A giveaway offering a chance to win a new paddle. That was the format of the article US pickleball outlet The Dink published on June 25, 2026. The prize was the new \"Ultr\u00e9 Power 2\" from a brand called 11SIX24. But what catches the eye here isn't the entry method -- it's the brand's own backstory. Neither a major sporting goods maker nor a startup armed with venture funding, it's a company that began by hand-selling 100 paddles out of a roughly 56-square-meter (600-square-foot) apartment in Washington, D.C., and is now poaching pros from major brands on the PPA Tour. This story is far from irrelevant to Japanese players who invest in their own gear and seek out something better, or to small and midsize gear makers competing with their own products.<\/p>\n
The Dink's promotion is a common campaign, offering 20 prizes over the period from June 25 to July 9, 2026, aiming to drive social sharing and funnel traffic to a purchase path. The centerpiece is 11SIX24's Ultr\u00e9 Power 2, which adopts a flat, square face shape and claims to \"combine the reach of an elongated paddle with the stability of a hybrid shape.\" It's priced at $209.99. It touts lasting spin performance via a 16mm core and a surface treatment called \"HexGrit.\"<\/p>\n
The article casually noted in one line that Augie Ge, a player under contract with the brand, had begun switching from the existing Vapor model to this Ultr\u00e9. As a side note in a giveaway article, it's minor -- but in gauging the brand's true strength, this is close to the heart of the matter. A pro changing the gear they use themselves speaks louder than any sponsorship contract wording.<\/p>\n
11SIX24's founder is David Groechel. He studied finance at Michigan State University, spent five years in marketing and AI at HubSpot, and has a background as a software engineer. Before starting 11SIX24, he had also sold two tech startups. He's neither a former elite player from the industry nor the second-generation heir of a legacy maker -- a complete outsider.<\/p>\n
The trigger was a personal frustration. Playing four to six times a week, an expensive paddle he'd paid around $220 for cracked in three months. The question of why such a pricey piece of gear was so fragile turned into the idea of \"making a paddle myself that's hard to break and doesn't compromise on performance.\" He launched in spring 2023. At first, from his home apartment -- a room packed with paddles, packing materials, and prototypes -- he hand-sold custom-made paddles, selling out the first 100 between the spring and summer of 2023.<\/p>\n
The origin of the brand name is fitting for this person too. Staring at a jar in a game to guess the number of jelly beans, he guessed the exact count: 11,624. That became the company name as is. In late 2023, he connected with a different manufacturing partner in China and realized the \"Huarache-X,\" an elongated model with a curved top and a longer grip. Having found his footing, in mid-2024 he made the decision to quit his day job and devote himself to the company.<\/p>\n
11SIX24's flagship Power 2 series is $209.99. While many major brands sell top-tier paddles for over $250, it clearly stakes out a \"value\" position, holding down the price without sacrificing performance. The founder himself explains the brand's reason for being in these words: \"If you're paying over $200, you don't want it to break in a few months.\"<\/p>\n