Meet Mike O’Malley

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mike O’Malley. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mike below.

Mike, we’ve been so fortunate to work with so many incredible folks and one common thread we have seen is that those who have built amazing lives for themselves are also often the folks who are most generous. Where do you think your generosity comes from?

At PKLN, “spreading the love” is at the heart of everything we do. From our free community clinics & after-school clubs to our charity tournaments & partnerships, we always aim to give back to our community & beyond.

This was something that was instilled in us at a very young age and something we preach to our own children today.

So when you ask me about generosity, I think about Mom. Mine & all moms.

Growing up, I watched my mom, pour her heart into selfless work, often going above and beyond to ensure those in need were cared for. She gave and gave and in her final act, she gave some more by donating her body to science.

Her influence shaped PKLN and our mission to “spread the love” through pickleball.

We believe in the power of community and the importance of giving back. Whether it’s organizing events, donating goodies, or supporting local causes, every action we take is inspired by our mother’s unwavering commitment to helping others.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

PKLN is a collection of artists & athletes, coaches & creators who believe in this game’s ability to change the world for the better.

Hailing from Berlin, MD, our craft pickleball brand is dedicated to spreading the sport globally and making a difference locally through a unique range of innovative products, events, & services that will make an immediate and lasting, positive impact on our community,

In less than a year, PKLN has grown into a formidable force within the pickleball industry and we have our sights set on a fun-filled second half of 2024!

In keeping up with our mission, we’ve helped spread the game & its love by sponsoring pickleball events and converting numerous tennis courts into pickleball courts. This coming school year we plan to launch the first after-school pickleball club in the region. And now, we are hosting our first (of many) charity pickleball tournament…

That’s right! As summer winds down this year, we’re aiming to heat things up on the picturesque campus of Worcester Preparatory School in historic Berlin, MD with an unforgettable weekend of pickleball action that we are affectionately calling, PKLNPALOOZA!

In addition to the round-robin tournament, we will have a picklepong tourney, skills challenge, bracket reveal, pickleball happy hours, costume contest, giveaways, food trucks, & much more! We have chosen to donate a portion of all proceeds from these events to Diakonia, a local homeless shelter, while the remainder will be reinvested into the local pickleball community.

We hope to share our latest designs and creations at PKLNPALOOZA! You DO NOT want to MISS THIS!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

1. Confidence: having the confidence to fail is crucial on any journey. Having the confidence to keep going after you fail is even more important. Confidence can take you a long way & don’t be afraid to fake it til you make it!
2. Respect: having respect for yourself and others along your journey is key. Respect the journey. Learn from others & teach others when you are in a position to do so. We are all in this together.
3. Adaptability: having the ability to adapt in any situation and being flexible along the journey are important. Sometimes things don’t go as planned. Find another path forward and keep it moving.

At the end of the day, we feel it’s all of our goal’s to keep our journey going. We have found these three qualities have helped us prolong our journey the most!

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

We are always looking for awesome partners and collaborators to help spread the love. We are also always on the lookout for amazing charities and causes to team up with for our events!

The pickleball community grows more and more each day and we have been loving meeting all of you who have introduced yourselves in the past few months! Please do not hesitate to reach out and introduce yourself!

This game has the power to change and together, we can make some special things happen. We’d love to hear what you think!

Whether you’d like to sponsor or collab on an event, product, or service, we are all ears and would love to chat more with you!

Please reach out to us at info@pklnpickleball.com and we will get back to you ASAP!

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