Humans of Padel
Join your host Max Marsh Pickard, General Manager of Padel Art & Co founder of The Padel Outlet in a weekly entertaining dive into the world of Padel and the people involved in the industry
Humans of Padel
A Tasty Takeover of The Humans of Padel Podcast
Instagram: @tastyplayhard
What if two strangers on a padel court could transform their chance meeting into a thriving brand? Join us for a delightful episode featuring Gabo and Riikka from Tasty Play Hard, as they reveal how a shared passion for padel and an uncanny connection across Finland and Mexico led to the creation of Tasty Play Hard Academy. We explore the playful origins of their brand name, conceived amidst the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, and discover how their venture has expanded into realms like book writing, a YouTube channel, and even urban fashion. Their journey is a testament to how fun and creativity can flourish, even in the toughest of times.
Gabo and Riikka introduce us to their new coaching book, "The Tasty Way," which distills essential padel strategies alongside emotional insights into the game. With memorable coaching phrases and consistent teaching methods, they aim to enhance players' tactical and emotional skills on the court. The episode also contrasts the dynamic nature of paddle with the mindful presence demanded by golf, emphasizing the role of emotional intelligence. As we listen to their inspiring story, we learn the art of balancing multiple endeavors while keeping the joy alive in the sport they adore.
Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Humans of Paddle podcast. This episode is a Tasty Takeover where Gabo and Rika from Tasty Play Hard they take over the show as I'm tired of hearing my own voice and they share their stories about how they started the Tasty Play Hard Academy and some personal stories along the way. I hope you enjoy this episode. It's a lot of fun.
Speaker 2:So how did we meet? There might be two different stories.
Speaker 3:Exactly. I think there are two stories to everything here, but my stories I don't get to carry them away. I mean, where am I going to meet you if I'm always on the paddle court or on the golf course and you didn't golf before? So on the paddle course. But the funny story here is that she was a beginner. Beginner to the point that I dropped the ball hand-feeling and she missed it. That's how skillful she used to be. Yeah, so yeah.
Speaker 2:I've done a lot of work.
Speaker 3:In Finland, in Espoo, to be exact.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, you left your card to me.
Speaker 3:That's your story.
Speaker 2:That's it for coaching. Then, actually, I lost it and then we stayed in touch, however, on Instagram.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and then we discovered we are more alike than we think. And it's funny because you are from Finland, I'm from Mexico. I mean different continents, but it's nice to see how similar humans can be, even though we were raised apart and with seven years difference, and we have so many things that are so similar.
Speaker 2:And then COVID hit.
Speaker 3:Then COVID hit.
Speaker 2:Yeah, covid hit, so you had to get away from Finland and you went to Sweden.
Speaker 3:actually, yeah, well, we've been in many places. Yeah, how did we start? Tasty, remember. Now again there is like maybe two or three stories no, we were.
Speaker 2:Uh, I remember we were having coffee in bed and and then you, you were thinking you have had some brands before yeah, and companies yeah, and you said that we should. We should do rackets, like because we should start a brand. Let's start a brand. That's what you said, yeah, and then we were playing around with with names, and then we we came up with tasty yeah, there are two stories also for the name. Yeah, yeah, the story is already like the first time.
Speaker 3:You can say the Paddle story. I would say why tasty, what is tasty? A lot of people ask us what is tasty. I mean they like it, it's catchy, but we are deeper than that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, first time I came for the lesson and you see, you know, if you ever know a typical Finnish person, it's not like we smile a lot or we, you know, are that bubbly. I came there with my you know sweatshirts and you know, after work 10 hours, and you know, okay, let's play some paddle. Okay, there's this Latin coach smiling. What the hell is he doing? And then he comes to me all smiley, what's your name? And I said Rika? And the first thing he answered to me oh, rika, that means tasty in Spanish.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's a good line. No, but it's true, and you smile, which is very difficult to do.
Speaker 2:I did smile after that. Yeah, it's hard, it's true, that was, and you smile, which is very difficult to do. I did smile after that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's hard to connect with people from Finland, but once you do, they are very nice.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so tasty, as in rico rica, as in delicious. So that's the name and as a brand name and we were thinking of names it is a really nice name.
Speaker 3:We wanted a catchy name short.
Speaker 2:Yes, and nothing to do with padel also.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, the other story is because we did this during COVID, at least where I was living in Spain, we had a very bad lockdown. So basically I lost a lot of money because my whole year basically all the camps I had and everything got canceled. So I think I lost about 80,000 euros and you know we couldn't work. So it was really difficult times. And then I told Rick at some point, you know, we need to think of some business. You know like a B plan, and then kind of joking, but not. We say you know like a B plan, and then kind of joking, but not we say you know, maybe we should do sexual toys. And I said, well then, don't call it Tasty Panda, just call it Tasty, in case we use it for this or for that. And that's why the S is a devil, because we said, you know, it has to be naughty and same with the slogan it's play hard. You know, double sense.
