Smash Court Pickleball co-founder Ryan Cheek stopped in for a quick Zoom ahead of his clothing brand’s inaugural drop, Discover The Feeling. With 15 years of marketing under his belt, Cheek and Smash Court Pickleball are looking to make a mark on the pickleball fashion landscape.
HOW IT STARTED
“We looked around were like, ‘There’s not really anybody in the pickle ball space that’s created apparel that we want to wear. We wanted more streetwear and higher fashion and a little bit more of contemporary, youthful pieces. We we were like ‘Oh man, nobody’s doing that yet. Let’s try and create a brand around that.’”
DROP 1: DISCOVER THE FEELING
“The first drop is called Discover The Feeling—part of it goes back to when we first discovered pickleball and that kind of holy crap moment of ‘Oh my gosh’. It’s the feeling of when you start to play pickleball and you quickly get addicted. I think part of it is that discovery process.
We were really purposeful to feature poppy colours. We have pink. We have bright volt because we wanted to give the industry something new and fresh, and just different. We wanted the colours to resonate with all consumers.
With every collection we want to have on-court and lifestyle off-court pieces. Every collection will be a blend between those on-court and off-court worlds. We want them to be really balanced, but specifically with Discover The Feeling, you’ll see two drops that are space-themed.
THE BRAND
“We feel like we’re really the first contemporary lifestyle apparel brand for pickleball. We want to get ahead of the trend. We want to continue to serve athletes and consumers and push the game, push the look and push the aesthetic forward.
We want pickleball to be cool. We want to be fresh and young. As a brand, we want to offer up apparel pieces and gear that people wear and just feel proud. They look good. They feel cool. When they’re playing pickleball on and off the court and they’re rocking Smash Court they feel like they have a stylish, fashionable piece.”
GROWING THE GAME
“Our ethos is that we just really care about pickleball. We just really want to grow it and add to the culture and help create the culture and kind of move the game forward from a style perspective.
We’re really passionate about building real world community that is aligned and grounded in their love of streetwear, fashion and pickleball.”
Discover The Feeling drops Friday, September 29 at 8:00 AM Mountain. For more information, visit smashcourtpb.com or instagram.com/smashcourt.
ABOUT HAUS PICKLEBALL
Haus Pickleball is a media brand covering the sport of pickleball by connecting and collaborating with on-court stars, front office leaders, media personalities, and future-shaping brands. Since launching in 2023, Haus Pickleball has produced features, content and player profiles from Major League Pickleball, the Professional Pickleball Association, Association of Pickleball Players, NYC Pickleball and more. Follow across social, @HausPickleball.
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