Wally Green: Know me because I’m always in the comments just, like, kinda shitting on the sport. And the reason why I was like that was because

Mick Hunt: Not only am I gonna compete, not only am I gonna dominate, but I’m gonna be the best. Not one of the best, but the best. What was that journey like, man?

Wally Green: I was never the best in the world. Right? As a matter of fact, I was probably, when I started playing pro, the worst in the world. By far, the worst in the world.

Mick Hunt: What’s one thing that you wanna message out to the world today?

Wally Green: One of the most important tips. If you need help, don’t be afraid to ask. Right? It it’s very difficult to do everything on your own. And then more importantly

Podcast Intro: Welcome to Mick Unplugged, where we ignite potential and fuel purpose. Get ready for raw insights, bold moves, and game changing conversations. Buckle up. Here’s Mick.

Mick Hunt: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Mick Unplugged. And today, we have a phenomenal guest. We are talking about a world renowned athlete and ambassador for the sport of table tennis. Known for his electrifying performances and inspiring journey from the streets of Brooklyn to international acclaim. His dedication, resilience, and ability to connect with people of all backgrounds have made him a true icon in the world of sports.

Please join me in welcoming the dynamic, the inspiring, the transformative, the wall breaker himself, mister Wally Green. Wally, how are you doing today, brother?

Wally Green: I’m great. Thanks thanks for having me.

Mick Hunt: Absolutely, man. So we’re about to start where, you know, we were talking offline. And I said, Wally, when I was introduced to you, I was like, wait. I’ve seen that guy. Because there’s not a lot of people that look like me and Wally that you see on TV are out doing table tennis.

Right?

Wally Green: Yeah.

Mick Hunt: So Wally, man, tell me how you went from Brooklyn to picking up table tennis.

Wally Green: Oh, man. It’s pretty crazy because I actually hated it. I hated the sport. Like, they had it in my high school. I used to make fun of all the kids that played it.

Like, as I at the town, I was playing football, I played basketballs and the wrestling team. And I would see it in the lunchroom, and I would make fun of everyone. I’d be like, look at these kids with their short shorts and a stick. Like, it was it was just funny, you know, for me to see it. I started shooting pool 1 year.

And, while I was shooting pool, I got hustled for a little bit of money. I got upset, took my pool stick, slammed it on the table, and it shattered. It broke. It just shattered. And I was so angry.

And back then, you know, I used to take everything that was bothering me, I would take out on other people. I would blame everyone for everything and never myself. And so I saw some kids playing ping pong, and it was like the perfect storm. You know, the sport that I hate, I broke my pool stick. I’m angry.

I’m gonna go mess with these kids. So I went over there to where the kids play ping pong in this pool hall. And I asked one of the kids, I was like, can I get a hit? And the kid was like, you play this? I was like, I don’t play it.

Just give me just give me the paddle. Right? And, my original goal was when he hit the ball to me, the smash him in the face with the ball. And then just say my bad. Right?

And then it wouldn’t look like I was starting something. It was a mistake. But, unfortunately, the angle of the racket happened to be down when I went to smash a ball in his face and it went on the table and it hit the table and the kid was like, oh my god. It’s a great shot. He’s like, oh, you know, you gotta go check out this ping pong club.

And I said, there’s no way that there’s a place where people gather and play this sport. There’s no way that there’s a club for this. And he was like, I’m telling you. Go check it out. You know?

Go see you know, you gotta check it out. And, back then, I was going through, like, 2 kinda lives. Like, you know, I was in a gang at an early age at 13. Owned 6 guns at 13. So I was a very violent kid, and the balance to the violence was sports.

Right? And, also, the balance to the abuse that was going on home was sports. If I joined every possible team that I could play, I’d be exhausted, and those things will bother me less. So I just joined every sport. And so when the guy was telling me that this is a sport, in the front, I was like, there’s no way this is a sport.

