Meet Heidi Block | Co-Founder & CEO of Play-PKL

We had the good fortune of connecting with Heidi Block and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Heidi, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I think I’m an entrepreneur at heart. This is my second time starting my own “business”, though much of my career has been as an independent contractor so really I’ve almost always had my own business.

For Play-PKL, the business idea stemmed from my own lackluster experience when I entered the sport of pickleball during the early days of the COVID lockdown. After a friend taught me how to play, I went online to learn more about the rules and figure out what I needed to buy to get started. But the experience was terrible! There was very little content and no good brands in the space. Not sure what I needed, I ended up buying my first paddle on Amazon, but it was too heavy and came with indoor balls. Who knew there were different paddle weights and indoor vs. outdoor balls?

The only pickleball apparel I could find were goofy graphic Ts that said things like “I’m the Big Dill”, which was just not my vibe. As a career consumer marketer with a focus on innovation, I saw an opportunity to create a brand that offered engaging, educational content about the sport and stylish, US-made apparel and accessories. I also wanted to save others from the same frustrating experience searching for sport information and from making the mistake I’d made with the wrong paddle and ball purchase, so it was important that the brand provide simple, digestible information about what equipment to buy and how to play.

As the brand began to take shape, I knew that I wanted it to stand for more than just products–I wanted it to enable me to spread my love of pickleball. I’ve had so many people tell me that they want to learn pickleball but don’t know how to get started. I wanted Play-PKL to be that friend that everyone needs to help them get started playing. Because pickleball is such an easy sport to learn, it’s accessible to almost anyone with a desire to learn. I know so many people who are active–maybe they go to the gym several times a week or take daily long walks or hikes–but they don’t consider themselves athletes because they don’t play a sport. With pickleball, almost anyone can be an athlete, and that’s pretty awesome if you’ve never considered yourself one before. I believe Play-PKL can enable the inner athlete in everyone.

What should our readers know about your business?
Play-PKL is the premier pickleball brand designed specifically for recreational athletes. We offer great content and high quality, unique products, apparel and accessories. Play-PKL apparel is proudly made in the U.S. using recycled and sustainable materials whenever possible and environmentally friendly manufacturing processes.

I was able to launch Play-PKL because I had a vision and the drive to make it a reality. One of the most challenging aspects was my lack of experience in the apparel industry. I had to climb a pretty steep learning curve, since my background was in consumer packaged goods. I knew how to build a brand but had never heard of a Tech Pack, which is the detailed technical document that manufacturers require in order to sew apparel. Nor did I have any connections in the industry.

It’s been a great journey over the past year or so, finding a talented young fashion designer to bring my vision to life, fabrics that would be as comfortable as they were high performing, and a small US-based cut and sew manufacturer who was willing to take a chance on a start-up.

I want the world to know that you can do anything you set your mind to as long as you never give up.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Play-PKL was conceived on Long Beach Island (LBI), which is an 18-mile barrier island off the coast of New Jersey. I’ve been spending time there for the past 30 years and it’s truly my happy place, where I can put my feet in the sand and forget my worries.

I love hosting visitors and while we enjoy eating the fresh caught seafood at our favorite local restaurants like Shipbottom Shellfish, Black Whale and Stefano’s, one of our favorite traditions with guests is “Apps for Dinner” on our rooftop deck. I used to make appetizers for happy hour, but I found that everyone so enjoyed watching the sun set from the roof top–and was so full from the apps–that no one wanted to go to dinner. So we decided to make the apps the dinner and it became a tradition.

Other fun activities on LBI include relaxing on the beach, playing tennis, pickleball and kadima, taking long bike rides, shopping in Bay Village, shell hunting, and climbing Old Barney (our lighthouse).

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to credit my husband Jamie who believes I can do anything and supports me in it, and my friend Isabel Fath, who taught me how to play pickleball and whose talented daughter Vanessa designed my first collection.

Website: www.Play-PKL.com

Instagram: @play_pkl

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/play-pkl/

Facebook: @play-pkl

Youtube: @play-pkl466