In 2020, Karen and John Whitaker were like most of us during the pandemic. Doing their best to manage a new reality that featured lockdowns, furloughs, mask mandates, vaccination debates, and an inordinate amount of free time. It was during this time they became hooked on the suddenly booming sport of Pickleball. What began as a way to kill a few hours hitting the ball back and forth quickly escalated to six and seven-hour competitive sessions with an ever-growing community of local pickleball enthusiasts. The self-labeled “pandemic picklers,” had discovered a new passion that would only continue to build momentum over the coming months.
Looking back, Karen can smile remembering “We didn’t even know the proper way to play! We couldn’t keep score right, we didn’t know all the rules, we just knew we were having a great time.” As the hobby became a part of everyday life for Karen, she noticed the lack of quality apparel that was specific to pickleball. When she and John began to create the designs that would become the first dink.pro apparel offering, they did so with a deliberate goal: “We want pickleball players to be identifiable to one another.’ Karen continues, “when I used to wear a ‘Tennis Anyone?’ shirt, other tennis players would always make a comment. Why not do the same with pickleball?”
But as John says, “If it was easy, everyone would do it.” So they began the rather steep learning curve of retail sales. Both Karen and John have extensive business experience but this would be a new world altogether. With the help of friends, they began to connect with potential business partners; designers, printers, fulfillment centers, digital media consultants, social media influencers, public relations firms, and web designers…” We were drinking from a fire hose”, remembers John. And they quickly realized the importance of picking the right partners. “We learned some expensive lessons along the way. When you have finite resources, you have to be careful with the people you choose to come along for the ride.” But even that didn’t dissuade them from continuing to move forward, finally launching their apparel line in October 2022 after almost two years of planning, designing, and pivoting when necessary. “One thing we reminded each other, is the expensive lessons are the ones we won’t forget!” said Karen with a smile.
Throughout the trials, their overall goal did not change – design and produce functional and fashionable pickleball apparel, made for pickleball players by pickleball players. The dink.pro collection of shirts, hoodies, pullovers, jackets, and hats can be found here.
Here is the link to John and Karen’s Linkedin profiles to learn more about their work and what they stand for.
