Pickleball Excuses, UK Growth & Competitive Dating | Dawna Strouse w/Dink Date

Is “I usually play better” the most delusional line in rec play? In this week’s Dink or Destroy, we’re calling out excuse-energy and debating whether it’s ever okay to downplay a loss.

Then we sit down with Dawna Strouse, founder of Dink Date—a new AI-powered app making waves in the pickleball world by matching players on and off the court. From paddle-powered flirting to court chemistry, Dawna breaks down how her app is changing the game.

Plus: missing high school classes we wish existed, UK pickleball growth, and the hilarious downside of equine science electives.

🎧 Hit play and let the chaos begin.

Transcript

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Speaker 4 (00:00.524)
I'm a 1.5 all day long and I don't need to say... Well, it's in my mind.

When did you raise yours to a point five?

did negative four.

This is Big Dink Energy, the pickleball podcast that's half insight, half nonsense, and all entertainment. If you love pickleball, don't take yourself too seriously and think a little trash talk makes the game better, welcome home. This is the place where life and pickleball intersect. We celebrate the chaos, call out the nonsense, and put the fun back in dysfunction. You're either in or you're out. And if you're still listening, you're in. So let's go.

Big Dink Energy starts now. The official podcast of P-Pickleball. Of Pop? And Scratch Knee-Jugger. Big Dink Energy starts now. The official podcast of Pickleball. Hey!

Speaker 1 (00:51.298)
Hey. You got it that time. Good job. Thanks. Our kitchen talk is powered by that pickleball swag. Because if you're gonna hang out in the kitchen, you better look like you own it. They've got cute AF keychains. my gosh, they're so cute. Everyone's going to know that you play pickleball before you even get to the court. Plus they have really cool kitchenware, like beer mugs and wine glasses, all that say...

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Speaker 1 (01:15.724)
Big Dink Energy on a... Cooling towels that actually do their job and they have cute pickleball stuff on them. They wipe your sweat away plus cool you down. So use code BIGDINKENERGY15 at thatpickleballswag.com and turn your pickleball personality into a full-blown aesthetic.

full blown aesthetic. So sit down with us for a little bit in our kitchen talk as we just toss some ideas around the kitchen as we say. So I've got something I really want to talk about. And it came up in my feed somewhere at some point during the last week, subjects that are no longer taught in school, know, things like shop class is no longer in school.

like woodworking? Yeah. Yeah. Auto body shop, auto shop.

Well, so I guess it depends on the school, I think generally that's one of those things that have been removed, or typing. I don't know if you guys had typing in your school. No, we had extra like a select-o-matic tick-a-tick-a-tick-a-tick. Yeah, and I had to push the thing across.

like typewriter.

Speaker 1 (02:20.77)
Yes, don't do that. How about home ec? Do they still do home ec? I don't know. teach you sewing and baking and...

No, because we don't.

Speaker 4 (02:29.592)
See now, Home Ec was one of those, Home Ec was kind of like a, so the boys would go to wood shop, and then the girls would go to Home Ec.

Co-op.

Speaker 1 (02:38.412)
go to tradwife class.

What?

I mean, I'm trying to think back to my daughter's classes that she took and what they offered. I know that she took culinary classes, but she took culinary as in like she really wanted to learn how to properly cook, not necessarily like a home ec, I'm gonna go in and just cook. It's horrible. We're not doing that. I know there's a wood shop because it caught on fire at one point and everybody was evacuated and it was a whole thing at the high school.

letter because

Speaker 4 (03:10.446)
Okay, so let's just give a little reference because that high school is maybe 500 people.

It's a four A school, so I mean.

But I know they have welding, because like our city school just did a welding project, so they have welding. So maybe they do have auto shop.

Yeah, well, there used to be an auto shop. remember exactly where it was and you would see the old cars back there and stuff like that. I don't think that's still there anymore. I don't think auto show, cause it, you know, that was one of the things that was like, you got a project car and then it turned into this teacher needs his car fixed. And then it turned into, Hey, the mayor needs his car fixed.

I think more importantly, like why don't we talk about subjects that should have been in school?

