There is nothing like the excitement of the Taiwan street markets.
In the early 1990’s, I held the position of Product Manager for Mizuno Tennis. The world’s largest sporting goods manufacturer, had its US headquarters in Norcross, Georgia…a suburb of Atlanta. At this point, I was still fairly early in my tennis industry career, but had been around it long enough to feel like I knew a thing or two about tennis equipment. My days at Mizuno were some of the most rewarding in my career, as I was allowed a lot of freedom and resources to develop some pretty innovative products.
In those days, we sourced most of our products from Taiwan, as well as some from Japan and Hong Kong. Taiwan was the capital of the tennis industry back then, with most larger brands sourcing from the hub of Taichung, Taiwan.
I would typically make the swing through Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong(our bag supplier) about 3 to 4 times per year. Most of the time, I would travel alone, or meet up with my European counterpart. But on a couple occasions, I had the pleasure of traveling with our General Manager, Larry Collins. Larry, an amazing tennis player(played Wimbledon in his day), in his time at Mizuno was one of the most fun-loving people I’ve ever known. He was a young child in a 50+ year old body. And as much as he tried, Larry just couldn’t keep his dress shirts tucked in. In the dictionary under Man-Child, is a photo of Larry. I mean this description of Larry in the best possible way. I absolutely loved working with him, and wished more people would be like Larry, who never took himself too seriously.
Being with Larry was always fun. Traveling with Larry was an adventure. He took every opportunity to get into some mischief. In Taiwan, there was always something that would provide him with the chance to show the young kid(me) something new, or experience some interesting food item that could only be found from one of the Taiwanese street vendors. Snake blood and other disgusting foods just had to be tried!
Business did take place on these trips, as the long days were spent working with our various suppliers, ironing out the details of the new product line. The days work would often yield some new products to playtest that evening. On one trip to finalize the new Reactor series racquets, we were driven to the local public tennis courts of Taichung. These courts were a hotbed of activity, and known by the locals as the spot to play…especially in the evening hours, when the best players came out. The tennis center had several red clay courts and some of the worst lights I’ve ever played under. The place had a very odd vibe(think Bladerunner)to it, but to this day remains one of the most interesting places I’ve ever played.
Soon after our playtest session began that evening, word had circulated around the tennis complex that some American hotshots from Mizuno were on site…one a former Wimbledon player. We were soon approached about playing some doubles. We accepted and made quick work of the challengers, only to find the next team waiting to take us on for another set! This continued for several rounds, as Larry and I faced stiffening competition each time, but prevailing in the end. But before we could make our exit, I was approached for a set of singles by the father of one of Taiwan’s top teenage female players. While hoping to decline the offer, Larry stepped in to accept the challenge for me. He was going to enjoy watching me get run around by the teenager! And enjoy he did, with a steady stream of heckling aimed my way. I think the entire tennis complex had gathered around to witness our set of tennis. Somehow, I found enough game to withstand the final challenge and finally put an end to the nights tennis session.
Before leaving the tennis complex, I asked our host about the birds that were flying over the courts..just above the dim lights. During our hours on court, there was a steady stream of birds flying low enough for you to see. Our host laughed and suggested that those weren’t birds. They were bats! Apparently they fly over the city by the thousands each night.
On our way back to the hotel, a quick stop at a street market for some dinner…it was probably around 11pm by then. Oh, let’s stop here, says Larry…they have some really big snakes!! As hungry as I was, I had to pass on the snake, but ended up eating some kind of meat on a stick.
The next day was our final day at the racquet factory, with just some final adjustments to the racquets from the evenings playtest session. Later that day, with new racquets in hand, we were once again taken to some courts to test the racquets. It was a rainy day, so they took us to the local university, which had indoor courts. To our relief, we were the only people at the indoor courts, but that only lasted a short time. Word had spread from the previous evening that the American’s were a formidable team and must not leave Taichung without losing a doubles match!
A couple of young hired guns were sent to the university courts to take down the Americans. Fortunately the fast indoor hardcourts suited our games, and we were able to hold off the final challenge of our trip. With glowing reviews, we signed off on the new Reactor racquets and quickly headed for the door, before someone else showed up to challenge us!
Over the years, I made a few visits to the playtest courts in Taichung, but that time with Larry and the bats will stick in my memory, as one of the most memorable tennis nights of my life.