Welcome And Book Announcement

Speaker 0:00

Hi, I'm Shelley Maurer. And I'm Sher Emmerick. And welcome to Life Lessons from Pickleball, where we engage with pickleball players from around the world about life on and off the court.

Speaker 3 0:12

Thanks for joining us.

Speaker 0:15

But before we get started, we have something really exciting to share. Our book, Life Lessons from Pickleball, is now available on Amazon, and a portion of every sale is donated to Operation Paddle Lift. Your purchase helps deliver paddles, nets, and resources to underserved communities around the world. Thank you for being a part of Growing the Game We All Love. Now let's jump into today's episode.

Meet May Romero Of Octo

Speaker 0:39

Welcome to Life Lessons from Pickleball, everyone. Today we are so glad to have Melanie, better known as Mae Romero, with us today. Mae, you grew up on a farm. You learned to weld when you were just a wee one at seven years old, and you've spent your life building things and bringing ideas to life.

Speaker 2 0:59

You are an inventor, a lifelong problem solver, and the founder of Oktopickleball. You discovered the game, but saw that players needed something better. And instead of just noticing the problem, you created a solution. That is a great story.

Speaker 1:15

Really cool story. And what really stands out to us is that invention and pickleball seem to have so much in common. I mean, both take creativity and resilience and the ability to adapt to what is right in front of us.

Speaker 2 1:29

We cannot wait to hear about your journey. Let's start with what did learning to weld at seven teach you about confidence, creativity, and figuring things out for yourself?

Welding Young And Building Confidence

Speaker 1 1:40

Yeah, well, I uh can't take credit for that. My dad was uh my my mentor and he created everything on our farm, every corral and barn and gate and what have you. And he never went shopping for things. If he had a problem, he just would reach into this big junk pile, pull something out, go into his shop and drill and grind and mill and weld. And before we know it, we had exactly the part we needed for one of our pieces of equipment. And so to me, that was magic. And it was resilience and uh just being able to make what you need versus go out and buy what you need. And I just I just love that. I thought he was a genius, and um, I always just naturally like to make things as well. So two geniuses in the family. Well, I I don't know about geniuses, but but uh definitely highly creative people that are independent and enjoy you know creating what we need, or if there's something in our lives that we think can be better, we like to change it until it's better, you know?

Speaker 2:51

And in fact, it created a trajectory for your career, yeah?

Speaker 1 2:55

It really did. Yeah, looking back, it really, really did. And I wasn't always aware of it through the years, but yeah, it did create a trajectory for for my life.

Speaker 3:06

And your mom even told you you could be an engineer. Didn't you wonder? Can girls even be mechanical engineers?

Speaker 1 3:13

Yeah, yeah. I when it was uh I was validatory in my high school, and uh when I was deciding on what I was, I knew I was gonna go to college, but when I was deciding what degree I could go after, to me, engineering just seemed like the best fit for my interests of making things. And so, but I I was very shy, and I asked my mom if I could be a mechanical engineer because I thought that was just for boys, and she said, absolutely, you can be a mechanical engineer, and so that gave me full confidence to to move forward in that in that um in you know in that area of study and and uh yeah, the rest is history.

Speaker 2 3:53

Good for mom. That was awesome.

Speaker 1 3:56

Yeah, she's pretty awesome, they're both pretty awesome.

Competing Roots And Finding Pickleball

Speaker 2 4:00

So, how did pickleball first come into your life?

Speaker 1 4:04

So um I learned pickleball in like the fall of 2022, and uh, I'm not sure who invited me or how I ended up in that court that first day, but I loved it immediately. I mean, just like immediately. And I had, you know, gone to I I had bought a paddle off of Craigslist, and honestly, I think it was a paddle, uh paddle paddle. I don't even know if it was a pickleball paddle or either that or it was a really old pickleball paddle, but I bought it for like five dollars because I didn't know if I was gonna like this new sport and I didn't want to invest, you know, anything yet. And I went and I just loved it, and I just I couldn't learn fast enough how to score and um new new techniques, and uh and then it's it's a sport where you feel good at it right away. You know, you can have little wins um right away, and so that was something I just needed. I I'm a fierce competitor and um I like to compete. Uh if I lose, I want to work harder so that I can win, and if I win, I want to win again. So so it's a it's kind of a sport suited for my personality and and a lot of people's personality, honestly.