Speaker 2:We had a nice customer in Belgium who renamed the logo Tasty Stay Hard.
Speaker 3:Yeah, his hashtag was Stay Hard, so yeah, but then at the end, you know we didn't do that, because then after 100 days I was able to work again. But you know it's a funny story, I think, because, yeah, we kind of thought serious about it, but then we didn't do it.
Speaker 2:But as a brand, we also wanted to be fun. We didn't want to be like okay, this is a paddle academy and square. We wanted to have personality.
Speaker 3:Tasty can be coaching. Now we are writing a book, are wanting to develop more the youtube channel, we have rackets. At some point we thought about doing urban clothes, like just casual clothes. For example, this one was made by an artist, a friend of rika, and you know, at some point we were like, yeah, we should do clothes that are this and that, but of course it it's a complex business. The clothing but yeah, I mean that's the idea with the brand is to have fun, because we always say the day we don't have fun doing what we do, then we will stop doing it.
Speaker 2:Next question how is it working with me? We have had a tough year at the FaceTel.
Speaker 3:No, honestly, it's nice, nice, it's nice working with you also, you know, I think, just like we also play a lot of tournaments together and we don't. I mean that is also a little bit of friction, but but we know we manage very well and I think a lot of people can, can can agree with me that it's very difficult to play with someone you know too well or some family member. It's just complex. So I think we shouldn't take it for granted that we actually play tournaments. We play with people that are tough, which create friction between us, but we still manage really well. So same in the workplace, I think. Of course it's not easy because we spend too much time together, right, so that's not easy in general. I mean, being with somebody all the time is not easy. Sometimes we have different ideas, but at the same time, I think a lot of our success is that it's two brains connected in one decision, in one body, and one goal.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and one goal. And I think many times you know I have an idea and you make it better. Or sometimes you have an idea and I make it worse, I make it better also. So you know it's basically I think things are better because we are too Deciding things and adding. And you know, you are very smart. You have two degrees on engineering. I mean people maybe don't know that, but you are very clever and basically you do padel because it's your passion, but you could be making some serious cash with the degrees you have, but you choose to do what you like. So for me, I I think it's nice to work with you. I enjoy it. What about you? And don't fucking lie.
Speaker 2:I enjoy working with you like I'm like, like I said, I'm like you said I'm an engineer, mind I'm I'm many times too square. I'm very creative also, but I like that you are maybe too much all over the place, but it's nice to have someone that you know throws the ideas. Maybe then I have to be more of a policeman to, you know, get them, but at least the ideas will never end, and and that is nice.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I have to add that in that way. Yes, when she means I'm all over the place, I get very excited about things. You know, like you tell me, gabo, this coffee cup is amazing. And I'm like, yeah, let's do coffee cups and let's do this design and let's have the best coffee cup in the world. And then you know it's not going to happen. But I get excited. But then from you I have learned that I need to just take action, you know. So then maybe we do that coffee cup and then we realize, oh no, it's too expensive, we cannot sell it, it's complicated.
Speaker 3:But we know you are a doer and I'm more of a Latin culture, that we daydream a lot, which is good because we are creative, we have ideas and we get excited very easily about things. So it's a nice mix. Yeah, because you slow me down a bit, as in calm down, but then at the same time you know sometimes, as you said, you are too square. So it's nice to have someone that says, rika, no, we should paint the clothes with you know, with graffiti, and let's do this. And I think it's a good mix One Nordic, one Latin, so Rica focusing on the present, besides coaching, of course that we always do and we love it, but we have our sidekicks. I'm very excited about this sidekick, that is, we are writing a book and I would like you to tell our listeners what is this book about. I mean, it's not the typical book that you know. It talks about technique. So also, I'd like you to talk about it because it's unique.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:So tell them more about it.
Speaker 2:Okay, so the book is 100 Rules of Paddle and that was the name. And basically what happened with the book is if you ever take coaching from us, it doesn't matter on what code you are. That's the beauty of it. You might go on his code, he might tell you the same thing and I might tell you the same thing. We might use a bit different names, but still we won't teach different things. We will always, you know.
Speaker 3:Yeah, the concepts are the same.
Speaker 2:The style might be a little bit but because we have been teaching so much and you know I not only I listen to you on your lessons, but I listen to you when I edit the video, probably five times. So by the by now I have everything here so clearly and it's like all these sentences that you use and I use, we repeat them.
Speaker 1:It's the same sentences.
Speaker 2:So they have now become rules for us and basically it's love is your biggest weapon, for example. So one day we were flying to Asia, actually, and it was a 10-hour flight, and then I just started to write all the phrases that I had in the back of my head and it actually became 130. So we have to cut them down a bit, but we are now putting it on a paper and explaining them.
