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A Swing and an…Ole Miss Local pickleball brand adds school spirit to the game lifestyle pickleball brand. at's kind of where we're headed," she says. "We just want to keep it fun and exciting, just like pickleball truly is." Paddles can be found on the brand's own site as well as on Amazon.com, and they are also sold at brick-and-mortar stores including licensed goods giant Rally House and Game Day Spirit. Growing their presence in stores on or around college campuses is a primary — and natural — target. Of course, between building a national brand, the couple still find plenty of time to hone their skills on the court. ey play at Bobby Riggs Racket & Paddle Club in Encinitas, as well as in Carlsbad's Poinsettia Community Park, but Stohlman remains partial to playing in her friend's backyard. eir love of the game is a natural energy source for the demands of building a business from the ground-up. "It's a sport that so many people can play, and it allows people to be outside, to have a community," says Stohlman. "You can start playing as little as a child all the way up to the older generations. So, we're just excited to be a part of it, and a part of the growth of it." rallyrepublic.com DEANNA MURPHY L IKE A LOT OF PEOPLE, ENCINITAS residents Lauren Stohlman and her husband, T.K., caught the pickleball bug during the pandemic. "We had never heard of it at that time, because it kind of exploded right towards the end of COVID," she remembers. "We just started playing with friends on their backyard court." Needing their own equipment, they ordered paddles online. "I thought they were cute, and quickly realized that even though they were cute, they weren't great quality," she says. en, the wheels started spinning for this entrepreneurial couple. "We just thought, 'Wow, this is blowing up,'" she says. "Once you start playing a few times, you realize, 'Okay, I really need a good paddle.' And so we thought, 'Let's find a really good paddle that we can make fun designs on.'" eir aha concept? Collegiate licensing. In early 2023, they embarked on the search for a high-quality paddle that met their standards. ("You know, people are very picky about their paddles," she says knowingly. e pair self-tested the models.) After they landed on the best paddle, they built their website and began securing licensing, a daunting, school-by-school endeavor, and Rally Republic officially launched in October 2023 — an incredibly rapid trajectory from concept to debut. e couple, who are the company's co-founders, brought in seasoned executives to spearhead the business' rapid expansion; T.K. has multiple businesses that he splits his focus on with Rally Republic, and Lauren works on new designs as well as does the social media for the brand. ough currently Rally Republic's sole offering is the paddle, Stohlman has big plans to expand the product suite. A former professional photographer who also has extensive experience in the fashion industry, she is applying her eye for detail and design to the creation of other items including balls, paddle covers, and ultimately, high-end active lifestyle apparel. "Our goal is to be the ultimate Indulge fashion PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRISTINE BLACKBURN Rally Republic Founder Lauren Stohlman ranchandcoast.com 80 APRIL 2024 RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE