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Good Neighbor Podcast Estero
EP # 239 Champion Vibes: Where Family, Community, and Pickleball Intersect
Ryan Reader's journey from beach-loving hippie to pickleball entrepreneur captures the explosive growth of America's fastest-growing sport. As founder of G.O.A.T. Paddle (Greatest Of All Time Paddles), Ryan brings contagious enthusiasm to everything pickleball—from high-performance equipment to community building.
The moment Ryan discovered pickleball remains vivid in his memory. Standing in a voting line at an Estero recreation center, he spotted people playing in the gymnasium and immediately abandoned his civic duty to investigate. A lifelong tennis player, he was instantly captivated by pickleball's welcoming community and addictive gameplay. That chance encounter sparked what would become a life-defining passion and successful business venture.
G.O.A.T. Paddle emerged organically from Ryan's deep immersion in the pickleball lifestyle. Unlike companies that entered the market opportunistically during the sport's boom, Ryan emphasizes that pickleball genuinely permeates every aspect of his existence—from dreaming about gameplay patterns to developing cutting-edge equipment. This authenticity fuels his company's mission to provide truly superior paddles with specially engineered carbon fiber surfaces that optimize ball control.
Beyond equipment, Ryan's greatest pride comes from G.O.A.T. Paddle's community impact. The company recently raised nearly $30,000 for the Harry Chapman Food Bank and veterans through tournament events. Ryan describes these charitable initiatives with palpable emotion, marveling at how a seemingly simple racquet sport has become a powerful vehicle for positive change throughout Southwest Florida.
Whether you're a seasoned player looking to upgrade your equipment or someone curious about pickleball's meteoric rise, visit goatpaddle.com to discover why Ryan insists on his golden rule: always "flex like a boss" after hitting a winning shot. The paddle may be in your hands, but the championship mindset is what truly elevates your game.
G.O.A.T. Paddle
Ryan Reader
Estero, Florida
info@goatpaddle.com
goatpaddle.com
Social Media: @goatpaddle
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, cabo, jim Schaller.
Speaker 2:Welcome Good Neighbors to episode number 239 of the Good Neighbor Podcast. Today we have Good Neighbor Ryan Reader from Welcome.
Speaker 3:Hey, what is up? Champion of the world vibes. What's up, Kyle?
Speaker 2:Oh, you know, just another beautiful day in paradise, right?
Speaker 3:Timeless moments with you, brother.
Speaker 2:That is it. That is it. So let's jump right in and for those that don't know, let's share a little bit about .
Speaker 3:Absolutely, brother. So, man, this is a lifestyle that we live here. If you know anything about florida pickleball southwest florida specifically we have the greatest pickleball of all time all across the world. It's like a religion here. I mean, people love it, they breathe it, live it and um, I, you know, for me, I, um, I feel like I'm the grandfather OG pickleball boss of this area. I have so many stories that we could go on forever about, but Paddle was just the birth from the lifestyle. We live here in paradise and you know I'm blessed to play pickleball for a living and created Goat Paddle, which is greatest of all time paddles. We have high performance pickleball paddles and we have balls and bags and we're just a. We're elevating the future of fueling the future of pickleball growth and, just you know, loving the high performance vibe and champion of the world vibes for sure I love it.
Speaker 2:I love it. You got to be passionate about what you do and obviously you're passionate about it, which is awesome. I love it. So let's, let's back up that story a little bit. How did you get involved in this in the first place?
Speaker 3:so the craziest thing. So I live in estero, florida, and this is actually where I found pickleball. I was, uh, I had moved down here after college just kind of just doing the uh, the hippie lifestyle on the beach and just you know, just whatever. And um, I was a boat, like at a rec center, in a voting line and I saw some people playing in a gym back then it was mostly like gym gymnasiums. There was not as many courts, um, as there are now, and I just left the voting line.
