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Outside The Boards™
The OTB™ Podcast is your passport to the captivating world of polo, where we aim to redefine preconceived notions and deliver an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at this remarkable sport. Our mission is to introduce you to the fascinating individuals, remarkable locales, and captivating stories that comprise the heart of polo, while shattering common stereotypes along the way.
Tackling pressing issues currently shaping the sport, we foster constructive dialogue and exchange of ideas, insights, solutions, and exemplary case studies. Our ultimate aim? To propel polo to new heights on the global stage.
Join us for candid conversations with polo's industry luminaries, dedicated enthusiasts, and the extraordinary individuals who infuse this sport with their passion and energy, making it an absolute joy to be a part of. The OTB™ Podcast: Your portal to a polo experience like no other.
Outside The Boards™
Tito Gaudenzi: Redefining Polo Events Worldwide
The world of polo extends far beyond traditional grass fields, and Tito Gaudenzi stands at the forefront of this evolution. Born into polo royalty as the son of Reto Gaudenzi (the inventor of snow polo), Tito has carved his own path as both a professional player and a visionary event producer who's reimagining where and how polo can thrive.
Our conversation takes us from the frozen lake of St. Moritz to the beaches of Miami as Tito reveals the extraordinary logistics behind creating polo events in these unconventional settings. You'll discover why his beach polo events don't actually use beach sand (they truck in specialized jumper track footing), how horses navigate on just nine inches of frozen lake ice, and the meticulous planning required to transform public spaces into world-class polo venues.
What makes Tito's perspective particularly valuable is his dual identity as both player and producer. He approaches the sport with a refreshing philosophy: "We bring polo to the people, which in the long run brings more people to polo." This approach has allowed him to create events that attract not just traditional polo enthusiasts but celebrities, global brands, and curious first-timers—all while maintaining the sport's inherent elegance and excitement.
The commercial side of polo features prominently in our discussion, with Tito sharing insights on how he's secured unprecedented sponsorship longevity (including a 25-year title sponsor deal) and developed a multi-tier approach that balances luxury experiences with accessibility. He describes polo as a "mass niche market sport" with enormous untapped potential, comparing its current state to soccer in America before its commercial explosion.
Whether you're a polo aficionado or simply curious about the intersection of sport, business, and entertainment, Tito's story offers valuable lessons in innovation, quality, and the delicate balance of tradition and progress. Join us for this fascinating conversation with one of polo's most forward-thinking voices.
Ready to see polo in a whole new light? Subscribe now and follow Tito's journey as he continues to expand the boundaries of this ancient sport.
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As a thank you for tuning into this episode of Outside The Boards Podcast, Hive₂O is offering listeners an exclusive online discount and free shipping on all four packs. Use code OTBPOLO24 in all caps at checkout. Visit hardhoney.com to explore products.
About Lineup Polo
Lineup Polo was built to revolutionize how polo is managed and experienced. With a mission to support the polo community and expand the sport’s reach, the platform digitizes processes and centralizes communication. Lineup Polo is committed to the game's future.
Available as a free app and web portal, Lineup Polo allows clubs to manage tournaments, automate leagues, payments, and memberships, building a new digital ecosystem for polo.
About Outside The Boards™
Founded after witnessing their first polo match in 2012, Outside The Boards™ seeks to share the sport’s beauty, intensity, and lifestyle while addressing industry fragmentation. Through best practices, insights, trends, and consulting, OTB™ helps stakeholders and brands unlock polo’s marketing potential and navigate the sport with clarity...
You are listening to the Outside the Boards podcast. I'm Daniel Leary. For most of my professional career, I have worked in mainstream sports for some of the world's leading sports organizations and properties and blue chip brands, helping to create award-winning omni-channel marketing campaigns, result-driven sales strategies and impactful brand building initiatives. But all that work doesn't compare to the fun, excitement and challenges I've been fortunate to experience working for the king of all sports, polo. For nearly a decade, I've put my heart and ambition into helping advance the sport of polo. I've made lifelong friendships, met some incredible people, traveled to memorable polo destinations and heard the craziest stories. My goal is to share these people, places and stories with you and provide a unique behind-the-scenes perspective of the game that breaks all the common stereotypes, all while discussing key issues affecting the sport today and the constructive sharing of ideas, insights, solutions and best-case studies for the purpose of advancing polo globally. Every week, I will have honest conversations with polo industry leaders, enthusiasts and awe-inspiring people who make this sport great and fun to be around. I hope, through their knowledge and their unique perspectives, they will motivate and inspire you. Together, we will explore ways you can make small tweaks to boost your polo business, whether you are a club, event, team or player. That will amount to big changes in revenue, participation, attendance and exposure Saddle up. Welcome to Outside the Boards with me, daniel Leary. Hi everyone, daniel Leary here and welcome to Season 5 of the Outside the Boards podcast.
Speaker 1:On this episode of Outside the Boards, I'm thrilled to introduce you to a true innovator, entrepreneur and showman in the world of polo Tito Gaudenzi. Whether you know him from the snow-covered mountains of Kitzbühel or the electric atmosphere of beach polo in Miami, tito has carved out a lane all his own where high goal sport meets high end entertainment, born into a polo legacy. As the son of former professional polo player, rito Gaudenzi, widely credited with launching snow polo in St Moritz, tito grew up with both horses and hospitality in his blood. Today, he's taken that foundation and expanded it globally, serving as the creative force behind some of the sport's most iconic and unconventional events. As the founder and producer of the Beach Polo World Cup in Miami, in partnership with the World Polo League and the Snow Polo World Cup in Kitzbühel, tito has reimagined how polo can be played, seen and celebrated. He also has produced two FIP European Championships and helped build polo in Azerbaijan, and is doing the same in Romania at the Singireni Manor Polo Club.
Speaker 1:These days, his events attract not just seasoned polo fans but also celebrities, influencers, global brands and first-time spectators, bringing fresh eyes and new energy to a sport steeped in tradition. Tito is also a partner in numerous high-profile polo events, including the Snow Polo World Cup in St Mort's, azerbaijan Polo, aspen Valley, snow Polo Grand Champions Polo Club and the World Polo League. Beyond event production, he leverages his extensive international network in sports marketing and consulting, offering brands and partners unparalleled access to elite equestrian audiences. But beyond the glitz, tito is a passionate player, a savvy businessman and a relentless promoter of the game he loves. Whether he's riding onto the field or curating a luxury experience for thousands, his mission remains clear to grow the game by making it more accessible, exciting and unforgettable. Tito's stories is one of vision, hustle and a deep appreciation for the intersection of sport, culture and experience. From the mountains of St Morse to the sands of Miami Beach, he's proving that polo has a place on every stage if you're willing to think big enough. So, without further ado, let's welcome Tito Gaudenzi to the show. Enjoy.
