The following article about America’s top padel influencers is from guest columnist Freddie Hanbury, a sports marketing professional and padel enthusiast, who is seeking to chronicle some of the most influential players, thinkers, and business people in the U.S. padel world in light of the sport’s explosive growth across America over the past couple years.
This is the final installment of a four-part series and while the following U.S. padel personalities are featured in no particular order, we have added two additional “bonus” names to this list that we felt should be included.
Wayne Boich: Founder and CEO of Reserve Padel
The CEO of Boich Investment Group has had a remarkable career in the mining, energy, and property sectors. He’s also known as someone with a passion for racket sports, and most recently, yes, you guessed it, padel.
Having played tennis since he was five years old, Boich fell in love with padel on a holiday to France and is now best known for founding the “Soho House of padel”, Reserve Padel, with its flagship location hugging the Miami waterfront.
Boich quickly expanded his Reserve concept to New York and built Manhattan’s first padel courts before opening a second Reserve location in Miami’s Design District.
He was also the mastermind behind the recent Reserve Cup featuring the world’s top pros and an array of HNWI players. So it’s little wonder Boich is widely seen as a force to be reckoned with in the American padel sector.
Eric Loftus: President, Northeast Padel
With Loftus’s parent company Cape & Island Tennis and Track boasting a portfolio of over 3,350 courts and athletic surfaces and counting, Massachusetts-based Northeast Padel has all the hallmarks of being one of the padel construction sector’s “big ones” in the near future.
The affable and well-connected Loftus is also fast becoming one of the sport’s leading voices in the U.S. through his insightful podcast interviews and conference speaking engagements. Yet, it’s perhaps his intense focus on “quality-first” court construction that sets him and his company apart.
With a clear dedication to ensuring the very best standards and regulations are met, expect to see Loftus and his company make their mark on the private residential court market in addition to the public court and club markets going forward.
Andrew Petcash: Founder, Profluence
Who would have thought that a former D1 basketball player would become a statistical wizard? Not many, but Petcash is living proof that it can happen. With over 20,000 followers on LinkedIn, his sporting knowledge is now influencing thousands around the world.
He’s recently taken on the world of padel and has begun uncovering invaluable data on what drives the sport both on and off the court. As Petcash’s work is proving, padel is much more than just a game played with four players, and there is an almost endless amount of potential for investment in communities that can be built around new facilities. Which is why Petcash will no doubt be an integral part of padel’s future growth in the U.S.
Gabriel Perez Krieb: Chairman Taktika Padel, San Diego Stingrays, and Chosen Foods — a U.S. Padel Association (USPA) sponsor
According to fellow influencer Ryan Redondo: “Krieb is silently in every nook and cranny of the U.S. padel industry. He is the vice president of the USPA, and has funded the national teams and all of the circuits for USPA for many years now.”
And, keep in mind, that’s all in addition to the key roles he plays behind-the-scenes for both the rapidly expanding Taktika Padel empire and the San Diego Stingrays Pro Padel League franchise.
So, while you may not always hear about Krieb’s massive contributions to the game, he is still shaping the sports future here in the U.S. in a major, albeit quiet, way.
Ben Nichols: Founder and CEO, Padel 22
Having founded the world’s first padel-dedicated communications and marketing consultancy, Padel 22, the U.K.-based Nichols has been on a crusade to promote padel around the globe to anyone willing to listen. And given the fact he’s been dubbed, “the pioneering voice of the global padel revolution,” he’s obviously caught the attention of many.
With a growing band of followers on both sides of the Atlantic, this visionary global communications professional has quickly grown his own distinctive brand of padel PR, and built up a reputation as an effective communicator through his work for the likes of Taktika, Padel Haus, Northeast Padel, and RacquetX.
Padel’s recent growing profile in the U.S. can in large part be put down to Nichols and his work in creating awareness for the sport. Expect much more from him and Padel 22 in the years ahead.
Jared Finklestein: Leading U.S. padel ethusiast and evangelist
Of Finklestein’s role in the U.S. padel scene, fellow influencer Ben Nicholls says, “He’s a big padel player in Miami and really nice guy. He’s also a big padel ‘fixer’ — he constantly connects people, just voluntarily and out of the goodness of his heart really. He’s very passionate about the game and is really helping to move the industry along.”
Combine this with the fact that Finklestein has done everything from playing for Miami in the recent America’s Cup of Padel… to representing the U.S. Padel Association at RacquetX in Miami… to appearing on numerous padel podcasts including Padel Smash Academy, and you’ll begin to get some sense of just how influential Finklestein is — and will be going forward — in the U.S. padel world.
Tim Bainton: COO, Epic Padel
For most, being the largest operator of padel clubs in North America would be a pipe dream, but for Tim Bainton it is non-negotiable.
Bainton has made a career out of perseverance, determination, and thinking outside the box. And given his knack for success, it’s a safe bet that his new business, Epic Padel, will have a major impact on the industry here in the U.S. going forward.
With investments in some of the biggest brands in the padel world today including TWOTWO, Bond Racquet Club, and The Hexagon Cup, it’s also clear Epic Padel has a wide reach and will look to help further drive the explosive growth of the sport not just in the U.S. but also abroad.
