Hamilton, Ohio – The guy on the unicycle looks at things a little differently than most.
Meet Mitch Dunn, co-founder of The Pickle Lodge in West Chester. He’ll be the featured speaker at the Fitton Center for Creative Arts’ Celebrating Self Pickleball BBQ luncheon Wednesday, September 4.
“We’ve been excited for this event for a long time,” said Ian MacKenzie-Thurley, Fitton Center executive director. “It will be something a little different for our guests. We’re moving out of the ballroom and setting up a full pickleball court outside so people can really see this wildly popular sport in action.”
Dunn grew up in Louisville, where he played high school soccer. He came to Cincinnati to study at Xavier University and had a 30-year career in marketing and branding, including the last 18 at Empower, one of Cincinnati’s largest advertising agencies in Over-the-Rhine.
“But I was always into things that were a little more non-traditional, too,” he said. “I ride a unicycle. I juggle. I played Ultimate Frisbee. My friends would tell you that me picking up pickleball is right on track.”
Even if simply “picking up” the game is a massive understatement.
Dunn helped shape the sport locally, founding the Cincinnati Pickleball Club in January of 2020. When the pandemic hit, he got some Gorilla Tape, laid out a court in his cul-de-sac and kept right on playing.
“Some of that original tape is still there today,” he said. “It’s amazing. But when social distancing was on the tip of everybody’s tongue, pickleball was deemed to be safe because you are naturally six feet away from anybody. It really exploded in Cincinnati in 2020.”
After the pandemic, Dunn turned the game into his new career. He officially opened The Pickle Lodge July 1, 2023, with nine indoor courts. Now they’re up to 17, with six outdoor courts scheduled to open in mid-September.
The National Pickleball League brought 168 professional senior players (ages 50 and up) to the facility for a tournament earlier this summer.
“I stopped counting after about 40 of the players told me it was the best place they’ve ever played,” Dunn said. “They put their money where their mouth is, too. They’ve already signed to come back and have their championship here this fall from October 17 to 20.”
For the Celebrating Self event, Dunn hopes to explain the ever-expanding popularity of the game.
“On a surface level, it’s easy to learn and therefore relatively easy for anyone to play right away,” he said. “There’s an addictive quality to it that keeps people coming back. That’s how I started. I played it myself and found it to be one of the most fun things I’ve ever done.”
The Fitton Center for Creative Arts is located at 101 S. Monument Avenue on the Riverfront in downtown Hamilton, Ohio.
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