The RacquetX 2025 in Miami
RacquetX was eye opening!
We got to meet several of our favorite on-line content creators, which felt surreal. We attended their panel discussion where they talked about topics ranging from their creative process to their experiences with different endorsement and marketing deals. A key take away is that authenticity is essential to their fan bases (and livelihoods). So, when approaching an on-line influencer about a product, make sure the product is a good fit for the influencer’s brand and personality, and be prepared to pay them for the promotion. No one is going to “ShamWow” your product because you sent them free samples… content creation is a real job and they are way too busy to do your job for free. Nevertheless, that didn’t stop us from giving out Gobi Grip samples to see what people thought of the product and raise awareness of it’s unique mode of action.
RacquetX also held a Startup Competition, which was a great way to see what products are on the horizon. Startups ranged from club and tournament software to virtual 3D training technology. In the end, SportsAI took home the top prize for their innovative tech that uses AI to analyze shot biomechanics from video. Supnil, the CEO of SwingVision (we love their app!), opened the event by sharing his founding story and talked about the process of developing a commercial product. We got to meet him in person, and he was kind enough to give us some great business advice. We also discussed a potential collaboration to analyze the effect of Gobi Grip on tennis shot performance and will keep you posted when we have the data.
Paddle or Padel, that racket sport looks like a lot of fun! Padel is a virus and there is no cure
We discovered Padel, which is a fascinating combination of tennis, racket ball and maybe a little pickle ball too. We got to meet a former Padel pro (Sane) who showed us some of the new high-end racket tech. We talked about why he loves the sport and whether Gobi Grip might be useful for enhancing grip. He suggested the answer was “yes” since players are required to wear a wrist strap to prevent killing each other on court. He told us Padel is the fastest growing sport in the world (that’s his quote in the heading). I’m looking forward to trying Padel, and as luck would have it there is a fantastic facility just minutes from my house called “Pickle and Padel”. I signed up for a visitor pass and I hope to get some lessons soon and see if Gobi Grip is a good fit for the sport.