Speaker 3:I'm like man, what is this game? And I've been a tennis player my whole life and I'm just like this, might this is the coolest thing I've ever seen. And you know, I mean the community is so welcoming even today. Back then it was even more just, um, like brothers in arms. And just like brothers in arms and just like, here's my paddle, go swing and let me show you. And, man, it just I caught the bug, just like everyone does. I mean you play one time and you're just addicted to this health, the healthiest lifestyle ever, and I mean that just literally seems like forever ago. I was so blessed to be in that moment and find pickleball and, um, it just created a ripple effect forever and got me to where I am today got it and it's.
Speaker 2:You know, not only are you being healthy, but you're you're having fun as well too, so who could complain about that?
Speaker 3:I gotta say one thing though. So the the golden rule of goat paddle. You talk about having fun, right. So when you hit a good shot right, whether it's a winner, you just feel like a boss. You got to go and flex as hard as you can. It's the force multiplier brother.
Speaker 2:There you go. I love it, I love it. So let's talk about challenges. Obviously, going from idea to conception to an actual business, there can be challenges along the way. Is there something happened along your journey, whether it's personally or professionally, that you can look back at now and say you know what. I made it through it. I'm in a better place now and we're moving forward.
Speaker 3:You know, man. So I would say, you know I was a little naive to like what entrepreneurship was in general and I feel like it to anybody that's been an entrepreneur, pursued this lifestyle you take up, being able to take a passion and turn it into a business is a like a metamorphosis. That's unbelievable. And you just have these, this volatility, roller coaster style rides every day. You feel the pressure and, you know, create diamonds, and that's what makes a champion entrepreneur.
Speaker 3:And I would say just the overall, just the way you act and learn to manage your time.
Speaker 3:I mean just the general things as an entrepreneur For me. I know my weaknesses and strengths, and administrative work is one of my biggest challenges and I have the greatest woman of all time in my life that allows me to be the kite, and she'll for sure be this boulder. She's not the rock, she's like the gigantic boulder that holds me back down. You know, so you know, but I would say like, just overall, like the whole, every picture of learning, just how to manage everything from you know, making sure the product, development, fulfillment, marketing I mean we have the sickest content you've ever seen and if you have Instagram, definitely got to check out Goat Paddle. I mean we do. We shoot content once a week. It's a major discipline of ours and we put a lot of passion and like a lot of soul and heart into our content. So I think, just like the whole picture of being, you know, like now we're a real business, we're growing top line revenue and we're just trying to tie the whole world together and influence people through pickleball.
Speaker 2:That's what it's all about. So let's clear up some of the myths or misconceptions surrounding pickleball in general. That we can, you know, kind of clear.
Speaker 3:You know. So I think I would say two things. So I have. I guess the misconception side of it would be you know, I love the competition in the game. Me, I love competition.
Speaker 3:I've been asked my whole career do you want exclusivity? And I've always answered that question the same way and I will answer it for the rest of my life and the answer is no, because I I thrive off competition and and knowing I know there's other paddle companies out there and pickleball products and whatever, but I just, you know, for us, the experience with goat paddle is is it's unlike any other. I mean, we really have, we, we live and breathe those champion vibes on and off the court and tell we we push people to try to be their better selves and their greatest version of themselves and they can just bah forever, you know. So, um, I'd say one, all paddles are the same. That's just not true. That's a, that's definitely a misconception. I I do say as a beginner player who cares what paddle, just get out there, hit the ball, sweat, feel the rush and you know, love, life as you start to your journey starts to get more real. Or you're, you catch the bug harder and you're about pickleball. You'll learn that the high performance paddles really do a lot more for you. So all I guess all paddles are the same. Is definitely not true. All carbon fiber, which is like a surface on the paddle that kind of acts like strings to grab the ball. I'd say that's definitely not all the same and that's one of our like highlights of our product is is just the carbon fiber the same.