But in the back was like, well, maybe it is. So I went down to check out this this, sport. And when I walked in, there was another pool hall, much bigger, but they had, like, I think, I don’t remember, 9 tables, maybe 8 ping pong tables. They had a section that was just ping pong. And, you know, guys were standing back, making a lot of noise and ripping these balls back and forth.

And the craziest thing about it was is that every person who happened to be playing that day was black. And then I was like, wait a minute. Black people play this? And I was shocked because for me, only Asians played ping pong. And I was like, what?

So it was like, wait a minute. Black people play this? And I saw them playing. Now and then immediately, my mind changed. And I was like, yo.

I wanna play this too. And then that’s that’s how I started. You know? That was the first thought of me touching a paddle and trying to learn the sport.

Mick Hunt: That’s amazing, man. And and I’m gonna say you conquered it. Right? Because knowing Wally like I know, when you put your mind to something, you don’t just go, like, halfway in. Like, you were gonna be the best.

So so what was that journey like from starting at the clubs, the the table tennis or ping pong clubs to saying, not only am I gonna compete, not only am I gonna dominate, but I’m gonna be the best. Not one of the best, but the best. What was that journey like, man?

Wally Green: It was crazy. Right? Because I was never the best in the world. Right? As a matter of fact, I was probably, when I started playing pro, the worst in the world.

I was by far the worst in the world, and it was not because I didn’t have the skill to do it. I just had the wrong mindset. Like, I was a great athlete. I played every sport. I got MVP in every sport I ever played, every sport.

And so I just figured, you know what? I’m gonna be great at this too, and I’m gonna beat everyone. And that was my mindset. But I wasn’t really respecting the sport and respecting the people that actually put, you know, years into the sport since 3 years old. Because of that, I would go play these tournaments.

Like, I would, you know, leave America, go to China, and lose, like, 11 1, 11 2, 11 3, 11 1. Maybe don’t get 5 points in one match, and, my tournament would be over. So I just flew from America to China, and one day, that’s it. I was done. And this happened for a long time.

Like, I was just losing. And it wasn’t I couldn’t play. I could play as practicing every day, and I was practicing different countries, but my mindset was wrong. I was thinking that because I’m such a great athlete, I should be great in this. And because I started to believe that I wasn’t learning.

Right? I wasn’t learning why I was losing. I I I wasn’t learning why, you know, the score was 111 or 112. And then, I started to try to figure out how could I get better. Right?

Because people will come up to me and they would say, you know, you should be playing basketball. Like, I’ve had people tell me that. Like, you you should be rapping. I mean, I was doing some hip hop back then. You should be doing this.

And there’s you should be doing everything except this sport. Like, this is not they were telling me this is not for you. Like Right. And people were telling me this. And I started to, like, think like, man, you know, alright.

Something’s is off here. Like, I gotta figure out how can I get better? And then I came up with this idea, and I said, you know what? Maybe I’m putting too much pressure on myself. Instead of me trying to win a match, let me get 5 points.

If I can get 5 points in 1 match, not even 5 points in 4 out of 7 games, just one match, I get 5 points, I’m the world champion. And so I condition my mind to believe this. So people thought I was crazy. That’s why everyone in the world, like, they know me because they they thought I was crazy because I would go and play these tournaments, and I would lose 4 0. I got one game, 5 points.

You would see me go, yeah, and I’d be happy. Right? But I knew at that time that one of the most important things is celebrating those smaller goals, like the smaller tiny ones.

Mick Hunt: All wins.

Wally Green: Yeah. You need to celebrate those. So I was celebrating like I was a champion. And I went from that to winning getting 5 points in every game, then going from 5 points in every game to winning 1 game, then winning 2 games, then winning a match. And that’s the way that I I changed my mindset to actually start to win some matches.

Right? But I never became the best. And I realized, you know, there’s a point where you realize, like, there’s one champion. There’s one number 1 in the world. And you have to figure out whether okay.

If I can’t be the best, then what can I do? And then I realized that. I was like, wait a minute. Hold on. There’s nobody like me in the entire world of ping pong.

