We had the good fortune of connecting with Mark Price and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mark, how do you think about risk?
I left the dusty streets of Kathmandu, Nepal and flew over the beautiful snow capped Himalayan mountains on a flight to Hong Kong. I had never been to Asia before but was excited to arrive in this modern city with a dream to continue my coaching journey.

The risk paid off, one month later I was working for the largest sports coaching company in Hong Kong traveling from the New Territories to Kowloon as well as all over Hong Kong Island.

I grew up in a small village about 45 minutes from the beautiful Roman walled City of Chester, in the heart of England. In my spare time I gained coaching qualifications in gymnastics, tennis, soccer and basketball.

I spent years working for little or no pay just so that I could stay in the arena of sports and coaching, and if that’s not taking a risk, I don’t know what is. I heard a quote from Walt Disney when I was a teenager who said, “find something you love doing and become so good at it that people are willing to pay you for it.”

That quote resonated with me and I knew sports and sports coaching was the thing I loved. From that point on I was willing to take risks in order to pursue this line of work. I was determined to become so highly skilled that eventually I could earn a living from coaching.

My whole life and coaching journey has been one of risk and reward. I started coaching at the age of 16 in my high school and have continued ever since.

Putting my passion for coaching and a love for sports ahead of financial security was the best decision I’ve ever made. Taking a risk literally opened doors to the world. I travelled to new countries, experienced new cultures and met incredible people. Starting a business and taking risk is always a scary things to undertake, but the rewards are worth far greater than the sacrifice.

My first coaching work was a voluntary position in a special-needs gymnasium teaching Gymnastics. Two years later, aged 18, I moved to South Wales to become an outdoor instructor, again a voluntary position, teaching rockclimbing, caving, mountaineering and kayaking.

Some may see this as a risk, not having job security or a permanent position in a company but I had a dream and I was willing to take the risk, investing in myself and my passion.

Years later I had the opportunity to travel to Kathmandu to do volunteer work with the street kids of Nepal. I raised support from family and friends and travelled to this beautiful location in the heart of the Himalayan mountains. Here I worked with these kids and Nepalese teenagers, coaching basketball, soccer and tennis. After several months and because of Visa complications, I travelled onto Hong Kong with a vision to continue pursuing my dream.

It was in Hong Kong where I finally received an offer letter to work as a paid professional sports coach. I cried when I received this letter in 1997 – my dreams had finally become a reality. Fast forward 20 years and I’ve enjoyed managing a successful sports coaching company in England running multi-sports camps and soccer schools.

While some view my professional journey as risky, I think it’s safe to say that I am also open to risk on a personal level. Five years ago I travelled to America to meet a woman who I’d not yet met in person. We’d been communicating with each other for a number of months on FaceTime. In the same way my professional risk-taking proved successful , my personal risk-taking also paid off – I ended up marrying this woman, Hannah Price, who is now my wife and the love of my life. Do I take risks or do I make smart choices – history will be the ultimate judge. In the words of Winston Churchill, “history will be kind to me, for I intend to write it.”

My latest adventure since moving to Georgia has been in the world of pickleball. I found this new sport that I love and since I started playing pickleball in 2019 I’ve won 3 consecutive Georgia State Championships in Men’s Singles as well as qualifying as a Pro Pickleball Coach. I’m still taking risks and in 2020 launching a pickleball coaching business, ‘Mark Price Pickleball’ – giving lessons, clinics and running the Mark Price Signature Pickleball Camps across Georgia. This year we’ll be running nearly 20 camps in GA and now expanding to Costa Rica. Next year we’ll be branching out into San Diego, Florida and Las Vegas to name a few.

My best advice on risk is follow your heart, follow your passion and create the life you dream of.

To connect and follow my journey further you can find me on social media @markpricepickleball or on our website: www.MarkPricePickleball.com

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I run a sports coaching business called ‘Mark Price Pickleball’. We specialize in pickleball coaching camps, small group clinics and private lessons across Georgia, the Southeast and soon to be nationwide. I was born in England and grew up in a county called Cheshire. Coaching has been a passion since I was 16 years old, I started my coaching journey by attending a youth sports leaders course in school and at the end of the course, I worked on a multi-sports event for 250 young people – and my destiny had then been fortified!

My business journey has been an incredible adventure but has not always been easy. I had to learn to  live with uncertainty in my finances and literally spent years working voluntarily, but the whole time I was in my element and working towards a dream. The highlights have been traveling the world, coaching different cultures and the joy that comes from doing something I love and seeing the smiles on the faces of people I coach who have just achieved something that I helped them with. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

Starting a business isn’t easy and growing a business is even harder. I remember when I first launched a sports coaching business in England, I sent out 1,000 flyers thinking this would be enough marketing to run a multi sports camp for children. We had two bookings and had to cancel the camp. Next time, I put out 10,000 flyers and our first sports camp was born.

They’ll always be challenges, always problems to solve and situations to overcome. This is part of life as well as part of business. When we learn from our mistakes, adjust, pivot, constantly improving what we do and work towards excellence, success will follow.

Our brand and sports coaching business is now growing and gaining momentum and the credit goes to our amazing team. Bringing like-minded people onto the team who are gifted in their own chosen field is a proven way to grow. In the same way I have devoted my life to learning how to coach, there are individuals out there who are highly skilled in website design, branding and social media who from my experience, can help you take your business to the next level. The team members of a business are always the greatest asset and should be the most appreciated.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My wife Hannah and I absolutely love to visit the Ponce City Market. Its our favorite place in Atlanta. Every time we travel to Atlanta we make a special trip there. It’s a beautiful old converted industrial building renovated into a shopping experience with some of the best food. Two ‘must visit places’ are Botiwalla for their Indian street food and Spiller Park Coffee. Spiller park has a cool oval shaped bar in the center of the market and has some of the best coffee I’ve had in Georgia. If you have time there’s a roof top restaurant where you can sit by an outdoor fire, sipping cocktails with an incredible view of the city.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to say a big thank you to my wife who has been my biggest supporter since the day we met, as well as my incredible parents who have encouraged and invested in my passion for sports since I was a young boy.

Bill Thornton, I’m so grateful for your kindness, friendship and for introducing me to this incredible game.

David Drake and Steve Ledbetter, you have both been mentors to me since moving to the States, not only that, your kindness and friendship is appreciated more than you know.

Sophie Amelia and Ellie Borromeo, your creativity in website design, branding and bringing ideas to life is simply brilliant.

Lastly, Ben Bramblett and Alex Gomez, the photography and film-making you capture is world class. Thank you to everyone who helps with the Mark Price Signature Pickleball Camps, the coaching staff, advertising and social media, and the many others too numerous to mention here – I hope you know that I’m grateful for all your support and blessed to call you friends.

Website: www.markpricepickleball.com

Instagram: @markpricepickleball

Facebook: @markpricepickleball

Youtube: Mark Price Pickleball

Other: TikTok: @markpricepickleball

Image Credits
Photographer Ben Bramblett @forty1media

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