PKLR Founder: Brooks Proctor
Entrepreneur Brooks Proctor was motivated to design clothing that shows players’ affinity for the sport
BROOKS PROCTOR, 39, always knew he wanted to combine his love of sport and fashion. He just didn’t know how to do it. Today, he is the founder of PKLR, a pickleball apparel brand based in Los Angeles that he started in late 2018 after seeing a void in the market and wondering, “Why can’t you look dope while you play?”
We caught up with Proctor just before the holiday season to learn how he discovered the sport and what his hopes are for his clothing line and new collection.
PROCTOR ARRIVED IN LOS ANGELES in 2006 from his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri, where he did a stint as an art teacher. At the time, he was teaching robotics and coaching basketball at private high schools. “My students all think I could have been in the NBA,” he says adding, “but I’m five-foot-eleven and 165 pounds soaking wet.” Still, the kids he continues to teach weren’t entirely wrong: He has an all-star lineup of friends and is a private basketball coach, with such notable clients as former and current NBA stars Earl Watson, Baron Davis, Matt Barnes, Ryan Hollins, and Chris Paul, as well as J. Cole, Marlon Wayans, and Drake.