Speaker 5:20

Had you been in competitive sports before pickleball?

Speaker 1 5:24

I've always loved sports. Um, and you know, in grade school and stuff, I I was always on the playground playing soccer or basketball. I was a tetherball champ, and there's a big funny story with that. Um, but anyway, um Tell us that story.

Speaker 5:38

I want to hear that story.

Speaker 1 5:40

Well, so I was in the fourth grade, and uh tetherball was a big thing on you know during recess. And I was so fierce at it. I even had the tetherball callus. I had a callus here from you know, where I'd hit the ball. And uh uh anyway, there was this there's this um uh sixth grader, big, tall, athletic male sixth grader, and uh we were in a face-off, and um I had beat everybody, and he was the champion. And so um anyway, so we we started playing, and I just smeared him and he started crying, and he and he was like, You didn't beat me, you didn't beat me, and and the the playground um aide had to come and say, Yes, Melanie, Melanie won this game, you know, and and uh um but he was he was angry and he had tears of anger coming out, and I thought he was gonna hit me, but um anyway, but anyway, that was a big deal to beat a sixth grader. And so um yeah, but I've I've been competitive since then. But you know, growing up on a farm, there was never money for sports or piano lessons, or you know, my parents didn't have the time or the money to run us. There were three of us kids and run us to different things. We ended up really pulling together as a family to run the farm. And uh, we had a lot of animals and a lot of stuff to do. And so um, so I really uh I although I played sports, you know, in school and at recess, and then I did play a little basketball in junior high and high school, I've never played any sort of sport formally, but I've I've I've always loved being on a team, I've always loved competing. And um, now in my 50s, pickleball has given me uh the ability to do that. And now I'm unencumbered, you know. I'm the boss now. So I decide if I want lessons or if I want to go to a clinic or if I want to, you know, uh do any buy a new paddle or whatever. So I'm the parent now and I give me everything.

unknown 7:46

That's awesome.

Speaker 2 7:47

So when did you realize pickleball bags needed rethinking?

Why Pickleball Bags Fail Players

Speaker 1 7:53

Um well, very, very soon. Um I had a normal sports bag um that I was using, and then I went to a local store, Game Set Match, and I was really looking for a good bag. And I bought this Wilson bag that I thought was, I thought it was pretty nice, you know. And um turns out when I look back on it, it it just had three main spots, you know, and it was I just always ended up in the bottom of the bag searching for a ball, uh, searching for my phone, a chapstick, uh, sunscreen. And and then I it just in tournaments especially, um, you you know, you you kind of really want to be organized. You have sometimes just a short amount of time between games and you want to grab something. So uh it put my mind at ease to think that I could just reach for what I needed if it was to reapply sunscreen or lip balm or whatever. And I just uh I just realized that there was no bag out there that was truly serving the player, uh, the pickleball player on the court. And I saw a real need for it. I mean, even just like having a ball chamber to where you could just go reach for a ball, you know, where the balls go. Uh reach for your paddles where the paddles go. And um, I just I just saw a big need for it, and my friends seemed to think the same thing, and so I set off to create it.

Speaker 9:17

So, how did you go off to create it?

Prototyping The Octo Bag System

Speaker 9:20

I mean, kind of walk us through because I think inventing, thinking about things is one thing, but actually putting it in a material. Tell us tell us how you went about that.

