Episode 51 Happy New Year's - Love Really Does Happen On The Court - Picklematch - 3rd Shot Wheatridge

Thank you for joining in. I'm Mike. I'm Christana. We're the Pickleballers Next Door. Coming soon, January 2026. Denver, your nightlife, your playtime, your entire vibe is about to get a major mood swing. Introducing Mood Swing, the newest, boldest pickleball entertainment venue built for players, partiers, and everyone in between. Fast games, big energy, unreal food and drinks, and a place where your mood lifts the moment you walk in. Get ready, Denver. Mood Swing is coming soon. Hi guys. Hey, this is Christana. I'm Mike. And Mike, we are here with Caden Northrup, and he is with us, right? Yeah. To hang out with us tonight, to help us out with all of the podcasting and video. Yeah, he's here to actually, yeah, help us produce and make this work. And I know what he's really here for. His love of his life. Come on, he knows. Did you get a name tag there? Yeah, I did. Okay. And it doesn't say lover? No, not yet. Well, it could. So we're here at Third Shot, and we are here for an event, the Pickle Match. One of their nights that they're doing, and I think it's like a holiday pickle match. Yeah. And they got 90 people coming tonight. Is it 90 people? Yeah, 90 people. Wow. So you are finding your love tonight. I hope so. Really? 90 people, you're finding love. You're still a young one, though. Yeah, but it just gets harder as you get older. Does it? Well, because all social media, you don't meet people no more. Everything's fake. Yeah, it's AI. Social media. Do you love me? Yeah. Basically. And that is why you don't find anybody, because they talk like that. It's AI talking to you. Okay. Write a script. How are you? Hey, Max. This is our man. But anyway, yeah, what do you think? Are you excited about this? Do you have any nerves? Is your stomach kind of weird? I'm a little nervous. I'm pretty outgoing for the most part. But it's going to be when those eyes start glaring into your eyes. I think once I see the one, maybe I'll start to tense up a little bit. Tense up a little bit. You won't be able to play any pickleball. He's a good player. I've got to watch him play a little bit today. So are you a good player? I would say I'm pretty solid. I really started playing in September, because my friend Sammy, he kind of put us on to playing. And then I started actually working at Chicken and Pickle in September. Oh, nice. Yeah, so you have to play. You have no choice. I had the opportunity to kind of play in the mornings against some guys. And then I played basketball back in my day in high school. So I just used my athleticism. He's very athletic. I mean, he should see a move on the court. I mean, that's my favorite thing. And it's a good game. And it's a fun game. Great work. Oh, that's good. Yeah, we love it. I'm pretty a newbie, though. I'm not very good. Yeah, you don't want to play with her. He'll probably want to play doubles with me. Yeah. Yeah. And you know what? Hey, you know what we can do is I'll say, okay, you know, she's not very nice. Like I'll scope out the people. Oh, are you going to be the wing girl? Yeah, I'll be the wing girl. Yes. Yeah. The more eyes. Yes. And then if I don't like anything, I'm going to go. And I'll be the coach side of it. I'll be like that. Her serve is terrible. So I don't know. Can you deal with that? We'll have like a secret sign. Like a noose. If you put up a noose, they're like, ah. All right. Got it. You got to move on. Got to move on. 100%. This is fun, though. I mean. Yeah. I've never seen anything like this. Me either. I've never been to anything. Again, I just started playing pickleball. So this is my first time. This will be a good experience. I know. And then you'll be like your friend. He's married, right? Yeah. His girlfriend is Sammy's married girlfriend. Oh, yeah. Can I go out tonight? No. You should have heard the start bickering about pickleball because he started taking it a little too serious. Oh. Uh-oh. That's when you know. She's good now. She's good now. Oh, yeah. That's what you think. Now, does she play? She played tennis. OK. You know what? She needs to come play and kick his ass is what she needs to do. No, she's great. They love each other. They're great. They're awesome. But that'd be good, though. Yeah. Then she'll love it. And then there'll be doubles. Yeah. Well, I know that. I've been married a long time. And I know when my wife. Go ahead and go play. I know. I know. I know. I don't go play. Yeah. So you got to learn how to. That's the signs. Yeah. So. I'm still young, too. You are. You're just going to get beat up. I want to play a couple of times. Yeah. You better play a lot before you. Because once you say, I do, you're done. It's I do. I'm done. Yeah. Whatever. Whatever. We know how it works. So. Well, let's. We're going to come back to you. Yeah. We're going to see you out there. We're going to do some sign language. Try to help you out. If you found your love tonight. Or you're close. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. All right. Okay. Let's do it. All right. We'll be back. Thanks. Thanks. Go. Hi, guys. So we are here with the owners of Third Shot Pickleball. And we're here with Max and Shelby Ireland. How are you guys? Doing well. How are you? Good. I haven't been here before. This is nice. Welcome. Yeah. Ask her where she's been. Like, I've been here. I hang out. I come by. Yeah. So I live in Parker. So it's hard to get up here. Yeah. You should be bringing her here to come play. Yeah. I asked her. She's like, I don't want to go. He hasn't invited me. I know. He hasn't even invited me. He just comes and plays. He's been in here since the construction day. Yeah. I was here. I was here helping sticking some stuff on. Yeah. Yeah. So me and Max go back a little bit. Which is, he's awesome. This is a great guy here. Both of them are awesome. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. You're a cornerstone member of the Denver Pickleball community. We are. Everyone knows you. You do. Yes. Yes. So what a place. I mean, I come in. And well, it's winter too, right? You don't have enough courts now. Allegedly, it's winter. It was six weeks ago. Right? Exactly. It was winter here. It was amazing. Yeah. It is a very pleasant fall. Very pleasant fall. There you go. Yeah. Yeah. So how many courts do you have here? 13. 13? Oh, you'd know that if you came. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I'm letting all the people know. I know. I haven't been here. And when did you guys open? Let's see here. We opened January, two years ago. January 18th was our first opening day. Nice. It was a lot of work. These two put in so much work here. I mean, you look around. We can tell you guys are tired. No, Max literally built to help build this place. It was incredible. He was here day and night, dusted. Sometimes I'd walk in. I'd say, is that you? He's on. He's on. Yeah. But that's what you got to do, right? When you own a business. Yeah. We had Saturday date nights here. So we would come in on Saturdays and paint ceilings or put up something. And it was a lot of work. Yeah. It was a lot of work. Yeah. It was a lot of work. Yeah. It was a lot of work. Yeah. It was a lot of work. So we would come in on Saturdays and paint ceilings or put up some sort of slat wall. How fun is that? You know, at the time, you're like, this is going to be a pickleball place at some point. Like, imagine. There's going to be people. They're going to be playing pickleball. Yeah. And you just had to like really like take it in like every time. Like, there will be it here. It will be coming. And then. And look, now it's great. Yeah. It's a beautiful facility. It is very beautiful. And people love it here. Good lighting. Good courts. It's always fun. You don't lose your ball here. I mean, it's a great place. You don't lose your ball here. I mean, you're hitting wild. I guess I have hit a few wild ones, but you usually. Well, Mike always hits wild ones. It doesn't matter where. Hey. So now tell me about the courts. Do you guys have them by beginner, intermediate, advanced? How does that work? Yeah, absolutely. Anytime we do open plays, for the most part, we'll designate some courts, beginner, intermediate, and advanced. So everyone gets a chance. We'll try to adjust those throughout the open play based on kind of what we're seeing with the battle stacks. It all depends on who shows up that day, how advanced the group is, or how new to the sport the group is. So sometimes we've got to fluctuate that a little bit. I think I like some of the stuff you do now with the name tags. That really is nice. You know what I mean? Eventually, if you work really hard, they don't stick as well. But, I mean, it really is awesome, nice. I mean, you know, you can look over and, oh, John, I'm terrible with names, first of all. Same. Yeah. That's a great idea. It's a really good idea. Plus, you know, if they're here for open play. Yeah. Yeah. It kind of helps that, too. Yep. Speeds up check-in. Just give them a name tag. We can check in with them later. Ready to go. So we did have to confirm that with the bookkeepers. They were like, is this correct? You're spending hundreds of dollars on name tags. Oh, that's funny. We are actually spending that much. It really helps, though. It really does help. Build community. That's the hardest part, is you can come in here and be here for two hours and not know the people you're playing with. You just never