Anthony Napolitano Interview: Forced Into Early Retirement and Now a Renaissance Man
Diana Landau | November 11, 2025
Anthony Napolitano retired two years ago, at age 52. He and Carl sat down to talk about the highs, lows and great insights into creating your own personalized Life Retirement Plan. As a former VP of Product/Service Strategy for HP and GoPro, Anthony has fully embraced his new role as Chief Enjoyment Officer. He is a man of many talents, including as a prolific blogger, wine educator and a coach for high school girls' volleyball teams.
Born in Hoboken, NJ, Anthony's parents were Italian immigrants in search of the American Dream. His father was an artist and his mother stayed home with Anthony and his brother. When he was still in grade school, his family moved to California to realize that dream. Anthony played four years of college baseball for Loyola-Marymount College. "My baseball career ended when I graduated," he tells us. "Somehow I got a job at a really big company." (Hewlett-Packard)
Over the course of 24 years, Anthony held many positions within the corporation's divisions, including as VP & General Manager for consumer subscriptions, retail photo solutions and more. "I was always wanting to learn and gain new skills and there was so much opportunity in that corporate world." He talks about having a great career there and then at 47, he began thinking about not only the financial part of retirement, but also what his non-financial life was going to look like. He began to study retirement in earnest. Two years later, his company downsized and it took him a year to find new employment. That's when he got really serious about crafting an early retirement.
Anthony worked for GoPro and soon was part of another downsizing. "In a way they made the decision (to retire) for me. I'm really grateful. I was so relieved and joyful." He lived his Retirement Life Plan in that first year. He bases his plan on the four pillars of Health, Mindset, Purpose and Relationships. At the end of each year, Anthony holds himself accountable and actually grades himself on how he's doing in each of the four pillars. He is now as busy as he wants to be. "It's (retirement) isn't just a project to finish. I'm going to keep evolving," he says. "There is not one day, one hour that I wish I kept working!"
Anthony Napolitano's (Un)Retirement Insights:
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"Start making a list of the things you want to do in retirement and then hold yourself accountable."
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"Say 'No' more. It is really important to be intentional about your commitments. Try not to over-commit too soon."
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"Have time that is structured and also un-structured. It's a balance I'm trying to strike now."
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"Every week I make a point to reach out to an old friend or people who've been important in my life, to reconnect. It's so rewarding."
Diana Landau is the Content Wrangler for Pickleball Media. After 15 years in corporate marketing, in 2012 she pivoted to write and wrangle content for Niche Media's weekly blog. She now manages the "I Used to be Somebody" blog.
Fritz Gilbert Interview: Mr. Retirement -- Author of "The Retirement Manifesto"
Diana Landau | October 21, 2025
Ok, this is a BIG DEAL! Carl interviews a retirement legend in this 100th EPISODE!
Carl chose retirement expert/book author/speaker/do-gooder Fritz Gilbert as his 100th podcast guest. Fritz's award-winning blog, The Retirement Manifesto, is focused on helping people achieve a great retirement. Since 2015, Fritz has written 441 articles and 1 million words about how to live your best life in retirement. Fritz retired after more than three decades in corporate America, where he progressed through the various levels of a multinational corporation serving the global aluminum industry. He's still changing lives, read on!
Fritz grew up in the small town of Hillsdale, MI with his parents and two older sisters. His father was a college professor and his mother a teacher. This meant their summers were free to explore the great outdoors, one of Fritz's true passions. It's no surprise that Fritz was a curious, hi-energy kid. He says he wanted to be an NFL punter growing up, then to be a doctor. He attended Wittenberg University in Ohio. He says, "My father always told me I could be whatever I wanted to be." On a whim as a senior, he interviewed with an aluminum industry exec that evolved into a highly successful 33-year career.
Tired of the corporate world's politics, he retired in 2018. But, three years before retirement and this is important, he started thinking and strategizing about what his ideal retirement life would look like in 2015. "I got out at 55," he tells us. He started a blog, which he had never done before and kept on writing. He wrote the 10 Commandments of Retirement, which focuses on attributes to keep in mind daily in retirement, such as; have a great attitude, pursue your passions, stay flexible to change, try new things and more. "I would have never dreamed that 10 years later the blog would become so successful with over 16,000 followers. I was curious and I took that first step!"
He wrote and wrote about not just the financial parts of retirement, but the equally (if not more so) purpose parts of retirement. "I love the relationships I've had too. It's a deep subject, I'm still writing. It's turned into something I love to do." Recently Fritz decided not to do a full-time blog after 10 years so he has time to pursue other passions. He loves to mountain-bike in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia, spend time with family, work in the garden, and lots more.
Fritz is also helping his wife with her passion, Freedom for Fido, a community group that builds fencing for low-income families that have dogs chained in the yards. They've built 187 fences in 6 years with the coordination of several hundred volunteers. "It's created this incredible network, we're getting exercise building fences, and I can't even begin to tell you about the impact we're making on the community." Just like that little kid in Hillsdale, Fritz is still high-energy, loving the outdoors and still curious!
Fritz Gilbert's (Un)Retirement advice:
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"Learn to listen and follow your curiosity. Look for things that might interest you and take that step."
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"The path to fulfillment and enjoyment is to just try new things. Do as many as you can. Some will hit and some will miss. But enjoy the ones you like and keep going!"
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The 90-10 Rule: People focus 90% on the financial part before retirement. It's amazing--once you're in retirement, you spend about 10% thinking about the financial part and 90% thinking about what you are going to do now. It's the purpose side of retirement that people need to think about before they retire."
Diana Landau is the Content Wrangler for Pickleball Media. After 15 years in corporate marketing, in 2012 she pivoted to write and wrangle content for Niche Media's weekly blog. She now manages the "I Used to be Somebody" blog.
