Playing With Fire: The Story Behind the Eruption Paddle

There is a reason the Eruption paddle looks like it has been through a fire.

The limited-edition Friday Pickleball paddle was built around the idea of heat, with a dark, burnt finish interrupted by red and orange details that make the surface look as if lava is breaking through. Behind the design are ideas from Friday Pickleball, Toby Claudio, and his wife, who wanted something that felt different from the usual Aura Pro while still carrying the personality of the game they wanted players to bring onto the court.

 “We came up with this, like, lava thingy just, like, coming out. Obviously, it’s Eruption, right? And obviously the color’s gotta be more like a burnt fire type of coal. So it’s like you’ve got this dark; it’s like it’s been torched.” Eric Tai explains to ALL-STAR.

The details continue beyond the lava-inspired texture. The red and orange accents were meant to give the paddle that sense of something still burning, while the words printed across it give the design a little more meaning than simply looking aggressive.

“It says here, ‘The court is lava.’ ‘Always play with fire.’ Crazy, huh?”

The phrase came from Toby, but it quickly became something they could build the entire concept around. The court is where players are supposed to bring out their best, and the idea of playing with fire becomes less about recklessness and more about being willing to test yourself when the game gets difficult.

“The court is lava. It’s because that’s where you erupt. That’s where you wanna bring out your best playing skills is on the court, right? So, you wanna shine on the court. You wanna make sure that your opponent feels your fire, feels your heat, feels your style of play.”

“Always play with fire” carries a similar message. Getting hot during a game isn’t something to avoid, especially in a sport that can test a player’s patience, competitiveness, and ability to stay composed. The idea is to keep going through those moments instead of letting them become the reason you stop improving.

“It’s okay to get hot. It’s okay to, you know, it tests you. So, that’s why we came up with that concept of always play with fire. Just always endure.”

Learning to Play With Fire

That mindset came from experience.

When he first started playing pickleball, staying calm was not exactly his strongest quality. His first couple of weeks were filled with the kind of frustration that can come when a competitive athlete picks up a completely new sport and realizes that being athletic doesn’t automatically mean being good at it.

His second open play was particularly humbling. He was nearly beaten by two older players, an experience that initially got to him but eventually changed the way he looked at pickleball.

“My first two weeks, I almost got, like, beaten by, like, Lolo and Lola. And that got to me, you know? I was like, oh my gosh, dalawa tayong atleta, tapos tinatalo tayo ng Lolo and Lola.”

The realization that followed was bigger than simply losing a game. Pickleball wasn’t a sport limited to one type of player, and anyone willing to practice could eventually improve. That became part of what drew him deeper into the sport.

“This game is for everyone. You know what? Whether you’re old or young, man, this game is for you. If you’re good at the sport, if you train hard, or if you practice, you’re gonna get better. You’re gonna progress.”

Instead of letting those losses stay as frustrations, he used them as a reason to spend more time training. Open play showed him where he stood, while drilling gave him a way to close the gap.

“After playing open play, I just said, you know what? I’m gonna drill. So, I drill, practice, train every day.”

There Is Always Another Level

That process also shaped the way he approaches losing now. A player who beats him isn’t necessarily someone to get angry with. They become someone he wants to eventually catch up to.

“When people beat me, ang mindset ko is mag-practice na lang ako. Mag-drill ako. Para mag-improve. Para pagdating ulit, sa point where you meet up in a month or two, you’ll beat them.”

He has seen that approach work firsthand. There have been players he couldn’t handle during one open play, only for the matchup to look completely different when they met again weeks later. The difference wasn’t some sudden change in talent. He had simply put in the work between those two meetings.

“It’s happened to me a lot. That I come back in a month or two months later, they can’t take me on anymore. It’s because I did my part. I endured. I really trained and nagsikap ako.”

The process also taught him that improvement doesn’t stop once he catches up with one person. There will always be another player who is better, another skill that needs work, and another level to reach.

That is why he prefers surrounding himself with players who can challenge him. Losing to someone better can be frustrating, but it can also show exactly what needs to be worked on next.

“It’s good to have people. For me, it’s good to practice with people that are better than you. So that it’ll help you improve as well.”

The same competitive fire that once made those early losses difficult eventually became part of the philosophy behind Eruption. The paddle isn’t just meant to look like it has been burned and battered. Its design reflects the attitude that came from learning how to lose, going back to practice, and coming back better.

On a court where anyone can test you, there is always going to be another moment when the heat rises. The Eruption is built around embracing that moment rather than backing away from it—because sometimes, getting better means being willing to play with fire.

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