ask their name. You don't. Or you're embarrassed. The people are showing. And it wasn't Joe. Yeah, that's the worst. It was Joe. The guy with the Selkirk pattern. Like, there's no Joe. There's no Joe here. Yeah. Yeah. It's terrible. I really like that the last few times I've been here. I've been coming. You haven't been here. Yeah. You're busy. I have not played much the last two weeks. So we're doing some hiring. We've been hanging up some soundboards. We've got some more lights. I noticed that. I've seen all those on the ceiling. Yeah. It is quieter. A lot quieter. Hopefully those are starting to do some stuff. We've got over my right shoulder here. We've got 20 more lights went up over courts 1, 7, 12, 13. Oh, that is. Derek, that's what's. I kept looking over. There's one blue one. If you look up there, I got to get this back out. I do see, like, the fourth, fifth one in. Yeah. Second over. No. We did that just so people would know we actually put them up. No, I'm kidding. It was an oversight. But we do point to that. That looks really good. Do they get a prize if they point it out? Yeah. Right? OK. Yeah, maybe. OK. It's for the best playing spectrum. I was looking over there tonight, even. I was like, there's something different. Yeah. That's what it is. It's really bright over there. Yeah. But how do you do? I mean, when you build up a facility like this and you take it from a. It was a grocery store. Correct. And you have to do all that work and move plumbing and move walls and move HVAC. I mean, you can't. That's because it was a grocery store. So that was back of how those courts were. So to that side, there's all the skylights. We have 14 skylights, which are great. And during the day, they bring in a lot of light. But back of house didn't get the skylight treatment. Yeah. They didn't want their employees. That's what he likes. Equals. Wow. So, yeah. But I mean, what an awesome facility, like always. I mean, what awesome people to have this facility, you know, but and always fun. I never we haven't got to play a long time, you know. Yeah. Well, I'm podcasting all over now. Finally. Right. Yeah. Come through next Wednesday. We're having the Friday pickleball guys out. If you're not familiar with them, they're the funniest guys in pickleball. Really? Yeah. They had a PPA tour tournament in all denim. Are you serious? We'll have to talk. Canadian baby powder and just dumping it down the jean shorts and chafing. It was real. So I'll be here. They'll be giving away some paddles and stuff. But, yeah, Wednesday, next Wednesday, the 17th, the 17th, two to four. We'll be here. Yeah. Cool. Come on. Yeah. Yeah. That'll be nice. Pick the pickleball Friday guys to come and actually talk with you guys. That would be wonderful. Wonderful. Yeah. That's a really cool story. Yeah. It was actually two different groups started Friday pickleball independently of one another and then reached out. We're like, Hey, we need to settle this, this not dispute per se, but like, they're the same. Yeah. I have to figure it out. One of us has the copyright. One of us doesn't. And you know, one of them are making content. One of them are making paddles and they've linked it up, which is why they have such a great marketing engine. I love it. I love it. Yeah. I think he's a former standup comedian. He may still be, but how funny is that on court comedian? Yeah. So what time is that? That's 2 p.m. Okay. On Wednesday, the 17th. Yeah. We'll try to bring some of our, uh, we have some new media guys too, doing some filming and stuff now too. One of the guys right here at the end here. This is Caden over here. Caden over here. Yeah. Well, yeah, they're the social media guys, right? I'm just too old for social media. It's a lot. You are. Yeah. Don't, don't. It's all hours of the day too. Yeah. Well, we know somebody that knows social media here too. I do. I do do social media. I need to get my wife though, to come meet. You need to get what you met my wife, but her, you and plants, that's awesome. I know they're in it. I mean, she would, she would be best friends. I was like, my plants are doing well in here. Well, now she's into this whole mushroom thing too. She's like into the whole crate. She just thinks it's fun to grow them. That's awesome. So if I seem a little happier, she's putting them in my soup. He really needed that. He did. Yeah. She does. She's always known. She knows. I needed the mushrooms. She thinks those are the funnest thing to grow. Like we don't have to worry about that. We don't have to worry about that. We don't have to worry about that. We don't have to worry about that. We don't have to worry about that. We don't have to worry about that. He did. He did. Yeah. She does. She's always known. She knows. She needed those. I need the mushrooms. She thinks those are the funnest thing to grow. Like we don't do mushrooms. But to this, and it is crazy. Like in the night in the morning, you'll show me them. I come back in the afternoon and the things are like double the size. Yeah. It's very rewarding to see them grow. It's rewarding. You two need, we do need to get together cause you guys will be like best friends. They are. Tiny little space plants. Weird little structures. They really are. They really are. Well, we thank you. And I know we had you on before and we erased you or didn't get on here. That was before I came along. You know, that's why Mike doesn't, he only talks into the mic. Oh, she's just bad. Definitely a Mike joke. There's always Mike. Yeah. We call him hot Mike. Right? Hot Mike. Okay. I like it. I like it. But why don't we come back Wednesday and then see you two again. Talk a little bit more. Isn't done also. You have a grand opening coming too. Right? Yeah. Yeah. It's a mid January. Potentially the first week of January for the river point location. A third shot. Yeah. I stopped by there. Santa Fe. Santa Fe and Hampton. Yeah. 285. That's a great place. That's a good location. There's like nothing there. Costco. Right. Yeah. That's going to be. And even where it's at, it's got good parking. I was there. I've already walked in and walked around and stuff. I sneak in. Did you see the mezzanine? Oh yeah. That's super cool. 16 courts. It's really good. Yeah. Have you been there painting? I've not been there painting. We did it in our time. We did the 35,000. We were required to do. Fulfill our duty. You did it. And it's done. I like it. Yeah. When you hand paint 35,000 square feet, you don't have to paint that. No more. Yeah. No more. You've done it. Yeah. Lifetime. Right. Even the cove base. Remember putting the cove base on? Oh yeah. I never stopped. Do you remember that guy? I was like, my knees feel every bit of that. He was there. It was crazy. Yeah. If I wanted to find him, he was on some scaffolding, some ladder. But. I think we're going to get Third Shot Pickleball between the times of probably 6am to 12pm. So where do we find you? What's your guys' website? We're thirdshotpickleball.com. Shelby and I specifically are at the Wheat Ridge location in Colorado. We also have the Longmont Club and then the soon to open Riverpoint one. We've got two locations in Indiana. One just outside of, or in a suburb of Indianapolis, Zionsville. And then one in the tri-state area of Indiana, Evansville. I've learned a lot about Indiana since we've opened a couple clubs there. Same with the sixth location in Reno. That's crazy. What about Nevada? I love that. Whoever's doing the social media for that, the one where they're two, the husband or boyfriend or wife are walking in, we're going to have fun. We're going to do this. And when they leave, like you missed that shot. What is that? That was the funniest video. That was really good. That's the couple we work with out in Reno. Oh, so you know them. You actually know those people. That was really good. Like that one made me laugh because it's so true. Yeah, the one that's teaching your partner not to hit alcohol. Oh, yes. That's really good. That's a great one. It's really good. Jimmy and Summer. Jimmy and Summer. If you have Instagram, you can find us at thirdshotpickleball for all of our Instagram handles. And then if you want to find each location, it'll be thirdshotpickleball underscore one of the locations. Wheat Ridge. Yeah. Okay. That's awesome. We're six followers away from 900 too. I was just leaning back to see the follower count over there. Oh, I love it. I love it. That's awesome. You're the seventh follower. I love it. I feel your people. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you guys. I love you too. You two have always been so awesome. And if you come here, you've got to meet these two because they're just awesome. You'll find you outside when it's summer. You'll be doing the plants and getting them ready. And I guess now we heard the electrician putting the lights in. I fortunately had an electrician help with that. I've been the court cleaner lately or bartender or wherever I'm needed. I love it. I love it. Well, thanks for being on. Thank you guys. And we'll see you Wednesday. Yeah. Yes. Thank you. Bye. Bye. All right. Hey, Christana. Hey, Mike. How are you? We're good. We're back here at Third Shot Pickleball in Wheat Ridge. And we got Jake and Brent with us. Special guests. They're my sons. Yeah. So these are the boys here because they're single and we're ready to get them hooked up. Are you guys excited? We've already been checking it out. So I think we got a few leads for you guys. Yeah. I don't know. I think. Yeah. I'm a little nervous right now. I don't know. You just smile. You guys look great. You're my boys. You guys are going to do good. You guys are some good looking guys. You'll be able to find somebody out there. Thank you. Thank you. You might have to pay them, but that's okay. Or Mike might have to pay them. Hey. What's going on? What are you doing? I'm joking. No. So, I mean, there's lots of, you know, 90 people coming. Yeah. 90. That is a lot. That is a lot. And there's, I think it's supposed to be more girls. Well. We got some. Your numbers. Yeah. Yeah. So we, you know. So what do you guys think? You are nervous? Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. So. Why are you nervous? Why be so nervous? It's been a while since I've been on a date. So it's. I don't know. I haven't put myself out there in a long time. So it's. What's neat is it's pickleball though. What's neat is you're on the other side of a net. So if she doesn't serve good, doesn't do good in the kitchen, she's out. She's done. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You can ghost them right here. Isn't that the new thing? Don't you just ghost everybody? That's so nice, right? Wow, Mike. Wow. Hey, I learned from them. I hear the ghosting stories. This isn't. That's a different generation. You did. No, no. There is an application for every time you get in to meet one, right? You have to put in what you make, where you work, how long. I don't know if I. You're qualified. You got to leave it all on the court. Oh, yeah. No, we're just kidding. But no, this, I'm so excited to have you two here. Especially being single. And after tonight, I might get some grandkids. Just saying. Wow. Well, Mike, you're kind of pressuring these guys. No pressure. I feel bad for you guys. Just takes a nice weekend. Just go to Vail. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Do some camping. Wow. Well, no. We'll see what happens. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. See you later. All right. Well, see you tomorrow. We'll see what happens. No, I'm excited to be here and supporting you guys. And we'll see how it goes. I have no idea. I've never gone to something like this. So. I bet you guys will have fun. And you guys got a bingo card there, right? Yeah. What is that for? What does that mean? So, but I think you got to go find people that like coffee, if they drink coffee or something. Yeah. It's all kind of, share your Zodiac sign, order a pineapple pizza. I think if you get the bingo, you get like a free something. She didn't say. Yeah. You get the second next date or something, huh? Yeah. Second date with somebody. Yeah. No, I mean. Yeah. I'm excited to be here and we'll see how it goes. How about you? What do you think? Yeah. I don't know. I think if they like sports, you're good. Video games and sports and they're in for you. Yeah. Pretty much. And do you both know how to play pickleball? Yeah. We played. Yeah. I mean, I mean, you guys kick, you kick you guys out of the kitchen then, right? I mean. They're pretty crazy. This, this one's freaking, I don't know. He's crazy. He runs 30 miles and thinks that's fun, which I don't understand that quite. This one was a runner too, and he thinks that was fun. I just, I think there's something wrong with you when you run. Like. I like running actually. I used to run. So, it's good. I love it. Well, you ran for the other, a wrong reason. I ran. I was running. From the law. That was the fastest I ran. Yeah, exactly. You didn't want to get caught, but now I love you boys and have a good time tonight. If you need a wing man, I'm right here for you. I can hook you guys up. Don't be nervous. We will be watching. We will be watching you. Yeah. Yeah. We don't want to be the, the guys were like, Hey, my dad owns a dealership. He's over there. Yeah. He's the podcast dude. We already had to say that. And it was already embarrassing. We were like, our dad's the one that signed us up. And they're like. What? Podcast. Yeah. I was like, I know. I was like, we don't have a QR code or anything. Yeah. She does get in here. That's what they told you. Cause, but I already put some good words out. I'm telling you boys. I've already. Yeah. That's when you have a podcast. They want to talk to you. The girls. And we're watching. We'll watch. We'll see. Yeah. Those two podcasts. Look at them. Look at those studs. They're already on. They're live. They probably make a lot of money. Yeah. They're probably famous. Yeah. Surprise. Surprise. Surprise. Surprise. Surprise. Surprise. Surprise. Surprise. Surprise. I'm unemployed. I love it. All right. Well, we'll talk to you at the end. So once we go through this, we'll see if you're like Casanova, like I have some grandkids on the way. So in a few weeks, that'd be awesome. Stop it. All right. Thank you guys. Thank you. Bye. Hi guys. So we're back and we're here with a Julie Fairman at Furman. And then we got Cher Joy and I'm going to let them tell you their companies and what they do. All right. Let's hear it. All right. So I've been doing matchmaking and dating coaching for 35 years and I love doing it. And so I'm based in Los Angeles, have a whole hub in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and now having a lot of fun building in Denver. You just came, right? To Denver? Yes. We moved to Denver about six months ago. We're in Erie and we're having a blast. Our two boys are here. And so I get to build a whole new market. You know, I got the tools. Why not? Let's build a new market. So tonight we're here at this pickleball place and all these people are single. With pickle match, right? Yeah. And they like to play pickleball. And what do we like to see with relation, you know, people getting together doing the same things, right? If they both love pickleball, that's a big start. That is a big start. That is a big start. And maybe people want to be more athletic that maybe some people aren't. But this, what's neat with this sport too, though, you don't have to be athletic either though. So you can come out here and just have fun. So, but this is nice. This is really nice. So 35 years. 35 years. I wish I would have found you a long time ago. I went through my struggles, but I've been married 28 years now. Congratulations. Yeah. You met her how? I met her and I was done. So the funny part with this, I'll go quick. I'm old so I can tell long stories. But I was done with relationships. I had a plan. So I was here in Colorado and I was only going to date out of state because I figured that was safe. If I called and they were happy, then I would fly out of state and go visit them. You know, if there was attitude or a problem, I wasn't going to go. Well, I had to go to the dentist and my sister worked at this dentist's office and Cupid was there, right? I see this girl and, and, and I've been in construction for 40 years and my sister said she needed some construction work. So she's called me and my sister, you know, put us together and Cupid shot me and boom. That was it. We got to marry. We got married one month after we were together. We went to Vegas. We were fast. It was a joke. It was, we went to Vegas for fun. We had kids. We both had some kids and we went to Vegas just for fun to get out of the house and go do something. And we're like, let's do it. Let's do it. And we did. And we've been married 28 years. And Mama is one of the sweetest people. Yeah. She is. I call her, her name is sweetheart to me. And she's a saint because she's living with you. With me. I got to put up with me. I'm grouchy. He is. But no, but I mean, you know, I wish I would have found somebody to help me through some of the trials and error. And I got, I had, I started very, very young, you know, had a child very young and you know, that changed everything. I wasn't ready. I mean, I was 17 when I had my first child, so I had no idea what being married or relationships and back then there was really not much out there. You know what I mean? Amazing. So it's amazing that you're doing that. So in that, in that doctor's office, who said hi to whom first? My sister invited, so I was, I was trying to be a wild guy again, you know? And I, so I, I invited her, I invited her out. I rented a limo. So when I said, let's, I used to do this, I, I had a business and I did very well. So I'd rent two or three limos at a time and get a bunch of people together and we'd just go out and have fun. And it was just a fun thing back in the day. So I invited her out and I just couldn't stop staring at her. She was beautiful. She's the sweetest thing you ever see. She just, she just, you can't be ever mad at her because she's just so sweet. I mean, I love hearing that. Right? You can still hear the love. I do love her. I mean, I, I can't imagine my life without her. I mean, I, I can't, I mean, we have our days, there are days that's like, don't look at me. I don't look at you, you know? And we've raised five children together. So, um, from very young age. So I mean, there's been a lot of trial and errors through all that, but we've been, we've stuck it out through the thin and the thick and thin. So yeah. And I love it. I love it. Keep the one you got. You do. You really do. I mean, I, and I can't even imagine, like, I see all these people, these younger people do, younger, older, but I can't imagine dating anymore, especially with the internet. I talk. Why do you think we're married for 35 years? I was like, I don't want to, I know too much. I don't