Speaker 1 9:31

Yeah, so um, so I have other inventions throughout my life. Uh, one is a leaf bagging tool called the snapbagger, the other is a poop scoop for dogs called the yard pup ultimate poop scoop. Both of those arose just like octobag arose. I was in my yard doing a chore or committed to something, and I just thought, gosh, there could really be a better way to do this. Uh time saver, more organized. So through those products, I learned the basic procedure, which is honestly, um, you know, you can read all kinds of books, and I I've read a lot of inventing books and gotten things from here and there. But basically, you just do it and you just you just keep taking the next logical step that you need. Um, and for me, uh for starting Octo, um, I sketched something out at my kitchen table, you know, and I just I sketched everything I wanted. I laid out the 20 most used things during a tournament, uh, from hydration to paddles, shoes, overgrips, uh, sunscreen, what have you. And I just um I just looked at at all these things that are very common between players and just put a logical place for each of them, uh, a place for your protective eyewear, um, you know, your your hydration, your shoes, everything. And um, and then I I also wanted it to have private areas, but also quick access areas. So I created these magnetic side panels um because I wanted it to be like a locker where you just open the locker, then slam it shut. So once you unzip the side panels, they they you can slam them shut with magnets, same with the front workstation. And that way, you know, you get what you need, slam it shut, and and you're not zipping and unzipping and you know, fiddling with everything. And um, nobody really uses that side real estate on a bag. And it's a big waste for me because it was it's just such a broad area of the bag. And so I just that's how I went about it. I drew it out, then I um hired a graphic designer to refine my drawings, and I realized I'm used to designing in metal like my father, and my previous inventions I mentioned were were in metal. Um, so I don't know how to make a prototype in textiles. I don't know, I don't have a sewing machine, I don't know how textiles work. I um I found a seamstress in in Denver, and um she made me a very, very expensive prototype, which which the moment she gave it to me, I hated it. I mean, it just it was like obsolete that moment. I was just like, oh, this is awful, you know. And so then I did more research and I found a um designer in Fort Collins, Colorado, a freelancer. I used uh like Fiverr or Upwork or one of those things to find someone who was skilled in the art of bag design. And so I found this guy, and by that time I had enough drawings, I had this rough prototype uh that I could sit down with him and make this real, make this a product that that uh people could wear and buy, and it's you know, it's what they're used to, yet with some enhanced features.

Speaker 12:46

And how long did it take from beginning

Iterations Manufacturing Patents And AI

Speaker 12:48

to end?

Speaker 1 12:48

Let's see, I started in 2023 and launched it in 2025, so a good solid two years um uh you know, of um many, many prototypes. Um even once we had the design and I sent and I selected a manufacturer in Vietnam, we kind of had six other iterations from there. And I just I was just determined that I can't launch this until I absolutely love it and I really believe in it. And it really took a long time to get to that point. Like I was like, this is still not what's in my mind, you know. This is, you know, it just it took a long time to get it, to get it right and um to to work the kinks out. And then there's also a lot to do with uh uh trademarks and um um the name Octo. Um the octopus is my brand muse. And the reason I the reason I love the octopus so much is because it's the most adaptive animal on the planet. It's very intelligent, it can play, it can learn. And um, if there's one sport where you have to be really adaptive, it's pickleball because you're playing different ages, genders, indoor, outdoor, windy, not windy. So you have to adapt if you want to be good. If you want to win consistently, you have to adapt to different styles. Sometimes you're playing a banger, sometimes you're playing a softer game. And so the octopus is perfect. So I named it Octo in homage to the octopus. Uh so I got the octo registered trademark. That takes a while to do, and I'm patent pending on my quick access uh side panels and my front workstation with the magnets, with the magnets, yeah, yeah. And um, and I wrote the front workstation patent myself using AI, which was a first for me. And it, I mean, I've spent tens of thousands on patents on my older products. And I mean, I wrote this for $65. Like it really, I was a micro entity to the US patent and trademark office. And so it was to send this in, that that's what it was $65. And I I was I I've got a provisional patent, which gives you a year's worth of protection while you figure out if there's a market for this. And then after that year is expired, you apply for the full patent. And so for the I have now applied for the full patent, and I did that through my normal patent attorney. Um, but I I used AI to do the provisional, and that saved me uh just uh a boatload of money and gave me that year of protection that I needed.

