Movement You Love, Build Passion + Ownership, Follow The Energy | FRLN 121

This past week on the Fit Rich Life Podcast (episode 105), I was joined by Matthias Kling and Scarlett Chen, the co-founders of Aireo Sports.

And this episode is a fun one.

Matthias is a Stanford physicist who studies how light interacts with matter and works with some of the most advanced X-ray laser technology in the world.

Scarlett is a global trade entrepreneur with 20 years of experience building supply chains and bringing products from ideas to finished goods.

Together, they started a pickleball paddle company.

Not because they came from the pickleball industry.

Not because they were lifelong pros.

But because they fell in love with the sport, saw an opportunity to make better paddles, and combined their unique strengths to build something meaningful.

Matthias brings the physics, material science, and innovation.

Scarlett brings the manufacturing, operations, design, and global business expertise.

And together they are building one of the most exciting new brands in pickleball.

This episode is about pickleball, but it’s also about something much bigger:

What happens when you follow your curiosity, build around your strengths, and let passion pull you into the next chapter of your life.

Which is really what a Fit Rich Life is all about.

On that note, let's dive into this week's tips, tools, and strategies for fitness, money, and life.

FIT — Find Movement You Love

When I asked Scarlett for her fitness and health tip, her answer was simple:

Go play pickleball.

And I loved that answer.

Because yes, pickleball is incredible exercise.

You move.

You sweat.

You build coordination, agility, balance, and reaction time.

But the deeper magic of pickleball is that it does not feel like a workout.

It feels like play.

Scarlett said pickleball gets you outside, helps you meet new people, and brings both physical and mental health benefits.

She also joked that the only side effect of pickleball is getting smile wrinkles because she smiles so much when she plays.

I felt that.

Since I started playing pickleball, my happiness has 10X’d.

I’ve met more than 100 new friends in less than a year.

I have dozens of new contacts saved in my smartphone as “John Pickleball,” “Chris Pickleball,” and “Kim Pickleball.”

And I’m not exaggerating when I say this sport has become one of the biggest sources of joy, community, and fitness in my life.

Matthias gave a similar answer.

His fitness strategy was:

Choose something you truly love.

He used to run more often, but now if he has the choice between running and pickleball, he almost always chooses pickleball.

Not because it burns the most calories.

Not because it is the most optimal workout on paper.

But because he loves it.

And that is the key.

The best workout is not always the one with the highest calorie burn.

It is the one you will actually do.

The one you look forward to.

The one that energizes you.

The one that makes you want to come back tomorrow.

For me, that is pickleball right now.

For you, it might be strength training, walking, hiking, cycling, dancing, swimming, yoga, martial arts, or something else entirely.

The strategy is simple:

Find movement that feels like play.

When you love the activity, consistency becomes easier.

And when consistency becomes easier, transformation becomes inevitable.

RICH — Build Around Passion & Ownership

One of my favorite parts of this conversation was hearing how Matthias and Scarlett funded and built Aireo Sports.

They bootstrapped it.

They self-funded it.

They started with an idea, tested paddles, got feedback from local players, worked with ambassadors and pro players, and kept improving.

Matthias talked about growing up in Germany where the financial advice he heard was basically:

If you have money, put it in a savings account.

He said he loves his parents, but that was not the best advice for making money work for you.

Then he shared one of the most powerful money and business lessons from the interview.

If you have something you are passionate about, one of the best investments you can make is to build something you own.

Start the company.

Create the product.

Build the brand.

Take the ride.

He said building a company is full of emotional highs and lows. You have moments where you think it might fail. You have moments where everything feels hard. But if you are passionate enough to keep going, ownership can become one of the best investments of your life.

Scarlett’s money and business tip was beautifully simple:

Do what you love.

She said passion helps you move through challenges and difficulty.

And money?

Money is the result.

That does not mean passion automatically creates profit.

It does not mean every hobby needs to become a business.

But it does mean that when you combine passion with skill, discipline, execution, and ownership, you give yourself a chance to build something deeply meaningful.

This is the part I think so many people miss.

The goal is not just to make money.

The goal is to build a life where money supports meaning.

That is High Net-Life.

Yes, build wealth.

Yes, invest.

Yes, own assets.

Yes, create financial freedom.

But also ask:

What do I want to build?

