Marketing Intern:
Community, Content & Growth
Location: New York City. At the playgrounds.
Time: Part-time during school year to full-time over summer
Duration: 3–6 months
Reports to: Founders, Bharat Chopra and Peter Lehv
Pay: Unpaid for first month.
Internship stipend available pending successful first month and plans to continue through summer.
What Is Pickleheart?
Pickleheart is a nonprofit membership collective built around local pickleball communities. That's a lot of words... so to put it more simply - it’s really about belonging. We help people:
Find their local pickleball community
Feel welcome when they show up
Build friendships through play
Stay connected on and off the court
is the spark.
Finding your people is the point.
We’re building content, commerce and connectivity tools that make it easier for anyone, beginners, regulars, and community leaders, to find their tribe.
What Is a Marketing Intern?
A Pickleheart Marketing Intern helps shape how our story is seen, felt, and shared.
- You create.
- You observe.
- You test ideas.
- You help bring the brand to life.
This role is for someone who is curious about culture, energized by creativity, and ready to learn how community, content, and strategy come together to build something meaningful.
What are your goals
Create on-the-ground content, relationships, and run events to:
- Make Pickleheart known at local playgrounds
- Drive app downloads (top priority)
- Drive store visits and purchases (secondary)
- Build long-term trust with players, coaches, and community leaders
Content Creation (People & Vibe First)
You’ll focus on capturing:
- The vibe of the playground
- Short, authentic interviews with players:
- Why they play
- How they found the community
- What keeps them coming back
- Coaches and leaders talking about:
- Teaching
- Access
- Community building
- Moments before and after play — where connection happens
This is human, documentary-style content, not highlight reels.
We care deeply about how content connects to product.
You’ll help think through:
- Where content lives (social, web, app, email)
- How it supports onboarding and trust
- How it encourages someone to download the app
- How it reinforces the feeling of “this is for me”
App downloads are our #1 success metric.
Playground Presence & Relationships
- Spend real time at the pickleball courts
- Build relationships with:
- Players
- Coaches
- Volunteer leaders
- Community ring-leaders
- Earn trust before filming
- Become a familiar, respectful face
- Share insights with the team about:
- What works
- Where friction exists
- What people are actually feeling
Events & Activations (Built Together)
- Help plan and promote Pickleheart events:
- Community days
- Clinics
- Meetups
- Capture content before, during, and after
Use events as moments of connection and discovery - Turn real-world energy into app adoption
This Role Is For You If…
You love pickleball — but you care even more about people.
- You’re curious about how communities form
- You notice who welcomes newcomers
- You care about vibe, inclusion, and shared energy
- You believe sports can help people find belonging
Pickleball obsession is required.
Community obsession is essential.
Community obsession is essential.
Who You Are
- Deeply into pickleball and community life
- Comfortable talking to strangers and asking thoughtful questions
- Camera- and phone-savvy
- Thinks about content as part of a broader experience
- Respects public spaces and community norms
- Excited to help build something meaningful, not just viral
How Success Is Measured
- App downloads driven by content and events
- Trust and presence at the playgrounds
- Quality and reuse of content across channels
- Growth of community awareness and engagement
- Insights that improve the Pickleheart experience
Why This Role Matters
Pickleheart exists to help people find their tribe through play.
This role helps ensure our content, product, and growth strategy stay rooted in real human connection, not just clicks, likes, or scores.