In this episode of Padel Smash TV, we sit down with Adrian Grant, founder of Kanso Shoes, to talk about what really goes into building a high-performance shoe for racket sports.

Adrian shares his journey from being a former professional squash player and world-class athlete to launching a footwear brand focused on the real movement demands of sports like squash, padel, and pickleball. We get into the difference between squash shoes and padel shoes, why outsole design matters, how athlete feedback shapes development, and why the wrong footwear can affect both performance and injury risk.

This conversation goes beyond style. It breaks down the science, testing, and athlete-first thinking behind building shoes specifically for the demands of padel. If you’ve ever wondered whether footwear really makes a difference on court, this interview is worth watching.

In this episode of Padel Smash TV, we sit down with Felix Regalia, CEO and Founder of Varlion, one of the most iconic brands in padel history.

Felix shares the incredible story behind how Varlion started in Argentina in 1993, how the brand became a market leader through product innovation, and what happened during a difficult period of instability that forced the company to rebuild. He opens up about relaunching the brand, redesigning the collection, and building what he calls the next phase of Varlion’s legacy.
We also dive into why Felix believes the U.S. padel market today is similar to Spain in 1999, why he plans to personally lead Varlion’s expansion in America, and how the brand wants to win through product quality, hands-on education, key accounts, and direct market development.

On top of that, Felix talks about Varlion’s innovation mindset, new collections, expansion into pickleball, and the long-term goal of transferring decades of padel knowledge into other racket sports.

If you follow the business of padel, racket innovation, and the future of the U.S. market, this is a conversation you don’t want to miss.

Topics covered:
00:00 Intro
00:35 Meet Felix Regalia
00:51 How Varlion Started in Argentina
01:44 Early innovation and growth
02:10 Becoming a leader in padel
02:23 What went wrong for Varlion
04:04 Restructuring the business
05:08 Major internal fraud and setbacks
06:54 Restarting from zero
07:03 The Varlion Legacy relaunch
07:22 Expansion into pickleball and beyond
08:35 Strategy for the U.S. market
09:05 Why product testing drives loyalty
09:33 Felix moving to the U.S.
10:14 Why America feels like Spain in 1999
10:52 Building the American team
11:16 Winning through education and market presence

At RacquetX, Padel Smash TV sat down with Alfons Bastida, Chief Marketing Officer of NOX, and Philippe Urreiztieta, USA NOX Distributor, for a deep conversation on the brand’s global vision and why the United States is one of its biggest priorities moving forward.

In this interview, we break down how NOX sees the future of padel, why the U.S. market is such a major opportunity, and what it takes to grow a specialist padel brand in a country where traditional tennis brands already have strong familiarity. Alfons shares NOX’s broader global strategy, including its focus on premium racket positioning, product innovation, and youth development through initiatives like the Next Future Academy, while Philippe explains how NOX USA is approaching the market from the ground up through grassroots activation, club relationships, B2B growth, and direct-to-consumer marketing.