Speaker 2:Hey, we're Rosanna and Alice, the co-founders of Line Up Polo. Before this episode starts, we wanted to introduce you to the platform we've built for the sport we love. Line Up is where modern polo comes together. For club managers, there's a powerful web platform where you can create and publish tournaments, fixtures and teams, and that info instantly appears in the Lineup app, where players, fans and organisers can see everything in one place, From live scoring and team entry to player stats and schedules. We've made it easy to run and follow polo, Whether you're organising games or just turning up to watch. Lineup makes Polo more connected, accessible and future-ready. Search for Lineup Polo on the app or Play Store to get started.
Speaker 1:Tito Gandauzi, how are you man?
Speaker 3:Gaudenzi, we practiced for so long. You're still good today.
Speaker 1:I told you I would butcher it.
Speaker 3:I forgive you, would butcher it I forgive you.
Speaker 1:That's fine. I'm glad Tito's easy. Do you ever get Tito Ortiz at all? The original UFC fighter.
Speaker 3:No, I get a lot of Tito's vodka and my response is I came before the vodka and it's based after the dictator. So then you're also testing some history history knowledge. But uh, but no, tito was short for Reto, as, as it is in, obviously, south America, firstborn son Reto became Retito and then Tito just stuck and it's been like that all my life. But now I guess more people will know that my real name is Reto, as my father Wonderful, wonderful.
Speaker 1:Well, Tito, I'm really excited to have you on. You've been on my long list of people to interview as part of this podcast, Not just the fact that you're a polo player you're a professional polo player but also your involvement in some of the most recognized and popular kind of exhibition polo events that are out there. We're going to get into that as part of our conversation because it's a different side of our game. You know, I've spoken to a few that do this. I'm Simon Wilson in New Zealand with his whole urban polo concept. But this is really the first opportunity to kind of dive into your background in this case, because it accounts for a side of our game that's interesting, it's popular, it's a party, all that. But I really want to get into the depth with you. But first, as with every interview that I do, we really got to get into why are you in this game, how did you get into this game? And you do have a history and legacy with this game, with your family. So let's start there, man.
Speaker 3:I do, I do my father. My father in his mid-late 20s started playing polo when he was in Spain managing hotels in Soto Grande. He also was a Gold Cup winner way back in the days and so he really got the love for the game and went all in. He started SPA, which is the Swiss Polo Association. He invented polo on snow in St Moritz on the Frozen Lake 1985. Organized two World Cups, three European Championships, started the first beach polo in Dubai, 2004. So a lot of polo there and the story goes on. But that's just so.
Speaker 3:I was kind of born into it. It never really interested me much as a child. Of course we spent a lot of time in Argentina. He had a farm there, together with one of his best friends, adrian La Placette, in Lobos out there, the Alegria. So it was always there but I never really accessed it, not until I was in Berlin and I was trying to become a soccer professional goalkeeper. I was doing really well. I had a major surgery, three surgeries on my left arm, kind of out on the connection to continue in that sport, being out a year, and kind of gravitated naturally towards polo and my friends at the time that I went to school with were all playing polo in Berlin and it was just a natural progression, and the beauty of it is really that I chose to put myself into polo. It's not like my father made me do it, so I think that's why I have such a passion and love for it, because I found my own path to it.
Speaker 1:No, that's interesting because a lot of people have those dynasty families, those legacy. They're always around the game itself. They have some involvement in equestrian sports and then it's just a natural progression. But that's great to see that you kind of just did it yourself. You weren't pressured to be around it at all. But when did you actually really get into the sport? Were you relatively young? You mentioned that in Berlin that a number of your classmates played polo as well. Was that the time that you really got into it?
Speaker 3:That's the time I really got serious about it, Spending three, four days a week at polo, on the barn, on the horse. There's still some of my best friends to this day. The Giddick is who I grew up with. We played and won a lot of polo together. We still play together and we were in our 15, 16 year of age. Of course I had the foundation because I already played or stick and ball. I course I had the foundation because I already played or stick and ball they're played practice games every now and then and wrote since I was very young, so it's not like I started at zero. So that obviously was a great help and bonus. So, yeah, and from then it was just a natural progression, just digging into it, into it more and more. And then, after I graduated I I did the natural thing of going to Argentina for for six months and the rest is history.
Speaker 1:So you continued. You didn't stop for school or anything like that, you just kept on going.
Speaker 3:I kept on going. I did university in between in Munich. I played there too. I got myself organized with some patrons there. I was a young, up and coming player, you know it was. It was on the lower level, six, eight goal, but still I was playing every weekend. So I made sure I got organized and, you know, organized my polo and was able to play and continue going, and every chance I got to go play tournaments. Uh, back then with my father and his friends, who were still traveling a lot, not as much as they used to. They used to travel with 30 horses through europe and play every weekend possible. But Piero D'Ilia, reto Gaudenzi, piero D'Ilia being the president of FIP today, so that's all his old school little group of guys that used to play all over Europe, and then obviously Argentina in the winters. So I played with them. I played all the horses. No one wanted to ride anymore and it was either that or I don't play polo. So that was my path, but I loved it. I wouldn't have it any other way.
Speaker 1:What would you say your home club is or you do not have a home club. I mean, do you just pretty much travel everywhere?
Speaker 3:No, I would say I have two home clubs. I definitely think I work and play a lot with the Gans this year. So Grand Champions, I'm a registered member of Grand Champions and in Europe, my home club is back in St Martin's, the Liga Polo Club. So those are my two home clubs.
Speaker 1:What was it? I mean, yes, you have that family background with the sport, but what was it? Do you think that you could pinpoint that really attracted you to the game of polo? You were really into soccer. You had a great, sounded like you had a great career coming for you until injury happened. Same thing happened with me with track and field. What was something about polo that was like this is what I want to do.
Speaker 3:I guess it was always there in my life. I connected to it, but not to that extreme that it became and that is today and I think, just having that athletic, competitive spirit. Anything I grew up I did. You mentioned track and field, I did track and field, I did basketball, like I excelled at a lot of sports. And then just that combination between living in berlin at the time, facing where am I gonna go with my athletic abilities, having polo right there, starting to just love the culture, which I've always loved, everything around the game, not just the connection and the work with the horses but the people, the hanging out around the barn, it just it was all there. I always loved it. I just didn't know how much I loved it until I embraced it.
Speaker 1:I guess Do you think that your competitive spirit with other sports do. You see yourself as a bit of an adrenaline junkie? I say that in a good way.
Speaker 3:No, no, 100%. Listen, i'm'm competitive. There are people that won't go play tennis or something with me with because it's just for me, like it's. It's a little extreme, but I guess it can be in a positive way, like if I don't play with someone, that is my level or better, like I just don't have patience, but and it is what it is. I thought with age it might mature, but well, one day, one day so basically, you should be never invited to a pickleball game you know what?
