Who am I?
Who I am today is the result of four fundamental chapters of my life.
These stages have shaped the path that led me to become the only Italian athletic trainer working in Madrid, in one of the most prestigious clubs in the world for the development of professional padel players.
But above all, I am Sardinian.
Born in Nuoro, I was raised on a land that is not just an island, but a world of its own: rich in history, ancient traditions, deep culture, and breathtaking landscapes. Sardinia taught me the value of silence, inner strength, and a nature that dominates and perfumes everything. It’s there I learned the meaning of identity, respect, and resilience. And I carry all of this with me every day — on the court, in my work, and in life.
Roots: between science, passion and humanity
My journey in sport began at the University of Urbino, where I chose Sports Science as a natural extension of my ambitions. It wasn’t a random choice — even back then, I felt a strong desire to grow in the world of sport, not only as an athlete or technician but as someone capable of understanding sport in all its nuances. My hunger for knowledge pushed me to graduate quickly, with the goal of going beyond Italy’s borders and confronting different approaches.
That’s how the first real leap into the unknown came about: the Erasmus program in France, at the STAPS university in Caen. There, I discovered a different way of thinking and teaching sport. But I didn’t stop. I decided to continue in Brussels, where I lived for two years, completing another important part of my academic journey at ULB. Those years were almost entirely dedicated to study, but also to very particular and meaningful work experiences.
I worked as a sports educator with people affected by Down syndrome, blindness, and other disabilities. In that context, sport wasn’t about competition or performance, but a tool for well-being, connection, and dignity. Every activity became an opportunity to build trust, stimulate autonomy, and create small but concrete changes in people’s lives.
That phase shaped me deeply. Not only professionally, but also as a human being. It taught me that sport is first and foremost an educational language, capable of including, empowering, and transforming.
Traveling to truly learn
After completing my studies, I felt the need to explore — this time driven by a desire for spiritual, professional, and personal growth. A new chapter began, filled with travel, encounters, and real-world challenges.
The first stop, once again far from home, was a tourist village near Rome, where I worked as a fitness instructor and entertainer for four months. There, I learned to live among people, to share space, rhythms, and relationships. But most of all, I learned to speak to people without fear, to engage large groups (sometimes 40–50 people), and to let my voice be heard. It was my first real exercise in leadership, humility, and adaptability.
Then came Africa. Six months in Kenya, in Watamu, working as a personal trainer in a luxury resort frequented by tourists from all over the world. Every week was a reset: new clients, new languages, new needs. There I learned to be flexible, to truly listen, to connect quickly with completely new people. But the most profound impact was human: seeing the reality of the third world changed me forever. I volunteered in orphanages and dedicated time to helping those less fortunate.
Then I returned to Sardinia, where I worked in a five-star resort in the south of the island (which for me is also home, though I’m from Nuoro). There, I truly learned what it means to work hard: from 8 in the morning until late at night. The clients were all VIPs or CEOs of major companies — there was no room for error. The standards were extremely high, and my fluency in English and French proved invaluable.
After that experience, I was ready for Rome.
Roma: rebirth and the beginning of my path in padel
After years of traveling and growing as a person and professional, the time came to solidify my technical skills. I chose Rome as the next step, with the goal of specializing in high-performance training. I enrolled in the third level of the Italian Olympic Weightlifting Federation — a program that opened up a new world to me, revealing the science and beauty behind movement and elite sports performance. It wasn’t just study; it was a rebirth. A moment when I consciously chose to start again from zero.
I completed the course with the title of Specialist in Sport, which opened immediate doors. I joined the Club di Padel di Villa Pamphili in 2019 as their only athletic trainer — one of the first centers in Italy to truly believe in padel, even before the sport’s boom. At the time, padel was just starting out. It wasn’t yet famous, and no one knew whether its popularity would grow, decline, or fade away. The only certainty was that it was fun, engaging, tough on the joints, and inclusive — a sport that could get even the least athletic person on the court and allow men and women to play together.
That’s when my padel career truly began — a career that, from 2019 onwards, has never stopped growing.
During those years, I began training several of the top Italian padel players: Alessandro Tinti, Michele Bruno, Luca Mezzetti, and many others who, at the time, were in the second or third tier, but who today rank among the top in Italy. I also trained very promising youngsters. These skills — acquired through my academic, professional, and personal experiences — and the fact that I was the only trainer specialized in padel at the time, led me to collaborate with the Italian Padel Federation, taking part in several national Under‑18 training camps as athletic trainer. I was also invited by Technogym as a speaker at the first Italian EXPO dedicated entirely to padel, held in Milan.
Madrid: the leap into the unknown and my present
Deciding to move to Madrid was perhaps the hardest and most courageous moment of my life. It came after a long conversation with myself, where one day I convinced myself it was a terrible idea to leave Rome — risking everything: the network of professionals I had built, my reputation, my clients… and starting again from scratch, in a new country, with a different language, culture, and way of life.
But then I would counter that thought, telling myself that in Italy I had reached a ceiling — that I couldn’t grow much more, and that maybe it was right to try another, more extreme path. Spain had been a dream of mine since I was a child, and it felt as if life had built all those experiences and stages to bring me closer to padel just so I could end up there — in the country I had long dreamed of.
One day, like many others, I saw myself already there, living in Spain. And to make it short: I did everything I could to make that vision reality, despite all the risks.
I searched for an opportunity — even though I had already been working online with athletes since 2018, it was essential for me to find something tangible in the world of padel in Spain to give true meaning to my move. Thanks to the right contacts, I managed to enter M3 Academy, which at the time was operating within Club Euroindoor. And it was love at first sight.
I won’t lie — even today I still pay the price for that move. New bureaucracy, cultural adaptation, different habits, learning a new language… it was chaos. But today, I train professionals, work in four languages (Italian, French, English, and Spanish), travel for work, lead educational sessions for coaches, train players from all over the world, and have developed a dedicated app to manage remote training.
I’ve built an extensive international network in the world of padel, and I continue to grow — always at Euroindoor, the club that since 2023 has been my second home and gives me, every day, the chance to be the best version of myself.
This is me — raw and real.
Riccardo Piras, a boy born in Nuoro and raised to explore.
A Sardinian in the world, with one certainty: that every step, even the most uncertain, can lead you exactly where you’re meant to be.