The DINKR Mission

At DINKR, our passion for pickleball drives us to enhance the way you connect and play. We created DINKR to simplify game scheduling with friends and to make it effortless to find new playing partners, whether you're on your home courts or traveling.

Pickleball is more than a sport—it's a rapidly growing community of dedicated and enthusiastic players. Our mission is to celebrate and support this vibrant community, fostering its growth and bringing more people to the court.

We believe in the spirit of sportsmanship and camaraderie. Every game scheduled through DINKR embodies our core values: respect the game and your fellow players, be gracious in victory and generous in defeat, and cultivate friendships that enrich your playing experience. Above all, our philosophy is simple: play hard, play fair, and play more. Join us in spreading the joy of pickleball, one game at a time.

Meet the Team

  • Dan Brooks

    FOUNDER / CEO

    Growing up in London's suburbs, Dan's path led far beyond his roots. After graduating from the University of Bristol with a degree in Zoology and Physiology, he embarked on his first major adventure at 22 - producing a documentary about dragons on a remote island for Discovery Channel.

    This sparked two decades of life in Bali, Indonesia, where Dan built a career as a renowned wildlife and travel photographer. His work, featured in National Geographic, BBC Wildlife, and the New York Times, documented vanishing cultures and wildlife across the globe's most remote regions. During this time, he also established a successful creative agency and launched two restaurant chains, known for their distinctive branding.

    This diverse background in zoology, photography, writing, and marketing proved invaluable in his next chapter. As Brand Director at Vital Farms, Dan transformed a commodity product into a lifestyle brand, helping drive growth from $5M to $150M in annual sales. He then moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, serving as Creative Director at Midan Marketing and Managing Director of their Parable Pictures division, where he produced award-winning content for the livestock industry.

    A lifelong sports enthusiast, Dan discovered Pickleball during a visit to the original Chicken N Pickle in Kansas City. What started as casual curiosity quickly became an obsession, adding another passionate pursuit to his diverse interests.

    Dan's global perspective, shaped by his experiences documenting indigenous communities and American ranchers alike, has made him a strong advocate for environmental sustainability and animal welfare. Multi-lingual and multi-cultural, he brings creative flair and clarity to every medium, whether it's photography, design, or storytelling.

  • Steve Sebestyn

    FOUNDER / COO

    Steve discovered pickleball in 2022 and instantly fell in love, organizing a group of over 80 competitive pickleball players at a Lifetime facility in Charlotte, where he managed weekly group play. It was there that he discovered a number of challenges including organizing group play, tracking analytics, matchmaking and more. Dan Brooks approached Steve during this period, and along with Shamus Shubert, the three envisioned a better experience for players, coaches, coordinators and facilities. And Dinkr was born.

    With over 27 years of experience in technology, business development, and public safety, Steve is a leader in driving innovation across sectors. Formerly a VP of Business Development at Ring (an Amazon Company), Steve has since co-founded and serves as President of Endevera, a private equity, venture capital, and technology advisory firm, as well as a fractional executive for the Fortune 500 company Motorola Solutions and a16z backed Kodex. He has held key roles at AWS, Amazon, and Motorola, guiding product management, sales, and strategy.

    In addition to his executive roles, Steve advises early-stage companies and mentors entrepreneurs. He also serves as a public safety technology advisor for the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), offering strategic insights to shape the future of the industry.

  • Shamus Schubert

    Founder / CTO

    Shamus Schubert is a seasoned technology leader and innovator, serving as Head of Cloud and Software Architecture and Development at DINKR. With over a decade of experience in designing and delivering scalable, cutting-edge software solutions, Shamus combines deep technical expertise with strategic vision. His background spans cloud computing, microservices architecture, and full-stack development, empowering businesses to thrive in dynamic industries. Passionate about driving innovation, he is committed to fostering collaboration and leveraging emerging technologies to deliver impactful, high-performing solutions. Outside of work, Shamus is an avid problem-solver who thrives on turning complex challenges into streamlined successes.