First of all, I’m black. I bring the swag to the sport. You know? Electrifying. I I bring this this this energy that no one has.

So maybe I don’t have to be the best. Maybe maybe I don’t need to be number 1. Maybe I don’t need to be number 2. Right? So then I went on this journey of being the most popular player.

Right? And what happened was is I would play a tournament and lose, and the media would come to me immediately. I would get the interview, not the guy who won, which was crazy. I was like, and I skipped getting these interviews. And there was an incident one time in China where, normally, in a ping pong match, you’ll have a preliminary round.

And in the preliminary round, there might be 4 people or 3 people in the group. Right? Each person plays each other. And, normally, you there’s no TV table for the preliminary round. Right?

And if you do get one, it’s 1, and you’re lucky if you get that because it’s almost no one’s getting this. And I noticed when I would go to China, all my matches are on the TV table. And I’m like, why do these people keep putting me on the TV table? I don’t wanna I didn’t wanna be on the TV table. Right?

And so I would go to the, head person. I would say, hey. Why do you guys keep putting me on a TV table? I just played. Just put me on a different table, but I don’t wanna be on a TV table.

And the director said something, which, like, really hit me. He goes, Wally, no. You are good for TV. And when he said that, I was like, yeah. You know what?

You’re right.

Mick Hunt: Yeah.

Wally Green: And and then, you know, I I had less pressure. I started to play much better. Right? Because

Mick Hunt: You were free.

Wally Green: I was free. I was free from, you know, trying to be the best of the best. Right? And I got really, really good. And yeah.

And it it was a very interesting journey and, you know, the media went crazy with it because technically, I shouldn’t even be playing the sport. More or less be good at it.

Mick Hunt: Yeah. And then you became the most marketable star in in table tennis, man. Like, crazy. Right?

Wally Green: Yeah.

Mick Hunt: But if it was gonna be someone, it woulda had to be someone from Brooklyn. Right?

Wally Green: Yes. Yeah. For sure. For sure. For sure.

For sure.

Mick Hunt: Man, so I wanna unplug a couple of things that you actually hit on earlier. But before we go there, I gotta have a confession on table tennis because I was never big in table tennis but could play. Right? You know, in college, you got nothing to do on the weekend. You you and some fellas, you you go hit and you try to show out for people that are in there.

Right? But I haven’t played in a while. And last summer, my best friend, Daniel Song, has 5 kids. So Natalie, Leah, Lauren, Nicole, Nate. I’m talking to you right now.

Uncle Mick is talking to you guys. Molly, they whooped me, bro. Like like, when I say they whooped me, they took turns, and it was comical for them. They were they were salivating to get their turn to beat uncle Mick. But that was last summer.

Nieces and nephews, I’ve been working on it now. You don’t want this anymore. I’m ready.

Wally Green: Go.

Mick Hunt: I’ve been watching Wally Green tapes, and I picked up some skill. And I know that intimidation factor now because I watched what Wally was doing. So so part of that game is mental. Right, Wally?

Wally Green: Yes. A lot of it is. Yeah. So Like, it’s 90% mental. Sure.

Mick Hunt: So I wanna go back and unplug something really quick, man. So you talked about 13 years old in a gang looking for that escape, man. So, you know, at Mick Unplugged, we talk about going deeper than your why and really finding that because. That thing that that drives you, that really fuels you to be the best version of yourself every day. At what moment did you really say to yourself, I’ve gotta be a better person than who I can be?

Because let’s be honest, man, because everyone watching and listening has that friend or had that situation for themselves where you choose path a or path b. And a lot of us don’t choose the right path. Right? So what made you say, I’m going to go down the right path, and not only go down it, but stay there? Because it’s tough.

Wally Green: Yeah. Oh, man. I I get chills from this question. It’s always a very deep question. So I grew up with, really, severe domestic violence.

