CCPC Member Spotlight

Ricky Zanetti

Ricky was born and raised in Battle Creek Michigan where he attended Lakeview High School and Kellogg Community College. Growing up, Ricky had dreams of being a professional soccer or baseball player. Ricky also had aspirations of being a major musician in a “fantastic” group that would perform in front of thousands of people across the world. Since 1990, Ricky and his brother have been self-employed owning several businesses ranging from a party store in the Urbandale area to a gaming amusement business that he still owns and operates to this day.

Ricky also spent 13 years working for Kellogg’s before the company downsized and sent him down his entrepreneurial path. Always embracing life with a smile, Ricky loves learning new things and finds motivation in being the best in everything he does. He loves helping other people and just simply “giving” brings him great enjoyment. Ricky also finds great enjoyment traveling for adventure while also finding great food options. The idea alone of sipping a pina colada under a palm tree on a white sandy beach and blue water puts a smile on his face. “But they better have pickleball at the resort.” Without a doubt, Ricky’s favorite hobbies are pickleball and golf with his buddies. These two things are his passion and what he truly loves to do.

Ricky also enjoys a good Italian gangster flick with some of his favorites being “The Godfather” parts 1 and 2 and “A Bronx Tale.” As an avid sports fan, Ricky sticks to his roots as a huge fan of the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Lions. Nothing like sitting around on a Sunday afternoon with a plate of Italian or Mexican food, (two of his favorites) watching a Detroit Lions win. Being active is very important for Ricky and his favorite quote stems from that lifestyle “You don’t stop playing because you get old, you get old because you stop playing.” Ricky began playing pickleball 3 years ago when a friend of his invited him down to give the game a shot. Reluctant to the idea he said “I’m not playing that silly game, that’s for 90-year-old shuffleboard players!” He still showed up to give pickleball a shot that day and it was at that moment he realized, “boy was I wrong.” Ricky was destroyed by his opponents and made a quick decision that day that he could not allow that to ever happen again. The game of pickleball has impacted his life greatly as he now plays about 3 days a week not only for the love of the game but also for the friendships and people that he has grown so close to. “There’s just something so magical about pickleball that you become so addicted to and you’re always striving to become better!” He finds the game and all of the pickleball community to be a true blessing in his life and hopes to continue to play all the way into his 90’s. After playing his first couple years with the fine people in the “Battle Creek Pickleball Club” where he is very honored by their warm welcoming and all that they taught him, Ricky branched off and was a member of the group that started the “Cereal City Pickleball Club.” While there are two clubs in B.C. now, he always enjoys mixing it up and playing with both wonderful groups and hopes that the two clubs always remain on friendship terms. “Friendship first, friendship always.” Ricky currently uses a Paddle Tek Pro Wave paddle in which he really likes but it’s pretty worn out and he is currently in the market for something new but not sure what direction he is going to go. When asking Ricky what advice he would give a young 18-year-old person today he answered “Never give up on your dreams! Work hard! If you do work hard, good luck will come your way! Have God in your life! Help others, be kind, be nice, be considerate, be polite, never be arrogant and always be humble! Treat people the way you want to be treated and always compliment people.” If you know Ricky at all, he lives by all of this, daily. Ricky wants to be remembered as a fun, easy going guy that always tried to live life to the fullest every day. He also wants to be remembered as someone who loved being a kid at heart, and one who enjoyed making win-win wagers during competition with friends while remaining kind and complimentary to their achievements.

As we all know, Ricky is a wonderful person at heart and one of the kindest gentlemen you’ll ever meet. Always polite and kind, he is admired by everyone who is lucky enough to know him. We are very lucky and thrilled to have him as a friend and member of the Cereal City Pickleball Club.