This was an infinitely better interview than the one Will give on The Upshot - honest, introspective, and real about the company’s role and priorities in the market. He’s totally right - Prodigy needs to focus on their company identity and values over signing some big player. I wish him success
I just disagree with the 2nd part. 1. Saves money on plastic. 2. You get to be involved in a brand you're passionate about and a community of like-minded people. 3. It forces you not to not use specific discs as a crutch. For me, I bagged a Justice and Cap Rap and when I got picked up on a streetteam had to work on touch with discs that weren't as uberbeef as those. It's made me a better disc golfer, and has saved me money. Win win!
@Vidgamesftw what's a crutch disc? All companies make discs that can do the job. Not a disc in my bag that I can't live without or replace easily. I enjoy some Prodigy molds, so I'm not hating on them. I do actually bag an older A3 and a new D2 Max. Great discs.
@jasonhopkins5569 Oh, I didn't think you were hating on them specificly! I was more just commenting on the idea that a mixed bag is better than signing to bag 100% of a single manufacturer. I think the pros outweigh the cons
That was a good conversation about what sells and what doesn't. I think Gannon is one of these talents that doesn't translate to most players' experiences. In his new disc commercial, he was talking about how he needed a new midrange for touchy 400 foot shots. There is a reason every sidearm player has a Sexton Firebird, and it's not because Nate is a 6'6 19 year old dropping midranges in at 400 ft and putting a normal putt from 60 feet.
I really respect Uli for being professional because I’m sure he knows way more inside info than he’s willing to share on the podcast. I’m sure his peers appreciate him waiting for them to break the news before he shares what he really knows.
I do respect him and other players for keeping sensitive info quite, but in all honesty that is a pretty low bar for people to pass. It's pretty common in disc golf people will wait until after some news drops to say they knew about it the whole time which imo kinda ruins the " magic" when the same people are also driving content about speculation because it means we know and they know they are essentially playing dumb.
I respect his professionalism but probably not the right co host for this show because of how connected he is to a lot of people in the sport ..he can never give a good take of what he truly thinks .
To agree with what Will Shusterick was saying, he sent Broderic like 50 discs to allow him to do a 30 day special which translates into his viewers like myself actually wanting to go out and buy the discs. This way I learned what seemed to be good, what I might be interested in, and what the actual discs are all about, rather than what I hear about the brand as a whole which is not good at all lolll
They're paying Ricky $84,000 a month to play disc golf. Let's say DD is making $10 profit per disc which seems reasonable. Ricky would have to be responsible for selling 8400 discs a month just to break even on his contract. Now obviously there's merch sales and maybe all his youtube revenue goes to DD, but that's still an insane amount of money to try and recoup every single month. Especially in the offseason period.
Thanks for having Will on and thanks for coming on Will. I learned a lot! Edit: Also after listening more, this sheds a nice new light on Prodigy in my eyes. They are lucky to have Will leading the charge as the CEO.
I don’t care what anyone says, Prodigy has the best naming convention for discs. Simple and easy to know what type of disc you’re throwing. The general stability based on the number after the Letter identifying the type of disc it is makes the most sense to me. Obviously not “fun” but definitely professional.
Impressive interview with Will. Totally liked the “disc name” question for Prodigy. I started 2 years ago, can play pretty well, but early on looking at Prodigy discs was just overwhelming. Discraft appealed right away. I still use a fair amount of Innova, a few Trilogy, and MVP is 2nd (Simon effect, not James etc) most purchased. I don’t mess with any of the other plastics.
Was at a store on break (was in SC, live in NJ and no stores near by) by the fractal PA-3 felt great, made me consider buying it and the A2. Will is super likeable and hope he has success tightening the quality issues. Currently bag a F9 for rollers and love the 500 plastic
It blows my MIND that people still expect more from professional disc golf. A 19 year old just won $200,000 from tournament winnings, you can pay less than $10 a month to watch every tournament live, theres most likely a DGPT stop within an hour from most people. What do people expect?! The mlb? Maybe just stop complaining about where the sport should be and continue to help it grow by donating their time, money and other resources! It’s as jf people want it to fail??
Yeah I’ve recently become a fan of bowling and we have it SO GOOD over here, it’s insane. While bowling does have 15-16 tv shows a year on fox and fs1, if you want to watch any other professional bowling it’s a complete nightmare. Those shows are also rushed and force prestigious tournaments to end in sudden death matches as opposed to best of 3’s. Then there’s 18 dollars a month for a service called bowl tv. They have 2-3 tournaments a month, most of them amateurs. They film with stationary cameras that are so zoomed out that they show 6 lanes at a time. Commentary is Nate Doss level stuff and the apps are horrendous. It makes the dgn app look like a 5 star operation. And they have absolutely nothing like jomez that provides post production. While the tv shows are amazing and super well produced, it has stopped the sport from investing much into online viewing.
