About Verified Pro
Four seasons in, one standard.
Verified Pro started in 2022 with a single rule: the pro always shows up. Nine trips a season, six sports, and a badge that actually means something.
Why we started Verified Pro
Founder note, March 2022
“
A pro who never showed.
A few years back I booked a surf camp that promised coaching from a touring pro. The pro never showed. Our coach turned out to be a friendly local with a board rack and no certifications. The trip was fun. It was not what I paid for.
So in March 2022 we wrote down one rule and built a company around it: no badge, no trip. The first season was six trips and a spreadsheet. Every host passed three checks, every guest got the pro they were promised, and five of those six trips sold out by summer.
Four seasons in, the spreadsheet is a calendar and the rule has not moved. We still check every host, every season. We still cap groups at 16. And we still answer every email ourselves, from Durham, usually within two business days. Before Verified Pro I ran sports travel and tournaments across the US and Mexico, including building Cancun's first pro-level pickleball courts. Same playbook, bigger field.
Andy Potanin
Founder, Verified Pro. Founded 2022 in Durham, North Carolina.
What we optimize for
Four things we do not compromise.
The company is small on purpose. These four values decide every trip we put on the calendar.
The pro always shows up
Every host is verified before every season. If the badge is on the card, the person is real and they will be there.
Small by design
8 to 16 guests per trip. Coaching stays personal, and the group stays a group instead of a crowd.
One clear price
Lodging, coaching and ground transport in one number, spelled out before you pay anything. No booking fees.
Real humans, real replies
No forms, no bots. Email the trip team and a person writes back, usually within two business days.
The Verified standard
No badge, no trip.
Every host passes a three step review before they lead a single departure: an identity check, a credential check against primary sources, and an independent background screening. Then they do it all again every season.
- Identity checked before the first trip
- Credentials verified against primary sources
- Background screened, then re-screened every season
Every host. Every season.
The badge on a trip card means all three checks passed within the last 12 months. If anything lapses, the badge comes off until it is resolved.
From the field
See a week, not a brochure.
Drone and phone footage from a recent Verified Pro week on the Mexican Caribbean: morning clinics, resort courts and the view from above.
Watch trip footage
Contact
Talk to the trip team.
Questions about a trip, a host or a private departure for your club. Send the form and a person writes back, usually within two business days.