Léo Poulain: “It may be my last chance to reach a professional level in a sport, so I want to go for it”

At 25 years old, the Rennes has boundless ambitions. He is both an entrepreneur with his companyThe Court', founded with Arthur Mary (brother of content creator Jules Mary), but also fanatic of padel, a multi-faceted man who has already experienced several defining moments in his life.

As a teenager, he realizes that school is not for him. He then tried a career in gaming.. His daily life is punctuated by endless Fortnite sessions and a life disconnected from reality. Despite a semi-professional level, Leo is mentally and physically affected, he then decides to stop. It was ultimately his tennis teacher who “saved” him. Registered “in spite of himself” for the tennis teacher's diploma, he brilliantly passed the exam and became a tennis teacher. He then embarked on a career as a content creator. Tired of the sport he has been practicing for 16 years, Léo discovers padel. The former “ham slicer” falls in love with this fashionable discipline. Podcasts, tournaments, partnerships, Léo feeds an excessive passion for the little yellow ball. In September, the founder of the podcast 'La Chiquita' moved to Malaga for 6 months with one goal in mind: to challenge the best French players.

Tennis is the beginning of everything

I played tennis for 16 years, reaching level 3/6, and I taught this sport for 6 years. As a creative person, I started making videos about TikTok thanks to the encouragement of my students, and I managed to attract 200 000 subscribers. Afterwards, I met another content creator, Jules Marie. I decided to accompany him on the circuit to help him in the creation and management of his videos, an activity that I really enjoyed. I finally left my position as a tennis teacher to follow him on the circuit and develop our respective social networks, which I did for three to four months.

I then had the opportunity to meet the CEO of Célio, Sebastien Bismuth, who asked me if I could do the same for his company. So I stopped my project with Jules Marie and I focused on companies, in particular Celio, Decathlon, BNP Paribas. I started looking for a way to link my work and my passion.

Between passion and disgust, the line is very fine

When I engage in a sport, I invest myself 10% in it. I played 3 hours a day, gave parallel lessons and released 3 to 4 videos a day. All in all, I spent about 10 hours on the tennis courts, which was unbearable. At one point, I broke down. I experienced a kind of Benoît Paire syndrome, that is to say that at the mere idea of setting foot on a tennis court, it made me want to vomit.

Le padel comme une évidence

I discovered the padel almost a year ago and I realized that it was an environment full of entrepreneurs. So I was able to quickly combine my two passions. In tennis, I had reached my maximum potential and I had a rather particular style of play. I used the shops a lot (hence the term “ham slicer”) and I served with a spoon. When I discovered the padel, I realized that my technique was perfectly adapted to this sport and that it was not at all limiting, unlike tennis.

For me, there are four pillars padel : tactics, physical, mental and technical. Whereas in tennis, to reach a high level of play, it is the technique that takes precedence. There is no limit in the padel and that's what seduced me.

The man with many hats

I define myself as an “entrepreneur-pade playerI". My objective is both to earn a good living and to develop my level of play as much as possible. The money that I generate thanks to my business and my partnerships allows me to finance training courses. The first few months were devoted to adapting and understanding how this environment works. From September, I move to Malaga for intensive training with trainers, with the aim of competing with the best French players. It's a long-term project, I'm aware that it requires time and above all a lot of work.

Social networks are essential to democratize the padel

My positioning on social networks is a continuation of what I was doing in tennis, but I wanted to approach it differently. I position myself a bit like an influencer for different events. I created 'La Chiquita' to democratize the padel, but also to create links. Agreements are formed and this can give rise to entrepreneurial projects

Today, there is not enough content creation, which is also why tennis is suffering. Patrick Mouratoglou is trying to develop it too and that's a good thing, but he's almost alone. THE padel is freer and this also explains its meteoric rise.

For something to go viral, it has to reach everyone. THE padel is still a niche market in France, so videos rarely go viral. The real difference I see is on LinkedIn. There are many entrepreneurs and the padel very attractive. Olivier Ramel (CEO of KYMONO) makes posts on the padel and they are still going viral on this network.

Le padel it is above all a healthy competition

When I discovered the padel, I arrived with my mentality as a tennis player. I quickly realized that was the wrong approach. Over the months, I have evolved a lot thanks to the encounters I have been able to make. My coach in Malaga made me progress as a person. The goal is to maintain a healthy environment. Whether it's with Nicolas (Paolorsi) or the others, the atmosphere is far from toxic, on the contrary, we support each other. Each of us can contribute something positive, which allows me to grow as a person.

I play the game and I do it thoroughly. However, if tomorrow there is more money in the padel, mentalities are likely to change.