Speaker 4 (03:55.839)
Well, okay, I can go down that path.

I have decoding health insurance plans. Spoiler, you're going to get it wrong. It's scammer. You're never going to get it right.

Yep. Like I remember, like the shop class was fun. I still have like a lopsided birdhouse somewhere in all my, one of my parents' storage sheds, the many that they have. And I can remember like a pottery class making an ashtray.

yeah, ashtray

I we've all made

Speaker 4 (04:22.306)
And it was like exciting to bring it home because both my parents smoked. And so as I hear, continue your cancer journey, please. I've made this at school for you. Everybody was making an ashtray. I mean, smoking was even more prevalent back then. Well, it's still cool. is still cool. Please go out and smoke.

Cool then.

Speaker 3 (04:39.52)
In my home ec class, remember we had to make like a pair of pajama pants. And I was so disinterested. This is, I don't want to learn how to use a sewing machine. I don't care. will go. I didn't want to do it at all. I had no interest in it. But like people who maybe want to go into like tailoring or fashion, like that's fine. But why is that considered home ec nowadays?

to the store.

Speaker 1 (05:04.238)
a fashion class. that's cool. That was an elective where they learned how to like do patterns and like, I don't know, fashion things. What is that? Like, you know, the fabric and learn how to measure and do all that kind of stuff. I didn't do that.

all fashion things and yes i remember

Speaker 4 (05:18.904)
Well, I mean, you were in California too, so I mean you- that's valid. Yeah, so that brings a little bit different to it. I'm sure there is surfing class or club and stuff like that. Yeah, lots of clubs. So things like cursive handwriting, that was- Class? It was actually, well, it was taught. don't know if it was standalone- was perfect.

That wasn't a clap.

Speaker 3 (05:37.934)
No, we got taught that in elementary school.

Like our yeah, but not in like high.

Yeah. What about shorthand? That was a class. Like, yeah, shorthand was a class. Like there was going to be a bunch of journalists we were putting out in the world or stenographers from court. No.

No.

Speaker 3 (05:52.504)
I don't know.

what they should have had is what that button on your car do. Because half the time I'm like, what is this a rocket launcher? Is it windshield wipers?

What does that light mean?

yeah, I mean, when I hit the air recirculation button on your car, you're like, what are you doing? No, we don't need.

I don't know. I just push a bunch of buttons like I'm a pilot.

Speaker 4 (06:16.168)
yeah, you mash it like you're playing Ms. Pac-Man. Whenever you need something, whether it's more air, less air, more wiper, you're always 100%.

That's why I'm saying the class, what that button on your card do. I like that.

what that button do. That class. And so I can remember HOMEAC and I went to HOMEAC and I'm the one in our house who sews anything. If something needs to be sewn or sewed, sowed in our house, I'm the one that does it. I do the sewing in our house.

Maybe if I went to Home Ec, I would have known how to fold a fitted sheet. That would be another class. no, thanks.

Yeah. You can learn that on TikTok.

Speaker 3 (06:58.114)
The elective that I had to take my senior year because by the time I got all of my classes fixed and I ended up having to rearrange my schedule, it was this whole thing, but there were no electives that were actually good. And we can do a little shout out to our horse man back there, but I had to take equine science. I mean, I get it for somebody who wants to be like a vet or a rancher or somebody who.

Sure, that's Texan.

Speaker 3 (07:25.344)
is going to be around horses and have something to do with. had no interest.

It's in that science. Yes, I they wear glasses.

Obviously if they can't see or read the labels on pills.

I barely showed up to class, to be honest. I skipped that class quite often.

Are you an equine scientist? No. don't believe in it?

Speaker 3 (07:44.75)
It's just the different electives that they have and then they force you to take one. And it's like, don't want any, like horses are cool. Like I don't have anything against horses, but I'm not going to go into a deep dive of them.

Well, no, because you lived in the city at that point, So there's no, mean, you had a quarter of an acre on your house. You're not having a horse in the backyard.

No, I lived in a neighborhood. mean, now I could get a horse, but science has changed since 20 years ago.

