EnPadel
A bilingual site for a Tokyo padel community built around the idea of 縁, the connections that form through the sport. The hero is a film you scrub by scrolling, with typography timed to the footage.
Overview
EnPadel runs padel events in Tokyo for a mixed crowd of Japanese players and English-speaking residents, and most of them are meeting the sport for the first time. So the site leads with the feeling rather than the facts. A court film plays as you scroll, five lines of type land in time with it, and only then does the page explain what padel is, who runs it, and when the next event happens. The whole thing is mirrored in Japanese and English, down to the form's subject options.
What We Did
A film you scroll through
The hero binds scroll position to video playback rather than autoplaying. Three encodes are served depending on what the device can scrub smoothly, and every line of type is placed to avoid the players in frame. Anyone who prefers reduced motion gets a still.
Explaining the sport to newcomers
Most visitors have never played padel, so a dedicated section covers the court, the equipment and how a game runs, using hand-drawn illustrations rather than stock photography. It answers the beginner question without making the brand feel like a beginner brand.
The next event, front and centre
Events are the reason to come back, so the next one gets its own panel with the venue linked to Maps, and past events sit below it with a recap video. When there is nothing scheduled, the section still works as proof that things happen here.
The same site in English
Japanese is the default and English sits at /en, with every string in a single typed dictionary so the two never drift apart. Nav, form labels and subject options all exist in both, which matters for a community that is genuinely half and half.
Contact form with routing
Instagram integration
Mobile menu
Reduced-motion support
What the client said
Kai is technically sharp and clearly knows his craft inside and out. He works across both frontend and backend, so nothing falls through the cracks, and he's always up to date with the newest tech and tools, picking what actually fits the goal so the end result performs and reaches the right audience. He also communicates exceptionally well, translating ideas into a finished product that matches the vision. He consistently checks in for feedback to make sure everything's dialed in. I highly recommend him.
