2024 is starting off pretty relaxing! Jenny, Murray, and I are spending the first couple of weeks of the year in Austin, and we’re getting a lot of our wedding planning done. March 30 is right around the corner!
From there, we went to Cancun, Mexico for an Indian wedding of a good friend of ours! Sapna was Miss Connecticut when Jenny was Miss Wisconsin, and they’ve remained good friends ever since. It was an entire weekend affair replete with Bollywood dancing, horse riding, and all types of traditional Indian ceremonies!
Towards the end of January, I went to Pickle and Social to shoot some content. It was my first time to Pickle and Social in Gwinett, GA, and it did not disappoint! We filmed a ton of fun stuff! Danny Wuerffel and I had a french fry making competition and blind tasted some of Pickle and Social’s phenomenal foods, I made some margaritas, we did some rapid fire questions and quick tips, and we filmed a SportsCenter-type skit that’s going to be hilarious. Make sure to check out Pickle and Social on Instagram so you don’t miss it!
Thirty-5 Capital, parent company of ProXR and majority owner of the Chicago Slice MLP team recently announced the creation of United Pickleball Paddles (UPP). UPP brings paddle brands Paddletek, ProXR Pickleball and Boundless Pickleball under one umbrella. Its mission is to advance pickleball by developing the best equipment for all players regardless of skill and experience while gaining efficiencies in manufacturing and distribution. As a ProXR athlete, I’m thrilled to be part of this new entity and its future growth.
Thomas Shields and I have hit the ground running with new episodes (linked below for your convenience) to kickoff the new year! And we’re not alone. See who’s visiting the Picklepod!
The Fish That Ate The Whale – Rich Cohen
Zane’s Rating – 10/10
This was a departure from my recent selections which primarily focused on different elements of self improvement, but I can’t speak highly enough of this book. Maybe it was because I had low expectations; “What am I going to learn from a biography about a banana salesman?”, but this book delivered.
The Fish That Ate The Whale is a biography of Sam Zemurray, a Jewish Russian immigrant that founded a banana company and climbed to become one of the most influential people in the world. Sam prided himself on staying private as much as possible, which is why you may not be familiar with him. He climbed from selling unwanted bananas that were considered waste by the big fruit companies all the way up to running United Fruit Company, one of the most profitable and powerful companies in the world at the time.
Spoiler Alert
Along the way, he backpacked across Honduras, overthrew the Honduran government, sold his company, secured crucial votes in the establishment of the state of Israel, smuggled weapons to them in the Arab – Israeli war, dramatically took over United Fruit Company which he had sold his company to previously, and helped overthrow the Guatemalan government. Interesting dude.
Sam Zemurray may just be the most interesting person you’ve never heard of.
Congrats to the winner of our Grand Finale Giveaway, Jessica Cunningham! ✨
Jessica will receive a ProXR Paddle, Orlando Squeeze Swag, Yobow Massage Pistol, Thorlo Pickleball Socks, MyPickleball Coach Card, and MTE Wellness Powder! 🥳
Thanks to all who entered! Stay tuned to my IG account for future giveaways!
We are thrilled to share the exciting news that top pro Riley Newman has officially joined ProXR! 👏
Welcome to the team, Riley!
I think we can all agree, there’s nothing worse than grinding through a pickleball match in worn out, uncushiony, sweaty socks. Luckily I wear Thorlo Pickleball Socks, and I don’t have to live through this nightmare. You don’t have to either. Do yourself a favor and buy some!
If one of your new years resolutions is to get better at pickleball, then I’d love to help. Tune in and subscribe to my YouTube channel for some advice to improve your game. And leave comments and feedback, I try to respond to as many as I can!