The science on horses has changed.

technology and the different medications. I was. I was very, very, very pissed and that's why I never went. That's why I almost didn't graduate.

Speaker 1 (08:19.342)
Yeah, I would be pissed if I had to take that.

Speaker 4 (08:25.356)
i like latin latin was not was a so it was something that was out

That's cool, we don't have anything like that.

Library sciences were taught. Like the card catalog.

Library science? That was just hot when you went to library. Yeah, that was...

was hard going to library.

Speaker 4 (08:42.552)
There's a subject that was taught. Like, I don't think you're getting that in high school nowadays. You're not learning how to...

We learned that in elementary school. Elementary school. Elementary. Elementary. Elementary. Kindergarten. Kindergarten. say kindergarten.

elementary.

problem.

Speaker 4 (09:00.511)
kindergarten. Now I got it. Kinnigarden. That's right.

How about how to say no without a four paragraph backstory? Because I would really, I really think some people should take that class. I don't need to hear all of the story.

Yeah, this is kind of along the lines of the TikToks with your you're trying to I'm trying to get a recipe. Right. We talked about it one of our other podcasts. I don't know.

don't care about that, but in person it's even worse. Like when you say, you ask somebody a question, you know, like, hey, can you pick me up from the airport? No, I can't. Okay, that's perfect. But not the, no, well what happened is, okay, so my mom and just a whole, I don't care. Yes or no, can you pick me up? Like how to do that? Or how to read in between like what text messages really mean.

Yeah. I mean.

Speaker 4 (09:45.288)
Just a giant.

Speaker 1 (09:55.918)
Like how to know how to do that. You know? Yeah. Learning what is really passive aggressive and what's not. All of those are real life classes people should learn. And how to do your taxes. Yes.

Yeah, but I-

Speaker 4 (10:07.454)
Like emoji class?

I it kind of depends on personality though. A lot of people's different personalities come into play with those. So I think that that would be like a hard class to teach.

I don't know. Tell us what you think over at bdepodcast.com or on the instas of course, as the young people say. What do the young people say? Kindergarten? They don't say that.

No, they don't.

Speaker 1 (10:29.014)
It's Kenny at Kindergarten.

kindergarten.

Very good. Find us on the social medias. How about that? BD podcast.com for all your social media needs. Get into our feed and let us know what you think.

Just the two

Yeah, a quick pickleball wisdom you can use in and out before you know it. Did you know there is a 10 second serve clock? Rule 4D in the 2025 update, you've got 10 seconds to serve after the score's called, or it's a fault. Bounce the ball twice, exhale, and hit. Keeps you calm, beats the clock. 10 seconds to serve and get it done.

Speaker 1 (11:13.164)
Just the tip

Speaker 3 (11:17.71)
This episode is sponsored by the Pretty Pickleball Company. You know what's funny? People see my paddle from the Pretty Pickleball Company and think I'm just here to look pretty. Like, yes, it's gorgeous. Yes, it looks like I walked out of your favorite fairy tale. But also, this thing plays like a beast. It's T-700 carbon fiber. It's USA pickleball approved. It's got tons of spin, power, and control. All things that let me win on the court while also letting my inner princess shine.

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Speaker 4 (12:09.998)
People and places of pickleball. Friends, today we're talking about love, lobs, and the one thing maybe rec play was missing, romance. I've got Donna Strauss on the pod, the fearless founder of Dink Date, AKA the app that's turning pickleball from a sport into a full-on dating ecosystem. Listen, this isn't just Tinder with a paddle. Dink Date is using AI to pair up people who actually want to rally more than once. Let's get into how she's revolutionizing court chemistry.

One swipe and serve at a time. This is the Big Dink Energy with Donna Strauss. Donna, thanks so much for being here today.

thank you so much, Guy. I really, really appreciate this time. And I'm so excited to get out in the community and introduce this amazing application that we're going to be launching pretty soon. And the buzz is great and just timing. Everyone loves pickleball. So thank you so much.