My mom used to get beat up all the time, a chill punch in the face. My stepfather used to mentally abuse me. He used he used to beat me too, but I got a lot of mental abuse. And the kind of mental abuse was my stepfather always saying that you’ll never be successful. You’ll you’ll be dead.

You’ll be in jail. You’ll be a failure the rest of your life. I would come home from school, and we’re talking about as a kid, as, like, junior high school student. I would come home from school. Maybe I’m in a good mood, which is rare, and my stepfather would say, oh, how was your day?

And I would say, oh, it was good. And he would say, oh, it doesn’t really matter how it was because you’re gonna be a failure anyway. So he would systematically try to make me feel less dead to save time being my mom. And, you know, as a kid, you know, you always wanna protect your mom. Like, I’ve been with my stepfather.

It’s been there since I was 1. Because I don’t remember my mom and my dad together. Yeah. But but my stepfather and my mom been together since I was, like, 1. So this abuse started since I was 1.

And, as a kid, you always wanna protect your mom. You know? You just think about this every day. You you when I was, like, I don’t know, like, 7 or 8, I was thinking of how I could put boric acid into his capsules or the pills that he took.

Mick Hunt: Wow.

Wally Green: Right? Because, like I said, you know, I watched my mom get hit all the time. Right? And, you know, it wasn’t until the pandemic came where I learned about narcissism. I’m learning what it was.

And I was like, oh my god, man. That’s why none of my family never came to my house. Right? But, yeah. So, you know, I always thought I wanted to protect her, and I had an incident in school when I was about 14.

I got caught with a loaded weapon in school. I got into a lot of trouble because I had other problems, other priors before. The judge was trying to really, like he was trying to really put me away. You know? They were they were trying to give me 10 years in jail, like, from juvenile to adult.

And, I had one thing going for me, and that one thing going was I always have my schoolwork done, which is wild. But there’s a reason I have my schoolwork done was because I needed those sport teams. And without good grades, you can’t be on the You

Mick Hunt: didn’t play sports.

Wally Green: And I needed those teams because those teams made me less violent. And and I knew that. So I had people do the work for me for protection. I had people doing my work. I had people, like, taking note.

Like, I I I was on point because I needed those teams to just keep me from doing something even worse. So, anyway, my mom convinced the judge that they would send me to boarding school. They would send me away to Africa. So I got sent away, like, away away. And, when I got there, you know, it was me trying to find myself all again over again.

It was me trying to to to prove myself again, and it was kinda weird because I thought, you know, if I go to Africa, then it’s gonna be easy peasy. Right? Everyone’s black like me. It’s it’s it’s gonna be chill, but it wasn’t the case at all. It was the opposite.

Really. When I tell people this and and they go, what? How is that possible? When I went there, I think the most racism I ever felt was there because for them, I wasn’t the real black. They would call me in their language the kid who eats butter, Try to say I’m soft.

So I spent a lot of time fighting. I spent a lot of time trying now because I had no gang members with me. It was just me. I spent a lot of time trying to, you know, find myself again. And, I joined this crazy military thing there called man of war, and and man of war, it’s like I don’t even know how to explain it.

It’s like boy scouts times 10000. Yeah. Like, they make you do stuff like just standing straight up and falling. Like, it it’s wild. But that made me much stronger, and and that made me, you know, you know, made me think or know that I can finally protect my mom.

So I went back to I came back to America when I was 16, and, the incident an incident happened where my stepfather was choking my mom. And I just looked over. And, when I looked over, my stepfather says, what are you looking at? If you look over here, you’re gonna get the same thing. And I just lost it.

Like, I I I don’t even remember running out the house. I I just kinda, like, just lost it, ran out the house. I went and got a gun, came back in the house, and I put it to his face, and I was gonna kill my stepfather. And, my mom called the police, and my mom’s exact words were, you guys need to hurry. My son’s trying to kill my husband.

And when she said that, like, I can’t explain it. Like, I was just empty. It it was like the ultimate betrayal that the person that I wanted to protect since I was a kid turned around and said this, and and I took the gun I put into my mom’s face. And I was gonna end both their lives that day. Like, that day, I was gonna it it it was it.