Speaker 3:I also think this book will help a lot of people in their game. And it's at the end of the day, it's one style. You might like it, you might not. You might think it's the best style, you might think it's not the best style, but it's a style. It's the tasty way. So, for example, we always say, ok, what do you do in defense, what is your plan when defending? And you will find it here, because there are rules. You know there are four ways to steal the net Passing the players with the lob. So then you go forward Blocking. When the bandeja is short, you approach, and when the rebound invites you to, you know, to come to the net, you play the chiquita. So I think a lot of people will benefit from reading a book. Or, you know, what do I do, gabo, when they stretch me at the net? Should I play cross-court? No, because you kill yourself. Okay, so then every time I get stretched, I should play down the line or the closest to the line.
Speaker 2:That I am Okay that will help my game, and not only tactical concepts, also concepts, as in. One of my favorite rules is that your partner doesn't miss on purpose. One of my favorite rules is that your partner doesn't miss on purpose.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that would be more the emotional aspect. Like you know, we always make fun of people that react, overreact, especially in Spain, you know, because people have these manners, these ways of gestures, of making a big deal about nothing. So you know, I always like to, when I coach kids, I say look, the first day we need to understand that your partner doesn't miss on purpose. If we were able to understand that, we would be more patient, we would be more comprehensive. As in, you know, rika already feels bad enough that she missed an easy ball. So if, on top of that, I'm like, oh my God, what are you doing? You know it's not fair. So if we would start with that mindset that, look, rika doesn't miss on purpose. So if she's having a rough time returning or a rough time hitting the first ball in, I need to help. I mean, the more I complain, the worse she's going to play. So just one little phrase can change a lot in the game and in the pair.
Speaker 2:I would like to add that this book is perfect for the, for the couples or the family members, whoever plays together. At least you can play by one book, so you don't have to fight after that no.
Speaker 3:And then we use that this when coaching. You know, yesterday, for example, we did a session on on corners here at paddle art and you know the guys were surprised that. They said you know how I'm returning a lot of balls, I'm understanding the glass so well, and you haven't said anything about my grip or my racket or my body, as in my upper body. And I said no, he said but you told me how to move. So then I said yeah, it's like we are doing a dancing lesson instead of a paddling lesson. So you know, I said we need to fix the problems from the roots, never better say from the bottom, from your feet. And you know that's a phrase we use. We use fix your problems, start from the bottom, from the roots, from the feet.
Speaker 3:So you know, these kind of phrases are nice and I think it's a book that you don't need to read it in order. You just open the page and, oh, okay, rule 27. I don't know, don't play your overhead straight, because he gives too much rebound and the ball is straight, so they will counterattack. But yeah, we are really excited about that. Of course, it takes some time. Also, tasty is only Rika and I. You know a lot of people are like, oh, you should have your rackets everywhere and you should do clothing. And I'm like, yeah, sure, yeah, you have great ideas, mate, but you know, the execution is not easy and it's only Rika and I.
Speaker 2:And at the same time it's a sidekick Like we coach for a living.
Speaker 3:We do a lot, we do coaching. Then we have a factory. It's just a small factory with one employee, and we are super proud of the products we make. You know so, and then we want to do the book, and then, on top of that, I have my daughter, so I'm a, I'm a dad as well, and then I need time to golf. So I mean, you know so, but they are doing good.
Speaker 2:We, like I said the day, this is not fun anymore, we will stop next question what is in the future for tasty at least I, I can say from my part, I've been super happy that we have been able to travel this year and last year more and more and more, because that's what we are passionate about well we were.
Speaker 3:We were always traveling because we were coaching. The thing is, we decided, from September, to take a break. We are still working, of course, but we slowed down the work a little bit because we wanted to go to Asia to explore the market, which was a great thing, and then we wanted to come to Middle East, to Dubai to be more specific, and, to be honest, having your support marks here has been fantastic, and I think in our plans is to actually do something. I don't know if in Dubai, we would love to do it in Dubai, but somewhere in the Middle East Kuwait, qatar, I don't know, abu Dhabi, I don't know where but it's a market that is taking over padel. Also, they have a good financial support. I mean, it's a good place to invest in padel and in coaching and in all that. So, yeah, I think that's a little bit.
Speaker 2:What would you want to do? Because this is about people.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, I would love to, to keep growing or run in different places. And then we also have a plan to open our first tasty boutique club. We call it boutique because we don't want a monster with, you know, 10 courts or for us, we believe that paddle is going to become like Starbucks, like you will have coaching points, which nobody yet has developed that idea, but I have been telling this for maybe two years already. That paddle will become coaching points. There will be a business that only focuses on coaching because people want to play the game better and better. It's a game that is very recreational, but once you get to a certain level, you are actually stuck. Well, you want to become actually a proper player.
