A Pickleball Injury Led This 66-Year-Old to a $3.5 Million Business

Robins, who previously helped introduce Apple and Facebook to the Canadian market, teamed up with his friend Dave Katz to address a glaring gap in the sporting goods industry. While pickleball paddles were abundant, adequate eye protection remained scarce. The duo turned to a military-grade engineer to develop their signature product: a lens-less frame designed to eliminate glare and fog while providing protection against high-velocity impacts.

Since its self-funded launch in 2025, the brand has scaled rapidly, reaching customers in over 50 countries. Kitchen Blockers generated $3.5 million in revenue last year and is currently tracking a 300% year-over-year growth rate. The company has secured partnerships with major industry organizations, including USA Pickleball and the Professional Pickleball Association, all without cold-calling or outside investment.

Robins, now 66, attributes the success to a lifetime of marketing experience and the freedom of running a project where he answers to no one. Although he has fielded numerous acquisition offers, he remains focused on securing distribution partners who can expand the brand’s global safety mission. For Robins, the venture is less about the exit and more about the challenge of solving a problem that once sidelined him on the court.