Speaker 3:it's ironic when you say that because, uh, I play. I actually when I have time and especially when I'm in miami. In between traveling and playing a pickleball has become a sport. I play a lot, not because I prefer it over tennis or even padel, but it's just so easy. You play pickup games. And it's so funny you mentioned pickleball because I met another very competitive person on the pickleball courts very, very early this morning TO Terrell Owens. He plays a lot when he's in Miami on the same courts and I was playing against him and he also takes things way too serious. So it's funny you just mentioned pickleball.
Speaker 1:I haven't heard his name in a long time.
Speaker 3:I got onto the courts at 6.30 this morning I was surprised to see him, but he's been there before. We have a lot of ex-athletes. I mean it's Miami, right, Miami Beach. You'll run into God knows whom playing pedal, a lot of pedal, pickle tennis, everything. So good vibe, and it's F1 week, so the city is stacked.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, there you go, man. Oh you're lucky. I wish I was down there for that. The only F1 event that I've ever been to was in Montreal, and that was like 15 years ago. It's one of the best races and the best tracks. So if that's your only one, that's a good one. Yeah, no-transcript. Diva Lex, for example, who's just a golfer and just natural adrenaline junkie and jumping out of planes. The list goes on. Isn't Mark Gansey? Isn't he a big skier? Huge skier.
Speaker 3:I was with him a couple of days ago Huge, huge skier, very good sk. A couple days ago. Huge, huge skier, very good skier too. And he obviously aspen. They have their organization there and he comes to europe to play with us and some more. It's in kidspool, kidspool being the home of hanukkah, which is the most famous ski race in the world. So yeah, big guy in skiing. And for me it was just so. You know, I love racket sports. I mean, I grew up from switzerland. Ice hockey was my first sport. I still love being on the ice, but really for the last 23 years, my sport outside of polo to stay fit and be able to be competitive was boxing.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, you're a jack of all trades.
Speaker 3:I did a few fights in the ring, but it was better not to.
Speaker 1:What do you think polo has that you find incredibly attractive? Let's say that other sports don't have.
Speaker 3:Well, I mean, first of all there's a few facets. I mean for me personally again, the work with the horses being around the barn, that whole cultural aspect and how much hard work and dedication goes into it from you and your team mornings to evenings, is huge. And for me it's also being able to educate people on. It's not just showing up on Sunday and seeing this beautiful game the oldest team sport in the world, no, it's like really to learn and appreciate about what goes in behind it. And then I think the biggest thing about polo, which obviously we're jumping a little bit to the commercial spot of it and my father was really one of the big, big, if not the big pioneer to take polo and change the way we commercialize it, we add the lifestyle there is and do the whole luxury aspect around it, the hospitality, the sponsors really elevate that to where we see it a lot today.
Speaker 3:But you know we still are front runners in a lot of that and I think that's amazing to be able to take the sport we love and really grow it. Because I think any polo player you will ask of course he'll talk about the horses and the barn and the team he works with. But at the end of the day, it's really growing the sport and having people understand and access the sport. I think that's the pivotal point, that, at least on my end and from my organization and from what our family does, it's crucial. It's bringing people to the sport and educating them on the sport and making it accessible in whatever facet. That is Just as a dedicated fan and follower, lover of horses, the sport, or even to try and break into the sport yourself.
Speaker 1:But you do mention something that's very interesting that I think is a commonality between people who play the sport One it requires so much of you to get into the game. You talk about the barn, the taking care of horses, tacking them. It's so fulfilling and rewarding, even though it's hard work to do. There's a grit and a grind to it and the reward is you know you're playing on these beautiful animals. You're outside, yes, you can play in front of a crowd, but, as I see it, there's so much fulfillment out of it and it requires so much of you. And it's understanding why so many CEOs and entrepreneurs and business people get into the game because it requires so much of you. It's an entire escape from their daily lives of being in the boardroom, let's say. But it's interesting to hear that it really is, because there's a theme coming out of this.
Speaker 3:You actually touched on another theme that we haven't even covered yet. I mean, obviously you talked about boardrooms and CEOs and so forth. Of course, no matter what we do in life, no matter what position we're in work-wise, we all have our escapes, right or different sports. But I think the beauty of polo is as well and more so than many, many other sports is the network it builds. I mean, for me, I've been fortunate to be able to venture out into other businesses that are not just polo related, but still maintaining and utilizing this tremendous network that I've been able to build and continue to build in polo.
Speaker 1:So you would agree with Churchill that your handicap is your passport to the world?
Speaker 3:I was just going to say that yes, it absolutely is. Of course, for me it's different. If, god forbid, I get injured tomorrow or something happens that I can't play anymore, I still will remain loyal and in the business of the sport, being on the commercial side. But it also has opened so many other doors for me and I think that's really something that you know. We need to recognize that. Of course you can say people that go play tennis, golf in their country club same concept. But polo is just so much bigger than just sitting in your country club. It's a global thing, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, and I would echo that statement because I came into polo. I wasn't a polo player. I mean, I'd written, you know, when I was 10 years old, but polo didn't come into my life until what? 2015, 2013, I think and I fell in love with it. I wasn't a polo player.
Speaker 1:I got a sticking ball, enjoyed it, meeting people the people are beautiful in this game, from the grooms on up to the locations that I've gotten a chance to go to are absolutely incredible, and this podcast is an example of the doors that it opened. But there was something you touched on as part of that. I think it was an article. I think this was like 10, 15, 20 years ago, maybe worse. It's like business gets done on the golf course, kind of thing, and every time someone brought that up to me like you know how much business can get done on a polo field, I'm like everyone is intertwined. You have a handicap, you've ridden a horse, you have a mallet, you can go anywhere in the world and someone will have a horse tacked and ready for you to get out and play A hundred percent, and you know it's one of those things.
Speaker 3:The network and the opportunities are there. You still need to utilize them, right? It's now we're jumping again. This is a good little pattern here, because it's the same when we try to bring sponsors, new sponsors, into the event and to the commercial end. We built this platform. We utilize the sport and the lifestyle and the network that comes with it as platform, but you still need to utilize it and I think it transcends in every aspect of the sport.
Speaker 1:Let's touch base on it, because I'm assuming, in your roles that you have with these events, that you do, and what have you? You do sell sponsorship right, you do fulfill them, you engage with them and so on and so forth. Correct, I do it all. I do it all, I run the events.
Speaker 3:I concept the events. I have ownership in all the events, so a hundred percent. And there it's, because I can tell all the stories, I can be the guy who's organizing it, I'm the guy who you want to speak to on a commercial side. I'm the guy who also will sit on a horse and play competitively on a professional level. So it's building a brand within the brand of Polo.