Speaker 3:So then I think, having coaching points where you know the clubs maybe have three courts, four courts, even two courts, and you know, we want to start with a concept. We want to also because we don't have money to open a 10 courts club, but we have enough money to open two courts. Yeah, so we want to do the tasty boutique, the first one where I don't know. I mean, spain would be nice, but at the same time, I don't know, maybe we get an Spain would be nice, but at the same time, I don't know maybe we get an investor in Dubai and say, hey, we want to open a tasty boutique here, if someone wants to build a tasty club.
Speaker 3:Write us A tasty club. Yes, a tasty boutique. To be honest, we are open, always to things. Of course it has to be tasty. You know, sometimes we don't do things with other brands because there is always the conflict that, well you know, it has to be a bull part of the academy. I'm like no, I'm not interested. Sorry, it has to be tasty.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we have had many times. You know we get approach from sponsors Also for rackets. It's not that we don't say that the other rackets are bad they're not but we just cannot. It's like a.
Speaker 3:I think it's more simple than that. I mean, you know, tasty is like a baby. Yeah, you know I won't change my daughter for anything. Tasty is a baby, it's her baby. So it's not that we don't want to do a collaboration with Schlesinger we love Schlesinger.
Speaker 3:But it needs to be tasty, yeah, so then it's not possible. It needs to be tasty, so then it's not possible and it's fine. We wish the best for the brands and we do what we can, but you know the club. If there is an investor interested in this, it has to be a tasty club. Then who is behind the tasty club? Well, that doesn't matter, tasty Khalifa. But it has to be a tasty, a tasty boutique club with the tasty coaching, with the tasty concepts, with the tasty rackets, with the tasty clothes, with, yeah, with everything tasty.
Speaker 3:Yes, I have a question, okay, sarika. Oh, that's good luck. So listen, if you know, because there is always a chance that Tasty imagine Tasty fails also to pick your brain a bit. What would you do? Because, you know, I always wonder, I like to ask people that get so excited about Paddle. I always wonder what in the heck did they do before Paddle? Like, actually, that was the first title of a book I wanted to write. What did you do before Paddle? Because people play five days a week, they go crazy with it, they spend all their money in Paddle and I'm like before Paddle, what did you do? So what would you do, actually, if you didn't, if you couldn't do Paddle anymore.
Speaker 2:That is very difficult because, like you said, people change their lives for paddle and if I look at my life before it was, you have your life, but then you try to put the hobby in your life. But I think people who start paddle they put the paddle first and then they try to get some time from for their kids, for, you know, for their friends and for their husband, and that becomes the reality and the paddle is the big piece and then you have to plan everything around the paddle. Am I right?
Speaker 3:Yeah, it becomes a lifestyle.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah it does. And it's very difficult because I had a really nice job. I had a really nice life before paddle. I had a really nice job, I had a really nice life before battle. But it's just difficult to see my life without it, especially now with the traveling, because I always know that that's who I am. I'm not that you know. I left my home quite young and also I went to study abroad and everything. So I cannot go back into the family box in Finland in a small town. So I would have to really come up with something else. But I guess I would just go on an adventure in the world and see what I do?
Speaker 3:You don't need to worry too much, because Padel is here to stay, it was just a question to pick your brain.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but I don't know, I honestly don't know.
Speaker 3:For me if you want to ask. I have it very clear I love padel.
Speaker 2:I hope I can play it forever.
Speaker 3:I'm actually planning to play the seniors because I'm 40. So I'm going to start playing the seniors next year, like in a proper way, like I want to make it to the World Cup with the Spanish team because I'm going to get a Spanish passport. So that's my goal. But I'm also starting to do whatever I need to do to become a golf coach. Not that I want to be the next coach of Tiger Woods, no, not at all. Just I want to have the credentials the diplomas of a golf coach.
Speaker 3:And you know, golf for me is special and that's something personal, because it's like the only thing I do, that I'm really in the present. And you know why? Because it's so difficult to golf for me at least that you know when I play paddle, I can play and you don't notice if I'm thinking about dinner, because I that. You know when I play paddle, I can play and you don't notice if I'm thinking about dinner because I still, you know, manage. But in golf, really, I lose track of the watch, I lose track of anything, because if I even start the swing and I talk or I say something, I will miss hit the ball. So my focus is 100% in the present and that's what I love about golf, regardless if I golf good or not, that doesn't matter. It's the only thing that I can say that when I do it I'm there 100% and that, to me, brings me peace. So, yeah, anything else you want to add?
Speaker 2:Thank you no, but thank you seriously. It has been nice building this.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think Max also makes it special. I like, max, that you make us think. I mean, I like very personal things. I like people that you know do things from the heart and you do for sure. Thank you guys. Thank you, that was cool.