From small-town Ontario to Arizona’s pickleball courts—and all the way to Shenzhen, China. Mark Shields didn’t just fall in love with pickleball. He went all in.

In this episode of Kitchen Conversations, I sit down with the founder of KOBO Pickleball to hear how a tennis player from Coboconk, Ontario, became a paddle entrepreneur with the courage to build something different.

At an age when many people are settling into retirement, Mark and his wife Gladys took on the challenge of building a brand. Their journey brings together decades of product development experience, a passion for the game and a willingness to challenge conventional paddle design.

That brings us to the KOBO Thunder Axe—a paddle whose striking shape caught my attention and sparked this conversation.

We get into:

• Mark’s transformation from pickleball skeptic to passionate player.
• Life at Palm Creek, Arizona, and the community that helped launch KOBO.
• Taking the leap from paddle representative to brand founder.
• The thinking behind the Thunder Axe’s shape, air channels and construction.
• Who the Thunder Axe is designed for—and why Mark says it isn’t a beginner paddle.
• Building trust and competing in a crowded paddle market.
• KOBO’s broader paddle lineup and its focus on passionate recreational and tournament players.

It’s a conversation about reinvention, backing yourself and following an idea far beyond anything you originally imagined.

📲 ALSO WORTH CHECKING OUT: KOBO StrokeCoach AI
As mentioned in my introduction, KOBO’s StrokeCoach AI app is in BETA testing and looking for players to try it and share feedback. Explore it here:
https://kobostrokecoach.ai

🏓 EXPLORE KOBO PICKLEBALL
Discover the Thunder Axe, the paddle lineup and more:
https://www.kobopickleball.co

💬 Would you try a paddle with a radically different design? Tell me what you think in the comments.

Subscribe to Kitchen Conversations for more stories behind the paddle, and share this episode with someone who believes it’s never too late to start something new.

#Pickleball #KOBOPickleball #MarkShields #ThunderAxe #KitchenConversations #PickleballPodcast #KOBOStrokeCoachAI #PickleballPaddles #CanadianPickleball #PickleballCommunity #PalmCreek #Entrepreneurship

And that wraps up this episode of Kitchen Conversations.

If you enjoyed the conversation, be sure to follow the show, leave a review, and share it with someone who loves the game as much as you do.

And if you want the full experience, including the visuals, head over to YouTube and watch the episode at

https://www.youtube.com/@KitchenConversationspodcast

Or search Kitchen Conversations Pickleball Podcast

That’s where these stories really come to life.

You’ll also find links and show notes in the episode description.

Until next time…

more than dinks, drops and drives…

these are stories from behind the paddle.