Hannah Johns: The Johns Family Origin, Growing The PPA, and Pickleball's Wildest Early Days | S4 E3

Um, so

what else for Oscar? What else you got? I think the idea is like, or for me is like you, you were there in the early days of pickleball.

I started in 2023.

Is there anything that people misunderstand about the early days of pickleball? We see the pro tour now being this, you know, grand thing, pickleball, the fastest growing sport in the world.

And yeah, it feels so special already, but in the early days, is there stuff that maybe I would misunderstand or other people would?

That's actually a really good question.

It definitely felt a lot different.

It felt very, like, nascent and small-timey and, like, not that serious, you know? And, like, the players felt that themselves.

Like, it was not uncommon that the players would, you know, drink the night before a match, which is unthinkable at this point.

Like, at the level that players...

Okay, I know one or two that still would.

But, like, you know, go out and carousing the ball.

Yeah, it was more of, like, a party.

Like, it

was more of, like, an adventure.

That's kind of what I heard from...

A few of the other former pros, I know, like, Irina was, like, saying, like, how, like, in Jesse, like, it used to be, you know, like, they would go out to dinners and drink, and then they would play the next day, and it was, like, even after the tournament, like, they were still having, like, a great time with people.

Oh, yeah.

Now it's, like, money's on the line, and it's very serious.

Dude, there was, like, Jeff

Warnick would be heckling players in the middle of the match like from the top down with a beer in his hand like screaming at players and like there were no rules back then and I feel

like

in some ways like I kind of missed those times like it was really to a certain extent it was really you never knew what you were going to get at these tournaments you know like it was just pretty wild back then

it just wasn't that serious because like you said there wasn't that much money in it.

But as soon as the money came, everyone got real serious real fast.

Um, so

what else for Oscar? What else you got? I think the idea is like, or for me is like you, you were there in the early days of pickleball.

I started in 2023.

Is there anything that people misunderstand about the early days of pickleball? We see the pro tour now being this, you know, grand thing, pickleball, the fastest growing sport in the world.

And yeah, it feels so special already, but in the early days, is there stuff that maybe I would misunderstand or other people would?

That's actually a really good question.

It definitely felt a lot different.

It felt very, like, nascent and small-timey and, like, not that serious, you know? And, like, the players felt that themselves.

Like, it was not uncommon that the players would, you know, drink the night before a match, which is unthinkable at this point.

Like, at the level that players...

Okay, I know one or two that still would.

But, like, you know, go out and carousing the ball.

Yeah, it was more of, like, a party.

Like, it

was more of, like, an adventure.

That's kind of what I heard from...

A few of the other former pros, I know, like, Irina was, like, saying, like, how, like, in Jesse, like, it used to be, you know, like, they would go out to dinners and drink, and then they would play the next day, and it was, like, even after the tournament, like, they were still having, like, a great time with people.

Oh, yeah.

Now it's, like, money's on the line, and it's very serious.

Dude, there was, like, Jeff

Warnick would be heckling players in the middle of the match like from the top down with a beer in his hand like screaming at players and like there were no rules back then and I feel

like

in some ways like I kind of missed those times like it was really to a certain extent it was really you never knew what you were going to get at these tournaments you know like it was just pretty wild back then

it just wasn't that serious because like you said there wasn't that much money in it.

But as soon as the money came, everyone got real serious real fast.