100% agree. DGN coverage isn’t perfect by any means, but given how cheap the service is and how small of a sport disc golf is, I think it’s a miracle there’s live coverage at all. It’s laughable how many people want disc golf to grow but are unwilling to support companies like DGN and UDisc because they’re paid services
All this latest growth has happened over just a few years, too. We have it really good right now, and what we need to do is let it settle down while supporting everything as fans and players.
I've been thinking over this last year that it would be so cool to watch different Team events like manufacturer vs manufacturer or something similar to what TGL is doing right now. I think that's what makes the All-Star Event and President's Cup fun to watch.
DGPT should start counting team points that lead up to a manufacturers cup finale. All season, players accumulate points for their team, and then at the end of the season have a team golf tournament.
Would LOVE to see Jesse from Trash Panda come on and talk on tour life.... would love to see some other smaller market manufacturers get some screen time on tour life
How hard would it be for a company to hire someone for your top 3 disc movers to edit videos for them, make social media posts, and some commission based marketing for them?
I'm not buying a Discmania disc BECAUSE of Gannon Buhr, I'm not buying a Prodigy disc BECAUSE of Robinson. It's not cut and dry like that Uli, sorry. Even Tiger Woods couldn't keep Nike Golf afloat.
@@waltermaciejewski7381 If a friend gave me something to try, and it worked, it feels good, and it fits my game, I don't care who it's made by or who's stamp is on it. I'm not gonna buy something just because of the player. I might be the minority, but I just don't think it's as cut and dry as Isaac wins Worlds so Prodigy is going to sell out of a certain disc.
Issac throwing a mixed bag seems logically for Prodigy, Issac can stick with putters, approach discs, and mids as that's how I see Issac as a golfer. And maybe let's say a Discmania or an Innova picks up Isaac's other part of his bag with fairways and distance drivers. Me personally I see prodigy as a great putter and approach manufacturer, however I can't talk about their other lineups as I don't throw them.
As much as companies try to compete with other companies in Disc Golf, I think Will is right in regard to just working on Prodigy in house. I mean it’s sort of like playing Golf in general. You can only control what you do on the course. Concentrate on your “game” and hopefully the good results will come.
Happy 90th Birthday to Elvis!☺The PDGA had its headquarters in Memphis, TN before he passed.....but the question is, did Elvis ever see a disc golf basket or even tried the game?☺
I love the team idea in the first place but I like Will's take in that a team could be completely agnostic from manufacturers. An LLBean team could have players that throw all kinds of stuff.
The tournaments have been made so difficult that is boring entertainment for outsiders. We HAVE to create something that is exciting to watch for a person that had NEVER seen the sport. Will, it's Patrick at Battlefield. I'd like to chat soon when you have a chance. I'll swing by soon. This was a great show today guys.
I got into playing DG in about ‘08. I knew of the sport years before that…but didn’t know where any courses were and had no discs to play with. A skateboard buddy got me into it. I did nothing but play DG and never watched anything online as far as tournaments and tutorials. I only started watching DG online in 2024. I also never joined any social media groups dedicated to DG before 2024. One of the first things I heard of when I started paying attention to DG related stuff online was the whole “Gannon suing thing”. That put me off about Prodigy at first cos it was always stated like, “They sued a 19 year old.”. But they’re a business…and he broke a contract with them. I don’t know the *entire ins and outs…but I keep that in mind. One other thing that put me off was that they make some discs in China. But I don’t have to throw that stuff. I’ll put it this way- I went to my local DG shop and held every beaded putter from the massive amounts of companies out there…and the PA-3 300 firm was the best I feeling for my hand at the time. But at the time…I was still buying into the internet hate for Prodigy (oh and one more thing that just came to me was hearing about the chalky plastic). But considering they probably didn’t *want to sue GB. And the chalky plastic is a thing of the past. I’m gonna go back to my shop and buy the best putter that I felt in my hand. The PA-3 might lead to more Prodigy plastic comin’ home with me.
No one mentions disc quality! - As a pro, perhaps all disc quality is 'the same', but to a consumer getting a company that produces reliable, consistant discs is important - I don't want to search for which mold, from which run, will work well and fly the way I expect! And wich basic plastics hold up the best - Then support quality players. People are tired of empty marketing, across all industries - quality man
No, but he said that the return of investment from your local TD is higher. He sent youtuber Broderic 50 discs (roughly), a channel with 10k subs. Do you think he will sell more than 50 discs based on all of his videos on Prodigy? You bet. If you give Isaac a couple of hundred grand a year (or whatever it may be), does he sell discs in proportion to that? It seems like the answer is no, but obviously Isaac or Ezra sells more discs than your local TD or Broderic.
But the problem that Will needs to realize is that Prodigy has such a shitty name in the market that players winning/promoting/doing all the dumb extra shit that was talking about won’t actually work because most people wouldn’t touch a Prodigy disc, regardless of how they feel about a particular player. People feel generally that the quality of their discs sucks and they have a reputation to be cheap and shitty to their signed pros. Will needs to fix that if he wants pros to sell discs, not the other way around. He comes across here as a bit of a dickhead businessman who is saying “pros better make us money or we don’t give a shit about them”. Which I get, he is the CEO. BUT the reputation of Prodigy is so shitty that he should be completely changing strategy at this point, looking to become a generous company “for disc golfers by disc golfers”, otherwise they are straight up fucked.