Yeah, when we came across you on the social media world, thought, this is, we've got to have her on. This is awesome. This is exactly what was missing out there. The community is so great for this. So how did this, I want to know, and the people want to know, how did this all come to light? I mean, I know you're married, I'm married, so I'm not finding my dink day out there anymore. But was it a rally gone wrong? And you're like, I need to do this. Or, you know, what did you see in the community? was just like, I need to create this.

Yeah, I mean, great question. Thank you so much. You know, as you know, pickleball has an amazing community as it is, and I play at least once a day, but I realize that there's a gap in this community. everyone rallies, has a good time, but there's not really, you know, there needs to be a chance for a deeper connection. And when only you have one shared interest and

Speaker 2 (13:56.27)
You go out and play pickleball. It's just a really healthy way to get to know somebody, right? So, you know, this application is all AI driven. It's got pickleball wordplay, along with features for animations. I mean, it's all very user experience friendly. The user interface is amazing. I mean, from one touch of the app when you load it.

you'll have the pickleball bounce and hit the paddle and you'll open the application. So right off the bat, it's very engaging. So, you know, I felt as if, you know, everyone has fun, it's a very lighthearted sport. It's just fun to get together with people. And also if you're looking for a romantic or platonic partner, you know, it's just a really healthy way. I can't express enough to meet someone and engage and get to know someone.

Rather going and having drinks and just masking the organic person of one another, it's so much fun just to, hey, let's go out and play around and play pickleball. It's really healthy way as well.

Yeah, and we were talking pre-interview, you know, about the sport itself and doing this as a date in there is really a way to take almost a full measure of somebody. Obviously, you you can't over just one round measure somebody, but you get to see how much fun the person has. You get to see their physicality. You get to see how they handle a little bit of struggle, which are all important things to develop a relationship on, you know.

That's why it just resonated so much with us to see this and I can't wait for it to come out and everybody kind of see where your mind is with it and how it just fits so well into the community. So kind of walk us through it, walk the listeners through it. How does Dink Date work? How's it different from say other apps out there where we're swiping right and seeing all the creeps out there? know, obviously there's...

Speaker 2 (15:49.71)
Thank you so much, y'all.

Speaker 4 (16:03.415)
It is hard to filter all that, I bet you got a plan for that. So kind of walk us through it. Give us your vision.

Yeah, thank you so much. let's just say we're on the app together, right? And so as I mentioned, it's pickable workplace. So my main thing was, okay, and you know, make it simple, make it easy, make it light, right? So it's based on your level, whether you're a beginner, intermediate or advanced, as well as where you live, right? So five miles, 10 miles. And so, and then you have the choice of, you know, having your pictures and your bio, a little bio and

It's a freemium subscription based model. it's freemium, premium and proprietary as well. So it'll be in different types of levels of pricing with that. And then let's say I look at your profile and go, oh guy, know, he's got the same level as me with about five minutes away. I'm going to swipe to the right and that's a dink. And you'll be like, oh my God, dinked. And you're like, oh Donna.

she looks great. you know, president wise, I like her pictures. We've looked at the same level and let's go meet. So you dig me back. And then we start chatting, right? And things get emotional. Hey, are you available next Friday? Let's, you know, meet up for a paddle up and meet up for a game, right? You know, and the banter and all that stuff goes with the couple, right? Us. But let's say I swipe to the right, I dink you and you're like, I'm going to swipe to the left and you'll throw me in the kitchen.

So that means like, sorry, you know, probably not a match, but yeah, you know, like good luck, right? that's when it really gets engaging with the Pickable application, right? So, and then you'll have events and things that that makes you. So if you're a proprietary, you if there's VIP events, there's things, local events, regional events, and tickets and all sorts of stuff that we're being partnering up with.

Speaker 2 (17:59.694)
with other partners and on the website will be launching right around the time that the app launches as well.

