it.

speaker-0 (28:16.842)
Yeah, I need big dumb caveman type concepts like that. No, no, no, no, no, no, I'm a knuckle dragging idiot every single day. how can, Jomo, how are people going to connect with you? What's all the handles they need to go to?

speaker-3 (28:20.568)
Not smart enough, otherwise.

speaker-3 (28:30.1)
And I don't even want to do all that. You can find JOMO show underscore on Instagram. can you can find me from there. Shoot me a DM. I'm not a I don't want the shameless promos or anything like that. I like things to be organic. So you can find me. It's not it's not hard to find us. But really, if it's not me, find somebody to spark that pickleball fire and, you know, get you in and around the game even when you're not in the court. But yeah, JOMO show underscore on Instagram. I think that's good for me for now.

And again, it is a pleasure to be on your show and I really appreciate you, Guy. You're a real treat to talk to and thank you for your service. I know you're a vet and yeah, thank you.

speaker-0 (29:08.244)
man, listen brother, we're connected now, we're friends. Yeah, and only separated by a couple states. I mean, obviously Texas is the best state. We're very humble people out here. Love Texas. But man, can't wait to meet you in person one day. If I can ever do anything for you, we can ever do anything for you, please let us know. All right, let's do, I can't afford to live there, but I can come visit. Big. You know Take the ball forever. It's done.

speaker-3 (29:11.79)
That's your ask me art.

speaker-3 (29:24.302)
You can get out here, let's play.

speaker-3 (29:28.674)
Dink energy forever.

speaker-0 (29:38.958)
Pick six, our segment where we take one question and each bring two answers and immediately regret to agree into this segment. You guys probably skipped this segment anyhow. I know, I know, know. It's mine too. Pick six this week is things you shouldn't have to Google over 40. When you're over 40, you should not have to Google these things according to us.

speaker-2 (29:48.286)
This is one of my favorites.

speaker-2 (30:00.046)
Well, I took this very literal. So if you're over 40 and you have to Google, how do I flirt? Then I think that that's a problem.

speaker-1 (30:07.47)
I mean, I guess I wouldn't know how to. Like, I don't know how to, yeah. But anyways, I have no reason to flirt, so I wouldn't even know how, like.

speaker-2 (30:12.216)
Well then you're dumb.

speaker-2 (30:18.392)
Well, I guess then you're part of my thing.

speaker-1 (30:22.03)
I'm not part of the problem. I am the problem. I need more brain cells. Anyways, mine was what does my child's text message actually mean? I don't understand all of these different letters and acronyms. Like, what is this? Just speak English.

speaker-0 (30:38.366)
Yeah. Mine was, why are these so low now?

speaker-1 (30:45.481)
my gosh.

speaker-0 (30:46.222)
Let your imagination run wild.

speaker-2 (30:48.878)
Mine would be, how do I write a check? Like, you should know how to do that.

speaker-1 (30:53.72)
I agree.

speaker-0 (30:54.316)
Yeah. Why are we still writing checks?

speaker-2 (30:56.076)
Or not, I'm just saying, if you have to Google how to write a check, then something happened in your past that should not have.

speaker-0 (31:02.466)
Yeah, you didn't have a home economics class.

speaker-2 (31:05.102)
Yeah, you should know how to write a check at over 40. Now if you're 14, I could understand.

speaker-1 (31:10.368)
My next one is, does my outfit actually look stylish or do I look like I'm 80 years old? Well, to work, but then like on the weekends, if I go somewhere, I wanna look stylish, but my daughter walks in and goes, mom, try again.

speaker-0 (31:18.06)
You wear gym clothes every single day.

speaker-2 (31:28.078)
Maybe you should Google, how to not give an F.

speaker-1 (31:32.59)
Sometimes I want to look stylish, but then I try too hard and she's like, mom, this is not the 90s. Try again. You cannot have a bump it in your hair. And I'm like, but I like that.

speaker-2 (31:35.15)
Please look for style.

speaker-2 (31:43.832)
can take your mule shoes off.

speaker-0 (31:46.414)
and I, you're sad.

speaker-1 (31:47.352)
New balances are

speaker-2 (31:50.286)
You're actually stylish now. what's your last one?

speaker-0 (31:53.611)
Mine was, why do I have to look up what Riz

speaker-2 (31:59.028)
please. Yeah. thought- Bump, set, and spike your own comment.

speaker-0 (32:05.518)
Yeah, oh yeah, y'all know how I do. Y'all know how I be no cap, you know what I'm

speaker-2 (32:11.406)
You know what I shouldn't have to Google why is my husband

speaker-0 (32:15.966)
So handsome and witty.

speaker-1 (32:19.118)
He is. Love that.

speaker-2 (32:27.31)
News You Can Use.

speaker-0 (32:31.854)
Oh, I just burned myself. is hot off the press. I said, if I said, do y'all want to play some dingles? Do y'all want to play some dingles?

speaker-2 (32:41.486)
I feel like that would be dinking singles.

speaker-0 (32:44.568)
Battle Princess, you wanna play Dingles?

speaker-1 (32:47.591)
I don't know if you're referencing a game or a-

speaker-2 (32:51.214)
don't know if she should say yes in front of your wife.

speaker-0 (32:53.622)
You present it to Hey. Wanna play dangles?

speaker-1 (32:53.966)
I don't know. The first thing that popped into my mind was like a band. Like, do you want to play like the music of the dingles? Like, I don't know who the dingles are. Like, so I wouldn't know if it was music or if like you're talking about playing a game. Like, do want to play dingles? I don't know. I don't know what it is.

speaker-0 (33:12.972)
I'll tell you, you asked. The dingles, to play dingles, it might be one of the most fun ways to get better at the kitchen line without even realizing you're drilling. You line up four players at the kitchen, you start two cross-court rallies. Two cross-court rallies. When one ends, the other turns into a doubles point with all four players.

speaker-2 (33:33.55)
I can't even cross-court single.

speaker-0 (33:35.552)
I can't even cross my shoelaces. Half the time my eyes are crossed.

speaker-1 (33:37.87)
I can't even

speaker-2 (33:38.478)
It's really.

That sounds interesting.

speaker-0 (33:44.002)
Yeah, cross-court singles. Dingles. Dingles. Dingles, yep. And then you, when one ends, one of the cross-courts ends, it turns into a doubles point with all four players playing.

speaker-2 (33:54.926)
That sounds fun.

speaker-1 (33:56.212)
came up with the name Dingles, like.

speaker-2 (33:58.776)
Well, because cross-court with four people sounds too long.

speaker-1 (34:02.316)
mean, like, there were so many things that popped into my head when you said, dingles, and none of them were appropriate.

speaker-0 (34:08.876)
Well, it is dinking singles. I guess it is.

speaker-2 (34:11.022)
I was right. I was more right than her. Yeah, I was the writer is She's over there wondering if her outfits okay

speaker-1 (34:15.84)
I was off on like, it a band? I don't know.

speaker-0 (34:21.55)
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 socials. Drop us a message. We might just feature you in the next episode. If you had a good time, well, samezies. If not, maybe try again. We grow on people. So you know the deal. Follow the show, tell a friend, and leave us a review. Or just pretend this never happened. Until next time,

Keep the dink soft and the energy big.