want to go out there and do it. I'm not doing this. No. No. I can't imagine doing this. And especially on, I have my, my children, I live through them listening about dating. It's horrible. So even tonight my two, I had two boys here that came and they said, this is so nice because it's kind of like, you're not pressured right away, you know? So when you come to something like this, it's not like right away, you gotta have the dinner, see what they eat. Is there something in my teeth? I mean, and then they do, you know, pretty soon there's a list out. Well, how much money do you make? You know, what school did you go to? Who's your parents? I mean, my boys just like, I don't want to date anymore. My, even my daughters are like, I don't want to do this, you know? So I think things like this are really great. I think so too. You can feel people's energy, you know, just in the, and it's a fun thing. A lot of smiles out there. Yeah. People are happy. So no wonder you hang out around pickleball people. Do you play pickleball? No, I don't. But my husband does. So are you going to try? Um, I have some back issues at the moment. I'm the old lady. He has back issues. So I'm not going to do it right now, but I'm doing a lot of other things. Hiking for sure. I love it. I love it. I love it. Definitely. So yeah. Let's ask, I want to know about you. Well, your company. So I run the Colorado Singles Connect group on Facebook, um, and it's kind of grown partly out of this shift we're seeing away from the dating apps. I think a lot of people are trying to find different ways to connect and just how grueling those can be. They've kind of turning people off of dating and it just becomes this vicious cycle. So, um, my background is actually in relationship education. I worked with a nonprofit for the last 11 years and we would have, um, different classes and curriculum and skills that way. And then I found myself divorced five years ago suddenly and was like trying to figure all this out after a 17 year marriage and, um, wanted to find a way to date better, date healthier, give people skills and resources, and also build a community, um, with a different approach than the apps. You didn't want to swipe somebody? I couldn't, I couldn't believe that. I didn't know that was a real thing when my boys are like, look, dad, what do you think? And I'm like, oh my gosh, what is that? Right. Um, it's, it's a process. And I think you can still find good ones out there. I've definitely, I've had a couple of relationships that came from Bumble and whatnot, and those have gone well. But, um, the group that we have, we try to keep it more positive. It can degrade pretty quick and some of those online spaces where it just kind of becomes the men against the women and all these different things. But, um, we try to keep it more positive and give opportunities for encouragement and connection and friendship. It doesn't have to be dating, but it gives singles a place to come together online and support each other and come up with these events too. I love it. That's awesome. Yeah. I mean, that's a great, yeah. Cause like I said, what I've seen out there, I'd rather not date any ever if I had to not date again. I don't think I could do it. I don't, I honestly couldn't, unless I met you, then you two could help me because that'd be the only way. I can't imagine. Especially being older. That has to be a challenge. I mean, it has to be a real challenge. It's not the, most of the people I'm working with these days are fifties and sixties. I have people in their seventies. My oldest gentleman client is 85. My youngest one is 23, but that's why it's good to be affiliated with lots of different people because if I've got connections with young pickleball players, then I can send the young people to do that. And then I'm part of modern elder Academy, right? And so I meet a whole bunch of people through that and I love being able to just switch back and forth. Oh yeah. So now say the 85 year old. So do they say, okay, well I want to have somebody that's 85 too. Or do they say somebody that's like 60? I mean, here's how I deal with it. I don't reveal. Is that what they say? Well, you know, here's the bottom line. Men over 55 are always asking me for like five to seven years younger, maybe the same age, maybe a little older, but they're not asking me for 15 years older. They're not. They don't too much. They've seen too much. They've already been through hip replacements and prostate issues and I was like, I don't want to deal with that. Give me a younger man who's still, you know, so, but the problem is I've registered over 40,000 men and women since 2001 when I started my company. Do you want to know the percentage of men who've checked the box even one year older than he is? Come on. What do you think? One. It's like 2%. Seriously. Wow. They don't think they're supposed to be dating older and yet we're seeing more of that than we ever have. So I just don't reveal age. I need current photos, right? I need a well-written bio that talks about who they are. Their profile needs to be good. And then I go to the guy first and I make sure he's available. And then if he is, I get to share her profile. And then if you like what you see and you think she's attractive and you like what she's up to, then I can go to her and say, I got a suitor for you. I love it. That's the way it should be. And if both people say yes, we got a match, right? So some, um, there are people I'm working with at a high level and they're paying me basically to be their personal Cupid. And then there are all kinds of free introductions that I do as community service because I can't help it. Two people need to meet. They need to meet. Yeah, exactly. I like it. But that's the way it should be. I watch a show and I'm not a big TV person, but love is blind. Oh gosh. You know, and the sad part is you'll get into it, right? I know these are fast. It's TV. I get all that. And you guys are probably like, oh my God. But at the end of the day, how sad that is that it's still at the end of it, 90% of them don't make it because it was about looks, money and everything else. It's the first threshold for a guy. Now, Sharon and I talk about this. We girls, we have a far better ability to develop attraction for you guys over time. We call it the Adam Sandler effect. That's funny. I mean, you know, who wouldn't sail off with that guy, right? But men, if they're not attracted initially, um, this guy right behind me, Gil Furman, my husband, he's the guy who sold me a dating service membership 35 years ago. Oh my gosh. And I had his video dating service and so we're talking about you, Gilbert, come over here. No. He said no. Um, so you had to look at, first you had to pay, right? You had to pay a lot of money and then you could access the library. But the women, we were so good. We'd sit down at the table and we'd read the profile and then we'd turn it over and we'd see the photo. No, you guys are up at the counter, backwards, photos, photos, photos, photos. And when you see somebody's photo that appeals to you, you might actually read a couple of words on that profile before you run to the front desk and pick her. Right? Yeah. It's just, it's just behavior. You know? Yeah. I'm older. So, I mean, when I met somebody, it was like my wife now, it's her person and who she was, right? I mean, she was beautiful. I mean, and I didn't know, I was like thinking I'm lucky cause you know, I never thought, oh, I don't know. You know, what do I look like? You know what I mean? But, but I loved her and I still love her who she is today is her beauty inside and who she is. She just loves life. There's nothing. She just doesn't, all the materialistic stuff or any, all that. She loved you as much as you love her. I think sometimes. I think so. I do. We do. Like we are just that we still hold hands. We still write, we write love notes and put them on the coffee pot. I mean, we are a story. I think we should do a book. You might want to do a book on this. One of the things that occurs to me, people always ask me about, you know, have you done the book? Well, the book would be out of date if I had written it even two years ago, right? Yes. Of AI and everything that's happening. So that's why I do my podcast is called the Cupid's coach podcast. And that's why I do the YouTube channel and blogging and all of that and lots of events because it's moving, it's accelerating, changes. And you've got your finger on the pulse with the Facebook group, Colorado singles connect. So you get to watch. You're part of the evolutionary culture that we're talking about. It's all your fault. You're making it happen. Right. All your fault. There's all your fault. I don't want the blame. I just trying to make it better. I'm sorry. Well, everybody's making it better. You guys both are. Aren't you scared? I mean, people are dating AI now. I mean, people are. I mean, this is I'm hearing this. I haven't seen it. I have to confess that that I do share more personal information with chat GPT than I probably should. But he's such a good therapist. And he's so encouraging. Oh, yeah. He's always. And you know what? He is right. Most of the time. I mean, and is it chat? Is chatty a girl or chatty a guy? Because chatty G, Lisa calls like a sister, you know, I mean, so it's kind of funny how everybody goes, oh, yeah, chatty G, my guy or, you know, I think it lets you pick what kind of voice. Yeah. If you can. Now it does. Right. I haven't