Pickleball Truck, Ladies Night … it’s time to play!

You may not know his name.

But you’ve probably heard his music, which he blares from his $7,000 speakers.

And, if you’ve spent time around Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale or Mizner Park in Boca Raton over the past two years – especially on weekends – then you’ve likely seen Jonathan Threatt and his bright yellow pickleball truck.

Threatt, a 62-year-old native of Wallace, North Carolina, is now an authentic South Florida pickleball character who has taken his show as far south as Key Largo.

In essence, he drives around promoting his employers, Diadem Pickleball Complex in Coconut Creek, by playing loud disco/R&B music and also throwing pickleballs out the sides of his truck.

“The sign on the back of the truck says, ‘Follow me for a free ball.’ So, everyone wants a free ball,” Threatt explains in his rich Southern drawl.

“Once one kid gets a free ball, everyone wants one, and I have to keep chucking ‘em out, left and right.”

To accomplish this goal, Threatt leaves both doors open on his 30-year-old truck, which used to serve as an ambulance.

He starts with about 300 balls in his truck, and he starts firing. Each ball has the Diadem name and a QR code that takes recipients to their website.

“On a good weekend night,” Threatt said, “I will throw 200 to 250 balls.”

Michael Manglardi, a co-founder of Diadem Sports, said his organization’s “official pickleball bus” was created to bring fun to the sport and to grow the game.

“By traveling around, we are bringing awareness to Diadem but also to the accessibility of pickleball,” Manglardi said.

“Diadem’s motto is ‘Live to Play.’ Our vision is to connect players to their passion.”

As for Threatt, his previous occupation was as a truck driver, a job he performed for 37years.

“I drove about five million miles,” said Threatt, who swears this is not an exaggeration.

After he retired from cross-state truck driving, Threatt landed a job at Diadem, doing a variety of tasks, including fixing cars, stringing tennis racquets and buying and delivering art for his bosses.

Then, when the Diadem owners came up with idea for a promotional truck, Threatt was the choice to drive the vehicle. After all, he has extensive experience as a driver.

So, Threatt started looking for a truck. He eventually found this ambulance in New Jersey and bought it for $17,500. He was, of course, reimbursed by Diadem.

From there, $6,000 was spent to “wrap” the truck, giving it its yellow look with all its assorted pickleball drawings. Then, Threatt spent on a high-quality stereo; solar-powered air conditioning; tires, a new battery and more.

“We’ve put about $30,000 into it, including the purchase price,” Threat said.

Threatt has certainly put the truck to use, logging 20,000 miles in two years. Prior to that, when the vehicle was used as an ambulance, it had just 7,000 road miles in 30 years.

“We want to market our Diadem brand and also promote pickleball,” Threat said.

“When we chose this truck, we wanted something different. We wanted something more bossy and beefier.

“This thing has a big diesel engine. It growls when you come down the highway.”

With that engine and also the music, Threatt said people can hear him coming from nearly two blocks away.

Once he gets to Las Olas, he makes an impact. Waitresses working at the local restaurants often stop to dance to the music he plays.

“Even the guy fixing the street lights will start dancing,” Threatt said.

One time, Threatt threw so many pickleballs while at a stop-light on Las Olas that the police had to tell him to leave.

“It was a mob scene,” Threatt said. “Then I went to Mizner Park, and they banned me because they said I was a nuisance. I still go there, but I turn the stereo down a bit.”

As stated previously, Threatt is a unique South Florida pickleball character.

“This is the most fun job I’ve ever had,” Threatt said. “I don’t have stress. It’s just like playing around.”

LADIES NIGHT

Threatt recently parked his pickleball truck, played his music and gave away Diadem promotional items at Miami-Dade County Fair Expo Center, which was celebrating its highly successful “Ladies Night” pickleball event.

Ladies Night at the Expo Center runs every Wednesday from 7 to 9 p.m., and the cost per person is $15.

On the night the pickleball truck was there, 63 women played, and there were 28 more on a waiting list.

“This is a social event with rotating partners,” Expo Center manager Alex Mut told the women before play started. “Meet people. Have fun. Hopefully you meet a player who can become a partner for a future tournament.”

Mut, along with Expo Center assistant manager Stephane Jolicoeur, started Ladies Night about two months ago with just eight women. That meant that just two of Expo Center’s 14 courts were occupied.

From there, it has grown through word of mouth and social media.

“Ladies like to play with each other,” Mut said. “They like to have their own community.”

Connie Irimia, who said she was one of the original eight players at the Expo Center Ladies Night, loves the atmosphere.

“The competition, the courts, the location, the management, the camaraderie among all the women,” Irimia said. “It’s just a great place to play.”