After the Top 500, the Top 100 in sight

I wanted to make sure I reached the Top 500 in order to unite the community around me. In the end, I completed this challenge two weeks earlier than expected.

Regarding the Top 100, I haven't set a date because I'm going to be in Spain, I'm going to participate in a lot of tournaments there and I know it won't count for the French circuit. If I play with Top 100 players, I could go up quickly, but that's not the goal, I don't really see the point. I want to be proud of what I accomplish. I played twice with Julien Seurin and Jean Thomas Peyrou, but I won't do it again. I'm not criticizing this experience, on the contrary, I learned a lot during these two tournaments and I made good progress.

A long and winding road

I know the road is long and I am well aware of that. I have an example to follow: Damian Marcel, a high-level gaming coach, who is also a mental coach for me. He always tells me:life is not a sprint, but a marathon, so the road is long“. I am determined to achieve my goals and I don't want to cut corners.

On a mental level, my entourage and my girlfriend are there to support me. Tennis has hardened me a lot, it teaches us the rigor of sport and loneliness. I'm a huge anime and manga fan and often refer to characters when I'm going through tough times.

Malaga, holy land of padel

From September 1, I will be in Malaga for 6 months. The goal is to reach my best level of padel and progress as a human being. At the beginning, I arrived with a goal that my coach did not like, he immediately reduced my level of competitiveness to learn humility and self-questioning. I have already done a course and I was really impressed by the intensity of the workouts.

In Malaga I met Antonio Alamillo. He is 20 years old and has a truly inspiring story. He doesn't have a ranking because he started a short time ago. But my coach in Malaga believes in him a lot, he thinks Antonio could be a rising star. I decided to finance it and develop its social networks. I will play with him in Spain. Not in a tournament, but face to face to work on my technique and my tactics. We help each other. In Spain, even if a player is very talented, it's really difficult to find a partner because there are a lot of talented players there. Drill into the padel represents a real financial investment, there are sacrifices to be made.

The objective at the end of these 6 months is to participate in as many P500 and P1000 tournaments as possible to compete with the best French players.

A preparation with physical and mental limits

I aim to be one of the best French players, but there is one thing I am not ready to do: integrate the professional circuit. Traveling from country to country every week is not for me. I got a taste of this lifestyle with Jules (Marie) and, frankly, I want to get away from it. I am quite a homebody. Admittedly, I am going to Malaga, but everything is well planned. I know that I leave for 6 months and that I come back one week per month to see my relatives.

Physically, the problem is that I havei have a back hernia. During my internship in Spain, I came home earlier than expected because my back was really hurting, it was bent at 90 degrees. I chose not to have the operation because otherwise I would lose a year. My other weakness is my legs. I have the explosiveness of a 90-year-old grandfather, which is a real shortcoming. My physical trainer works a lot on my ability to explode, because it is essential in the padel.

I'm really confident about my progress and I want to go all the way, even if it means taking risks. In tennis, I was already lucid and I knew that I had reached my maximum potential, but I think I have real potential in the padel and I don't want to waste time. This may be my last chance to reach a professional level in a sport, so I want to go all out.

Spain is another world

In France, my coach made me work on technique in the first place, but when I arrived in Spain, I quickly understood that it was the opposite. It's the tactic that is at the heart of the approach and we quickly understand that this is the most important aspect of the game.

I remember a rather striking experience. When I arrived in Spain, I saw a player holding his racket like a frying pan. As a joke, I told my coach, “I can easily beat him”, and my coach replied: “He's one of my best players, don't worry, we'll talk about that in a few weeks ”. When I saw him play, I quickly understood that he was extremely talented. Today he is my favorite player. His name is Karlos Rodríguez, also known as “Karlitos”. He is humble, never brags about his style of play and inspires me a lot.

In Spain, I was taught the importance of the lob, the most powerful shot in the padel. As tennis players, we tend to play a lot of low balls, but the goal in the padel is to get the net. Once you master the lob, you move more easily into the offensive phase. In Spain, they play a lot of lobs. The main objective is to defend in order to then be able to attack. My coach in Spain has a process with 45 defense steps to follow. Once you have validated a stage, you move on to the next for 6 months, until you master the attack.

More than in the game itself, it is in the state of mind that Spain differs. Players and spectators come to Spain to have a good time. In France, it is important not to make the mistake of taking up the codes of tennis and applying them to the padel. I think that today there is a real lack of expertise in France, which is obvious when you see the level in Spain. But I am convinced that over time this will change.

Vincent Gallie

A fan of oval football, round ball but also racket sports, he was stung by the padel during his adolescence in Galicia. As comfortable in front of the camera as behind a microphone, Vince will be able to bring his vision and expertise as a fan of the little yellow ball.