So let's get a little bit personal. Your personal pickleball dating style, is it more trash talk flirting or let me carry your picklebag kind of vibe?

think it really just, you know, I'm very conservative. it's just, I think it's just more of like that one, to the first time. I don't really like to trash talk. If I do, everyone else is trash talking, right? So, but you know, it's just, it's go out, have fun and just, you know, I do have a competitive side to me. really do too, but for sure. But it's really fun. I feel like, you know, anyone, I mean,

Six-year-olds are coming out and doing that, right? California, Campbell, California, I go over to the hub in Silicon Valley, and they're a large indoor pickleball facility. They just launched a new one out in Florida. And so there's one in Alameda, along with San Diego, and in Silicon Valley here where I grew up. But they're popping up everywhere, right?

Yeah, for sure. Have you ever seen anybody that kind of spurred your ideas here that went from like open play to engagement?

Speaker 2 (19:22.806)
You know, I mean, being that pickleball, because you run into the people that are just complete gung-ho fanatics like us. you run into the people that have never even touched a paddle, right? Or is like, I've heard of it. And yeah, it's sprouting up everywhere, but I've never done it before, right? So you get those, and then you get the in-betweeners. Like, yeah, I've tried it before. I've, you know.

I don't know if I'm physically capable of doing it every day, but it's fine. So to answer your question, like I think it, because it's so new-ish, kind of like it's such a niche and such so popular, like once people are on the course more often, they engage more and then the whole dating aspect and stuff like that. think, I don't know, I can't really fully answer that question, but just because I'm not single, so I think that makes sense.

Yeah, it's tough to get back into headspace. It's been, you know, over 20 years for me. So I wouldn't know how to be single. I'd be lost. I'd be wandering around in the streets somewhere like some dystopian nightmare. So I saw on your Instagram, I bet you can't talk a lot about this, but I saw you tried out for a show that we may all know.

Yes, yes. The famous shark tank. So as every entrepreneur's dream is to meet the sharks, right? I hope to be a baby shark and, you know, maybe, you know, be a shark myself one day. That's how ambitious I am. you know, I've just on all all levels, everything that happens for a reason. And I mean, is everything.

I can't say anything much more about it, but thank you for looking at that detail. But I promise to everybody that as I get told, okay, you could say this, you can say that, I will mention it. yeah, things are great. I'm a blessed cookie there, so thank

Speaker 4 (21:25.622)
Yeah, so make sure if you're listening right now after this you go over to the Instagram and follow that page so we'll see those updates and then we'll see all the updates of the app as it's coming out as well. I ask all the guests this because it does say a lot about personality I think. So you're going to a pickleball tournament and they're like, hey, we need your walk-on song. So when you walk on court, we're gonna play this song for you. What's your walk-on song?

A little bit of Journey. I love it. Yeah, that's a great anthem, especially for what you're doing. Yes. As we're winding down here, what's one thing that you've learned about people from building this that's kind of surprised you?

Honestly, everyone that I talk to about this, they're like, wow, that's really good. I get really, really good positive feedback because it is a positive thing, bringing the computer community in, bringing two people together that may have a common interest and then just complete passion about and build on that. Because if you have a genuine shared interest, automatically, my husband and I, we play pickleball once or twice a day. It's crazy.

When you have that commonality and then you can share it out with the community and that they have fun, it's just really, yeah, it's it's crazy nuts, amazing nuts, right? So I feel like it can only get any better, right? I mean, it's just, I know the world is my oyster and I'm the type of person that if I put my mind to something, I'll do it, right? But I really wanna be able to share this.

and just, you know, comes out. mean, every entrepreneur on it, and I know we can all relate, is that if you're passionate about something, it'll come out 100,000 times more.

Speaker 4 (23:15.188)
Yeah, it comes through. It just shines right through everything. And you're kind of like us. We put as much love into the world as possible, and it's just going to be amplified. Your life is going to be amplified by that. Everything you do and touch is going to be amplified by that. You start everything with love and passion. It definitely comes through in everything you do.

Yeah, thank you so much. Follow us on, we're on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok.

What's all the handles? What are the handles people need to look for?

It's Dink Date, D-I-N-K-D-A-T-E. Yeah, it's serving every heart. That's our tagline.