I feel like Dynamic Discs gave everybody the blueprint for how to build a successful manufacturing brand. I still throw a 90% DD bag mainly because of the “is this disc right for you” series “disc golf answer man” and Danny’s form videos. They promoted their players well. Every time one of their players was in town they would release several videos featuring them. I really got the impression that players WANTED to be on the DD team. I don’t get that vibe from any current company.
To be honest i never got the 'mania' part (which is now over) of Discmania, it always seemed stupid to me that their best discs, the ones that pros throw, are unavailable to purchase.
Brodie is wrong about not wanting to see competitors be stoked for each other. Those are the guys I want to play. But I'm also into downhill and freeride mountain biking where that is a prominent feature.
In the history of sports, rivalries have sold far more tickets than buddies playing pattycake. The point is the buddy system isn't moving the needle. We need more competitive fire or something else because the current nature isn't working.
@ I don’t see’em holding hands…skipping and frolicking down the fairway. It’s the same thing as regular golf. If team sport meatheads can’t get over that and need to see some chest bumps amongst teammates…maybe disc golf isn’t for them.
The number 1 priority in disc golf is to get the sport more popular!....PERIOD!. Will had a great point of going into Target, Walmart, etc. and see a starter set at a reasonable price. Disc Golf needs to focus on the millions that still have no idea what the sport is all about. Watching Pros like Ricky, Gannon, Simon, Ezra and Will showing future players, especially disc golf wanna bees, how to play the sport correctly, makes it a fun sport to play, like good ole Pickleball. Not every player, new or advanced will be using the same disc that the top winning pros are using. There are so many discs out there, and many are so similar. A pro, world champion or not, can use the line up of discs from any manufacturer, and do just as well. The future of disc golf is attracting new players from schools and getting into those schools to teach the game like people like Ricky is doing. To learn how to throw a putter and mid range disc to start is a great first step is any disc golf player's journey. Watching all the new talent coming onto the Pro Tour is encouraging for the growth of the sport. One day, a huge company may just buy out many of the manufacturers and will have the $$$ to market the game. Getting it on TV is critical and attracting big money sponsors will be the key in getting the sport out of the grass roots struggling position it finds itself in today. We don't only want "couch potato" types, we want to see it as a sport like bowling or pickleball, where playing the sport is fun and enjoyable for all ages and abilities!☺
What's going to happen to all the collab discs? I like my Reverbs for the OS dd slot and I bought a bunch for $4 on the Black Friday sale, but eventually I'll lose them all
Disc golf pros need to see themselves as entrepreneurs and get after it. Disc golf doesn’t have the ad revenue to spend on the things Brodie is talking about. PS - I love the team idea. Bundle sponsors on teams and focus on team scoring. Think wrestling dual meet but based on place in field.
@ I know you did, but that’s the answer. I’m sure they would love to be able to pay a full social media production team but they can’t. So it’s almost up to the players to cover their own marketing branding etc
@@natemaas1982investing and being successful isn't oligarchy.... Funny how Elon was everybody's hero until he started promoting free speech and standing against censorship, and suddenly Bernie bootlickers and lefty loonies hate him. I mean seriously, the absolute undisputed world leader in EV technology and the ONLY EV manufacturer that builds cars in California, yet Tesla gets snubbed from people getting government rebates for buying electric vehicles? Stupidity and hypocrisy.
I think it’s a fine idea. But his perspective about players high fiving each other turns spectators off…falls flat. I come from a skateboarding background. We cheer each other on. Disc golf’s the same way (if you’re a good sportsman).
People aren't going to be more and more discs anymore with the growt of the sport slowing down. They aren't collectable anymore, you already have enough to throw and spares. Manufacturers have to innovate other things to sell to players...
1:06:56 I might be in the minority, but I always liked the Prodigy disc naming and visual language. It's logical, professional, and mature. Their recent plastic looks really gorgeous too, and IMO that's all they really need.
I disagree. I dislike the naming of the discs. They should take a page out of mvp and discrafts playbook and bring some personality and memorability to the discs.
Will sounds like he is in over his head. Why would any top pro go there? The company should be paying disc golfers to disc golf. Not every pro is a salesman/ influencer. Saying they need to go on socials on Monday and give credit to the PA3… gimme a break. I think Brodie tiptoed around it and may be holding back out of courtesy, but he knows it too.