I I was gonna end both their I was shaking. I was crying, and I was gonna end both their lives. But then I remembered something. You know, they’re you you can say divine intervention, little birdie, whatever people wanna call it, came to me and says, hey. Hey.

If you do this if you do this right now, every single thing that your stepfather said is gonna happen to you right now, today, if you do this. And, luckily, I was smart enough to listen. And I think more than being smart, I hated my stepfather so much that having nothing that he ever said come true was more important than me ending both their lives. So I walked away, and that’s the answer to your question. That was the first the first step of, like, you know, you can do it because, you know, I tell people, it’s easy to pull that trigger.

It’s not hard. It I’m telling you. It’s not like I could’ve it’s easy to pull it. To walk away is the hardest thing I ever did to not do it because, you know, after that, like, I was questioning myself. Like, you had your chance.

Then now you have the other side of you. Yo, bro. You had your chance. He didn’t take it. You could you could end that guy’s life.

And now he’s still walking around. You know, your mom and your and this they’re still together. And look at you now. You’re living in the street. You should do what you had to do and then had to deal with that.

But after I was able to get over that, then I realized, like, you know, maybe I can do this. Right? Or maybe I can want something different for my life. And that’s when ping pong came on.

Mick Hunt: That’s amazing. I wanna go to one spot where you the ultimate betrayal, right, for a mama’s boy. And and I mean that affectionately because I’m a mama’s boy too. Right? So so so for a mama’s boy to lose that purpose.

Right? To lose that your words. Everything that you were doing for the first 16 years of your life was not because of you, was solely because of your mom. Putting your mom first in everything that you were doing. What was that moment like?

And and what were the next few years like for you? Because I’m sure this is an assumption, so I want you to be able to talk about it. I’m sure your heart hardened a little bit. Right? It probably made you a I I can only imagine what I would go through and, like, I wouldn’t trust people.

I probably wouldn’t get close to people. You know, I’m I’m probably looking over my shoulder. Right? I’m I’m trying to wonder what everybody’s angle is. Right?

Like, you’re from New York anyway, where everybody has angle, so it probably made it at a 10. Right? Like, what was those next few years like for Wally, like, going through that?

Wally Green: The year following that, like, you know, I lived in the street. So I lived in the street for a year hanging out every day, you know, hanging out with my gang, you know, just doing real dumb stuff, and I just felt empty. Like, I I I felt lost. Like, you know, just like I didn’t care. I I didn’t care about anything.

Like, I just didn’t care. And it was to the point to where, like I said, you know, anything that I felt, I would take on other people. Right? I I and I could be angry at any given moment for no reason, like, for no reason at all. I could be talking like this, and all of a sudden, now I’m angry because what happens, I start remembering.

You know? Because I tell people, you know, that trauma and those words, they’re with you all the time. Like, they never leave you. Like, I even I hear this all the time in my head. You know?

You guys have to hurry. My son’s trying to kill my husband. I’m never gonna forget it. It’s it’s always in my head. It was really difficult.

I just you know? Like I said, I had no direction, and it was the ping pong. That it’s so that’s what I say. The ping pong is what saved my life. It was the sport that I hated, that I got so interested because I saw people like me doing it.

And that just kinda, like, took over my mind because, you know, ping pong is a very interesting sport because it’s such a small ball and it’s so fast. It occupies a lot of your mind. Like, when you’re playing, it’s very hard to think about stuff because it’s so fast. Like, if you play basketball, right, you have time where you could think about something. He there’s no time because it’s 10th of a second if you make a decision.

So I noticed that, you know, when I played ping pong, like, I thought less. I didn’t get into those thoughts or remembering those words or remembering, like, what my step was. I was just focused on ping pong. When I played other sports, there’d be periods where I would, you know, stop.

Mick Hunt: You have you have idle time, idle moments.

