Best of "Pickleball Chronicles with Traver"
Carl Landau | September 02, 2025
It's BONUS day in the Landau Tiki Bar this week. We're featuring The Best of "Pickleball Chronicles with Traver". Even if you're not a pickleball enthusiast, you'll really enjoy this episode. Six fun-filled and heartfelt stories.
Uh, let's scratch that. It's total Pickleball Mania -- anecdotes, insights, quirks, crazy cliches, true confessions! All in less than 30 minutes!
Traver West joined me on the show about 2 years ago. He works at Pickleball Central, the world's largest pickleball company in the world. We have fun every month just talking about the sport we both love...PICKLEBALL.
Enjoy our 6 favorite segments of "Pickleball Chronicles with Traver"!
• Valentine’s day, sweet customer anecdotes
• Playing in adverse conditions
• How my DJ career has helped in pickleball
• Being a good pickleball partner
• Turning a bad run around
• The growth of Pickleball
What Was Your Worst Job Ever?
Carl Landau | July 13, 2021
My opening question for every episode of I Used to be Somebody is an "ice breaker" question for the guest. Ice breaker questions are a great lead-in, whenever you meet someone new. It's often a question I ask that's a little off beat and it often reveals a lot about that person. And the answer will give you a bird's eye view of who that person is, as well as their outlook on life.
I've asked this question a lot to people over the years, people who have had very successful careers. For most part, they have had some truly crappy jobs in the beginning of their work lives. But it seems everyone I've talked with has learned something from those experiences. (Like what not to do!)
When guests start talking about their first jobs or their worst job, they become very animated and you also learn what kind of storyteller they are. That time brings them back, and they tell their story, which helps make the interview for my show better. For the audience, the last thing you want to listen to is stock answers and corporate speak. (I know I don't!) Right from the get go, the guests become more personable and more real--which is the goal.
So there is some thought in my craziness.
Sure enough, after reading the podcast results so far, it ends up that the most commented part of the podcast interviews from listeners is often the "ice breaker" questions. So I thought, "Why not put together an episode of just my ice breaker questions (and always interesting answers)?" This bonus episode is really entertaining and will give you some instant insight as to where this guest came from and who they are. Enjoy!
Carl Landau is the Creative Genius here at Pickleball Media. He is the former Grand Poobah at Niche Media.