Why? Why should they be paid to play disc golf if they are not providing any ROI? Why should anyone be paid to do anything if they are not generating more income than they are expenses? No one is owed anything. What you are worth is based on the value you bring. Currently, there is very little income in disc golf outside of disc sales, so that's where your value is. 10 or 15 years ago, the people winning everything were generating the sales. Today, it's much more connected to social media presents. That's why someone like Simon has one of the biggest contracts in all of disc golf. I don't know where Isaac is going, but I would be willing to bet he is not going to be making a million dollars a year even though he is one of the only people in history to win back-to-back worlds. That's why dynamic discs said that they are losing money on Ricky, because despite being one of the best players in the world, it is not translated to disc sales. It doesn't matter how good you are, a company can't pay you $250,000 a year to play disc golf but you are only bringing in $100,000 in revenue to the company.
lol @Uli, stop pretending like the Stealers aren’t a joke. Haven’t won a playoff game in nearly a decade. The only reason they are here is the same reason the Chiefs win every week except when they lay down and let their rival in. 🦓🦓🦓
Speaking of manufacturing, you all should get Jesse from Trash Panda on to talk about manufacturing among other things. Hes so full information and knowledge
I would love to hear this podcast talk about this: how do the weed smoking, wife beater wearing, blasting music dudes, who completely disregarding park rules (we’ve all seen them, a lot) impacting the growth of the sport. I think those dudes are the reason disc golf doesn’t grow
I liked Will Shusterick as a player, but today he sounds more like a heartless hedge fund manager than a disc golfer. Ironically, he didn't say one thing that caused me to want a Prodigy disc. Corporations are stupid, and they're mean. Looks like Prodigy is headed that way.
Seeing Will on podcasts let me to purchase a couple discs and boy do I regret it. purchased a F3 and F2 both flipped so much they are essentially useless. Sad.
when a brand sucks, they can't afford the best athletes, molding, plastic, branding, anything, so what we have seen the past few years is prodigy just dipping lower and lower and lower to hopefully not being around anymore
He's an affable clown though. Pretty much the only reason I'd buy a pro's disc is to help support them financially, i.e. a lower level player who doesn't have a fat contract already. Otherwise, just give me a stock disc with cool colors or a snazzy stamp.
in charlotte nc, we don't respect prodigy, period. we respect innova, discraft, latitude, every brand but prodigy. why, because their plastic, plain and simple. the product is key
This was an infinitely better interview than the one Will give on The Upshot - honest, introspective, and real about the company’s role and priorities in the market. He’s totally right - Prodigy needs to focus on their company identity and values over signing some big player. I wish him success
Will is a great rep for Prodigy. Anytime he comes on shows like this, it’s going to help their image. He is genuine, and gives good, honest answers.
Brodie - “Uli did you hear anything about Cale leaving”
Uli, captain of Team Discraft - “No”
Yeah, even if he knew, he wasn't going to say anything.
Blurryhorse did not re-sign with Tour Life for 2025
End of an Era...
Looks like the only signed 3/4 of Paul
Prodigy has some good molds. Every company does. I couldnt imagine only throwing 1 manufacturer as an AM/Local pro. Mixed bag life is the most fun.
Distortion is a superb disc, I hope it don't vanishes after KJ's departure
I just disagree with the 2nd part. 1. Saves money on plastic. 2. You get to be involved in a brand you're passionate about and a community of like-minded people. 3. It forces you not to not use specific discs as a crutch. For me, I bagged a Justice and Cap Rap and when I got picked up on a streetteam had to work on touch with discs that weren't as uberbeef as those.
It's made me a better disc golfer, and has saved me money. Win win!
@Vidgamesftw what's a crutch disc? All companies make discs that can do the job. Not a disc in my bag that I can't live without or replace easily. I enjoy some Prodigy molds, so I'm not hating on them. I do actually bag an older A3 and a new D2 Max. Great discs.
Prodigy 400 plastic is my favorite
@jasonhopkins5569 Oh, I didn't think you were hating on them specificly! I was more just commenting on the idea that a mixed bag is better than signing to bag 100% of a single manufacturer. I think the pros outweigh the cons
make it a school sport, and it will explode!
That was a good conversation about what sells and what doesn't. I think Gannon is one of these talents that doesn't translate to most players' experiences. In his new disc commercial, he was talking about how he needed a new midrange for touchy 400 foot shots. There is a reason every sidearm player has a Sexton Firebird, and it's not because Nate is a 6'6 19 year old dropping midranges in at 400 ft and putting a normal putt from 60 feet.
I really respect Uli for being professional because I’m sure he knows way more inside info than he’s willing to share on the podcast. I’m sure his peers appreciate him waiting for them to break the news before he shares what he really knows.
I thought the same thing. He definitely knows a lot about the Jerm situation but didn’t give us much, as he shouldn’t.
As well as what's going on with Cale... It's gotta be a tough position to be in but I think he handled it well
He's always professional about this stuff, he doesn't have a problem flat out saying no.
I do respect him and other players for keeping sensitive info quite, but in all honesty that is a pretty low bar for people to pass. It's pretty common in disc golf people will wait until after some news drops to say they knew about it the whole time which imo kinda ruins the " magic" when the same people are also driving content about speculation because it means we know and they know they are essentially playing dumb.
