Our Partners
The coaches, players, and community builders who bring The Pickleball Passport to their communities around the world.
Bharat "BK" Karunakaran
Bharat "BK" Karunakaran 路 BK Pickleball 路 Pro Player & Content Creator
Bharat "BK" Karunakaran is a Professional Pickleball Player and Content Creator based in Orlando, and a featured guest coach on TPP departures. Originally from Chennai, India, BK came up in tennis and badminton from age five, studied Sport Management at NC State, and spent three years with the USTA as National Coordinator of Junior Programs before going full-time pickleball pro in 2024. A Level 1 PPR Certified Pro with a 5.5 DUPR, BK has tournament wins over Anna Bright, Parris Todd, and multiple Top 100 PPA pros. Find him at @bk_pickleball.
Travis Rhea
Travis Rhea 路 Mind Your Pickle 路 Pickleball Coach & Mental Performance Specialist
Travis Rhea is the founder of Mind Your Pickle and a 4.0 Gold Medalist with over 20 years of coaching experience across volleyball, golf, tennis, and pickleball. Raised on a farm in Northwest Kansas, his coaching is grounded in discipline, work ethic, and a deep focus on the mental side of sport. After years of watching technically gifted athletes underperform under pressure, Travis shifted his focus to mental conditioning: the visualization, routines, and self-belief that separate good players from elite ones. When Travis joins TPP departures, he leads coached sessions and mindset workshops grounded in that same philosophy.
"The gap between good players and great ones isn't physical 路 it's mental."
Siree & Sang Chanyaputhipong
Siree & Sang Chanyaputhipong 路 Arise Pickleball 路 On-the-Ground Partners & Coaches
Siree and Sang Chanyaputhipong are the co-founders of Arise Pickleball and the on-the-ground team behind every TPP Bangkok session. Sang is a PPR Level 1 Certified pickleball coach and CEO of Fulfilled Purpose Coaching, where he works with executives and entrepreneurs on leadership and whole-person growth. Siree is a John Maxwell Certified Coach, certified Health Coach, Personal Trainer, and Fitness Nutrition Specialist whose wellness framework, built around Active Living, Nourishment, and Rest, runs through everything Arise does. Together they've built one of Bangkok's fastest-growing pickleball and wellness communities. Their coaching spans all levels, their hospitality is genuine, and their facility is where TPP guests play every Bangkok trip.
"Health is not the goal of life, but a powerful resource for leading, serving, and thriving in it."
Neil Friedenberg
Neil Friedenberg 路 The Dinking Dad 路 Pickleball Coach & Community Builder
Neil Friedenberg is the founder of The Dinking Dad, a community platform for pickleball players who take the game seriously, but not themselves. He's been playing and coaching since the late 1980s, with pickleball literally in his DNA: his father is Mark "Yoda" Friedenberg, USA Pickleball co-founder and inaugural Hall of Fame inductee. Equal parts family man, longtime advocate, and craft beer enthusiast, Neil built his following on the idea that pickleball is best with good company and a cold one within reach. He brings exactly that to TPP trips.
"You can take a lot of wrong turns in life and still end up exactly where you're supposed to be, usually at a pickleball court."