Speaker 2 15:32

Well, I must say that I have the bag and I love it. It's everything you say because before I just had a backpack where yeah, you're reaching and searching, and just to be able to open it and know my balls are in the ball place, so easy. Like you run and you grab a ball real quick, or when the side's unzipped, you know, like you said, you just run over, grab your chapstick out, put it back in, or anything you want. It's just so easy and right there. So you did a great job. Thank you. Thank you.

Speaker 1 16:04

I'm glad I'm glad um people seem to be um, you know, when they see it, they're like, gosh, you thought of everything. And I don't I don't think people realize that they could ask that much out of their bag, you know? Right. And it's it's because um, you know, larger companies they they buy the same um bags made in a low-cost manufacturing facility, and then they just put their brand all over them because they're really trying to market paddles, they're not really trying to make a quality bag that serves the player. And so being a player, I knew what we needed, and um, and uh then being an inventor, I had some background in knowing how to move that forward. Not necessarily textiles, there was a sharp learning curve there, but but the process, you know, just like okay, I need a prototype, I need a trademark, I need to know where to manufacture it, um uh I need to start the patent process, all of that kind of stuff. And aren't there two sizes? There are two sizes, yes. So um in July of 2015, we launched one size

Bag Features Sizes And On Court Use

Speaker 1 17:12

in one color, the OctoPro Elite in black uh with blue piping. It has this sky blue piping and a sky blue interior. The other thing we did with the interior is we matched the interior to the piping. So they're colorful. Uh, most bags are like a dark hole and it makes it harder to see your stuff. So we wanted a bright interior to just lend itself even further to that ability to find your stuff. Uh so that was the one bag. So um that was in July, and then um uh in March, which was just a short 10 months later, uh, we exploded the line and we came out with two sizes. So we have the OctoPro Elite, the big tournament bag, and then the Octorec Light, which is what Shelly has. And uh that's more for a recreational player, but that wants incredible organization. But maybe he's not carrying four paddles, they're carrying two paddles, you know, or a a little, a little lighter setup. And then we have four colorways in each of those two sizes. So in 10 months, we went from one model, one size, to eight different products, and so so it's been a lot. It's been uh uh it's been quite the the effort for myself and my partner.

Speaker 18:27

Wow. Well, Shelly does play tournaments and she uses her bag at tournaments, so it works for tournaments too.

Speaker 2 18:33

Oh, that's awesome! Yeah, yeah, it does for sure. I'm I'm I only like one or two paddles, so I'm not a big paddle girl. So that's perfect for me. And that's great. The like you said, the eyewear combo. I'm a I'm not an organized person, and so I tend to be a shover. And so I love this bag because my eyeglasses have a spot. I can always find them, they're not scratched at the bottom, tucked under something now. They're always in their spot. You know, I can do it if everything has a spot. That's why it's so nice the way you've laid everything out.

Speaker 1 19:05

Yeah, I put the I put uh two uh protective eyewear holders under the top lid because then nothing could ever crush them. So you open the top lid and they're right there in their own zippered compartments. And then there's a there's an inner um um secret pocket for your wallet and keys. And then the quick access areas are for things that you're not really worried if if someone's gonna steal them or not. You know, you they're not it, you don't put your wallet and keys in the quick access areas, you put those in the private areas. Quick access areas, you could tell someone, uh, you know, oh, you need a band-aid? It's on my it's on the right side of my bag, and they can just go get it, you know. And uh, so that's what the quick access areas are for.

Speaker 2 19:49

Yeah, I was at a tournament. I needed to clean my glasses really quick. I just opened my side pocket, and there in the little pocket was my cleaner with the towel. And like dig it in the bottom of my bag in the old times, and it would be down with the crumbs of the food, and the towel would have food on it. You know, it's just yeah, yeah, it's so nice.

