Today we’re excited to be connecting with Brian Lozano again. If you haven’t already, we suggest you check out our prior conversation with them here.
Brian, thanks for joining us again. Just to level set a bit for folks who may have missed our last interview together, can you briefly introduce yourself?
Hello SD Voyager readers! I’m excited to re-introduce myself to you all. My name is Brian Lozano, I’m from San Diego, CA and I am professional croquet player. As one of the top North American players in the circuit, I am proud to represent Mexico in international championships and help promote the sport in every way that I can. When I am not competing, I am the Croquet Director at Cullasaja Country Club in Highlands, NC in the summers, and at the Key Largo Anglers Club in the winters. I design and produce active weekly croquet programs for club members, where they are exposed to multi-programming including social playing mixers, inter-club matches, private lessons, group clinics, and club tournaments. Other than developing a rigorous croquet training program for myself, to keep me in competitive form, I pride myself on having the ability to encourage new players to our program and introducing them to an inviting and exciting community of players. A memorable competitive highlight of mine, which will be tough to top, was leading the Mexico National Croquet Team to victory in the Tier 3 Teams World Championship held in Southwick, England.
Awesome, so we reached out because we wanted to hear all about what you have been up to since we last connected.
Since we last connected, there’s been some exciting progress in my croquet career, both on and off the lawns. On the lawns, I’ve managed to shoot up in the world rankings, I’m now Top 50 in the world and Top 10 in North America. In the recent World Championship, held at the Chesapeake Bay Croquet Club in Hartfield, Virginia, the largest croquet venue in the world, I managed to produce some of my very best croquet, eliminating previous World Champions along the way and solidifying my place in the world of croquet as a world class player. I locked in a huge Quarterfinal matchup against young American golden boy from Rancho Mirage, California, Blake Fields, USA’s croquet prodigy. An intense battle that took over 5 hours to complete, very close into the later hours of the day. This best of 5 games final, went all the way to the 5th game and final sudden death hoop. The young American came through with the final hoop, and then went on to become the youngest World Champion in the sports history.
This World Championship has proven that tournament Croquet as a spectator sport is a very exciting product. Precise ball placements from long distances, center-ball power clearances, and tight angled hoop shots are all some of the spectacular skills that the top players in the world constantly produce on massive high stakes matches.
Recently, some very exciting opportunities have begun to come together. There’s an opportunity to showcase Croquet to a much wider audience. ESPN is considering developing a platform for our sport. Little by little, organizations are interested in how far we can take this sport from a commercial standpoint. They see a lifetime sport, played at a high level with men and women of all ages. We’re excited for the upcoming opportunities with ESPN and any other sporting and marketing groups who see what the future may hold for what was once a quintessential American backyard ball and mallet game.
Alright, so let’s do something a bit more fast-paced and lighthearted. We call this our lightning round and we’ll ask you a few quick questions.
- Favorite Movie: The Departed is definitely in my Top 5
- Favorite Book: At the moment, How Champions Think by Dr. Bob Rotella
- Favorite TV Show: Sopranos
- Favorite Band or Artist: Oasis, Stone Roses, Beach Boys, The Kinks, Radiohead, Rolling Stones, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- Mountains or Beach: Is it too much to ask for both?
- Favorite Sport (to watch): Croquet and Tennis
- Favorite Sport (to play): Croquet and Tennis
- Did you play sports growing up (if so which ones): Soccer and Martial Arts
- French Fries or Onion Rings: French fries
- Favorite Childhood movie: Tim Burton’s Batman (1989)
- Favorite Breakfast Food: Chilaquiles
What would the perfect day look like for you? Please give us as many details as possible.
A perfect day would start out with a dip in an ice cold plunge for a few minutes to fully wake up the mind and body. This would then be followed by a quick 2-4 mile run. I don’t run with earphones and my cel is left at home. My running is to help me stay in shape, but most importantly, it’s my therapy. I use my running time to meditate on the go and organize my day and the week ahead. After I’m back home and take a shower, I would love a beautifully plated, authentically Mexican breakfast, Chilaquiles verdes, with 2 eggs over easy. After this impeccable morning, we get ready to take off and head to the croquet club, where hopefully I have a full day of high level competition, where I carefully glide around the lawns, minimizing my opponents chances, and giving myself as many opportunities for victory as possible. Gloriously full days of croquet must always end with a fantastic evening out to a fabulous dinner and a popular Mexican digestif known as a Carajillo.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://croquet.mx
- Instagram: @bmcnewman
- Facebook: Brian Lozano
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsKaCggIltFL8eBUg5wHYH6191-Ewu1lF
