Being An Attacking Player, In Chess, Business, And Life

With Evan Meyers, Co-Founder of Padel Society Austin

I was early to the party on pickleball. So early, in fact, that when I suggested doing a story about it to my editor at The Hustle, he eyed me reservedly, as if deciding whether to cast me into the desert or merely get me some kind of brain doctor, then asked me to think of something else.

A few weeks later, covid happened, pickleball became the biggest thing ever, and I was granted the only point I ever scored in the perpetual rally with my wise and sage editor, who (as all writers know) was essentially right about everything else, forever, always.

Anyways, given how early I was to the dink, it’s a bit of a surprise that I seem to be one of the last to hear about padel (I think, from a Chris Williamson pod).

I’ll tell you right now, it’s got all the same energy as those early pickleball days, and so I was stoked to come across Evan Meyers, and notice he was building some of the first indoor padel courts to Austin.

I knew we had to get him in here.

Padel Society, which is set to open later this month, is home to six air-conditioned courts, a full bar, red light saunas, golf simulator, and a full coworking space.

So without further ado, here’s Evan…

Rendering

1. Okay, tell us about your business! What's the backstory? And how did you get your first customer.

It all started with a hobby. I moved to Austin, started playing pickleball to meet new people and get involved with the community. A friend of mine told me about Padel, he brought me to play for the first time in early 2024 and I immediately got hooked. I could see why it was the fastest growing sport in the world.

I got obsessed, started playing 3-4x a week. Met a lot of great people along the way, including my two Co-Founders and great friends, Andres Iturbide Beltran and Thanh Pham.

It started as a very plain and simple idea. We played and it was hot outside and we wanted to play longer but couldn’t bear the sun. Why not build padel indoors in AC?

Well we started doing more research and realized it’s a very successful business model in other markets and we set out on our journey from there.

Two years later, we’re set to open doors at the end of Sept 2026.

We sold out our founding memberships, with nearly 130 sold in just four days. Our original goal was 100, but we ultimately had to close sales to preserve the member experience. That early demand has been incredibly validating and has us even more excited to bring a premium indoor padel club to Austin.

2. What’s one unconventional decision you made early in your business that you believe set you apart from competitors, and how do you think it shaped your trajectory?

Patiently waiting to build the right facility in the right location rather than rushing to be one of the first in Austin. Padel is on an amazing trajectory in the US and in ATX. With that, every part of us wanted to get open as quickly as possible. We came very close to forcing the wrong warehouse, the wrong location, and ultimately we wouldn’t have built the premium experience we’re looking to bring with Padel Society.

With that, we made a collective decision that if it meant opening up a 9 months later but it means we don’t cut a single corner, that is how we want to build this out. Great things take time. We have nearly 40 foot ceilings for top level play, AC, premium amenities, and a design with purpose that puts a center 360 bar in between all of the courts. I think when people walk into Padel Society they will see the attention to detail, the investment we made to provide a top notch facility and experience and we’re very proud of that.

Early days at the warehouse

3. What’s one book most people have never even heard of that you think is worth reading. (DIG DEEP – we’re looking for the books you’ll never see on the NYT list)

The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal – alright so admittedly I’m a huge chess nerd. I’m obsessed, borderline addiction. In between meetings if I have 5-10 minutes of downtime I’ll play a game of chess online. Chess has taught me a lot about life.

A few things I really love about Mikhail Tal:

First, he played the game unconventionally. He did things others didn’t see, sacrificed pieces, found creative openings, he zigged where others zagged. I love that when it comes to life. There are so many ways to go about life and ultimately there isn’t one right or wrong way.

The only wrong way in my opinion is not playing the game at all. Go out there, fail, try again, fail again, and keep playing the game (chess or life depending how you read this). This is how I’ve always wanted to build a business and live my life. We get one shot at this thing, I didn’t want to be in the corporate race for 50 years and retire and that’s it. I want to wake up and have passion for what I’m doing.

Second, I think chess can teach a lot of people valuable lessons in the game of life. Very rarely when something impacts our life, is the first gut reaction, immediate emotional response the right move. Sometimes, being the one to sit back, observe, and try to think 3-5 moves ahead is the one that finds the right move. I take a lot of pride in being patient and analytical and trying not to make rash decisions.

Lastly, if I’m going full chess nerd here, Mikhail was an attacking player. I think that is an awesome mentality. Be bold and take some risk. Throw some stuff at the wall and see what sticks. I don’t want to wait for opportunities to come land in my lap, I want to create them. So when Andres, Thanh, and I all agreed that one day someone would eventually build indoor padel in Austin; we all were on the same page, lets take action, let’s be the one to go after it!

An early render of the space

4. What’s one belief about entrepreneurship you held when you started that you’ve completely abandoned, and what made you change your mind?

That people are natural born entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship isn’t a random skill you’re born with. What’s changed my mind is building out Padel Society. Go through 2 years of ups and downs, fundraising, dealing with real estate, failing a few times, and persevering through it. Not to mention going from a well paying job to no salary for a year. It’s really tough.

I think people romanticize and underestimate the sacrifice it takes to actually do it. I think one of the biggest strengths an entrepreneur can have is the tenacity to believe in your vision, in themselves, and in their co-founders and to keep going after it and fight through adversity.

5. What’s one purchase of less than $1,000 that’s made the biggest impact on your happiness, health, or wealth?

My pup Hank. He was technically $50 adoption fee so cheat answer here. Wealth is a very loose definition, to me it doesn’t necessarily mean how much money is in your bank account. Having an amazing support system at home that includes my fiance and two awesome dogs is what really matters to me and keeps me going.

6. (Optional) Are you married? If so, how’d you meet your spouse, and what role have they played in your entrepreneurial journey?

Engaged, getting married October 3rd this fall. Going to be a crazy next two months. We met in a dog park 4 years ago in Austin, both of us from Virginia randomly met in ATX and haven’t looked back since. I wouldn’t possibly be where I am right now with this if it wasn’t for Erika.

She’s the one that pushed me to quit my full time sales job and go all in on this. She’s been an incredible support system and Padel Society wouldn’t exist without her. Find you someone who buys you extra guac at Chipotle when you’re on a broke entrepreneur journey, she’s a keeper.

The Krieg baseball fields. Will take the dog off leash over there to throw him the ball. It’s a great place to get outside, have some peace and quiet, and have enough time to yourself to properly think.