Awesome. Thank you, Donna. Thank you so much for being on the podcast. We can't wait to see the major big things that you have coming out. Everybody go over and find her on the Instagram and then get ready for the app to come out, especially if you're single. I know it's just going to be amazing and it is just about the community and connecting people at a different level. So this is going to be the next step for Pickleball for sure. So thank you so much for being on the podcast today.

Speaker 2 (24:14.232)
Yeah, no worries. Thanks guys. Appreciate you all. Thank you.

This segment brought to you by The Pickle Hood, thepicklehood.com. Are you ready to look like you belong on the court? They have hats, shirts, and more from men, women, and children designed by people who play pickleball. Merch so slick, you'll look like you mean to be on the court and not like you stumbled in from a back alley of sadness. Hit thepicklehood.com. Punch in big dink energy 20, snag 20 % off, and quit losing points in style. Yes, it's thepicklehood.com. Sisterhood, brotherhood. Pickle Hood.

Speaker 4 (24:53.038)
Now in Dig a Destroy, this is something we dink, we send it over the net, or it's a thumbs up for us, or it's a thumbs down, it's a destroy for us.

Yeah, so today's Dink or Destroy is when someone is losing in rec play and they drop the line, I usually play higher level than this. Yeah. So I feel like... Excuse me already. Yes, I feel like that's the unofficial anthem of delusional players. Like, I just feel... I play this. Yeah, I'm normally better than this or I play higher level normally. And if you usually play higher level, go find it then. Yeah.

is on.

Speaker 4 (25:17.966)
play better than

Speaker 1 (25:27.438)
Don't say it here while you're double faulting.

Coincidentally, I play with better players than you. own it. Own your...

I don't like when people say own it because I think it also kind of says like, okay, you so it doesn't give you the win. I don't know how to say that. Yeah, like if we play and I lose to you and I go, oh, normally I play better. Well, what are you trying to say about me then? Normally I would beat you on a good day.

well.

Normally when I play people who suck like you do, I play better. Something like, yeah, it's kind of a...

Speaker 1 (25:58.998)
It's backhanded. It is. And I feel like it's the pickleball version of, my ex is crazy. Okay, chat.

Yeah, you have three of them. They're the crazy ones?

You're the common denominator. Yeah, I feel like it's you're 2.5 and you got a 4.0 ego

Attitude yeah, no, I'm a 1.5 all day long and I don't need to say I usually play better than this and typically I'm saying man I can't believe I played so good. I got two over

Now will say

Speaker 3 (26:25.55)
I'd you raise yours to a .5.

Well, it's in my mind.

I negative four. So at the open play last week, I was very, very sick, like really sick, but I still wanted to go play. Wasn't contagious, but just body aches just, I just wasn't myself. So when I got a new partner, I just said to him like, hey, I'm not like running all over the, I'm not that great right now. I'm not feeling well. Right? know? I'm sick. But when we, when I, I literally missed 12 serves, like they were bad. It was bad.

But I didn't say like, normally I play better. You I was just were making excuses. No, I mean, I shit, so.

I'm not gonna, I have diarrhea today. Normally I would not play this poorly, but it's the runs. So is that how it went for you?

Speaker 1 (27:17.07)
No, I was like, my hips were sore. was sick. My hips don't lie. But I just think it's too much. Like if you are that much better, then go find it and go play somebody else that's better. I don't know, I just don't like it. When you lose, you lose. doesn't matter.

They do not lie.

Speaker 4 (27:35.81)
Just tossing out the excuses right away.

It's a dink if they're like helping set up the nets and teaching other people, but it's a destroy because I just feel like it's giving excuse energy. Yeah.

I can see that. Paddle Prince, what do you think? The story for you, when the excuse energy starts happening? Yeah, just own it. I mean...

It's a destroyer.

Speaker 1 (27:54.776)
Say it.

Other people enjoy their win. Right. Why are you trying to take that away from them? That's just...

Yeah, today was not my day.