Speaker 1:That's really what it's been about find yourself, when you're pitching to potential sponsors, that there's a lot of educating that needs to be done of how to really immerse themselves into the game to justify its value and their investment.
Speaker 3:No, I think, unless, like in anything in life, unless you have a sponsor or a person who's willing to learn or be like, how can I best benefit from this? You know there's a natural draw towards sports and you know we haven't gotten into this yet, but a lot of the events we do are unique. You call them exhibition whatever. I would never call it that because they're staple annual events. No, it's important to say that have a tremendous commercial value and budget, far over larger tournaments. But what I'm trying to say is, again we built these platforms and the people are drawn to them naturally and then it's you help to guide them, how to best utilize the platform. I think that's what it really is.
Speaker 3:But Polo just has that allure of high-end brands, luxury, good network, but even more so important is to also break the ice that it is all of that, but it also is an accessible sport. It's finding that perfect formula that works for everyone. Because, just touching on given that I'm in Miami right now, the Miami Beach Polo World Cup, you're on the beach. Of course you'll have the high-end sponsors and the people paying a high, heavy ticket price to have all-inclusive everything, but we create a lounge that is more accessible, less price point. We keep one third of our arena open to the public, where everyone can come and view it, so it's very important to really have all facets.
Speaker 1:You do mention something interesting and part of my, when I've been selling sponsors for the Oprah Polo Club and what have you. There's obviously intrigue. All right, I'm going to pick up the phone and talk to this guy, but also at the same time, there's a lot of that false stereotypes that come with polo, where it's oh, your club, isn't it just kind of only accessible to your members and it's just like whoa? No, it's way more accessible than that. And once you get them out there to a polo match whether it be the classic tailgating, roll up your Ford F-150 and have a couple of chairs out there or it's, you know, the grand old party in a way, where everyone's in seersucker, bow ties and platform shoes. That's what I always found. Is this like? Okay, now I get it, I get it.
Speaker 3:This is not what I perceived polo to be yeah, a huge reason also why we pick these amazing locations globally to do these events that are one-off events a year is because usually you have to bring people to the polo and I like to say we bring polo to the people, which in the long run will bring more people to polo. Does that make sense? Yeah, and the second thing is, of course, the lure of polo. Does that make sense? Yeah, and the second thing is, of course, the allure of polo, which the stigma allure, call it what you will. It's a very expensive sport, it's very high end and and luxury champagne, all those stigmas, whatever you want to call it. Yes, understood, but the way I explain it is look, of course.
Speaker 3:But look at, let's use, uh, racing, because we are in Formula One week here in Miami, you can go go-karting with your son on the weekends for a very, very low budget, just for fun. Or you can own a Formula One team, the same in sailing, and the list goes on. Yep. You can rent a horse to play a chucker every weekend and be happy to be part of that and have fun. Or you can run a high goal team the whole season in Wellington. Of course there are worlds between that, but it's very important that people understand that of course it is that, but it can also be this. And, in order to go there, everyone has their starting point. Of course, for some people it's easier to be born into a big polo dynasty, to use your words. Or for me, even though, yes, I was born into what was becoming a polo family, so to say. But me, even though, yes, I was born into what was becoming a Polo family, so to say but I accessed it when I chose to access it.
Speaker 1:I love it. We're getting into the economics of the game. This is what I love. I love it.
Speaker 3:There you go.
Speaker 1:I draw in comparison with like sailing and Formula One when it comes to Polo all the time, all the time. But you raise a good point Like there's another side of the game that is far more accessible. You see things from a media perspective. What's going to be on my TV? That's the story in which it's given to me. All right, you know, when people talk about polo they think about have you ever met Prince Harry or Prince William, kind of thing. And I was like guys, do you know? For example, chicagoland has six, seven, eight polo clubs. There's X, y and Z number of fields. There's nearly 300 players. They're like that exists here. I'm like, yeah, chicago at one point was the epicenter of polo in the United States for like 50 years.
Speaker 3:You just educated me, I didn't even know that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the USPA was headquartered here at one point. The Butler family, after World War II, gave polo a new headquarters in Chicago when Winchester kind of didn't know if it was going to come back anymore. But I'm glad we share a lot of the same perspectives of the game and that's what I love talking to people who attend events, whether it be something like beach polo or just a regular polo match like let me walk you down this road for you, and I guarantee you're going to want to jump on a horse as a result of it, and it's way easier than you think.
Speaker 3:Yes, but I will also tell you that these events that are not on polo grounds attract a whole new array of people to polo and also a lot of economic possibilities with new sponsors in the game. So the whole entire sport benefits from this approach and some of the events that we're doing, because it's accessing people you will otherwise not access.
Speaker 1:Let's get into that. Let's start from the ground up, because you're affiliated with the Snow Polo in St Moritz, correct?
Speaker 3:Well, technically by bloodline, but my father runs it, operates it. It just had its 40 year anniversary. My only role there is I get hired to go play. I was fortunate enough to have played it eight times now, reached three finals, win it twice. But obviously in the future that might change and I don't think the old man's going anywhere anytime soon. That's the oldest baby he created in the polo world and he does an amazing job.
Speaker 1:And for now I'm happy because, as much as I love playing and organizing events, I don't think that will ever be possible, if that ever happens, was St Moritz kind of like one of the first, though, to kind of take the concept or snow polo or even beach polo at that time, that's 40 years ago. Was there anyone else doing it at that time?
Speaker 3:Well, it was the very first Okay, it was the very first my father they call him the godfather of snow polo for a reason On the frozen lake of St Moritz 1985.
Speaker 1:So, just for those who are listening, what is Snow Polo in St Moritz? I want to hear from you because I think a lot of our listeners and those who are not in Polo would be interesting. For example, it's not played on a hard surface.
Speaker 3:It's two towns over, but somewhere is what we consider, where our roots are from and embedded. So it's my home turf. You asked me my home club. That's my home turf. So in the summer it's not accessible unless by boat. It is a lake, in fact, and it freezes obviously in the winter, for since 40 years they play on the frozen lake. It's unbelievable. If you think about it, you barely have 23, I think, centimeters at minimum you need, which is not a lot. We can calculate that in inches for the American crowd. Maybe you now want to calculate it, because then you might not go on to the lake. No, I'm kidding, it's super safe, but yeah, it's impressive.
Speaker 3:So we play on snow and the way snow polo is played in the second oldest snow polo tournament in the world is Kitzbühel, one of my events. Obviously it's different because it's on a field, but in principle it's the same. You have ice and then you build hard packed snow on top, which gives it a great surface to play on. It's a lot of fun. It's a different game. The principle is the same, but different ball, it's different dynamics and some more it's. We actually do play almost on a full field. We do have sideboards, but it's still four on four. And then kids pool and miami and some of the other events we're doing are three on three, on a smaller field, but has a tremendous commercial value because it's almost like ice hockey, right you're? You're sitting there in front stands looking into the field, horses and players coming super close to you on those boards, so it has its own vibe, which is amazing.