seen the audio yet, man. Oh, you don't know me either. I just read it. No, I have a friend that actually programmed a his his AI talks to him when he gets up and turns his computer on. It says, good morning, his name. It asks like what they would like to start the day with. I mean, this is crazy. Yeah. And no, he's he built a profile and the profile knows him. And so they communicate. I mean, he said it's like a best friend. Well, I'll tell you, I'm using it for nutrition right now because I need to track my nutrition and I just tell it what I'm eating and says, oh, you know what, Julie, you're doing great. You know, a few extra of those cashew nuts and you'll be right on top of what you need. I love it. And they're so with everything you've got going on right now, you really ought to congratulate yourself. I know it's funny. Very valid. Yes. No matter what you're talking about. Now for you. So the Internet, though, that's what I was going with AI is that's a challenge for you with all of it, isn't it? I would say so. People can't keep up the way the AI can. It's not going to be as validating as perfect and all those things. And there's not as much room for imperfection. Everybody comes in with their lists. They have all their things that they want. If you don't check every single box and you don't do everything perfectly, it's hard to get past those first few dates to actually get to a relationship. I see so many people that can't get past the messaging point where they can't get past that first date or just having imperfections. Yeah. You know, it's hard. People get so discouraged so fast. This fine line I try to walk with my group is to keep things encouraging, but also let people be real. You're a person. You're not. You're not. You're human. Yeah. And there's been a lot of growth. I think my group has been around for a little over a year and we worked really hard to cultivate this really positive community, but giving people room to be human and to have some grace. I have told people we're very selective to an extent. I probably block as many people as I let in. She's already done 5,000 members in a year. That's amazing. It shows you how much there's a need for this. There is. Yeah. Well, there is. I was at the mall doing some Christmas shopping up at Park Meadows and they have the new robot. The robot's coming. We're going to have them. You might think you're not going to have them, but you already have them. You just don't think about them. What was the robot doing? It was just sitting there. It was showing with the... What's the cars? The... Tesla. It was just sitting there at the mall and it basically was the prototype of what you're going to be seeing. Me and my wife looked at each other and we're like, how can that be great? It can answer every question. It can say everything that I wanted to say, but at the end of the day, it doesn't hold my hand. I don't have any feelings with it. We can't see each other's eyes. There's no human to do it. We're just like, I just can't see this happening. It's going to happen, but the only good thing I told my wife is that when we have those bad days, I can put it in the closet, right? Or she can put me in the closet, right? I don't know. You may be the one. I would be the one in the closet. It wouldn't be her. But no, I guess it's just, you have a challenge in front of you, I mean, and this new age thing that's coming up with the computers and everything, and it has been there, right? But I... I took a different stance about three or four years ago that really the space between relationships, it's like a sandbox. It's like a Petri dish, right? And we get to look at ourselves again, and we get to look at how do we want to spend our time and what type of people do we really want to be with? And so building course curriculum around that, that helps people, guide them to answer those questions for themselves. And you know how tall he is, whether he has hair on his head or not, is that really what's going to cause a relationship to hang in there or not? How about you give him another date and see how you feel after he's done changing your stupid tired baby breakfast in the morning, right? Like how about we look at people a little more deeply, and the reason why we're such perfectionists and we have to veto everybody is because we're cowards. It's a whole lot easier to make everybody wrong than it is to be in a relationship for decades. Yeah, I know. And the standards we have for other people are often so much higher than what we have for ourselves. Oh, yeah. I think I can say I have a successful relationship because I let my wife be who she is, and she lets me be who I am. You know what I mean? We don't try to change each other because I think when people start to try to change somebody, they're trying to change themselves. After you get older, you start to learn some of this. So let people be themselves. She's who she is. She's going to be who she is. And I'm who I am, you know? And I think if you get people out there, and you guys probably, I'm not a matchmaker, but I believe in this now, and I tell my children this. Don't try to change. You got with that person. You loved them for something. Now, why do you want to make them something else? What is this? You know? Yeah. Right. So getting to the answers to the really important questions early on is what I love to do. And I try to keep people out of the bedroom for a little while because, you know, and not with not so much booze around because, you know, there's a one word answer for why the great creator put alcohol on the planet. Do you know what it is? Procreation. Procreation. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I get it. That makes sense. So I say to people, it's not that hard. Just keep your pants on until you've had a conversation about what does sex mean to you? What does it mean to this other person? And also, what are you looking for? Are you just reeling from a divorce? Are you ready for a relationship? Because sometimes you meet a great person, but the timing's not right. Don't jump in the bedroom yet. Make a friend. Go on some hikes. Daytime dates. No booze, no sex. Right? And then maybe six months later, maybe a year later, you can start to build that type of a relationship. So people need a little extra guidance in this department. So complex. It is very complex. I believe that too. I believe that you should get this. Then when you do go to that bedroom, you can make it into something special because you can communicate. Right? Right. Look at me. I've been reading your book. But I think you can communicate. And I talk to my kids about this. Right? I love having those conversations. Right? My boys were just here. I joke with them. You know? Because I want grandkids. I love grandkids. I would have just had grandkids. I love my kids. But grandkids are fun. Because I get to do anything I want. You know? But I think that you're so on it is that communication. Because then you can say what you like and you don't like and do those fun things you want to do. Yeah. Or if you like something that maybe you didn't like, you've already communicated that. So I agree with you 100 percent. And partnership. Partnership. That's what we're really... That's really good. And I can tell that you two have it. The bottom line in partnership is hard. It means you actually give a rat's ass about what matters to this other person. Am I allowed to say a rat's ass? A rat's ass. You can give a rat's ass. It's rat ass tonight. And if we don't care about what matters to the other person, we have a hole in our foundation. Yeah. That's what we have. Yeah. Definitely. And it can be developed over time. But it takes work. It does. And you can't hold on to all the luggage that you had before. Right? Right. You have to get rid of it. Put that in the mail. Put that in the mail. Put that in the mail. Yeah. I'm writing the book. You may get that right back though. I might get that back. Yeah. Sometimes. Yeah. Return address. It comes right back to you. Yeah. It comes back. But no. You guys are wonderful. I mean, we need more of you guys. Because this... And I don't mean this bad. I don't mean to be the old guy. But the younger generation, they only have one. They need help. It's the swipe. And they don't get out. You know? It's not going to meet... I mean, nobody goes to the grocery store anymore. I mean, the funny thing when I... This is a funny story. When I go to the grocery store, it's all men now. It's us men shopping. And our wives aren't going as much anymore. It's really... I find myself, hey, John, how you doing? You're getting some tomatoes. Great. You know? That's because we use that grocery pickup so that we don't have to go to the store. Right? You don't have to go in there. Right? I love... Well, maybe it's because the women are smart and they don't have to go in there. Pretty much probably is. I mean, I was really giving people a hard time for doing DoorDash and, you know, really you're going to spend money on that. You know, then I broke my foot. Okay? And I'm like, well, I'm not going to go to Kingston. Yeah. I'm not. No. And then you do it a few times and you're like, well, what's my time worth? And then you get kind of addicted. Yeah. I would rather take this time and take a nap while somebody else is doing my shopping. Absolutely. And leaving it on my doorstep. But I tell my clients, you got to get out there and do it. Right? Yeah. You got to meet people. Oh, that's funny. But