Life Time creates its own pickleball as the sport booms

Tired of playing with pickleballs he found inconsistent in bounce and durability, Life Time‘s founder and CEO Bahram Akradi decided to take matters into his own hands.

On Friday, the upscale fitness and lifestyle company announced it has created what it dubs “the ultimate pickleball.” Life Time will debut the ball exclusively at the company’s clubs later in August.

“This was a problem with the sport and it needed to be solved, so we basically stepped in and solved it,” Akradi said.

Akradi has gone all in on the sport that has been America’s fastest growing since 2021, and he remains bullish on its potential. It’s a key piece of the growth strategy for Life Time, which has seen its stock rise 57% year to date. On Aug. 1, the company raised its full-year guidance following a strong second-quarter performance.

Life Time will soon sell the ball at its racquet sports pro shops and online. The company is still determining what the price will be.

Life Time’s “athletic country clubs” boast more than 700 permanent pickleball courts. The company plans to expand that to 1,000 courts by the end of 2025.

“Our goal is to provide the right venues for people to play, the right experience, the right consistency,” Akradi added.

Akradi said the company has invested between $50 million and $100 million in pickleball already, and the sport has brought in 6% to 7% of Life Time’s membership dues.

Life Time also hosts professional tournaments at its clubs for Major League Pickleball and the Professional Pickleball Association. The professional organizations use Vulcan as their “official ball,” but Akradi hopes to change that in the future.

In May, the company announced Lululemon as its official apparel sponsor for tennis and pickleball.

The company has also teamed up with tennis legend Andre Agassi and top-rated pickleball player Ben Johns to grow the sport further.