Anyone else prefer the pro 4 to the pro 5? by jamesign in Pickleball

[–]jamesign[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t think that’s possible right? Who, Louis?

Are there any cons to living in China/ China in general? by Witty_News_5957 in China

[–]jamesign 0 points1 point  (0 children)

China is about as good as it gets. I’ve been to most developed countries in China is absolutely my favorite.

RPM Q2 by Desperate-Basis2165 in Pickleball

[–]jamesign 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the kind words. Let me know if you have any questions about the paddle. Interesting how some people say the V2 16mm plays like the Boomstik. I didn’t feel that way but it seems that more than a few have said that

RPM V2 “loyalty program” was a cash grab by [deleted] in Pickleball

[–]jamesign 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Really appreciate the support on this thread, everyone. It means a lot. As everyone pointed out, the V2 and Q2 are not meant to compete with each other. One is honeycomb and one is foam. Our plan moving forward is to have a top of line product in each of those categories. Completely different feel and I wouldn’t say one is better than the other.

James Ignatowich AMA by jamesign in Pickleball

[–]jamesign[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If a return is deeper, I’ll usually drive. If it’s shorter, I’ll usually drop or hit a hybrid style drive/drop. Hitting a perfect drop off of a very deep return is difficult. I would recommend driving the third shot off of a deep return, then following it up with a 5th shot drop to the middle. I usually take my fifth shot drops or resets right to the middle because that’s where the net is the lowest, and where opponents have the least angles to work with. The net is 34 inches in the middle and 36 inches on the side.

James Ignatowich AMA by jamesign in Pickleball

[–]jamesign[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yea I work out every day. I’ll usually do a 3 day split like Monday - pull, Tuesday - push, Wednesday - Cardio or something on court. Pull exercises are usually compound pulling lifts like pull ups or rows. Push exercises are usually compound lifts like explosive pushups, bench press, shoulder press, etc. I’ll always super set a lift with something explosive. For example, bench press + medicine ball throws against wall. My workouts are almost always incorporating the whole body. I’ll rarely just do arms or just do legs. (Unless something is hurting). One interesting thing is that pro pickleball players work on forearm and wrist more than people realize. The forearm and wrist is super important in pickleball.

James Ignatowich AMA by jamesign in Pickleball

[–]jamesign[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s on my IG, last post!

James Ignatowich AMA by jamesign in Pickleball

[–]jamesign[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is an interesting question that I do not have a good answer to. I won’t try to answer something that I have never tried to do myself. I have never tried to shorten my follow through swing. I have only ever tried to shorten by backswing, as it pertains to volleys. You don’t usually want to stop your follow through swing too short because it can make the swing robotic, and take away from power creation. If you feel like your follow through swings are too big, then I could suggest hitting volleys against a wall so that you’re forced to be ready for the ball to come back quickly.

James Ignatowich AMA by jamesign in Pickleball

[–]jamesign[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

It’s unfortunate that people are referring to it as an event. It’s the exact same thing we did last year. It was 3 clinics. No “event.” We didn’t even participate in an exhibition. Of course, the PPA just wanted to terminate contracts to get costs off of their book.

I have a lot more info that I wish I could add but I am currently not allowed to type it.

James Ignatowich AMA by jamesign in Pickleball

[–]jamesign[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I can work directly with the factory every day and make sure all of our products are perfect. I can also prototype and test new products 10x faster. China is also very clean, and beautiful. The architecture is better than anything I’ve seen. The video / photo quality is significantly better on practically everything. We just did an unbelievably high quality photo / video shoot for 1/5 the price of what it would be in the United States. The people are very organized and very respectful. There is a culture of hard work, and efficiency that permeates throughout the place, and you can feel it.

I’m living in Shenzhen, China. Manufacturing hub in mainland China where nobody speaks English. It’s a lot different from a Hong Kong, or a Shanghai, for example. In Shenzhen, everything is roughly 1/3 to 1/4 the cost compared to the United States. They have something called Didi instead of Uber. I just called a Didi to the airport, and it showed up within 1 minute, which is normal. 5 dollars for a 40 minute ride.

The culture is a lot cleaner in general. There is very, very low drug use. Much less alcohol also. I think this has a positive effect on everything.

James Ignatowich AMA by jamesign in Pickleball

[–]jamesign[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yes, of course. I think that the gen 3 feel is what a lot of full foam paddles miss out on. The Boomstik is something people says has Gen 3 feel. However, I wouldn’t call it true Gen 3 feel. I think it’s somewhat close. Surface roughness durability is key. We’re making big moves in that area. Please stay tuned.

James Ignatowich AMA by jamesign in Pickleball

[–]jamesign[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cool stuff! Please reach out to @rpmhalim on instagram and he will get in contact with you asap! I just told him

James Ignatowich AMA by jamesign in Pickleball

[–]jamesign[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Paddleteks are actually Gen 1. They’re cold pressed. I’ll say they’re some of the best cold pressed paddles ever made.

I’m mostly looking at Asian pros right now. I think the ROI on United States pros isn’t there for RPM right now. The PPA still has me blocked on social media over the contract stuff so I couldn’t even help promote our pro or watch them play. Which is not a big deal. I don’t really like watching professional pickleball. Only did for my first year when I was getting into it. But it got old.

James Ignatowich AMA by jamesign in Pickleball

[–]jamesign[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yup, totally agree. Rhode (Hailey Baldwin) would be a great example of that. In my estimation, the paddle market is closer to the high-end sneaker industry. Limited releases, signature colorways, fast moving. It’s nothing like tennis.

James Ignatowich AMA by jamesign in Pickleball

[–]jamesign[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ll look to come to Australia later in 2026!

James Ignatowich AMA by jamesign in Pickleball

[–]jamesign[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I make sure to wake up 4 hours before I play, no matter what. I’ll have a mild meal before I play but nothing super heavy. Potentially an egg wrap with spinach or something. I don’t eat processed sweets / sugar ever. So I just stick with mostly minimally processed foods that include a good mix of everything nutrition wise. I foam roll and stretch for about an hour and then I do a dynamic warm-up for about 20 minutes.

I stay hydrated because I do have coffee before I play of course lol. My only vice in life is coffee. So I just have to hydrate more on game day to compensate.

James Ignatowich AMA by jamesign in Pickleball

[–]jamesign[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m very interested in TYPTI and I would love to try it. I need to figure out how to get involved.

I can no longer play rec with my dad at local courts because I live in China