Meet The Team
Ben Johns is widely regarded as the greatest pickleball player of all time, holding the #1 ranking across all divisions for much of the sport’s modern era. His career includes a record 108-match singles winning streak, 123 PPA titles, and 21 Triple Crowns—more than any other male player in history. Beyond the court, Ben graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Materials Science & Engineering and co-owns several pickleball ventures, including Pickleball Getaways, Pickleball 360, and Johns Design & Consulting. He resides in Austin, Texas, where he continues to shape the sport as both a dominant player and entrepreneur.
Collin Johns is one of the world’s top pickleball professionals, with 35 PPA men’s doubles titles and three consecutive seasons (2022–2024) as part of the #1 doubles team alongside his brother, Ben Johns. A former ATP tennis player and high-performance coach, Collin transitioned full-time to pickleball in 2022 and is now recognized as both a leading competitor and one of the sport’s most respected coaches. Beyond competing, he co-founded several education and consulting ventures—including Racket Pro, Johns Design & Consulting, and Pickleball 360—while serving as a JOOLA-signed pro and the first Global Brand Ambassador for Dill Dinkers. He resides in Austin, Texas, where he continues to advance the sport through competition, coaching, and global development efforts.
West Shaw began his career in the golf industry before transitioning into pickleball, where he worked alongside the founder of Major League Pickleball (MLP) and DUPR during the sport’s rapid rise. He later helped launch a 15-court indoor pickleball club in Tempe, Arizona, which achieved day-one profitability and set a standard for scalable facility success. Today, as founder of Johns Design & Consulting, West partners with facility operators worldwide, guiding them through planning, branding, staffing, and long-term profitability. His broader ventures in coaching education, marketing, and player engagement reflect his mission to give pickleball businesses the tools they need to thrive.
Andy has been a leader in pickleball facility and operations consulting since 2015, beginning as the original consultant for Chicken N Pickle in Kansas City, where he helped shape programming, operations, and new market development. He went on to create the 2019 Pickleball Masters, the sport’s first professional invitational tournament with the largest cash prize at the time, marking Ben and Collin Johns’ debut as a doubles team. Over the past decade, Andy has advised country clubs, parks departments, and universities on court design, construction, and operational strategy, with a focus on service excellence and profitability. A two-time USAP Nationals medalist, national champion, and former Pickleball Hall of Fame board member, he continues to impact the sport as a consultant, commentator, and lifelong ambassador for the game.
Ben Johns
Co-Founder
Ben Johns is widely regarded as the greatest pickleball player of all time, holding the #1 ranking across all divisions for much of the sport’s modern era. His career includes a record 108-match singles winning streak, 123 PPA titles, and 21 Triple Crowns—more than any other male player in history. Beyond the court, Ben graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Materials Science & Engineering and co-owns several pickleball ventures, including Pickleball Getaways, Pickleball 360, and Johns Design & Consulting. He resides in Austin, Texas, where he continues to shape the sport as both a dominant player and entrepreneur.
Our Story
Johns Design and Consulting was born out of a simple but pressing observation: pickleball facilities were being built everywhere, but few were being built right.
As the sport has exploded, so has the rush to capitalize on its growth. But too often, that growth has come at the expense of quality. Courts that are too small. Ceilings that are too low. Lighting that doesn’t meet competitive standards. Staff who aren’t trained to deliver the kind of player experience that keeps people coming back.
We started JDC because we believe that pickleball facilities should be built with long-term intention—not short-term opportunism. Independent facility owners deserve support from day one, not just with blueprints and budgets, but with operational strategy, programming, and systems that sustain their business for years to come.
Our work is rooted in the credibility that comes with the Johns family name, and we don’t take that lightly.
Our work is rooted in the credibility that comes with the Johns family name, and we don’t take that lightly. When we partner with a facility, we’re not just lending advice—we’re standing behind it. That means we only put our names behind projects that meet a high bar: courts that are properly spaced and lit, operations that are professionally run, and teams that are equipped to grow with the game.
While we recognize the role franchises are playing in expanding pickleball, our mission is different. We’re here to serve facility operators who want to build something enduring—something personal. JDC exists to help those builders bring their vision to life, and to raise the standard for what a great pickleball facility should be.