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
David Johnson Interview: The King of Pickleball Industry Begins His Second Act
Diana Landau | August 12, 2025
Carl is excited to interview David Johnson, an internationally recognized pioneer and leader in the pickleball industry. He co-founded Pickleball Central in 2006 with his wife Anna Copley at the dawn of the modern day pickleball renaissance. He built the company into the largest pickleball retailer and led the acquisition of Pickleball Tournaments and Pickleball Inc. while leading Pickleball Central to tens millions of dollars in sales annually before selling the company to Dundan Capital, owner and operator of the PPA Tour, Major League Pickleball, Pickleball Brackets and other related companies. And David has found new ways to give back to the industry in his (un)retirement.
David had an adventure-filled childhood, born in North Dakota and then living in Copenhagen, Denmark for 4 years. His father was a Lutheran pastor and his family traveled extensively while David was growing up. Right after graduating college in Seattle, David formed a software consulting business with partner and then launched Pinnacle Publishing in the early 1980's. (Seeing a serial-entrepreneur pattern yet?)
David has launched at least 7 different companies, everything from software to publishing to online funeral planning. But he saw a BIG opportunity with Pickleball. He and his wife, Anna, first started with a website selling t-shirts and merchandise, then pickleball equipment and the business took off. Sales soared to $40 million annually at Pickleball Central and eventually David and Anna decided to sell the company.
Carl asks about the stress of the transition. "When we sold, Anna retired immediately. I stayed on for a year and then retired. I took a full 8 months where I didn't do anything pickleball-related. But I started feeling a little antsy." So, David decided to do some consulting involving developing pickleball facilities, which led to him forming the International Association of Pickleball Facilities (IAPF). His team advises businesses and cities on building facilities. They've created a conference and trade show and also publish a magazine, "The Business of Pickleball" and more. David says they help their clients understand building requirements, develop programming, avoid mistakes and take that next important step--build a sense of community within a pickleball facility. "So when people come to play, they have a great time!" he emphasizes. When David isn't working in his new pickleball (ad)ventures, he spends time with his family in Seattle and yes, plays some pickleball.
David Johnson's (un)retirement advice:
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"I think (un)retirement can be more successful if you make sure you have some accountability that you apply to what you're doing. I found in the 8 months when I wasn't doing anything that I got bored. I didn't feel like I was accountable to do anything useful. Give yourself some structure, some accountability."
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"Focus on the things you enjoy and just look for opportunities. It might be advising smaller businesses that are just getting started as a way to expose yourself to other opportunities out there. On LinkedIn you can get some really good intel on an industry you're interested in."
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"I was sort of a behind-the-scenes guy. I am not fond of listening to my own voice. To get out of my comfort zone, I've really tried to work on in the last years or so, to be more public and forward-facing. I've moderated a number of panels in the industry and we're doing videos. I've got to push myself. Practice is the way to do that and get comfortable."
• I Used to be Somebody World Tour: Croatia
Diana Landau is the Content Wrangler for Pickleball Media. After 15 years in corporate marketing, in 2012 she pivoted to write and wrangle content for Niche Media's weekly blog. She now manages the "I Used to be Somebody" blog
Meet the (Un)Retirement Experts: Interviews with Joe Casey & Judi Nadratowski
Diana Landau | July 15, 2025
This is a special bonus episode where Carl interviews The (Un)Retirement Experts. First up is the GOAT of retirement podcasts, Joe Casey, who has hosted more than 350 episodes of "Retirement Wisdom". He's a true retirement pioneer. Before his first retirement at 52, Joe had a very successful career working as a SVP for Merrill Lynch. He pivoted to executive coaching and retirement coaching after going back to earn 2 additional masters degrees, in Executive Coaching and Gerontology. "I was curious how it all worked," he tells us. He is also the author of "Win the Retirement Game."
Although Joe loves exec coaching and as well as helping people design their new lives in retirement, he says one regret he has is that he jumped into full-time right away and didn't take off any time in between. "When I started out, (again), I said, I'll do it until I get it right. I'm still doing it!"
Joe's (un)retirement advice:
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"Embrace retirement. Try new things. Know where to draw the line. What pace of work works for you now?"
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"Two common missteps are 1) Taking on too much too soon, and 2) Treating retirement as a vacation for too long."
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"Be willing to be really bad at something as you learn. (Which is really hard for people who have been very successful in their careers.)
Carl also interviews Judi Nadratowski. Judi is a relative newbie to retirement. She retired from an international law firm six years ago. She had worked for her firm for 40 years, helping to manage 1,000 professional staff and 800 lawyers in 9 different offices. She says that when she turned 60, she started looking at her life as more finite. She is now a successful writer, blogger and contributor exploring modern retirement.
"I didn't do much planning at all," she says. "I should have given retirement more thought. But on the other hand, I'm not sure I really would have known who I was until I was in this (new) place." She wanted to do something new, something different and more creative with less stress. Judi looked for inspiration everywhere, including following retirement sites on LinkedIn. "That really got me writing about lifestyle, changes and growth in this phase of life. It's allowed me to work through some things, to see myself in a new way."
Judi's (un)retirement advice:
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"Learning to say 'No' was hard. You start to question yourself. Am I being too lazy? Am I not seeing this in the right way? It's about discernment and knowing what fits and having the confidence to walk away (from another work opportunity) to something else that you're going to build."
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"Let go of old definitions. I gradually started to see what served me well in my career was not going to serve me so well now. How do you define success now? It's more about enjoying the ride than the end goal."
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I Used to be Somebody World Tour: Croatia
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Diana Landau is the Content Wrangler for Pickleball Media. After 15 years in corporate marketing, in 2012 she pivoted to write and wrangle content for Niche Media's weekly blog. She now manages the "I Used to be Somebody" blog