Speaker 1:Now for those. If you guys want to know who's listening, what is? 23 centimeters into inches? It's only nine and it's less than a foot, so that might freak you out in terms of the depth of the ice there. Now, I mean, you think that horses are going to slip around? Do they have special shoes on them? Is the snow on that higher altitude? Is that why snow polo can really only exist in places like Aspen and St Morse?
Speaker 3:No, it exists. I mean Kitzbühel, others have done it it exists. Where there is snow, right, obviously it's a question of do you know how to feel? Together, there is a plastic ring to help absorb the snow from not sticking on it. You have the studs in there, as you would on a field as well. So of course, there's minor differences, but it's really about preparation of the field.
Speaker 3:But I can say that my family is doing this the longest, longer than anyone on snow polo. So we don't know how to put together a good snow polo field. Who then? But it's also not easy because, unlike beach polo, for example and we'll touch on this later we actually bring in footing. We don't play on the beach, which is's crazy, but it's it's amazing at the same time. But snow, you know, if it is very warm for many days, uh, you know it's. It's a lot of work. It's a lot of work, a lot more work than anything else. And it's it's not easy because in these kind of tournaments you have a three-day window set. It's not like during the season when you're in england or argentina or in wellington oh, it rained too much today, we'll play tomorrow. You can't do that because the whole apparatus behind it, the sponsors, the commercial aspect, the catering, it's all. It's a whole different level.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, oh yeah, You're preaching now to me. That's how Oak Brook was. Every single. It's like my gosh, can we not cancel? Can we not cancel? But does safety play a very, very important role when it comes to beach and snow polo?
Speaker 3:Safety is the number one period. It doesn't matter what surface we're on, no matter where we play, safety of the horses comes before safety of the players. Hey, listen, that's how the rules originally were written. So, absolutely and again, not only does the safety come first, but you know, we have our organizations are huge from vets there, from people prepping the field in between truckers, if needed, everything. The principle is the same as you would at any polo club.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I just feel like it's more so just in non-traditional settings like that in Snowland Beach. Like to your point, number one priority is the horses. Sorry, spectators, you're secondary, but we need the health of the horses, and his players on the field are top notch. Before we dive back in today's buzzing conversation, we'd like to give a special shout out to this season's Outside the Boards podcast. Co-presenting sponsor.
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Speaker 3:Kids' Pool is one of my events. I've been running it now for 23 years we're going into now, so that's the second oldest. Again, st Moritz I don't have an official role there. I go there. I just got picked up, hired by a new team. I can't wait until it gets announced. It's an exciting new team I'll be playing for next year. So Kitzbühel is the only other snow polo event we have as of now, and then of course, we have Miami Polo.
Speaker 3:My company is organizing the next European Championship in Poland, in the Soviet Union, with Mati Switalski, amazing, amazing club. We organized the last European Championship and we're very keen on already finding, or already have found, the opportunity to do the next. So that would be three in a row that my company would have done European Championships. So that's also not been done before. So excited about that. And we have a lot of other projects in the works and people approaching us to do Polo.
Speaker 3:One of the things we're building, polo in Romania right now Absolutely unbelievable project in Singorini Manor, right outside of Bucharest. What an estate 1,200 hectares. They're big Arabian horse collectors. Now they're building two polo fields, a polo club. It's unbelievable, unbelievable. So it's really exciting. You know when you talk about. Back to economics of polo, but anything and finding emerging markets. It's one of the things I've learned from my father and he keeps finding these emerging markets where polo doesn't have a footing yet, so to say, but has so much potential. I mean what he built in 12 years in Azerbaijan. Now they have a national team. They've been to two European championship finals. It's a lot and that's really good. And it's really great because that just grows the sport.
Speaker 1:It seems as though you do have a pulse on the polo on the international level and in the last 10 years, I mean, what have you seen in terms of what areas of the world just seem to have a massive amount of polo growth or interest and investment into it?
Speaker 3:Well, I think it's changing a little bit. Of course, you have the standard big places Wellington in the winter season, Argentina during the Argentina season and then in England right, those are the staples. But it's interesting that a lot more people are adapting this concept of being somewhere for the entire season, which was completely foreign to me growing up, because every week or every two weeks we were in a different city around Europe Germany, Switzerland, Italy, we were playing, which I loved because I'd have to go to school, university, and then comes Thursday night, you're flying to Paris, you're flying to Hamburg, whatever which I thought was awesome, Right. But I think, more and more, these places like Soto Grande I'm excited to go back to Soto Grande this season to play as well with some patrons Like those are these amazing staples where people go and they stay for a month, two months. I see the growth more in the less traveling and investing more in permanent infrastructures. That's what I see.
Speaker 1:Soto Grande is an incredible venue, I mean one of the most beautiful and biggest, I would say I've never been. But looking at pictures, I'll send you more pictures, Don't worry about it. Pivoting to beach polo obviously in the sand. We've all probably run in the sand at one point, whether it be for workouts or for fun. It is a pain in the ass. How do you approach beach polo when it comes to the safety of horses?
Speaker 3:Well, there's a couple of facets there. I mean, you call it running, it can be a pain in the ass on the beach. I call it an extra workout and make it harder. So it all depends on what mindset you have.
Speaker 1:My track and field days. Those were workouts. We had beach workouts.
Speaker 3:Listen at the end. I live right by the beach. Nothing like going for a workout period on the beach, but anyway, we take it very seriously. There's two aspects of it. Beach polo is played in quite a few places Now. There's nothing compared to the size, magnitude and the budget and the quality and players that we do in Miami.
Speaker 3:But you can play on regular sand. Absolutely. Obviously you don't want to have too deep of a sand. Again back to the same thing as running it tires the horses out faster, it's heavier on the, on the wrist and the body of the players as well. You have to water it a lot or you have the luxury solution which again, you have to raise enough sponsorship money and work hard to build these events so you can do these kinds of things as we do in Miami beach. We bring in footing so we play on actual jumper track footing which is unbelievable. Like I will never forget the first year we brought in the footing and the second day a lot of the big high goal pros brought horses that they had just played in the 26 goal back then in the us open, you know, because they're like, wow, with this footing, like I can bring the best of the best horses, so just to give you a little side note into the effort and the investment we do for this so it's almost sand, it's just.
Speaker 1:It's better footing for the horses, it's footing.
Speaker 3:it's the same footing you will have in dressage or jumping. I mean, it's top-notch footing, which is logistic Nightmare, just adds to already building a whole entire infrastructure where there is nothing. But it's worth it. It's unbelievable.
