"Hi I am Namita, a mother of two kids. I’m originally Indian and have been living in Minnesota for 13 years. I am a fellow pickleball obsessed person and here is my story about it.
"Before starting pickleball I used to workout and lift weights, but I was never motivated towards cardio exercises. One day in May of 2022, I was grabbing the occasional beer at Lifetime EP athletic and Liz who is now one of the managers there was telling me about this new sport called pickleball and how it burns 300-400 calories in a couple of hours. This caught my attention, which I then followed up with “do you need a partner to play it?” And she informs me, I just have to show up to a mixer run by one of the coaches there named Raj. So I look up the next mixer and show up without any information about the game, thinking how bad could it be and this—coach Raj sounds like an Indian name, so if things didn’t work out I can always take a hike. Little did I know, this game would change my life.
"Raj turned out to be part Indian, he had me play in a 3.5 mixer, which if you follow pickleball for a new non-player is really tough to get in, let alone play. This mixer had a good group of people who were extremely nice and patient with me, who not only tolerated my bad play but have over the years given me good advice on my play.
"Pickleball has changed my life, it has given it structure, I have given up alcohol, my health has improved and my kids see how it motivates me. I don’t know how I lived before without this game. I have in turn inspired some of my friends to get into it and feel thankful for being part of just such a good community at Lifetime."
Written by: Namita
Stylish Namita found structure, motivation and health in the supportive pickleball community. Browse our collections of pickleball clothing to help empower you on your own transformational pickleball journey.