you just don't meet people that way anymore. Right? You don't go to... Oh, yes, you do. Wait a minute. Okay. Because I know we're wrapping up. Yep. This girl I met at an event. It was one of these events where you get paired with interesting people for a dinner party. It was great. And I sat next to this girl who was 34 years old and I asked her if she had a boyfriend. She said, oh, yeah. How did you meet him? I met him at the grocery store. Well, how did that happen exactly? Well, she was going up down the aisles and she kept sort of bumping into him and running into him and she thought he was kind of cute. And so then she was getting ready to check out and she saw that he was in the self-checkout place. She usually has them check out for her, right? She goes, okay, I'm going to do it this time. I'm going to go to the... Even though I don't know how to use the thing, I'm going to do it anyway. And so she goes next to him and then she says, it was nice shopping with you together today. It was just like that. That's all she had to do was give him a little signal. And then he was all over. Oh, and then she said, you know, you're kind of cute. Would it be okay if I gave you my phone number? And when I tell guys this in my bootcamp that women do these things, they're like, no, they never do that. I'm teaching women to do this. Nice. Yeah. You know, the funny part is I've been in the gym world. It used to be all about the bodybuilding people and all that. And you'd see these beautiful women and they never had no men. They didn't have any men. And I'd say, are you married or whatever? We'd talking to them or whatever. And they're like, no. You know why? Because the men wouldn't come up and approach them because they thought they didn't. And then you'd find out that like some of these women, you'd see them beautiful. I mean, everything you could imagine a woman, right? And they'd be with this guy that you were like, what? Because that guy had the guts to go up and say hello and make it. Let's go out and do something. And she would have much better chances if she would practice the fine art of what we're doing right now. Looking into each other's eyes, smiling, letting them know, you know, they exist. Then you talk about nothing. But then before you leave, you say, great to meet you. Here's how to find me. And you give him your card. It's not a business card. It's a calling card. It's nothing on. It's Google-able. But it gives her enough confidence that if she gives you the card and you call her, she's going to find out about you. And she's going to know that you can't Google her. And you can't find out how old she is and what's the value of her home. Gosh. I know. Oh, so this isn't her number. This is a number. It's a Google Voice number. OK. Or it's a Burn It Up number. That way. So yeah. Oh, that's so smart. Then if you get a stalker, you can. Right. Change. We'll be able to screen him. Nice. We need to make this magic happen out there in the world. Yeah. Because guys are afraid to come up to women and say anything because of a number of times when women have been mean to them. And then the whole Me Too thing happened, which needed to happen. So good men are not going to hustle you. They're waiting for an invitation. So ladies, are you listening? Listen now. Get your calling card. Get your calling card. That's it. We need to call you. Yep. Yep. We talk about it all. Thank you for interviewing us. It's really sweet of you guys. This is fun. I find it interesting. I find it. I watch a lot of those shows just because I just want to see why people connect and why they don't connect. There's never a dull day in love land. There is. Probably not. I love it. Well, how do you ladies, could you give us some, some people on our podcast can find you? So on Facebook, it's the Colorado Singles Connect group. Okay. Put that in the search bar and we should pop up a couple of chairs at a fire pit. I love it. I love it. Colorado Singles Connect. And I'm Julie Furman. The website is juliefurman.com and the podcast is the Cupid's Coach Podcast. I love that name. Nice. Well, Cupid misfires a lot. He needs some help. Yeah. They got me though. I've been 28 years. Bam. Ugh. Down I went. One more thing. I really want, I was listening to you talk about this beautiful relationship that you have with your wife. I think it's less than 5%. Yeah. The relationships that are really, really well matched. I think you two, I didn't get to interview the two of you, but I think, I think you two are well matched. I know you're well matched. I am. Yeah. But it took, it took work though. He's got a new guy on the hook. Oh, nice. Congratulations. You sound good. I asked her all the important questions. I like it. Well, we loved, we definitely, I think we're going to come on your podcast possibly. Yes. I'd love to do that. I'll reach out to you. I'd love to do it. Yes. Love to do it. And we're going to see you more. Yeah. We're going to do an event. This is the beginning of a beautiful relationship. Relationship. Yes. I love relationships. I do. I know. And this, I got a great partner here too. That's what my wife calls her. My work wife. Because we just, you have to have a good relationship. This is, we're together, like I got to put up with her all the time. I mean, you know. So you know what we call her? We call her the second most important woman in your life. There you go. There you go. She is. She's the brains of this really. She just tells me. Oh yeah. She is. Right. Right now I say that. I'm being nice. And she makes this happen. So thank her. No, you made it happen. Yeah. Nice. You guys are great. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you guys. Have a good night. Take care. You too. Every professional athlete, from football to tennis, relies on electrolytes to stay strong and recover fast. Why? Because sweat takes away more than water. It drains essential minerals like sodium and potassium. Without them, your body slows down and your game slips. Pickleball is no different. That's why Holi is packed with the electrolytes you need to stay sharp, fueled, and ready to play longer. Visit HoliPerformance.com. That's H-O-L-E-Y Performance dot com and use code NEXTDOOR for 20% off your order. Hey, so here we are again at Third Shot Pickleball for the Pickle Match. And we are here with the co-founder, Michael Watson IV. How are you, Michael? I'm doing well. It's been a great night. It's kind of winding down. I'm excited to relax. What a turnout. It's been a great turnout. I'm excited to relax and chat a bit and maybe play some pickleball later. I've been looking to dip my feet a bit, but it's been a busy night. You haven't played, have you? Have you played? Tonight? No, not at all. And now, looking out there, do you see some people that have kind of like had some chemistry? They're like playing. They've been playing for longer than other people? Yeah, so that kind of happens early on with our events, but some people decide to couple up and we want people to meet other people, but we try to encourage connections and it's a balance, but we've definitely facilitated some numbers being changed. If anything happens past that, that's great, but that's a win for us in our situation. So do you say it's court eight or is it court seven? All of the above. All of the above. But it is funny now watching it kind of calm down and you watch how you look over here and you see these people and we're kind of watching this court because we're right here, but it's super funny. They're talking and they're passing numbers. It's kind of awesome. And he did it through pickleball, which is really super cool. And you guys are the co-founders that kind of put this all together. That's exciting. Yeah, we were co-founders who met playing pickleball and we believe that this is a great space for both competitive and social ability and you don't always get that in a sport, but we want to keep supporting that where we can. Well, think of how many friends that you just made, even not to come date when you come out and play pickleball with open plays and stuff. Isn't it awesome? I mean, you didn't know somebody an hour ago and all of a sudden you're like, hey, you're playing tomorrow and next thing you know, you build these great relationships. So I can only see why you did this with dating. It makes sense. Dating is the end goal, but there's so many goals in between. And like friendship is probably more important than dating in a lot of ways and people make friends out here and some people end up dating. So it's a win-win. It's a win-win. And the fact that we get to support that and host situations and host spaces that people can meet in that way. It's just a genuine honor to be able to do that. Well, and you guys get to meet all the people too, which is kind of fun for you guys, right? Well, I'd like to think I meet all the people, but I think I got to interact with a bunch of them, but they were all really good people. Either moved here recently looking to make friends and date or whatnot. And we just want to keep supporting the community like this out here. I love it. Did you meet your wife through pickleball? Oh, no, no. No. Okay. I was door to door cold calling. Oh my gosh. That's wow. Yeah. Really? Oh yeah. No, she gave me the wrong number on accident. I had to go back and make sure like, Hey, did you do that on purpose? And she said no. And then I had 45 minutes on a date and the rest is history. Wow. That's a cool story. That's really