Speaker 1:The players, the people, it's much faster, more dynamic Do you have to pull a lot of the sand away before you put down the footing or put something underneath the footing.
Speaker 3:No, we're lucky that Miami Beach has maintained their beaches very good and we have a very good relationship and work with the city very long Back to pickleball the ex-mayor Gelber who helped us a lot when we expanded I just played with him the other day and now you know we work with the city and they maintain the beaches so good and they really come in. The military corp comes in every few years to expand certain beaches and they are relatively flat, so it's very minimal grooming we do before we put in mats and then after the mats we enclose it and then we put in the footing and we take out the entire footing, okay yeah, because every time I see beach polo played, I mean obviously it's a concern for the horses and the safety, but it's like my gosh, you know they're.
Speaker 1:They're playing either directly on the sand. Have they removed any of the sand to decrease the depth of it?
Speaker 3:again, you're better off watering the field than taking away sand, because taking away sand will not make it more compact underneath, it will actually soften the sand. It's actually a myth, because when you try to stick something in the soft pack sand, you're like, oh, but underneath it gets softer. But that's only because of the weight that is present from the top layer of sand. So taking that layer off, you're just going to soften the bottom part okay, but it's.
Speaker 1:You said it was to keep that sand wet correct wetting. It is a much more way to go yeah, that's something new I haven't heard at all, and I don't know if it's something that either people regularly do or just knew that you had to. You got to take a hose to it, probably often, depending upon where you are and how hot it is well, very funny story.
Speaker 3:The first time we did beach polo together with the Al-Habtours in Dubai in 2004, and I'll never forget, we had two or three hoses and we're hosing down this beach to compact the field and the father of Mohammed Rashid comes out. The big Al-Habtour comes out and says what are you guys doing? You're watering the field, he's like, but why are you using freshwater for this? Use the water from the ocean. Freshwater is here and we all our jaws all dropped. It was quite funny, but yeah, but that was a vast, fast learning experience.
Speaker 1:Okay, so on that note, did you use the seawater for it, or is that? Can you not?
Speaker 3:We did check In the moment we were using freshwater and obviously freshwater there is a lot more valuable than in a lot of places. So, yeah, we were reprimanded quite swiftly, but it was a funny story and something I will never forget.
Speaker 1:Well, at least you know the alternative works pretty well.
Speaker 3:So, that's good.
Speaker 1:Oh man. So do you feel as though you would like to see more of these types of events out there? Or, to your point, they're costly to put on? You need that healthy commercialization to get some of these things started. What has been your perspective? Because it seems as though you kind of own this space, or the leader and trailblazer within this space.
Speaker 3:Well, here's the thing I always want to see more people succeed, even with these annual events that are in locations that are non-Polo locations, and there are a few groups that do a great job, and if we grow the sport in the right manner, it's good for all of us. I always call Polo a mass niche market sport, which makes no sense. It makes sense to me in my head, but maybe not to others, but it has so much potential and I see it growing and I still see it so limited, so I'm all for other people doing these events. Here is my issue is when people don't do it on a certain level of quality and they piggyback on things that others do, be it ourselves or others that do an amazing job, and realize that, as this is what we're going to do and not even close to doing that, and the value, the efforts that we put in the quality that we put, the money that we invest, the sponsors we bring to the table, that hurts the sport and people are trying to be like, look, we're doing this here and they do a horrible, poor job and they're actually doing the exact counterproductive thing to the sport and everything we're trying to build.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's like everything right you have something and someone replicas something that's not the same. Like everything right you have something and someone replicas something that's not the same. And you turn sponsors and potential people interested in the sport, in whatever manner to play, to come watch away With a watered-down product, because people see this, expect this and then get something completely different. And that's why we have a lot of tournaments pop up and disappear very fast. So that's sad and not good for the sport.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was just going to say. You see, these concepts come and go all the time To your point. There's a recipe for it to do it well.
Speaker 3:Either you do it well or you bring someone in who can do it, and I'm not exaggerating. I have so many ideas and concepts passed me throughout the year. Back in my 20s, they told me let's go do beach polo in Ghana in Accra, ghana true story. It was 24 why not? Let's go see what we can do. It never materialized. Actually, someone contacted me that they're they're starting to do something there. But what I'm trying to say is nowadays, obviously, being in the business for over 20 years and learning from from one of the best my father and and working with great organizations, including the Ganzis A lot of these concepts come and go, but the problem is I don't want to do them, but someone will pick it up thinking they can do it. But it is what it is. You can't stop that, you know.
Speaker 1:Do you think that a large part of doing this right takes a considerable amount of investment to make it go well? Miami and St Mort's and your other snow polo? I mean, I got to imagine that it took some time to really get these things to break even or even profitable.
Speaker 3:A hundred percent, but not only that. I'm a firm believer of either you do something right or you don't do it at all. And if you start something new, but you are honest and open in what you are starting and where you want to go and don't say this is what we're doing and comparing it to you know events that have a decade, two plus, whatever, and have a lot more backing or know-how. You just need to be honest. I've seen it happen that people go to sponsors that we've worked with, contact them. It's like, oh, we're doing the same thing but better this and that. And again back to something you said fairly at the beginning educating sponsors. That's why it's so important to educate them.
Speaker 3:And I have this amazing relationship with a lot of our sponsors. Just taking kids, we just signed a new deal 25 years of the same title sponsor. That doesn't happen in polo sports or any event these days. That's a quarter century with the same title sponsor. But that just shows you how much hard work me and my team put in and how we deliver year after year.
Speaker 3:But my point being is I have a great relationship with a lot of sponsors and a lot of them do contact me. Hey, I was approached by X, y and Z and you. You know I'm going to be honest with them, but but I've also experienced that people are like, oh, I paid this to be part of one of tito's events, let's just say it, for lack of better words, but I can go there and apparently I'm getting the same for less money. And then you're going there, you're not getting anywhere equal to the same quality and you've spent a lot more money than you should for that. And then they have a bad taste. But that would happen in any event in any sport, you know. So it's not a huge issue. It's an issue, but obviously we're lucky to have built, not just one or two, quite a few big tournaments and a good reputation. So you know, but it still does exist nonetheless.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean, organization is a key to any sponsor who is getting involved. It's not just the event, the exposure and what have you we're investing into. The group that knows how to put this on puts it on well isn't half-assing. It looks out for our interests and our objectives where we'll continue to do a 20, 25-year deal and like that's really impressive, considering leadership changes and all that. Different objectives change when it comes to companies and to stick with something for that long, it's pretty impressive.