Wally Green: Right. Right. Yeah. Yeah. That’s exact words.

Yeah. Yeah. So the ping pong is is really what helped me get through it. And I don’t know if you heard the part of the story. There was a guy who used to come to the ping pong club, and, he had met me and asked me if I had a partner.

Right? And at this time, I was, like, kinda living in the street, and I was like, no. He was like, listen. You know? I’ll pay you $20 if you could just hit with me, be my, you know, hitting partner, like, twice a week.

And I was like, $20. Yeah. Of course. You know? Like, it’s easy.

Right? All I can do is hit with this guy. I wasn’t great, but I can, you know, I can hit basic balls. And so this guy would play with me. We’d play together, and then, you know, we became sorta kinda close, right, because I had no, like, adult figure Mhmm.

That that I could talk to. And I really need to talk because this is right after, and then, you know, I was such in a bad head. And I would talk to this guy sometimes. And, plus, for me, he was, like, this random dude, so it didn’t even matter. Right?

It wasn’t anything serious. And, for him, it was more like a TV show. Right? So I always tell people, like, you know, if you don’t know anyone who’s lived that life or been in that life, it’s impossible to understand. Right?

It it’s impossible for a lot of people to kind of, like, you know, understand how a 13 year old has guns. Right? For me, I hear it. I’m like, okay. Alright.

That’s normal. It’s not I’m not gonna go, oh my god. Really? You know? But he was like, oh my god.

Really? It that it’s impossible. So he never really he he never really kind of, like, took it seriously. Then one day, I went to the club, and a 22 filed off my bag in front of him. And he saw it, and immediately, I said, yo.

I gotta go because I don’t know what he’s gonna do. He’s gonna call police. I don’t I don’t know what he’s gonna do. So I left, and I thought, you know, that’ll be the end of the $20. But the guy called me, actually, the next day or it was 2 days later, and says, hey.

Are we still playing? Which is weird because, you know, in my mind like I say, he he was a white guy. He was an Israeli guy. And in my mind, it’s like, you’re calling me to say, are we still playing without mentioning what happened? Like, you know, like like, what’s like, what’s really going on?

Right? But I needed that $20. So, you know, I went and met with him. And then he says, hey. I wanna invite you to meet my family, which is also weird.

I mean, you don’t invite the guy who just dropped the gun in front of you to your house. And he had an apartment in New York. He had a house upstate near Hunter. And, so I was like, okay. You know?

It’s kinda weird, but, you know so I go with him. We we go to meet his family, and, you know, now they’re everyone’s sitting at the table, you know, real kind of like, I don’t know, little house on the prairie kind of, like, family thing where people passing food to each other and thank you, yes, no, and everyone’s kinda, like, smiling. Oh, how was your day? And and and and I was getting angry because I was like, why would this guy bring me here knowing that I don’t have this? Like like, you know, I like so I was becoming really angry about it.

And then he tells me, he goes, hey. You know, I really wanna help you. I know you really like ping pong. I have a connection in Germany, and I’m gonna pay for you to go to Germany to learn ping pong. And I was like, what?

And he was like, yeah. And and at the time at the time, it was all crazy to me because the only thing I know about Germany was Hitler. And I was like, why is this dude sending me to Germany? Or I didn’t know, you know, about sports schools in Europe. Right?

Because we don’t really have sports school. Guys, we don’t have sports schools in New York City. And we have schools that have sports, but we don’t have sports schools. And so it was all new, but, you know, I like I said, I was always a smart kid, and I knew that it was something better. And I took the chance and agreed, and that’s how I actually got out and, you know, started, like, that real life of ping pong.

Mick Hunt: Yeah. And the moment that that truly changed your life, that changed your trajectory of your life was that. And and that’s where I say whether it’s mentors, right, accountability partners, whatever it is, every human being on earth should be either seeking one of those or delivering the other. Right? Either seeking mentorship, guidance, and accountability or being that for someone.

