A New York City-based Equinox member discovered pickleball at her Club. Roughly six months later, she founded her own paddle company, Helios.
On paper, Ivy Sun’s life seemed to be on the right track. In 2023, the Equinox Sports Club member had been living in New York City for the last seven years, in a nice apartment with an ever-changing group of friends. Her nine-to-five gig as a senior data scientist was what she could only describe as “chill,” and it gave her a decent salary and pleasant colleagues.
“But there was part of the purpose I felt like was missing,” says Sun. “It's almost like the things I was doing did not give me fulfillment.”
That May, a friend brought her to the pickleball courts at the Club, and she was hooked. She began playing regularly, learning techniques from the other members and developing close bonds with them.
“It [was] slowly becoming like a safe haven for me,” she recalls. “I know every weekend, when I go there, I'm going to see a familiar face, and they really care about me — care about my life. I really started becoming friends with everyone, and we started going to some parties and doing gatherings. And then I knew that it doesn't matter what happens Monday through Friday, as long as I go there on the weekend, I'll be fine. I start going there and playing for, like, eight, nine hours every day on the weekend — I spend my whole weekend there. That's the place [where] I don't feel lonely, where I feel like I’m really making genuine connections there, with this pickleball group at Equinox.”
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After just a month of near-constant play, Sun’s paddle broke. Other Equinox members were dealing with the same issue, she recalls. Not to mention, the paddles on the market were “very sporty-looking” for a community sport that’s accessible to all ages and backgrounds, she explains.
At that moment, something clicked. Sun and her friends started researching pickleball paddles and how to produce them, testing 20 different materials — fiberglass, carbon fiber, you name it — and designing their own model. She gifted the final iteration to a few friends at Equinox, who applauded the paddle’s design and artwork.
By December, she launched Helios — a durable pickleball paddle company named after the Greek god of the sun, her last name.
The paddles are constructed with high-quality carbon fiber and an edge guard that protects against the breakdown of the surface materials over time. There’s a large “sweet spot” for dinks and volleys, thanks to the honeycomb core, plus an anti-slip grip on the handle. Each of the company’s five paddle models sticks with the Greek nature theme, with names and abstract artwork to match.
“We want to express our own values on the pattern on the paddle — we want everyone to feel the energy,” says Sun. “...I know for a lot of people, pickleball actually changed their life. I’ve heard a lot of [stories about] people who are, like, depressed, overweight, extremely introverted, don't know how to talk, and they start playing pickleball, and then they see there's a sport they can be very good at. They can make friends, and they can be comfortable talking to people. So this is really the value that Helios is trying to pass on to everyone. We want you to grab a paddle and feel the energy that you can be brave enough to discover your game and be adventurous to discover this new sport that can potentially change your life.”
In the nine months since the debut, Helios has already collaborated on designs for Columbia Sportswear, Poshmark, EOS, and other brands, and it has expanded to a more affordable sister brand called Circe, available in Walmart Canada. Most recently, Helios secured a deal to become the first pickleball brand at Nordstrom, and it's giving back by creating paddles for and donating them to nonprofits. The team is also working on a high-tech version of the Gaia paddle that’s equipped with a first-of-its-kind contact chip; when you tap the paddle to a phone, the player’s contact information is sent directly to the device, says Sun.
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No matter how busy she becomes with Helios and her day job, Sun still prioritizes her time at Equinox. She saves a few hours to play pickleball each week so she doesn’t get “rusty,” and she still works out at the Club daily. She’s even worked with Charles Jackson, the sports complex manager, to donate paddles customized with the Equinox logo to the Sports Club and East 61st Street locations and sponsor the pickleball tournaments.
Although she works as much as 19 hours a day, Sun doesn’t mind. In fact, she thrives when she’s hustling — networking for Helios’ next big collaboration, bringing new friends into the Club, and spreading her love for pickleball. “Right now, I feel like I'm at the best of how I can be.”
Photos Courtesy of Helios