I respect his professionalism but probably not the right co host for this show because of how connected he is to a lot of people in the sport ..he can never give a good take of what he truly thinks .
Tristan Tanner is a great example of finding his niche. His coaching videos have been very good
To agree with what Will Shusterick was saying, he sent Broderic like 50 discs to allow him to do a 30 day special which translates into his viewers like myself actually wanting to go out and buy the discs. This way I learned what seemed to be good, what I might be interested in, and what the actual discs are all about, rather than what I hear about the brand as a whole which is not good at all lolll
was thinking of this the whole time will was talking lol
This is the way!
I totally wanted to go buy prodigy discs after watching his series .
They're paying Ricky $84,000 a month to play disc golf. Let's say DD is making $10 profit per disc which seems reasonable. Ricky would have to be responsible for selling 8400 discs a month just to break even on his contract. Now obviously there's merch sales and maybe all his youtube revenue goes to DD, but that's still an insane amount of money to try and recoup every single month. Especially in the offseason period.
Thanks for having Will on and thanks for coming on Will. I learned a lot! Edit: Also after listening more, this sheds a nice new light on Prodigy in my eyes. They are lucky to have Will leading the charge as the CEO.
I don’t care what anyone says, Prodigy has the best naming convention for discs. Simple and easy to know what type of disc you’re throwing. The general stability based on the number after the Letter identifying the type of disc it is makes the most sense to me. Obviously not “fun” but definitely professional.
Impressive interview with Will. Totally liked the “disc name” question for Prodigy. I started 2 years ago, can play pretty well, but early on looking at Prodigy discs was just overwhelming. Discraft appealed right away. I still use a fair amount of Innova, a few Trilogy, and MVP is 2nd (Simon effect, not James etc) most purchased. I don’t mess with any of the other plastics.
Was at a store on break (was in SC, live in NJ and no stores near by) by the fractal PA-3 felt great, made me consider buying it and the A2. Will is super likeable and hope he has success tightening the quality issues. Currently bag a F9 for rollers and love the 500 plastic
It blows my MIND that people still expect more from professional disc golf. A 19 year old just won $200,000 from tournament winnings, you can pay less than $10 a month to watch every tournament live, theres most likely a DGPT stop within an hour from most people. What do people expect?! The mlb? Maybe just stop complaining about where the sport should be and continue to help it grow by donating their time, money and other resources! It’s as jf people want it to fail??
Yeah I’ve recently become a fan of bowling and we have it SO GOOD over here, it’s insane.
While bowling does have 15-16 tv shows a year on fox and fs1, if you want to watch any other professional bowling it’s a complete nightmare. Those shows are also rushed and force prestigious tournaments to end in sudden death matches as opposed to best of 3’s.
Then there’s 18 dollars a month for a service called bowl tv. They have 2-3 tournaments a month, most of them amateurs. They film with stationary cameras that are so zoomed out that they show 6 lanes at a time. Commentary is Nate Doss level stuff and the apps are horrendous. It makes the dgn app look like a 5 star operation. And they have absolutely nothing like jomez that provides post production.
While the tv shows are amazing and super well produced, it has stopped the sport from investing much into online viewing.
100% agree. DGN coverage isn’t perfect by any means, but given how cheap the service is and how small of a sport disc golf is, I think it’s a miracle there’s live coverage at all. It’s laughable how many people want disc golf to grow but are unwilling to support companies like DGN and UDisc because they’re paid services
All this latest growth has happened over just a few years, too. We have it really good right now, and what we need to do is let it settle down while supporting everything as fans and players.
I've been thinking over this last year that it would be so cool to watch different Team events like manufacturer vs manufacturer or something similar to what TGL is doing right now. I think that's what makes the All-Star Event and President's Cup fun to watch.
Jomez actually shows what disc people throw. That does it for me. I don't throw much discraft, but their ad with the dope music grabs my attention
I still like your idea of the manufacturer's team competitions. Keep spreading the idea Brodie!!
DGPT should start counting team points that lead up to a manufacturers cup finale. All season, players accumulate points for their team, and then at the end of the season have a team golf tournament.
Would LOVE to see Jesse from Trash Panda come on and talk on tour life.... would love to see some other smaller market manufacturers get some screen time on tour life
How hard would it be for a company to hire someone for your top 3 disc movers to edit videos for them, make social media posts, and some commission based marketing for them?
Best quality to date
I'm not buying a Discmania disc BECAUSE of Gannon Buhr, I'm not buying a Prodigy disc BECAUSE of Robinson. It's not cut and dry like that Uli, sorry. Even Tiger Woods couldn't keep Nike Golf afloat.
Why aren’t you buying those brands? Lack of marketing? Don’t like the marketing style? Don’t like the plastic? Don’t like the design of the branding?
@@waltermaciejewski7381 If a friend gave me something to try, and it worked, it feels good, and it fits my game, I don't care who it's made by or who's stamp is on it. I'm not gonna buy something just because of the player. I might be the minority, but I just don't think it's as cut and dry as Isaac wins Worlds so Prodigy is going to sell out of a certain disc.
