The FLiK Origin Story: From Tennis Hall of Fame to the Pickleball Sandbox
An Unlikely Origin: From Frustrated Champion to Obsessive Inventor
The story of FLiK Pickleball doesn't begin on a court; it begins with an injury and a famous superhero.
Our founder, Fred Robinson, is a competitive athlete whose resume includes 70 World and U.S. tennis medals, multiple U.S. National Grand Slam titles, and induction into the North Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame. But on one particular evening, watching a movie, he wasn't interested in victory—he was focused on a stubborn hamstring injury.
Fred had a closet filled with compression products from major brands—a graveyard of disappointment. "I didn't like that," Fred recalls. "It wouldn't stay on, fell off, didn't do any good." The question haunted him: Why, in a multi-billion dollar sports industry, was the best medical solution for an injured athlete just a piece of tape?
The Material Science Torture Test
The solution came from watching the impossible fluidity of Batman. If an actor could move with such grace while seemingly encased in armor, the material science had to be revolutionary.
Fred's quest to find a product that offered support without restricting movement led him to acquire the specialized, three-millimeter-thick material he was searching for. But a champion’s mind needs proof.
What followed was an education in material durability conducted through the most unorthodox method imaginable: Fred took pieces of the material and literally hammered them to the back of his house.
"I let them just hang out there to see if it was durable," Fred explains. If this fabric could survive a grueling North Carolina summer and winter—tortured by rain, sun, and temperature swings—it could probably handle whatever a competitive athlete could throw at it.
The material held up. This simple, crude experiment established the uncompromising standard of durability and quality that defines FLiK Pickleball.
Built on a Foundation of Science
This obsession with high-performance materials quickly led to the creation of compression products that actually stayed on and actually provided support. Realizing the potential, Fred brought in Tom, a retired physician and tennis friend, whose medical and scientific background transformed the project from a personal quest into a company.
When Fred eventually traded his tennis racquet for a pickleball paddle—drawn in by the infectious sound of laughter on the court—he knew the game was special. And he knew his materials-first approach could make the equipment better.
The core principle remains: use only materials and construction that justify premium performance. That legacy of material excellence, scientific rigor, and a commitment to solving problems is what we bring to every paddle we design today.