Padel and pottery—two passions that might seem worlds apart. Not for Luciano Gazcon and Rohan Kamdar, the visionary founders of Brisas Padel. Their dream, giving a new twist to the image of the Hamptons, is a bold reimagining of what a country club can be. Cage 91 explores this padel club extraordinaire.
Balancing careers in Management Consultancy and Real Estate, Luciano Gazcon and Rohan Kamdar are no two ordinary entrepreneurs. The path well trodden, theirs aint. Because, the personalities of these young visionaries give new meaning to the description horizontal, such is the easy-going bohemian padel-wellness oasis masterpiece they’ve created in an undiscovered corner of Long Island.
These two twenty-somethings with their solid careers in the city could have carried on with the easy life, yet that’s not Gazcon and it’s not Kamdar. Because, whilst they continue “the day jobs” in Manhattan 100 miles west, they have simultaneously spent the past few years investing their collective creative energy (of which there’s a lot, by the way) into crafting the padel haven they envisioned. The one they dreamed of on their travels. Travels which – you’ll soon realize when you step foot at Brisas – took them off the beaten track in Central and South America, and far beyond. They wanted their first club to be a tribute to Acapulco, padel’s spiritual home, and in Brisas, they might just have delivered something far greater than the words tribute act suggest. A delay in opening – thanks to permit issues – gave them the opportunity to refine their vision, as Gazcon explains.
“It [the delays] gave us time to really think about what we wanted to achieve,” he recalls. “We focused on our concept, our brand, and I think having the opportunity to step back and think about what we wanted Brisas to become, allowed us to focus on the design element for it to be more than just a padel club.”
They have done exactly that. Brisas is not just a place to play; it’s a work of art. In their own words, so eloquently put, “a reimagined classic”.
The first of its kind in the Hamptons, the club’s understated, minimalist design has captivated its members from the get-go, and if you’re one of the few fortunate enough to have set foot on their first site – because surely Brisas East Hampton will be one of many to come – you’ll know just what we mean. Brisas exudes a feel.
More than just Padel
With exciting and innovative clubs springing up all around the world, the pressure to stand out is greater than ever. In most cases, we have seen this with the addition of five-star wellness facilities befitting of the fitness-obsessed generation that are taking to the court. In some cases, this is all too contrived. Too forced. Yet, that couldn’t be further from the truth with Brisas, as its effortless, well, effort, to create that “feel” is reaping the rewards with fully occupied courts and a word of mouth buzz that’s spreading like wildfire to the big city out west.
At Brisas, Gazcon and Kamdar have decided to take this approach in both the traditional and untraditional forms of the word. As Mexican Gazcon explains, “we have Shani on our team who brings about a very bohemian spirit. We met her in Costa Rica, she runs all of our mat pilates and yoga classes, as well as the pottery.”
The pottery in question is the option “to come and use your hands, disconnect, and socialise in a new and welcoming setting”. This isn’t your typical wellness offering. It is one which provides a fresh and new way to nurture your mind, body and soul.
A Reimagined Classic
The wellness offering is not the only thing that Brisas takes a new stance on.
With racket sports and the clubs where racket sports are played typically being traditional rule-orientated venues, Gazcon and Kamdar were keen to rip up the rulebook and create a space where people can express themselves and play the game the way they want to play it, with a zest for life and a desire for independence.
“We wanted to reimagine the whole country club space, so we took what was previously a formal setting and created something that was, well, different. Somewhere where you can come, instead of having to wear all whites, you can come play barefoot, come play shirtless, come bring colour and reimagine how you interact with the space”, added Gazcon.
For a place with a world-renowned cache like the Hamptons, you might have thought that this was a brave step to take. In fact, it is exactly what the area needed; a slice of unpredictability, an independent spirit, some fresh energy, a dose of disruption. The community that has been built around the club in the short space of time since opening has swiftly installed this new social and athletic hotspot as a welcome addition to the local area. And it has made the founders’ 18-month journey from idea to reality really bear fruit.
Unique Surroundings
In line with their mission to “bring something new to the Hamptons” and their mantra of “a reimagined classic”, Brisas has mixed it up in more ways than one.
With the three terracotta red courts, complementing the artistic nature of the club, and its ceramic pots and wooden aesthetics, it is the bohemian individuality that stands tall. Hidden behind a vintage Airstream trailer, which also doubles up as the pro-shop, the serenity and calm that Brisas offers, lulls you into the relaxed social padel mindset that is so often talked about in this sport, but not always met with actions.
The relaxed environment was exactly what the founders wanted to create. A place that, as they explain, “when you step into Brisas, you don’t feel like you are in the Hamptons anymore. It’s a place where “you can tell by the aesthetic, the artisanal nature of everything… all of the handmade pots around the space, the hand-loomed clothing and its tree branch rack that we pulled together…all of the energy that you feel”.
From the carved wood archway tat greets you on arrival through to the affable front desk staff providing easy-on-the-eye padel rackets and their first edition rule book, from the fresh juices and ginger shots to the sauna and cold plunge, and from the hand-carved wooden table to the backgammon board in the breakout area, every Brisas detail has been painstakingly considered, without giving the perception of effort at all.
A feeling some clubs take years to achieve, yet achieved in a heartbeat by two boys from the city. Go figure.