Brodie putting a lot of onus on the word onus in this episode
There should be a documentary done about the early days of prodigy. It was a wild time.
Issac throwing a mixed bag seems logically for Prodigy, Issac can stick with putters, approach discs, and mids as that's how I see Issac as a golfer. And maybe let's say a Discmania or an Innova picks up Isaac's other part of his bag with fairways and distance drivers. Me personally I see prodigy as a great putter and approach manufacturer, however I can't talk about their other lineups as I don't throw them.
As much as companies try to compete with other companies in Disc Golf, I think Will is right in regard to just working on Prodigy in house. I mean it’s sort of like playing Golf in general. You can only control what you do on the course. Concentrate on your “game” and hopefully the good results will come.
The A-2 in soft plastic is one of the best overstable putter and approach discs ever.
Incorrect. Zone
@@Holycow723as a fellow zone thrower, you disgust me :)
A3 350G
Likability and entertainment is what sells plastic. Not wins
Happy 90th Birthday to Elvis!☺The PDGA had its headquarters in Memphis, TN before he passed.....but the question is, did Elvis ever see a disc golf basket or even tried the game?☺
Brodie reveals his own ignorance and selfishness in the questions he asks Will. I can't believe a disc company would trust him
I love the team idea in the first place but I like Will's take in that a team could be completely agnostic from manufacturers. An LLBean team could have players that throw all kinds of stuff.
Great points made here
The tournaments have been made so difficult that is boring entertainment for outsiders. We HAVE to create something that is exciting to watch for a person that had NEVER seen the sport. Will, it's Patrick at Battlefield. I'd like to chat soon when you have a chance. I'll swing by soon. This was a great show today guys.
Damn, the video quality blizzard has finally ended. We did it.
Crystal-Horse unlocked ❤🎉
Brodie is going to be the next Vince McMahon.
I feel like Brodie wants Prodigy :D it will be a good sign :D
I got into playing DG in about ‘08. I knew of the sport years before that…but didn’t know where any courses were and had no discs to play with. A skateboard buddy got me into it.
I did nothing but play DG and never watched anything online as far as tournaments and tutorials. I only started watching DG online in 2024. I also never joined any social media groups dedicated to DG before 2024. One of the first things I heard of when I started paying attention to DG related stuff online was the whole “Gannon suing thing”. That put me off about Prodigy at first cos it was always stated like, “They sued a 19 year old.”. But they’re a business…and he broke a contract with them. I don’t know the *entire ins and outs…but I keep that in mind. One other thing that put me off was that they make some discs in China. But I don’t have to throw that stuff.
I’ll put it this way- I went to my local DG shop and held every beaded putter from the massive amounts of companies out there…and the PA-3 300 firm was the best I feeling for my hand at the time. But at the time…I was still buying into the internet hate for Prodigy (oh and one more thing that just came to me was hearing about the chalky plastic). But considering they probably didn’t *want to sue GB. And the chalky plastic is a thing of the past. I’m gonna go back to my shop and buy the best putter that I felt in my hand. The PA-3 might lead to more Prodigy plastic comin’ home with me.
Don't sleep on Prodigy...
No one mentions disc quality! - As a pro, perhaps all disc quality is 'the same', but to a consumer getting a company that produces reliable, consistant discs is important - I don't want to search for which mold, from which run, will work well and fly the way I expect! And wich basic plastics hold up the best - Then support quality players. People are tired of empty marketing, across all industries - quality man
I posted this right before they talked about quality :) Finally
Did Will basically say Issac and Gannon didn’t push plastic, and that Local Pros who are TDs or run leagues are bigger plastic pushers. 35:25
No, but he said that the return of investment from your local TD is higher. He sent youtuber Broderic 50 discs (roughly), a channel with 10k subs. Do you think he will sell more than 50 discs based on all of his videos on Prodigy? You bet. If you give Isaac a couple of hundred grand a year (or whatever it may be), does he sell discs in proportion to that? It seems like the answer is no, but obviously Isaac or Ezra sells more discs than your local TD or Broderic.
These going on the podcast app? Listen while I drive for work!
But the problem that Will needs to realize is that Prodigy has such a shitty name in the market that players winning/promoting/doing all the dumb extra shit that was talking about won’t actually work because most people wouldn’t touch a Prodigy disc, regardless of how they feel about a particular player.
People feel generally that the quality of their discs sucks and they have a reputation to be cheap and shitty to their signed pros.
Will needs to fix that if he wants pros to sell discs, not the other way around. He comes across here as a bit of a dickhead businessman who is saying “pros better make us money or we don’t give a shit about them”. Which I get, he is the CEO. BUT the reputation of Prodigy is so shitty that he should be completely changing strategy at this point, looking to become a generous company “for disc golfers by disc golfers”, otherwise they are straight up fucked.