Because to me, that’s how the world moves forward because we all need wisdom. We all need to seek wisdom or give wisdom. And so I love that you actually shared that part of the story, man. So so kudos to you and kudos to to that man and that family for for allowing the world to see Yeah. The real Wally Green, man.

That’s dope. That’s dope. So I know table tennis. You’re like, I’m retired. Right?

You’re you’re done.

Wally Green: Yeah.

Mick Hunt: What’s Wally Green doing now? Because I know I know you’re not just gonna sit still. I know you well enough to know, hey, you’re either gonna you’re either gonna break out into to hip hop, you’re gonna you’re gonna be a dope producer, or you’re gonna find some other sport to go dominate. So what’s Wally Green doing, man?

Wally Green: Yeah, man. So there’s another sport that, I also hate. I mean, I think I still hate it. I’m sure I I don’t love it yet. And it’s the sport of pickleball.

And, I’m probably the biggest hater of pickleball, especially online. Online, all the big pickleball pages, they all know me. They all know me because I’m always in the comments just like kinda shitting on the sport. And the reason why I was like that was because this sport’s been out for a little while, but it just started getting popular since the pandemic. And when it came out, people were obnoxious.

Like, they were like, oh, this is the greatest sport in the world. It’s the best sport in the world. They started taking people’s course. There’s another sport that I played pro called paddle tennis. They would come and take our course, and I’m like, this is not a political course, paddle tennis course.

And and and it and it was so just it being such an obnoxious sport, it just made me go on, like, this rampage of hate for the sport. So whenever it popped up on my feed, I would just trash talk it. And then people would be like, oh, you know what? You’re talking about a great sport. And I’d be like, man, this sport was created for 70 year olds.

Like, that’s the original reason the sport was made. Right? And yeah. So I related to the sport. My sponsor, they are now the number one pickleball company for equipment, my table tennis sponsor.

So they jumped into pickleball a few years ago, and they became the number one. Right now, the number one selling racket is from my table tennis sponsor, which is wild.

Mick Hunt: And who was that?

Wally Green: Yola. Yola.

Mick Hunt: Yola. Okay.

Wally Green: Spelled j o o l a. Yeah. They’re number 1 now, and they mentioned to me 4 years I think, like, 4 years ago maybe. I should I should play pickleball. I was like, you’re crazy.

I’ve never played this sport. And, I’ll give you a sneak peek of why I’m playing it. I’m actually gonna film the unboxing and this and I will tell the story in my unboxing. But I guess that I hated the sport, really didn’t like it, didn’t care for the people in it. And, in the ending of December, I had surgery on my right hip.

Mick Hunt: On your hip. Yeah.

Wally Green: I mean, sorry, left hip on in ending ending of December. So I have a full bionic hip right now. And, I was riding a city bike to PT, physical therapy, and, I took a different route. I took very I took way, way on the east side. And as I was riding, I saw a park where there were pickleball courts.

Now I’ve never seen a real pickleball court. I’ve only seen videos. So I started so I was like, oh, the pickleball court looks a lot like my paddle tennis courts. That’s why these guys keep jumping on the courts. And so I got down.

I I I pulled over, walked down the stairs, like, these little stairs that go into a smaller part where the courts are. And I sat down and I watched it for a little while, and then I could appreciate okay. I can see why people like this because there’s a low learning curve. Right? It’s very easy to play.

It’s very easy to start. And maybe people who normally don’t get exercise can now do something fun and get exercise. Right? So I was having some small appreciation. Then I look over.

There’s a guy sitting next to me, and he says, hey. Do you play pickleball here every day? And the guy goes to me, what? I’m on 45. What?

You’re what? And, you know and I I okay. I know where 45 is now. It’s it’s, you know, pretty high level. But Yeah.

At at that time, I didn’t know what he’s talking about. I said, what do you mean 4 or 5? I said, bro, I didn’t ask you what what you were. Right? And I said it more intensely than what I’m saying now.