Speaker 3:Well, you have to think that's a 25 year stint and just for one company that's still probably four or five, I think four CEOs you have to go through. So it's not easy. Like a CEO change happens in companies. People retire this and that they bring in their ideas this and that, and Polo might not fit along there. So it's not as easy as it sounds. It's commendable, because it's hard work, that my team that I'm so happy to have and can do these things, but it's not easy. It's not easy.
Speaker 1:No. When you go out to or when your team you yourself or your team go out to talk to potential prospects or they inquire about a sponsorship opportunity, what are the value propositions that you tell them to get their interest in sponsoring beach polo or snow polo? What's your initial pitch?
Speaker 3:Well, first of all, you need to have a great deck, a great concept pitch. Well, first of all, you need to have a great deck, a great concept, a great track record, everything that we're fortunate enough to have great partners and sponsors already in these events. There's not a one-off pitch, because you're talking to someone, they're interested, right. But now it's like how am I going to adapt to what I believe is the best outcome or the best benefit of said sponsor in the sport, which can be different, because you'll have an automotive let's just use a very broad term and they're like okay, we want to have leads of potential people to buy our luxury car, right. But we also have a lot of sponsors, and for me, this is the most fascinating part, because a lot of sponsors, as they should, especially when you have marketing dollars that come in, they're like where and when is our ROI? How are we going to capitalize on this? Then you can argue well, it's also brand recognition, brand value. We have to factor that in too, and everyone can give their numbers on the table. We'll never agree to any of it. But there's quantifiable return and there's not. But you always have to be honest. Again, I mentioned this very early on. We build a platform. We'll bring the clients. You'll have access to other sponsors' clients, but you have to help guide them how they can most benefit. They still have to walk through the door. You're just opening the door wide.
Speaker 3:But what I was going to allude to is that there are a lot of sponsors who love this platform so much and will come and sponsor and have tables and bring all their existing clients. Having new clients that they might acquire is just a surplus. But they use this as a hospitality. Like you would take your top clients out to lunch. They'll make a weekend of it and we get this more and more. But those are clients when you go into year three, four, five and that stay with you for a decade. Plus is because they love the product. They see the quality there over and over every year. They see the growth and they're like this is amazing. We want our brand to be there. We want to be attached to this brand and this event and we want to bring and recognize our existing customers. Anything that happens outside that is a surplus. That's a luxury problem to have, but we do see that more and more.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but you mentioned something like the fact that we are in a niche sport. I mean, I find that to be incredibly valuable because I often tell sponsors I said, you know, take a pebble and drop it in a pond, all right, the ripple effect that you're going to have in polo, I guarantee, is going to be far greater than if you drop that same pebble into, let's say, major League Baseball or the NFL.
Speaker 3:It's oversaturated, there's distractions all over, they don't have nearly the window of engagement and in polo, despite the fact that it doesn't have the mass media NBC, espn or what have you the on-site experience is so much more valuable in ways that no other mainstream sport has niche sport, because you want to be in a room with 700 people, of which at least 50 could be your customer or your target audience tomorrow, or do you want to be in a room with 10 000 people where you need to go find the same 350 people? Yeah, there you have it, and again it feeds off of itself. We create the product, we create the brand, we create, create the platform. You bring in top sponsors. Now the sponsors feed from each other as well. The amount of collaborations that we've willing or, more so, unwillingly created between two brands in tournaments in the past is insane. But it just comes to show that you're on to something. And again you go to a place where you have clients X, y and Z from these sponsors. Those are all your target market.
Speaker 1:You don't have to go search a needle in a haystack, you know it surprises me also like yes, okay, you want to target those incredibly high net worth individuals, so your Ferraris, your Bentleys and what have you. But also I'm surprised that more affordable luxury brands are not getting involved in polo or highly considering it. I disagree, oh, you disagree, okay.
Speaker 3:I disagree, because that's part of the ice I'm breaking or have been breaking, because I'm sure you recall, a little while back I was talking about having the multifaceted the super VIP. Little while back I was talking about having the multifaceted the super VIP, a lesser lounge open to the public. Remember that and again, bring polo to the people and people to the polo. So there you're breaking that ice and you'll have more mainstream brands and we've brought in more mainstream brands that are not only in the luxury segment but now they can go service still the luxury segment, the mid rangerange, the open to the public. We create public retail villages everywhere we go so people don't have to buy a ticket. They come to enjoy the sport, so you have access to everything.
Speaker 1:No, absolutely, like when you look at the list of sponsors and what have you? No, absolutely, you're breaking that ice. There's no question about it. You're breaking those barriers.
Speaker 1:I'm just thinking like, even in my polo club, you know, with Oak Brook and even others around the US, it's like guys, you know, I hate to say, or even let's say, I'm like I'm in beer country, right, I'm in Big Ten country, and when we targeted craft breweries, for example, big out here, and we ended up, because of it and the location that we were in, we created a horses for hops beer festival that came out here and it introduced us to a whole other demographic that came out here who were beer aficionados and never realized dude, this is awesome, man, we're at a beer festival, we're watching polo.
Speaker 1:This is perfect. They're pretty much in board shorts and flip-flops for the most part, but I'll take it. Man, that was a hell of a time introducing the Polo to an entirely new demographic. But it just goes to show that the type of brands and their involvement here is pretty extensive and what you're doing and breaking those barriers is important. It's just, you know, hope that others in the US do the same. Take note, there's more opportunity than just going after your Ferraris of the world.
Speaker 3:Again, a hundred percent, and it goes back to making the sport more accessible in every facet. The goal is the same. The goal is the same. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:So, from your perspective, what is Polo doing wrong these days? I know it's a broad question. There are certain things going in the wrong direction. Should investments be made in other areas of the game? Overall perspective.
Speaker 3:To be honest, I couldn't sit here and pinpoint this. Is what polo is doing wrong. It's hard to say because, as much as a governed sport as it is, you have the USPA here in the US and you have all the different HPA in England, spa, to mention Switzerland, and then you have the FIP. Everyone still tries to work together, but it's not like I don't know, I think from a governing body. Everyone has their own clubs and polo will never be like that I'm not suggesting that or hired for a year or two and play for the same team. So, since the structure is so spread out and just the network of how the sport is built, which is fantastic, unique and beautiful, I couldn't pinpoint what's wrong with it.
Speaker 3:You know a lot of people do what they think is right in the sport because they can do it. It's not like in other sports. Nba owner can't decide this and not go conform with the NBA, but it's fine. It's what makes our sports so unique. So, again, I wouldn't be able to pinpoint it. The only thing I can say, which we've touched on, is people that utilize the sport to sell a product they don't have or not to the level it should be. So that hurts the sport. And again, I cannot preach enough how we need to grow the sport, grow its accessibility and educate people of the beauty and the hard work that goes into the sport, and not just the Sunday polo brunch. And look at this, this is amazing, that's great, but that's the end product of a lot, right?