Will has the BIGGEST coffee mug I’ve ever seen 😂
I feel like Dynamic Discs gave everybody the blueprint for how to build a successful manufacturing brand. I still throw a 90% DD bag mainly because of the “is this disc right for you” series “disc golf answer man” and Danny’s form videos. They promoted their players well. Every time one of their players was in town they would release several videos featuring them. I really got the impression that players WANTED to be on the DD team. I don’t get that vibe from any current company.
I'll take 5 D-4's and 5 F5's in Spectrum for my stash of disc's
Not one word about house of discs making 32 mil in sales and posting a 25 mil loss?
To be honest i never got the 'mania' part (which is now over) of Discmania, it always seemed stupid to me that their best discs, the ones that pros throw, are unavailable to purchase.
Brodie is wrong about not wanting to see competitors be stoked for each other. Those are the guys I want to play. But I'm also into downhill and freeride mountain biking where that is a prominent feature.
Same. I come from a skateboarding background.
In the history of sports, rivalries have sold far more tickets than buddies playing pattycake. The point is the buddy system isn't moving the needle. We need more competitive fire or something else because the current nature isn't working.
@ I don’t see’em holding hands…skipping and frolicking down the fairway. It’s the same thing as regular golf. If team sport meatheads can’t get over that and need to see some chest bumps amongst teammates…maybe disc golf isn’t for them.
Brodie must have softened to the team idea once he heard about all of the new team members on there way over 😉
AB is cool, good looking, has good style. Gannon doesn’t even drive plays with legos. Is not cool. Hmm I wonder who is gonna sell more discs.
Don’t forget AB has a hot girlfriend. Gannon has Matt S.
@@discfan6829 sex appeal is real an actual marketing team is real having three guys all wearing the same jersey on the same card is real.
Shusterick made me want to support Prodigy. An excellent choice for CEO.
The number 1 priority in disc golf is to get the sport more popular!....PERIOD!. Will had a great point of going into Target, Walmart, etc. and see a starter set at a reasonable price. Disc Golf needs to focus on the millions that still have no idea what the sport is all about. Watching Pros like Ricky, Gannon, Simon, Ezra and Will showing future players, especially disc golf wanna bees, how to play the sport correctly, makes it a fun sport to play, like good ole Pickleball. Not every player, new or advanced will be using the same disc that the top winning pros are using. There are so many discs out there, and many are so similar. A pro, world champion or not, can use the line up of discs from any manufacturer, and do just as well. The future of disc golf is attracting new players from schools and getting into those schools to teach the game like people like Ricky is doing. To learn how to throw a putter and mid range disc to start is a great first step is any disc golf player's journey. Watching all the new talent coming onto the Pro Tour is encouraging for the growth of the sport. One day, a huge company may just buy out many of the manufacturers and will have the $$$ to market the game. Getting it on TV is critical and attracting big money sponsors will be the key in getting the sport out of the grass roots struggling position it finds itself in today. We don't only want "couch potato" types, we want to see it as a sport like bowling or pickleball, where playing the sport is fun and enjoyable for all ages and abilities!☺
Party for Episode 111!
Favorite Westside mold
I remember when he had Eagle throw one at the dd open practice round.
What's going to happen to all the collab discs? I like my Reverbs for the OS dd slot and I bought a bunch for $4 on the Black Friday sale, but eventually I'll lose them all
Disc golf pros need to see themselves as entrepreneurs and get after it. Disc golf doesn’t have the ad revenue to spend on the things Brodie is talking about. PS - I love the team idea. Bundle sponsors on teams and focus on team scoring. Think wrestling dual meet but based on place in field.
Taylor made has a lot more money and resources than a DiscGolf company Brodie
Oh I had no idea
@ I know you did, but that’s the answer. I’m sure they would love to be able to pay a full social media production team but they can’t. So it’s almost up to the players to cover their own marketing branding etc
I'm out here jonesing for TL like I'm a crack head!! Longest two weeks of my life!!
I saw Elon Musk buying a few disc the other day, maybe he will fund a tour…
Elon could invest 0.1% of his money and it would be more than disc golf has ever seen before
@@HaikesXO Well yeah… lol… .1% is nearly half a billion. Bleep him.. Bleep the oligarchy.
DGPT is owned by a billionaire, money isn’t an issue…the issue is that this billionaire doesn’t want to invest into DGPT.
Perhaps we should bring disc gilf to the attention or mr. Musk, he might help, you never know.
@@natemaas1982investing and being successful isn't oligarchy.... Funny how Elon was everybody's hero until he started promoting free speech and standing against censorship, and suddenly Bernie bootlickers and lefty loonies hate him. I mean seriously, the absolute undisputed world leader in EV technology and the ONLY EV manufacturer that builds cars in California, yet Tesla gets snubbed from people getting government rebates for buying electric vehicles? Stupidity and hypocrisy.
What if the holy shot was made with a signature disc of another player? How would that have changed things.
We NEED manufacture TEAMS. Disc golf would be soooo much better.