Speaker 3:That you know, the Florida Bros, that we, all we created down here, is the game is easy to learn and hard to master, and that saying has been used all in many podcasts and I've seen it. But we, we, you know that we were the inception of that saying because you know, everybody can learn this game, whether if you're swinging like an idiot, I mean good for you to keep doing it. You know tennis requires certain mechanics to be successful and play that game of, uh, you know just timing and patterns, um, but I would say this game for real is the most easiest game ever you can. Just, you know you don't have to be a real athlete, I guess I mean um, but it's for sure hard, like the hardest to master with you the soft game and just the little nuances of pickleball Interesting.
Speaker 2:So talking about those lines, I mean, obviously pickleball is still a relatively new sport, but do you notice things changing or trending lately?
Speaker 3:You know so I do. Yeah, I mean it's so cool to watch something go from almost two decades of where, when I first started playing, the rating system was like ABC players, so people would show up and be like you're not an A player, you belong on the C court, like I don't care what level you think I'm going to smash you. So now we have, like you know, 3.489 players and, like you know so, just like I mean you could dissect the game from ratings to tournament play, where there's two professional tours and even major league pickleball, and you know there's just there's more options, there's more money into the game, the game, um, things have really evolved over time where, um, you know it's funny, like I mean you'll be pumping gas and see a pickleball commercial on the like, the gas stations or a subway has a pickleball sub. You can. I mean it's just, you know this game has, um, it's touched a lot of people and has, um, it's, it's really it's just beyond magical to see, like, how many people want to be involved in pickleball and fuel the game and the ripple effect and, uh, I, you know, I feel like just there's changes every day.
Speaker 3:I mean whether it's, you know, new technology, um, or new rules in in the game where you can't do this and and um, it's just, it's fun to watch a game go from like a gym class hero type vibe of like let's just all be kids again and say, hey, cabo, jim, you want to go play today and be like man, we're like, we're like almost in our, we're like in our 40s and 50s right now. But I mean we're playing like, you know middle school kids out here just loving life, so, um, but man, it's just fun to watch. The game is, I think, of all it's developing and always going to be evolving, um, just really for the better and for the growth of the sport.
Speaker 2:And that's. That's great. So you mentioned you weren't from Southwest Florida originally. What brought you down here?
Speaker 3:Man. So I'd say just like the timeless feel and the vibe of the ocean and I'm blessed to come from just an awesome family who supports each other and I had an opportunity to move down here and just you know, just pursue my dreams always and you know the ocean vibe and like just beach life and I just remember just like dreaming of like Florida days and like man, florida is like people laugh, they go, it is still part of the United States, right, I mean because it's the greatest, it's the greatest man. I mean like it's just, it's so cool man. I mean there's just nothing like Florida and I've lived in so many places. I was born in Boston and I've, you know, moved all over. I mean I've been everywhere and it's just like Florida is just it's, it really is timeless and just beyond paradise, for real.
Speaker 2:It's about the positive and good vibes. That's what it's all about.
Speaker 1:it's about the positive and good vibes.
Speaker 2:That's what it's all about. So obviously you've you've got a very busy schedule with running a company, playing pickleball and everything else you do. But you, when you do get a moment of free time, what do you enjoy doing outside of work?
Speaker 3:So it doesn't matter how busy, I say priority Number one just like I'm so blessed to be a father and I just I wake up every day and just a beautiful home and just like I'm so blessed to be a father and um, I just I wake up every day in just a beautiful home, um, and just like just a place where my kids can go outside and play, like in the street, and it's just, uh, it's unreal. So I, first and foremost, my family and um, just being creative as a dad, um, you know, like my, um, my son, he's six, six years old and he loves chess. So we actually, for Christmas, we created like he's like obsessed, like I mean for real, like all about the game and and just he destroys people like grown men, he's just destroying these guys, and we created like a logo and company for him called champion chess boards. So, like you know, just working with the game of chess with with zane, my son, and then my daughter, ellie.