Speaker 1:Yeah, is there anything that you would want to see polo doing more of or what it should be doing? Should it be taking advantage of certain technologies? Should it be doing more things that you're doing in snow and beach polo?
Speaker 3:I think technology has become a bigger and bigger part in polo. I think that's great. I think most of the rule changes I find make sense in the recent years. I find makes sense in the recent years. Again, I think it's great to have tournaments similar to what we have to grow the sport and make it more accessible. But again, there's a fine line between doing something or do something right. So again, I can only speak for myself and my organization and the organizations I work closely with, as our goal remains the same is to grow the sport, to bring more commercial money into the sport, Because I think polo should be more so on television, it should be more so spoken of in the sports world period and I feel like minor little break-ins to this have happened, but we're still so so far out. Like I said before, mass niche sport, and I'll say this for the last time because the potential has not even started to breach into what it can 100% agree.
Speaker 1:There's an enormous amount of white space still in this game.
Speaker 3:But opportunity is also something amazing because it's there and we'll see who will be able to get more of that space and grow it. I mean, I know we are trying our best. I know there's some other groups out there and you know, as long as we all have the same common goal of what's best for the sport, I think the future is absolutely amazing for the sport, Absolutely.
Speaker 1:Is Bernie Ecclestone still alive? Should we hire him?
Speaker 3:No, no, no, no, no, no, no no no, no.
Speaker 1:Have you read his book, by the way?
Speaker 3:I have, and I've been lucky enough to be around the F1 circuit a bit. I remember his days. I mean, you look at what they've done now. Liberty Media, it's unbelievable. Yeah, and they also just bought MotoGP. It's pretty massive.
Speaker 1:Talk about what once was a very niche sport.
Speaker 3:I don't know you can say Formula One was a niche sport, maybe for you growing up in America.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Because it was foreign to you that cars don't only just turn left. I'm kidding, that's a little pun.
Speaker 1:That's okay, rub it in, I have no problem with it. We have that debate every year with my family.
Speaker 3:Listen, it's all good, it's all good. Welcome to the real world of motorsports. No, I'm not diminishing. I know a bunch of NASCAR drivers as well and that's tough, but I'm just saying I'm so happy that, as long as it took you look at, I'm going to say football, you're going to say soccer and even the growth of that sport, it's still struggling. It's still struggling. It's still struggling. It's still not anywhere close.
Speaker 3:Like you know, people come to the US because either they don't make it in Europe in the big leagues or they come to retire. It's fine, it is what it is. It's a growing sport. But it's the reality of things, right. But there you see that the world's biggest sport is now. I mean, if you go back to what was in 1994, the World Cup, the first World Cup in the US, you fast track. Now I mean this is unbelievable and they're still struggling to grow at the pace they want to grow. They're doing great. But imagine, and we have a very niche sport and we're trying to grow it. So again, the potential is there, but the hard work lays ahead.
Speaker 1:Well, I think your perspective of the game and what you do from your end and the events that you build you represent a highly creative side to the game that is innovative and breaking barriers at all times.
Speaker 1:So it's important for the Tito's of the world to be involved in this and be brought to the table, because there's this left of center thinking at the end of the day and that that continues to need to be done. You know, when I got into this game, you know I got a chance to meet mike ferrara, the ganses, matt baker of the world, who are innovative when it came to drone technology and live streaming. Yeah, I remember that was my first day on the job and i'm'm just like I'm sold. I'm sold. There's so much potential. How do we start to plant the seed and get organized with it? And it's exciting to see what has happened from then to now. What a little more than 10 years. But I also got to toot the horn of the people that have been by far some of the most innovative people in this game that don't get enough credit, like Mike or the Gansey family.
Speaker 3:I work with them nonstop. They're involved. Obviously we brought back Miami Polo and grown it together to what it is today. Mike and I work a lot on innovation. We talk a lot. I mean these are friends and like family, that I get the luxury and the time to be able to be creative and outside of the box and help go to sport. So absolutely Pioneers.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's a lot of things in polo that could really tire you out eventually Because either their pattern of not being innovative or getting stuck. You, tito, probably know even better than some of the characters that are in this game and it can be exhausting sometimes, but I applaud you for the innovation and what you've been able to build and create on your end. I think it's incredibly fascinating and I want to get out to St Mort's so bad and some of the other events that you do get out of my windy city of a place. But with that said, is there anything you want to say? Recommend quote to kind of sign off this interview. Any shout outs?
Speaker 3:I mean, I think we've shot out to many people. We just talked about the Ganses and their organization. Obviously, my father. There's so many shout outs, there's so many people. I commend the people that are open to change and in polo we're a very traditional sport but doing some of the things we do are untraditional, but they are helping to grow the sport and bring more people and money to the sport. We have a very I mentioned this before a very tough road ahead, but we have the oldest and most beautiful sport in the world and I say this with absolute conviction. And again, the potential is there. So whoever is in the sport or wants to be in the sport, there's so much growth you can be part of and I think that's the beautiful part that we have not even scratched the surface on where the sport can and will and should be one day.
Speaker 1:Those are great parting words, man. Well, tito, I can't thank you enough for taking the time to chat. I enjoyed our conversations. We probably could go down a rabbit hole with many, many topics and I hope our paths cross in the very near future, man, A lot of opportunities for even just you and I to explore and go down that path. Absolutely. Thank you so much. No, absolutely Thank you, man. Thank you for joining the season five and continue to educate polo and non-polo people alike. And yeah, man, enjoy your summer.
Speaker 3:I am packed and ready in two weeks. I'm leaving for four months to Europe, so we're good.
Speaker 1:All right, good deal, good deal, all right, my man Take care and safe travels buddy.
Speaker 3:Thank you.
Speaker 1:In 2012, the founders of Outside the Boards witnessed their first polo match and were stunned by the sport's beauty and brutality. Few sports, if any, have these combined qualities. The sport's grace, intensity and warlike imagery create a shock and awe viewing experience like none other. Combine this with the sport's party-like atmosphere and lifestyle and you have a recipe for success. Today, the sport has yet to witness its full potential. The industry is fragmented, riddled with politics and inexperience. Outside the Board was purposely designed to change all that and bring clarity to the sport by introducing best practices, insights, trends and consulting services to industry stakeholders and interested brands so that they can reach their marketing potential and better navigate the sport. Whether you're a club seeking custom sponsorship and marketing solutions or simply looking for strategic advice, we encourage you to contact us today or subscribe to gain access to industry insights. Visit us at OutsideTheBoardscom or to learn more, or email us at info at OutsideTheBoardscom. Let's change the game, and that's a wrap for today's episode. Our heartfelt thanks to our season sponsor, hive 2.0, for helping bring outside the boards to life.
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