You know? But I said, you know, I didn’t ask you what you were. I just asked you if you played. So he asked me a question. And then he did what he did.

He goes and looks up and looks away opposite direction.

Mick Hunt: Oh, just straight disrespect, Tom.

Wally Green: Listen. Oh, man. I’m telling you. It it took a lot for me not to hit this dude, bro. I I just wanted

Mick Hunt: to hit this ball hard.

Wally Green: And it took a lot, and I got so angry inside. And I said, you know what? I’m gonna be here tomorrow. And I started going every day, and that’s why I play this sport now. And then I noticed at the higher level, like, everyone’s so cocky, and they write you off.

Now I don’t know if it’s because, you know, there’s not a lot of black people that play this sport or what, but what I notice is when I go meet new people for the first time, and it’s a high level game, and I say, hey. My name is Wally. You know? They’ll look at you like, what is this guy doing here?

Mick Hunt: Yeah.

Wally Green: Without knowing that, you know, I I’m a world class athlete. They’re just right it it’d be written off right away. And, then when you play and after you show them, all of a sudden now, they wanna be a friend. They wanna get your number for games later. And I’m like, no.

I’m good. Right? So that, cockiness in this sport, that makes me wanna play every day, and and it’s like the ping pong. It’s the same thing exactly exactly like the ping pong. Right?

So I’m gonna prove everybody that I’m gonna not only am I gonna play, not only am I gonna be great at it, but I’m gonna do it the way I wanna do it.

Mick Hunt: That’s what I’m talking about.

Wally Green: And and that’s why I play this sport.

Mick Hunt: The swag is coming to pickleball.

Wally Green: Yeah. It is. And and and it’s coming on.

Mick Hunt: It’s coming on. G

Wally Green: Yeah.

Mick Hunt: Yep. Is coming.

Wally Green: Yeah.

Mick Hunt: Wally g is coming. That’s what I’m talking about, man. And I gotta introduce you. I don’t know if you you know or remember Hall of Famer Rick Barry from basketball. He did the the underhand free throws.

Wally Green: Yeah. Yeah.

Mick Hunt: Yeah. So he is now a pickleball legend. Like, he is a champion in pick we were just talking the other day, and he is, like, just casually. Yeah. I’m, like, 4 time champion.

But I was like, what? That’s okay. So those competitive juices don’t leave. Wally, man, I know I know you’re so busy. I appreciate you taking some time with the viewers and listeners.

What’s one tip that you wanna leave the viewers and listeners with? I don’t care if it’s sports, if it’s life. Like, what’s one thing that you wanna message out to the world today?

Wally Green: I think this is probably one of the most important tips. You know, if you need help, don’t be afraid to ask. Right? It it’s very difficult to do everything on your own. And then more importantly, if help is offered to you, take it.

Take it. You never know where that help is gonna get you. If I didn’t take the help that was offered to me, I wouldn’t be here talking to you. I would be dead or in jail just like my stepfather woman. So, yeah, if people offer you help, you you definitely should take it.

Don’t try to do it yourself.

Mick Hunt: I love it. I love it, brother. Man, so where can people follow you and find you?

Wally Green: On Instagram. Instagram, Wally Green NYC. That’s the best place right now.

Mick Hunt: There we go. Wally, brother, I appreciate it, man. We’re gonna make sure that we are journaling and showing your experience in pickleball. I wanna have you back on in a couple months after the holidays so we can see, you know, exactly what’s going on. And if there’s anything that the Micron Plaque community can do, brother, we are there for you, my man.

Wally Green: And when we come back after the holidays, we talk about my North Korea diplomacy for our peace.

Mick Hunt: That’s what we’re doing.

Wally Green: We will save that.

Mick Hunt: Part 2 after the holidays. I love it. Ladies and gentlemen, remember, your because is your superpower. Go unleash it.

Podcast Outro: Thank you for tuning in to Mick Unplugged. Keep pushing your limits, embracing your purpose, and chasing greatness. Until next time. Stay unstoppable.