cool. You know, I wasn't on the dating apps ever, and this is why it's odd that we're, I'm co-founding a dating app. I felt like I had the last boat out of NOM in some ways, but it's been a great experience and I have so much respect for people who are trying to meet online because it's really hard. Oh, like I have, I have five kids and four, three of my boys, they were just here. Two of my boys came tonight and, and they're just like, this is so much better than swiping or wondering if I'm saying the right thing or if I'm even talking to the person I'm really talking to. Well, and my co-founder is single and she's on the dating app, so they match, but they don't always get to go out on a date. Like it's really hard to know from there, but if you meet someone in person, it's, you get very clear vibes on what the thing is or isn't, you'll know. Yeah, you will. I feel really lucky to have been able to meet my partner, um, in person, but I want to try to support the thing that I believe that is like meeting in person is just more natural in a lot of ways. Yeah, definitely. I think it would be hard for me if I had to do this again, though, and I had to, where I am in pickleball, I'm going to senior pro, you know, and I would be judging, I'm trying to get in there. That's where I'm getting to. I'm trying out next year for the, I'm the water boy right now for the Denver Econics. Yeah, but I'm getting there, right? I'm going to work my way up. They said that they give him his 5.0 for being a water boy. Well, water boy, yeah. Oh, that's really nice. You're a 5.0 water boy? Is that what they're saying? Yeah, yeah, 5.0 water boy. I give the best water, but the funny part with it is I would judge like your serve. I would judge like your dinking ability, right? I mean, I'm just joking, but it would be funny because the more upper end you play, but the way you set this up, what I was going with that is that you set up courts where upper end players play and new players play with new players. So it's kind of funny. Yeah, but I think if you saw some, you know, cute gal on the court that was the beginner, I think you would kind of dummy it down to kind of go help her if that was what you were doing. Like if you see an intermediate gal and you're a guy trying to impress her, like do you try to hit winners all the time? Do you play it soft and win? Like what's the recipe there, DL thing? I think, so I teach a lot. I teach pick a ball and I help people. And when I go play with players, I play to their level. And I think that what you do is you'd play to help them. And I tried to help a player like I'm not going to do a smash you or do a body bag on you. I'm going to help you hit the ball so you can hit it back. So I think that's what you would do. Well, but if you're trying to date somebody, though, try to get their number after what's the, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I'm asking the question. I mean, I guess we'd have to say, well, what is your game? How would you, you know, how would you approach this? Maybe that's a good. But we do. We have some questions. Yes. Here's some of our questions. We're going to ask. Ready? Do you prefer mixed doubles, singles or whatever? Get your heart rate up. Mixed mixed doubles, non-mixed doubles, singles, whatever the heart rate is. Yeah. That was a tough one. I just prefer whatever is fun. OK. And that's depending on who you're playing with. That's a pedantic answer. But, you know, if there's like. I like playing against people who are way better than me because I'm just it's so fun to try to beat somebody and it's just you should play Mike. We can do it. Yeah. Let's do it tonight, man. OK. So then are you the player who apologizes too much or never? Sorry not sorry. Oh, I like it. I think that's OK to be a little sassy, right? You know, in my book, it is. I like it. Yeah. Well, and that's that's what this is about. You got to be who you are. Right. Or it doesn't work. If you're fake here, it's not going to work. You know what I mean? Well, and it's hard to you. It's really hard to be fake on pickleball. Like I think on one of the dating aspects is just if you're playing on the court with someone you're interested in, you see if they have a line call in or very close how they play that. Or there's just so integrity is what you're saying. Yeah. You get a lot. They have integrity. You get a lot of insight into individuals and not do they have it or not, because I don't know what the distribution is there, but you get an idea of someone's integrity very quick. Yeah. Makes sense. Yeah. Well, we hope to come out to a lot more of these and have some fun. I think there's a Valentine's Day coming up. One news to me, and I think there might be. There might be. So real question for y'all, do y'all ever play pickleball together? We do play pickleball. Actually, I coach. I've actually helped. You know what he does? He did body bag you. Yeah. No, he didn't. But no, what he does is when we're playing, like as he's like my teammate, right? Supposedly teammate, like I'll be on this side, on the right side. And all of a sudden I'm standing there ready to go get the ball. Guess who pushes me out of the way? And then who's the sneakier person or the quirkier person on the court? I don't know. No, I just get. I just go crazy. I go ball crazy. So if I'm forehand, I take the whole court, you know, I take most of the court. But I did knock her over. What's happening? Like I'm going in circles around her. She's like, what are you doing? But I get crazy, right? I mean, I want to play. So he's crazy. Yeah. That bug bites you on the court. Sometimes you're like, I'm just chilling. You get the ball halfway up and you're like, this is my time. I got to hit that. Oh, yeah. That was one of the moments. So I was like hitting every ball. It's like, what are you doing? You know, but I teach. I help. I help people play. I don't. I don't charge people. I tell you, knock you out. I knock you out. But I teach at the Hilton Emberness. I give people free lessons. I have lots of people who call me just to do drills. And so, I mean, I give back. I want people because the more people I make better, the more people I have to play with. Right. At the end of the day. Absolutely. And I'd love to join you in one of those sessions at some point. Oh, absolutely. I told her tonight. She says you already had somebody. But I'm more than happy to come here and help ahead and help people and give them pointers. You know, because we don't know what we don't know. Right. And this game has a lot of moving parts to it, even as it looks like you just hit a ball over a net. There is some strategy to it. You know. Absolutely. Well, just let me know when and where and I'll be there. Oh, we'll get there. Yeah. We're building a relationship here with you guys. So I think we're going to be seeing each other a lot more. You'll be seeing us more. Yeah. Hope you all like seeing us more. Yeah. We do. We will. We just like the energy. Wow. You bring great energy to this. Yes. And it's awesome. And you're bringing great people in the community. The people bring great energy. We don't normally do so much, but like the people that show up here, they're really what make these events happen. And they're really why more and more people show up. And they're having fun out there. Yeah. Yeah. No, they are having fun. Look at them. And people are still playing. We don't even have the courts anymore and they're still playing. I know. I know. I'm like, you know, it's over and they're still playing. And it's a hard problem to have for sure. So they're having fun. It is. Well, thank you for coming on. Well, thank you, Michael. We really appreciate it. Can you give us some shout outs to how people could get involved more with this with you guys? Oh, I should be better at this. We're on Pickle Match at Instagram. We're on Pickle Match app on the iOS and Pickle Match app on Android. But if you ever want to message us directly with feedback or ideas, just DM either of us. We'll respond immediately. And we look forward to interacting and responding to all the feedback we get, because this is all for the people that show up for this and we want to make sure more people show up and people keep having fun. Guys, the value of this, too, I just have to say that what you charge is incredible. I can't believe you can get it. It's compared to going to a date like picking dinner and a movie and everything. You're talking one hundred and fifty dollars or more. It depends on what you want to spend on. But I mean, what was this? Twenty eight dollars. And you got three hours to pick them all. Well, they're still playing. They're still going. Twenty eight dollars. But everyone gets a free bag. Yeah. Snacks. Yeah. Like coupons from all of our sponsors. Like it's. And you can go on the expensive date after this. Exactly. That's awesome. But that's what I'm trying to say is the value of what you're giving people. It's not like you're trying to make money. You're putting people together. This isn't about a winner. Two hundred dollars to come play pickleball. I mean, you can't even rent a court anymore for four. It's forty dollars an hour. Yeah, you're right. We're not trying to make money. We're trying to bring people together. And then as long as they are brought together and they know that we're helping them, everyone wins. Everybody wins. Yeah. Yeah. And you're going to be all over the world. I mean, that's what's going to grow. Yeah. You know what