What do I care about?

What am I uniquely good at?

What problem do I want to solve?

What would I keep working on even when it gets hard?

For Matthias and Scarlett, the answer became Aireo Sports.

For me, it has become building out the Fit Rich Life education platform, podcasting, writing, coaching, and now becoming completely obsessed with pickleball.

For you, it might be something entirely different.

But the principle is the same:

The richest life is built at the intersection of passion, ownership, contribution, and freedom.

LIFE — Follow The Energy

When I asked Scarlett for her life and happiness tip, she came back to the same theme:

Do what you love.

She said she feels grateful every day because of the Aireo journey.

She gets messages from customers who love their paddles.

She calls them love letters.

People write to her from all over the world sharing how much they enjoy the product, how much they love the Cyclone paddle, and how meaningful the sport has become to them.

That makes her happy because she feels like she is doing something worthy.

That stood out to me.

Because there is a difference between success and meaning.

Success is external.

Meaning is internal.

Success is the sale, the status, the achievement, the recognition.

Meaning is the feeling that what you are doing matters.

And the beautiful thing is, when you build around something you truly care about, you are much more likely to find both.

Matthias shared that family is a huge part of happiness for him.

He has two young kids who know pickleball inside and out because his garage is full of paddles and ambassadors are coming by the house to talk about the company.

He also said happiness is not really about money.

It is about following what you care about.

It is about feeling pulled toward something so strongly that you naturally put extra hours into it.

Not because you have to.

But because you want to.

That is such a powerful signal.

One of the best clues that you are on the right path is when the work gives you energy.

Not every moment is easy.

Not every day is fun.

But underneath it all, there is a current of aliveness.

You want to learn more.

You want to get better.

You want to keep going.

You want to talk about it, think about it, practice it, build it, refine it, and share it with others.

That is passion.

And if you do not know what your passion is yet, that is okay.

You do not need to sit around waiting for clarity to strike.

Just follow your interests.

Follow what gives you energy.

Follow what makes you curious.

Follow what makes you feel alive.

Keep going until you either get bored or obsessed.

If you get bored, move on.

If you get obsessed, pay attention.

That obsession might become a hobby.

It might become a community.

It might become a business.

It might become a new chapter of your life.

Or it might simply become one of the things that makes your life feel richer.

And that is enough.

ACTION — Activate Your Energy

Pick one thing to upgrade this week:

1. MAKE MOVEMENT FEEL LIKE PLAY

If your fitness feels stale, lonely, or harder to stick with, stop trying to force workouts you don’t enjoy. Find one form of movement that gives you energy. Play pickleball. Walk with a friend. Join a class. Go hiking. Lift with someone you love. The best workout isn’t always the one that burns the most calories. It’s the one you actually want to keep doing.

2. BUILD AROUND PASSION + OWNERSHIP

Take 10 minutes this week and ask yourself: What am I interested in enough to keep exploring? Matthias and Scarlett didn’t start Aireo because they were lifelong pickleball pros. They followed curiosity, combined their unique strengths, and built something they owned. You don’t need to turn every passion into a business, but pay attention to the things that pull your energy forward.

3. FOLLOW WHAT ENERGIZES YOU

Create a short list called “Energy Clues.” Write down the people, activities, projects, conversations, and environments that make you feel more alive. Then look for patterns. Passion often starts as curiosity. Curiosity becomes consistency. Consistency becomes skill. Skill can become contribution. And contribution can become a richer, more meaningful life.

Then listen to the full conversation with Matthias Kling & Scarlett Chen so you can:

• Hear how a Stanford physicist and global trade entrepreneur built a pickleball paddle company.

• Learn why pickleball is one of the best sports for fitness, friendship, and joy.

• Understand how they combined science, manufacturing, design, and community to build Aireo Sports.

• Hear why passion and ownership can become one of the best investments of your life.

• Learn how the Aireo Cyclone became my favorite pickleball paddle.

• Get inspired to follow your own curiosity into the next chapter of your Fit Rich Life.

Listen here:​
🎧 Spotify | 🍎 Apple | ▶️ YouTube | 🌐 Web​

To your health, wealth, and happiness,
— Justin David Carl

P.S. You can get the Aireo Cyclone Paddle at a discount with code DRAGON at checkout.