I have way more losses than I do wins. Yeah, say like it's probably a 90 to 1. Yeah

Yeah, I'm listen I'm wearing adult diapers today. So I just didn't play as well as I normally do So yeah, it's a destroy for me. I don't like the excuse energy Just whatever you brought to the court is what you brought to the court that day It doesn't matter the weather. It doesn't matter anything else that's going on either you were on it or you weren't on

Speaker 1 (28:24.306)
And if you're not on it, let that person have it. Because at the end of the day, like the Super Bowl, it doesn't matter if they normally played better on a different day. You lost, you didn't win the Super Bowl. Any given Sunday. That's Destroy.

Yeah, now it's a destroy for me too.

Speaker 2 (28:46.691)
you can use.

Speaker 3 (28:51.47)
So I have some news you can use. Today I was just kind of scrolling the internet and I found this article out of Utah County where the Utah County Sheriff's Department had a community pickleball event. They called it Serve and Protect. And the Sheriff's Department went out there and played pickleball with members of the community to try to build that relationship. And I thought it was really cool because you always see like

Coffee with a cop or cone with a cop, that kind of thing. Saw a cop with Yes, those things. But this was the first time I ever saw anything that had to do with pickleball with law enforcement.

I think it's amazing. And Guy, I mean, you do a lot of community stuff.

The community loves me.

Yes, they do. Like with your bad elf project.

Speaker 4 (29:48.078)
I know, I a cop with a cop. Cookies with a cop was more for me and to just get the Girl Scout cookies in my belly. But sure, I mean that was a...

Cookies with a car, be the

Speaker 1 (29:59.5)
I mean, you do a ton of community events. what is your take on this Serve and Protect? First of all, cute name. I love the pun.

Yeah. Yeah. You know, I'm all for it. Anything that brings the community to a level. Well, let me put it this way. Anything that brings us to a level in the community where we're talking at the same level. Humanizing. Humanizing the badge is one of those things that is tossed around a lot. And so, yeah, I absolutely, I love stuff like this because there has been for so long a divide. It's us versus them. And, you know, I'm fortunate. I get to teach it at a college.

for new officers and I teach leadership and one of those things is listen We are just people that put on a uniform and we have a job to do And those people in your community are expecting you to give them good customer service Because I mean we're the we're one of the only Service industries have just told our customer. This is what we're give you and you're gonna accept it and that's it And we can't do that anymore. It's yeah

Because usually it's the customer's always right.

Yeah, not always in my profession, but I'm going to allow you to try to be right as much as. Right. I'm going to give you great customer service every single time. And some of those customers, need to come with me so I can give them more customer service and the judge can help them with customer service. But for the most part, we have to meet our customer where they are. And this is one of those things that I just absolutely love.

Speaker 1 (31:08.554)
and show grace.

Speaker 1 (31:27.19)
it too because I think when kids are growing up I think what happens is like the firefighters like I'm a huge firefighter fan too anybody that works

for the- Semi-pro Xbox players.

The running joke, but... When kids are growing up, it's like they see the firefighters and they're the heroes and they always do the fun stuff. But then, like, you're at a grocery store and if a little kid is throwing a little tantrum, a parent will say, I'm gonna call the police or, you see that guy over there? I'm gonna call him. He's gonna arrest you. And so I think they kind of grow up thinking that the police are inherently mean or out to get them.

inherently bad.

yet like fire, EMS, military, all of those things, which I'm a huge supporter of those as well, but it just kind of gets that connotation of like, they're out to get you. And so doing something like Pickleball with law enforcement, I think brings the community in there. And then they're also like, these people are human. They have families. They're just doing what they do, just like I go to work.

Speaker 3 (32:33.902)
They're funny, they're fun, they're not evil and mean and they're going to kill me.

Like, I mean, if people would just realize that 90, oh, 100 % of the time, well, I'll say 99 % of the time, people go to jail because of stuff they do. You're speeding, you're driving reckless, it's a you problem, it's an issue, not an ish me law enforcement. So I think that-

But that would put too much accountability on themselves. They have to deflect that onto somebody else.

So I think, I mean, we're a huge law enforcement family, I love it. I think it's such a great idea. I can't wait till we have pickleball courts.