Jerm had the halo Boss.
I think a great personality helps sell. My hot take is Zach Melton sells more discs than Issac.
Hear me out. Climo, Levaiska, and Koling team up and collaborate on a disc golf line.
Prodigy is going out of business within 10 years.
1:41:36.. bro.. CHILL!! 😅
What if Jerm wanted to leave for a better opportunity
I love the Brodie team vs idea
I think it’s a fine idea. But his perspective about players high fiving each other turns spectators off…falls flat. I come from a skateboarding background. We cheer each other on. Disc golf’s the same way (if you’re a good sportsman).
Disc golf just needs to sign pickleballs agent.
Brodie, "my brain is mush", maybe you need to focus more like Isaac at the majors. 😏
I moss the days of golf being regional anyway. The pro tour might not last another year
Probs cause you don’t go or buy discs
Rip blurry horse
Honus is Brodies new word of the day, happy electric finally died..
People aren't going to be more and more discs anymore with the growt of the sport slowing down. They aren't collectable anymore, you already have enough to throw and spares. Manufacturers have to innovate other things to sell to players...
dark horse to innova? 👀
Joel Freeman
No blurry horse woah
Who wins in a fist fight Gavin Babcock or Kyle Klein?
This like askin who wins between a gorilla and a hamster
😂
Yah lmao terrible question you ok in the head?
@@HaikesXO Yeah but still kinda a toss up.
Just disc sales? So Bill Nye? Lol
Wow, going stupid and flying someone in on a helicopter and paying them way too much money. Nice! 😂
1:06:56 I might be in the minority, but I always liked the Prodigy disc naming and visual language. It's logical, professional, and mature. Their recent plastic looks really gorgeous too, and IMO that's all they really need.
I disagree. I dislike the naming of the discs. They should take a page out of mvp and discrafts playbook and bring some personality and memorability to the discs.
🎉
It’s dead 👍👍
👍👍!!
This makes 100 comments
Will sounds like he is in over his head. Why would any top pro go there? The company should be paying disc golfers to disc golf. Not every pro is a salesman/ influencer. Saying they need to go on socials on Monday and give credit to the PA3… gimme a break.
I think Brodie tiptoed around it and may be holding back out of courtesy, but he knows it too.
Why? Why should they be paid to play disc golf if they are not providing any ROI? Why should anyone be paid to do anything if they are not generating more income than they are expenses? No one is owed anything. What you are worth is based on the value you bring. Currently, there is very little income in disc golf outside of disc sales, so that's where your value is. 10 or 15 years ago, the people winning everything were generating the sales. Today, it's much more connected to social media presents. That's why someone like Simon has one of the biggest contracts in all of disc golf. I don't know where Isaac is going, but I would be willing to bet he is not going to be making a million dollars a year even though he is one of the only people in history to win back-to-back worlds. That's why dynamic discs said that they are losing money on Ricky, because despite being one of the best players in the world, it is not translated to disc sales. It doesn't matter how good you are, a company can't pay you $250,000 a year to play disc golf but you are only bringing in $100,000 in revenue to the company.
lol @Uli, stop pretending like the Stealers aren’t a joke. Haven’t won a playoff game in nearly a decade. The only reason they are here is the same reason the Chiefs win every week except when they lay down and let their rival in. 🦓🦓🦓
Speaking of manufacturing, you all should get Jesse from Trash Panda on to talk about manufacturing among other things. Hes so full information and knowledge
I would love to hear this podcast talk about this: how do the weed smoking, wife beater wearing, blasting music dudes, who completely disregarding park rules (we’ve all seen them, a lot) impacting the growth of the sport. I think those dudes are the reason disc golf doesn’t grow
O-H
I liked Will Shusterick as a player, but today he sounds more like a heartless hedge fund manager than a disc golfer. Ironically, he didn't say one thing that caused me to want a Prodigy disc.
Corporations are stupid, and they're mean. Looks like Prodigy is headed that way.
Their disc's suck anyway so you are not missing out. I don't think they will last another 10 years.
@@Holycow723I picked up an A2 a while ago. It's the best OS approach disc I've thrown.
Seeing Will on podcasts let me to purchase a couple discs and boy do I regret it. purchased a F3 and F2 both flipped so much they are essentially useless. Sad.
Pickle Ball stole all of Disc Golf momentum. I have a few friends who pickle ball a lot more than DG
when a brand sucks, they can't afford the best athletes, molding, plastic, branding, anything, so what we have seen the past few years is prodigy just dipping lower and lower and lower to hopefully not being around anymore
Gannon is a 🤡 win or lose I wouldn't buy his disc
He's an affable clown though. Pretty much the only reason I'd buy a pro's disc is to help support them financially, i.e. a lower level player who doesn't have a fat contract already. Otherwise, just give me a stock disc with cool colors or a snazzy stamp.
in charlotte nc, we don't respect prodigy, period. we respect innova, discraft, latitude, every brand but prodigy. why, because their plastic, plain and simple. the product is key