Speaker 1 20:09

I I even put a little tissue dispenser where you could get you could buy those little packs of tissue, yeah, pull it out of the pack, and you put it there um inside that dispenser. And it's because so many of us, when we exercise, our nose runs a little bit. So I didn't want to hunt for a tissue among my sweaty clothes, you know. I just uh I just want to reach for what I need when I need it and just stay organized. And um, a lot of other sports uh have expressed interest in Octo. Uh, one of my friends is uh an avid softball player, and she said that she puts her bats in the back, all her gloves and everything in the in the middle. And she said it hangs on the fence better than any other bag she's ever bought. It it octo comes with two metal hooks, real sturdy metal hooks that are tucked into the shoulder strap for travel, but then when you deploy them, they hang on the fence. Um, and it just um it just makes for a nice level presentation.

Speaker 2 21:07

And so easy because I used to have a bag with just two handles, and I was constantly digging through my bag to find that little plastic thing that you had to use to hang on the fence. Yes, right. Now I don't have to do that anymore. My hooks are always right there. I just walk up and just hook it right on the fence.

Speaker 1 21:22

Yeah. The bag I bought originally, it just had this one handle in the middle, and then you have to search for a carabiner to put there to hang on the fence, and then it hangs caddy wampus. I just wanted, you know, just something level, like your courtside locker, basically, or your courtside command center to just be organized. And me when when when my mind is organized, I play better, everything's calmer.

Speaker 21:49

Good point. As you were talking about all that you went through to design this bag, for one thing, the fact that you were a player and a really good player, and you knew exactly. Exactly what you would want. It seems like every time you've come across an issue in your own life and you said, I can I can make this better for me and it's better for everybody else too. I just, on behalf of all of us who are playing, thank you for designing this bag that covers everything one could possibly think of. You're very welcome. With such quality, I mean, it's just a high quality bag.

Speaker 1 22:26

People are so lucky. I wanted it to be very high quality, um, high-quality materials, waterproof, YKK zippers. We haven't broken a single zipper uh in all of the bags that we've sold so far. Um, we haven't had any quality issues. Um, and then we also um

Giving Back Octopus Inspiration And Mindset

Speaker 1 22:46

um I mentioned earlier how we named it Octo after the octopus. We also donate a portion of our profits to the Diver Mojo Foundation, and they put they work to protect and preserve the coral reefs where the octopus lives. So we um we like to give back, and and that's um that's a real important um uh thing for us, and we're just so happy to be able to help the octopuses by by uh donating a little bit to the coral reefs. It doesn't take much, but every little bit helps.

Speaker 23:18

Yeah, that is so cool. Uh my octopus teacher, that movie, the documentary of that's where I learned so much about them. Me too. Oh my you too.

Speaker 1 23:28

Yes, that's what that's what I I thought the octopus was this gross, slimy, alien looking thing. Then I watched Octopus My Teacher, and I couldn't believe it. I was just so moved. And and so that that was probably like a year or two before I invented uh Octo. And so it just all kind of you know happened in a very logical way. And um yeah, so that that movie was amazing. I've since read some books about it uh octopuses, and uh now people send me all kinds of things on Facebook about octopuses and stuff. So so I'm becoming an octopus expert.

Speaker 2 24:08

Yeah, ever since that movie, I don't eat octopus anymore either.

Speaker 1 24:11

I don't either, and uh with with my with my real job, um octo is my side hustle. With my real job, I entertain a lot and I take a lot of people to eat. And the first thing I say when they sit down, and it's like you can order anything on the menu except calamari or or octopus, you know, and um that's just my rule. And I I I normally, you know, with customers, you never set any sort of rule, but that I just that's just one thing I can't bend on. And um they're they're a sentient creature, and uh it's just terrible the way um the way they're treated sometimes, and lots of other animals are treated. So we're we're happy to be on the side of helping them out.

Speaker 24:53

I love that you're donating to the cause as well. And also when you were talking about all that you went through to design this bag, it just reminded me what we go through even on the court. I mean, it we we hit roadblocks, we get like you did that one bag with the seamstress, and it was awful. Well, we've all been there in the court, we try something and nothing is working, and then we pivot a little bit and something starts working. The fact that you when you said that when you first started playing, you wanted to learn how to score. I thought, oh my god, that was the hardest thing for me to answer. That was hard. Now it's easy, but oh my gosh, it was so easy. Yeah, yeah. But in all of this adventure that you've had on and off the court, what are some of the life lessons that you've gleaned?