Speaker 3:She's like all into figure skating and we live right down the street from perks arena, which is super sick because they have a this cool program for kids to learn to skate and everything, and uh, she like loves the outfits for figure skating and just uh, it's just cool to be cold in Florida once a week. You know you walk in there and you're freezing cold and uh, you know so. And then, um, just um, you know my wife, I mean she's super awesome and um, you know, we get to spend time and just be creative together, just the whole family vibe. Man, it's just uh, it's crazy. I, I mean, I just can't believe. I'm so happy that I am. I am a family guy now and looking back in my 20s, I was a straight rock star, hippie dude like it's just like man, like it's cool how time um time works.
Speaker 2:You know love it, and that's what it's all about family at the end of the day as well, too. So is there one thing you wish our listeners knew about paddle that maybe they won't be too familiar with?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I would say so Like, you know the, you know like, so this is our life. Like I'd say not, no jokes aside, this truly is like our soul, like we're like pickleball. That's what we are Like. We're just, we're pickleball. Our scene is by players for players, and I know that might be like a little cliches or whatever, but we like really breathe and sleep this and bleed it and we live it like we're doing tournaments, we're working with athletes, we're developing products every day. I mean we're just. I mean this is like.
Speaker 3:Everything I do in my life is pickleball like forever, right, and um, there's a lot of guys or people like it's not, I'm just anyone that like see the boom of pickleball and go, oh, you know what, I'll work my regular job and then I'll start a pickleball business which is like great and I'm not knocking that at all, but I mean this is all we do. We wake up you know I'm dreaming about pickleball patterns and you know how to control certain aesthetics of points, and then I'm writing it down and shooting content about it and like just this is what we do. So, like if I wouldn't. Anything I want people to know is that we, this is like for 100% what we do and we're dialed in with this lifestyle forever. And Paddle is. It's no joke. I mean, we're just truly are the future of pickleball and we're about to hit the pro tour hard and our products are, for real, the greatest of all time.
Speaker 2:Love it, love it and, like I mentioned before, you got to be passionate about what you do, and obviously you are, and that definitely shows. So how would our listeners go about contacting you if they wanted to accessorize and get a new paddle?
Speaker 3:So, for real, don't be shy. I mean I also think all day long, how do I get more website sessions? So, uh, goatpaddle. com is is the great, it's the best place to um, check us out. Um, you know, the cool thing about, I'd say, with pickleball and paddle specifically, is we obsess over creative collaboration. So, like you know, like whether we have paddles in like a pack and ship location or like a jewelry store in Naples, or like an ice cream shop or soccer store, I mean we just, you know, we do collaborations with like sunglass companies and just the whole community. It's like the power of community. For me, as I get older in life, it's like you hear this stuff as a kid and then, as you get older, it's just unbelievable. Like, um, my girl, she was wearing like the goat gear, goat paddle gear and um, um, she was getting a burrito at like some Peruvian restaurant yesterday and the guy goes, oh, you play pickleball. And she was like, yeah, I do. And so it's just like crazy how the community can just like develop and become aware.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You know.
Speaker 3:The last thing I guess I would say is you know, we ran a tournament last summer and we raised almost thirty thousand dollars for Harry Chapman Food Bank and veterans in need. And like we do not mess around when it comes to like community and charity events and anything we can do to give back to the community. Because, like I just again cannot believe how blessed like I am I know you, you know how blessed you are and it's like man like the, the charity, like the charity side of what you can do with the power of pickleball is like I mean, bro, there's nothing like it and there's many people in this sport that try to do like so much for charity and for community. And I just like to me, it gives me chills right now even saying it, because it's a game of pickleball that makes community and drives charity to the highest level success for like it's unreal.
Speaker 2:Like you said, it brings people together. I love that. I love it. Any last words for our listeners today.
Speaker 3:I'd say, man, if you've just um, if you're having a good day or bad day, make sure you buy like a boss.
Speaker 2:Love it. Love it Ryan. It's been a pleasure getting to know you. Thank you for being such a good neighbor and we'll see you out in the community soon.
Speaker 3:All right, let's hit the ball soon, brother.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast, estero. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNPEstero. com. That's GNPEstero. com, or call 239-296-2621.