The only thing I can see now, yeah, the next iteration of this is for, like locations in California or other similar locations where they do, guns for paddles. Come bring your gun to us. We'll give you a, that's all I'm picturing in this. Talking to you out there and some of the States I'm not going to name. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (33:26.51)
Yeah.

my god.

Speaker 1 (33:30.958)
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (33:38.254)
So I guess it's okay for the community as well. But yeah, I love it. If it was a Dingo Destroyer, it'd be a Dink for sure. definitely I want to follow up on this and see some more stuff.

fact, Utah people are called Utes. I learned that. Okay, so way to go Utes.

You

Speaker 4 (33:59.554)
from my cousin Vinny where the judge is like you two utes yeah Fred Gwynn is the name of the judge the act

Did he say that in there?

You have a lot of dumb information.

I said useless knowledge, but we'll just call it dumb information.

But yeah, Utes. there you go.

Speaker 4 (34:17.678)
You call it a fun fact, I'm not sure. so. Oh yeah. News you can use from me. So Pickleball has a huge UK United Kingdom surge. In England, about 45,000 people are now playing and the English Open in August of 2025 is set to feature 2,000 players. Now this is an over an 87 % increase in players from.

Super fun over here for me.

Speaker 4 (34:42.638)
uh, 8,000 in 2022, we're up to 15,000 players doing pickleball in the UK now. Uh, so all of you out there who thought it wasn't a real sport now, I mean, um, it's, it's actually a real sport now. And I think this is actually the next thing we needed or the next hurdle maybe. So we hit the Olympics and maybe I think it's 2032 is the next bid.

They have to all their bags and all their paddles in the boot. No, no. we? Is it called the

In the boot? What's it all about? No, that's Canada you're thinking of.

No! They call the trunk the boot.

Yeah. I see what you're saying there. Like the Brawly, that's your umbrella.

Speaker 1 (35:23.714)
really? So are they saying like they're having their own tournaments and they're just it's just exploding?

I've never heard that

Speaker 4 (35:30.936)
Yeah, it's exploding. I mean, for us though, it's kind of like they're saying, we just discovered avocado toast because we've been doing it for a long time, right? And so now they're just coming to the party. Welcome to the party, UK and the pickleball world. We're happy to have you, I guess. You're bad teeth. I'm sorry. Do we have to have tea in between matches?

when the little T-bell alarm goes off?

sandwiches.

We'll bring him sweet tea from the U.S. I don't know. They drink like Earl Grey.

You don't drink sweet tea?

Speaker 1 (36:03.349)
yeah, they probably have a London fog.

When you have London fog you have to wear your slicker. That's your raincoat. slicker.

Is that what they call it too? I'm so glad we broke off.

Yeah, I'm bringing a bald eagle when I show up to your UK matches. No.

Lord. No, it's going to just fly.

Speaker 3 (36:18.348)
Have mercy.

Speaker 4 (36:22.622)
You know how I like my tea? In the harbor. That's how I like my tea.

I just don't know if like when you're in the kitchen area, are you like looking for the whites in their eyes?

No, when you're in the kitchen in England, you're looking for bangers and mash. Fish and chips, bangers and mash, they have marmalade.

Is they say bangers

Speaker 1 (36:41.066)
Marmalade like that's from Paddington. Yeah, so The pattern I don't that I really know what we're about. We have the Paddington 100 between Austin Powers and Paddington. I think we got it down. I think we're We know everything

We should consult some...

Speaker 4 (36:53.378)
we know everything about it

Okay, so I googled it and the United Kingdom, the UK, is made up of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Not that kind of

Whales. sorry. Check my blowhole.

Too far.

Speaker 3 (37:12.398)
Can we do an episode that I don't say too far in?

That's it for this episode, unless you've got something to say. Think we got it wrong?

Have a better take? We want to hear it. Find us at bdepodcast.com or at bdepodcast on the socials. Drop us a message. We might just feature you in the next episode. If you had a good time, well, same z's. If not, maybe try again. We grow on people. So you know the deal. Follow the show, tell a friend, and leave us a review. Or just pretend this never happened. Until next time, keep the dink soft and the energy big.