Speaker 1 25:41

One of the ones I've gleaned is just um the rate of perfecting, you know, what you're trying to do. You know, we're all trying to get better. That's what brings us back. And um I heard, I don't know where I heard it, but it it was appropriate for me. And it was, and I I call myself like um a bamboo, right? Bamboo will grow eight years underground and you won't even see it. Like there's no progress at all. You don't even know there's a bamboo under there. And then after eight years, poof, it pops up and it's 20 feet tall. And sometimes that's how I that's one of the lessons I've learned is, you know, sometimes we're grinding for for weeks, you know, and we just don't see, you know, our dupers in the tank, and we just don't seem to be beating the people we want to beat or or uh raising our skill level. And then, but you stick with it, and then all of a sudden you have this spike, you know, and and uh and you see your your growth. And so that's that's been an important one for me is saying, hey, I'm more of a bamboo, you know. I'm I'm not I'm not gonna you know have uh leaves and everything shooting out right away, but I'm I'm working at it and I can work quietly underground and then uh just know with confidence that that work is gonna pay off um, you know, at some point. So so that's important, I think, in a lot of ways is to just stay the course and um if you're doing something positive and something good for yourself and you know, good in the world, just keep at it and um it's gonna

Bamboo Growth Lesson And Where To Buy

Speaker 1 27:21

it's gonna eventually pay off.

Speaker 27:23

Be bamboo on the court and in life. Wow. That's right. That's very zen. Very cool zen pickleball idea. That's really beautiful, actually. So people are gonna definitely want to check out this bag and follow you. Where can they do that?

Speaker 1 27:39

Octogear.com. And octo is spelled with a K. It's OKTogear.com. And uh that's our website, and uh, you can find all eight of our models up there. There's the Pro Elite and the Octorec Lite, and then there's four colorways in each of those models. So please do check out the website. We have uh a whole section where we talk about our foundation and the octopuses. Uh, we show a lot of the features of the bag. There's a video of how I set up my bag uh just to get people started. Um, because a lot of times people get this bag and they don't know the Kleenex goes in that holder. And you know, they're like, what is this? You know, and so so uh it so we have a nice little video to help you be successful setting up your bag the first time.

Speaker 28:32

That's so cool. And it's almost like they're little secret compartments. I used to always love anything that had a oh, there's a surprise in here, and so in your bag, too. That's a great way to start the game, too, is just to have everything where it belongs, but also that little bit of joy about having this bag that has all these surprises, too. And you're really quite remarkable, my friend. All the things that you have developed, and we especially love that you've developed this bag. This wasn't this isn't an advertisement show, you guys. This that's not what this is about. This is about life, and this is about May's life and all that she's accomplished, and then it just turns out she's accomplished something, provided something that we can all benefit from. So wow, thank you very much for being on our show. Thank you.

Speaker 1 29:18

I it's it's a pleasure to be here and talk to you ladies and Shelly. Thank you for being a customer.

Speaker 2 29:24

Oh, I just recommend everyone go out and get the bag, it's amazing. You'll all be disappointed.

Speaker 29:30

Well, thank you all. And yeah, thank you, May. Thank you so much, and thank you all for tuning in and check out the octo bag, different sizes, different colors, and all high quality, and you will have everything in its place so you can just focus on playing and having a blast. Thank you all for tuning in, and we look forward to a new conversation next week. Bye-bye.

Speaker 3 29:53

Bye-bye. Bye.

Subscribe And Closing

Speaker 3 29:55

If you love our podcast, we'd be so grateful if you'd take a few seconds to follow or subscribe to Life Lessons from Pickleball. This ensures that you'll never miss an episode and helps us continue these wonderful conversations.

Speaker 30:12

Go to the show page and tap the follow button in the top right corner. And on YouTube, click the subscribe button under any of the episodes. Thanks so much. Hope to see you on the court.