Interview of the founders “Padelistes “: a duo of passionate, crazy and committed brothers!

Antoine and Hugo Rapin are brothers. But they are also the co-founders of the show the “Padelists".

During an interview granted to Padel Magazine, they return to the origins of this crazy family and friendly adventure.

Back to the birth of a project

Antoine: The day we tried padel, we immediately saw that this sport was great. So we wanted to invest in it and potentially develop a whole host of subjects around the padel.

Basically, with Hugo, we are managers of bars and restaurants and also brothers. Today, we have a restaurant in Paris.

We like to create projects. Through venues, we also produce stand-up shows.

During confinement, for example, we created cooking recipes with comedians in order to bring together our two activities that were at a standstill: CoMMis CoMMique. On YouTube, 110.000 views for a video with Jason Chicandier.

It was the time that wanted that! In addition, the comedians were available since they could not do shows.

From there, we went to the French Tennis Federation to offer them our project.

They decided to follow us to develop our series of 8 episodes on the padel which is called "Padelists".

Hugo: Although the shows were made during the Covid period, we had the right. It was during the second confinement which was a little more flexible. We had the right to move, already for the work of the restaurant and then the shootings were also considered as a valid reason.

Focus on “Padelists ”

Antoine: Regarding the videos, we are between 50 minutes and 1 hour. We wanted a real format where we set up the meeting, a real mission.

At the start, we wondered if we shouldn't set up a club of padel. We inquired, then we quickly realized that it was complicated given the space to find, the extremely high prices.

From there, we thought that a good way to put both feet in the padel finally, it was already about playing and progressing, but also why not making video content.

We had two main axes on this subject: The first angle consisted of us, four friends in their thirties who were starting out in padel can set themselves the goal of making as much progress as possible in one year. The second angle was also to meet the entire middle of the padel. Whether it's the media, top athletes, young people, the disabledpadel, tournaments.

Antoine: For the end of the season, which would correspond to the end of August, there will be two important angles on this last episode: both the handicappadel and Greenweez Paris Premier Padel Major. We will finish with these two very beautiful events, but we are not there yet.

Goal top 1000?

Antoine: The best we predicted for us was the Top 1000 in one year, knowing that we start 17.000th. It's very ambitious!

Hugo: I think the goal could have been possible if we had had the time. We say to ourselves that now at the end of the season, a Top 5000 would be more coherent.

Antoine: When we did the first lap, Adrien Maigret said 5000. Some say 1000, but honestly we said to ourselves that a Top 1000 would be complicated since we would have to win five P100s and do five P250 semi-finals .

Especially since the level today is rising enormously. Even during a P25, you can sometimes find yourself with players who make P500 from time to time.

Highlights

Antoine: A program is an hour, and in this hour there are at least 6 or 7 sequences. There are a lot of rushes, but there are also highlights.

Meeting at the Roland-Garros center with Arnaud Di Pasquale who talks to us for an hour about padel and its development, it's huge. We were alone on the Roland exchange, which was almost privatized for the occasion. It was a moment that marked me personally.

Hugo: Also, when we went to Barcelona during the preparation camp for the France team, to find ourselves with all these champions. It was still impressive!

Antoine: In a super pivotal moment in addition because this is where everything was done at the level of the selection, it was the day before the selection.

Proximity to pro players

Antoine: The players were very accessible, that's also what impressed us. It's beautiful and as long as it lasts because with professionalism, it may be more complicated to have this accessibility in the future.

What's great is that we landed like that on this preparation course. We were invited by Mélissa Martin who also coached us at the same time by giving us small technical touches from time to time.

The two captains Robin Haziza and Pablo Ayma offered us an interview without any worries. Jérôme Inzerillo also chatted with us between two matches, as did Adrien Maigret.

Everyone was really friendly and approachable. There was also this desire to have content that deals with padel. But on the other hand, we felt that sporting level, it was really tense.

Moments more complicated than others

Antoine: Having the camera on us puts the pressure on. But we still want to progress throughout the season.

We also met Sylvain Wiltord, the legend. We would have loved to talk and do a little interview with him, but it was not the right time. He had other things to do at that time. It was a small disappointment, because we are a fan of the French team from 1998-2000, and obviously of Sylvain Wiltord. But we will have more!

The most successful episode according to you?

Hugo: On the day we speak, it must be remembered that there are only three episodes that have been released and that there are still five left.

Antoine: Currently, we are in the middle of the4 episode. Afterwards, I personally really liked the third one for two reasons: Already because you were there Franck (laughs) and then because we were in Marbella and Malaga. We were really at the origins of padel in order to look for the traces of the first track of padel.

In particular, we have guests like Stephen Brun and Daniel Riolo who came with us. It's not nothing !

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Antoine: The idea is all the same to follow the real temporality because our progress is still real. And over time and adventures, we meet people. It gives us ideas or desires, especially for the next episode.

The end point will be the G3 PM at Roland-Garros, it will really be the apotheosis of the season.

Until then, we will go to Annecy to see the level of research and development of shoes at Wilson.

We will also go to Marseille. We have guest leads, discussions with guests who we hope will come. A priori Akhenaton of the group IAM, which plays padel.

Hugo: We had also learned that the Lacheau brothers were playing at the Pyramids and we are on this track to play a little game with them. They are brothers, we are brothers so it could make for a nice episode!

Antoine: We are also working with some comedian friends so that they come with us for a nice little session to discover the padel.

It also means getting around, especially on the Cupra Padel-Point Tour which is a very nice circuit with nice events all over France. We are also registered for the July event here, live from the Pyramids.

Such a friendly adventure

Antoine: We must not forget our two friends because we are four friends in this adventure.

There is Hugo, the other Hugo (laughs), who works in town planning. He has his job but just like us, he was bitten by padel. We started the padel every four. And Francesco who is a luthier.

They are not with us at all times, because it is still the two of us who do the interviews. But in tournaments, we are two pairs padelists and we mix the pairs from time to time.

A possible season 2

Antoine: We want there to be a season 2, but it won't just be up to us. We don't know yet if it will again be a web-series of 8 one-hour episodes, with which partners, on which media...

But we think about it, we continue to progress and the padel is so booming that there are so many things to see and things to talk about. So yes, a season 2 is planned but we do not yet know in what form.

Eleonore Coulibaly

What a pleasure to be a journalist in the middle of the padel, an attractive growing sport. I hope you enjoy the content offered. See you soon perhaps on the slopes!