I mean? So one day, one day. Yes. I like it. I like that. I do. The jet. We're in the jet. I like it. Well, thank you, Michael. Thank you, Michael. OK, so hi, guys. We're back and we are here with Masha and Sam and you guys participated tonight. And so tell us how to how to go. You guys are here together. Is that correct? Yeah. Tonight. Yeah. Well, we met tonight and we played together. He is a great I'm I'm a total novice when it comes to pickleball. So he backed you up. He did. Oh, I got it. All right. Which was great. Super nice. Super welcoming. So all of the vibes is what I've been saying. But wow. So many people. I gotcha. Yeah. Boom. He's there. Right. Thank you. Thank you. It's like he's on a little horse. Yeah. Riding over it. Grabbing the anchor. That hard shot for you. Well, tonight was my first night playing in 20 years. Oh, my. Oh, really? OK. I don't think you're even 20 years old. You look young. That's. Yeah. But this is so. But you. He played well, though. Right. He was ready to. But I think he was showing you how he could. He could get in there and be athletic. And I'm going to hit this ball and do my best. I can do. Right. Yeah. So did you guys play over here? We did. In the newbie area. OK. You know what? I'm a newbie. I'm a newbie. He's a newbie. Yeah. Play with her. Yeah. He knocks me out. Actually, it was an accident. Yeah. It was an accident. But, you know. No. And we aren't married. We're just like business partners. Yeah. Yeah. People are. We say partners and be like, oh, hey, how are you doing? Actually, this is my husband over here. Yeah. He's watching me. Yeah. My husband. Yeah. He's my bodyguard. He makes sure Mike's good. I'm doing good. He's married to Paula. Very sweet. Yeah. So. So go ahead. So when you went to go play, was that. Is it awkward? Is it fun? Is it like. Are your nerves a little bit. A little nervous for sure. No. It's so fun. Everybody is. The nice thing is like they group everybody here. So everybody's on the same level. And I made a joke that I basically let people practice serving all evening because there wasn't a lot of balling. Maybe once. That's all right. But everyone's so open and fun and willing to explain the rules, which is the big thing. It seems like a square dance on one side. Really. Well, don't you love the score? I have no idea. The scoring is the worst of all. You know how to score? I don't. I just knew I was losing. You always know when you're losing. Right. But I don't think you lost here. I think right here. Right next to you. You think you have a winner here. Yeah. Definitely. I like it. You're very shy. Yeah. He's there. He's shaking his head. But. He's smiling. He is smiling. But. So. So does this mean more pickleball for you guys? Is this something that you would do together? Like go try again to play some more pickleball? Yeah. Totally. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Do you guys. So do you guys live in this area? Both of you? Do you know? Actually, no, I don't. Where do you live? I live in Lewisville. And where do you live? I live in Arvada. Oh, so you guys aren't too far. You're not that far. And you got the relish. You got the relish over there by you. Have you been to the relish? Yeah. Oh, my God. Eight restaurants. 22 courts. Yeah. Crazy. That might be your first date. Yeah. Or would you call this a date? No. This isn't getting to know each other. Right. OK. Yeah. Definitely like an introduction. Yeah. Definitely like an introduction. Do you guys want to answer some questions for me? Sure. OK. All right. Here we go. So how are we doing this? They get a question each? Or what are we? Let's see what they answer each question. How they answer it. All right. Some of these, I'm going through because I want to make sure. OK. You do it. You're better at this than me. You wrote them. Paper scissors, you guys. Yeah. We fight. OK. You ready? OK. I'm going to go first. OK. What's your relationship style? Steady rally or an occasional power shots? Definitely a steady rally. Yeah. OK. OK. Sam? Same. I guess. Same. Oh, good answer. I think that would be a good answer because most of the guys would be like, power shot. Power shot. Yeah. Yeah. That was sweet. That was a point. OK. You get a point. Both of you guys. Are you the planner or the spontaneous adventurer? I'm definitely a planner. OK. And what about you, Sam? Definitely more spontaneous. Spontaneous. OK. So that's OK. This is spicy. This spices it up a little bit. This is good to know. Spicy. OK. OK. And then one more. You ready? Yeah. Now, I'm going to ask Sam this first, though. OK. Paddle tap or hug after a great point? Definitely hug. A hug? Oh. OK. Same? Maybe a paddle tap on the first game. On the first game. OK. And then like a hug. Once you get to know them. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I see some sparks here, though. I see some good. It's good to have a little different, right? Yeah. If it was both hugs right away, that wouldn't be fun. You're smiling over there, and you're a little embarrassed. We're putting you on the spot. Yeah. I wouldn't want to have these questions. I wouldn't answer. I'd be like, nope. I'm not answering. Yeah. I know. You don't talk anyway. No. I talk too much. That's my problem. I know. You do. But you do. This was wonderful. Yeah. And I mean, are you going to come to another one of these? Or is this, you know, is that the plan? Like you come back? Or is this after you come to one of these, it's like now you try to make that connection to see how that goes? Yeah. I think it's like coming, meeting. I mean, for me at least, it's like meeting as many people as you can, and then afterwards, like trying to continue that connection and see how it goes. Nice. Yeah. Well, I think these cards just helped you a little bit tonight, right? Yeah. You kind of, I mean, you kind of are on the same page. Yeah. And you live close. Can I take that stack home? Yeah. Yeah. No, you guys are wonderful. And I'm so glad you, I mean, it's such a great thing to come do compared to go to, I'm sure you both have been out on dates. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's just so nice to compare to go to, I'm sure you both have been out on dates, and you go to the restaurant, you dress up, and what food do you gotta eat? And you go through all this series and money and time and it's, and you really don't get to know each other. I think the pick of all, you're a little more loose. You're free. You don't, you're not right next to. You're not crowded. You have fun. Yeah. I can, I mean, if I was dating again, and if after this podcast, maybe I will be if I say some bad things to my wife, but, but anyway, long story short. I won't let you. Yeah, I won't let me. At the end of the day, I think what a better way to date, right? Yeah. I mean, just to not date or to meet somebody, and you don't have to feel so pressured, you know? Yeah. I was telling somebody that I was like, this is so nice, because you just like almost have to loosen up, literally, you know, and you get engaged, and you talk to the other people. And I feel like especially, probably no matter what the level is, but at the newbie level, like everyone is talking to each other, trying to figure it out, and you're just having fun, and everyone's, you know, shooting stuff over the net or whatever. And everybody's in the same position. You know, that's what's fun. Yeah. Yeah. That's the fun part of pickleball. Yeah. It's a wiffle ball and a paddle. I mean, it's not that big of a deal. Yeah. Now, if it's that big, if you want to make it that big of a deal, then become a pro, right? I mean, you know what I mean? But I think this is great. I'm so glad to get your feedback and, and to see this happen, like to get two of you here that are like, all right, there's a little sparks here. Well, and we will probably be at one of the others. So we'll have to talk to you guys then if you guys come in. We'd love it. We'd love it. Yes. Well, thank you for coming on so much and sorry to put you on the spot, but we love it. And then listen to us, Pickleballers Next Door, you can't hear this episode. And then you two will either be on the couch snuggling saying, remember that episode? What episode will that be? It will be like probably about 50 or something. Yeah. Something in there. So you guys will be on the next couple, probably in about a couple of weeks, you guys will be on and you'll be like, you'll be sitting on the couch watching the TV, right? Or you'll be like, erase, delete. It'll be a fond memory either way. Either way. It'll be good. Thank you guys. Have a great day. Thank you. Bye. Bye bye. Thank you. Testing. Testing. Testing. Testing. Testing. Testing. Testing. Testing. Testing. Testing. Testing. Testing. Testing. Testing. Testing. Testing. Testing. Um, we are here at the uh, third shot, the dating night. Um, and uh, Christina had to go out right now and get some uh, sweet sip. She was a little grumpy, so uh, I just wanted to put this on there so when she's editing, she'll remember. Tired of the same old, same old? Discover a Sweet Sip Nano CBD Sparkling Sodas. We're the delicious, low anxiety, non-alcoholic alternative you've been searching for. When you're on the pickleball court and you need a calm, this is your drink. Experience delightful flavor and a gentle calm. Try one today at DrinkASweetSip.com. Can I get a sweet sip, sweet sip, sweet sip? Can I get a sweet sip, sweet sip, sweet sip? 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