Susan Sarandon expands ping pong empire to L.A.
Ping pong is having a moment, thanks in no small part to Susan Sarandon.
The Oscar-winning actress and self-described “ping pong propagandist” envisions a nation of table-tennis players. To that end, she’s the famous name behind SPiN, a series of “ping pong social clubs” that opened its latest location in Los Angeles Wednesday. There are also clubs in New York, Toronto and Milwaukee.
The newest SPiN club takes over the entire second floor of the trendy Standard Hotel in downtown L.A., boasting a custom-designed red table as its centerpiece. Professional instructors are available to teach the basics to those who didn’t grow up with a table in their basements and to help amateurs perfect their skills.
Sarandon, 66, has been giving ping pong tables to friends and to inner-city schools since she helped open the New York club in 2009, and she talked with The Associated Press about her ping pong mission.
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AP: What led you to become such a ping pong enthusiast?
Sarandon: I am more a propagandist than a player. I love the game because it cuts across gender and age and body type, and you can play it until you die, unlike other sports that you have to abandon at a certain point. It’s a great family game because little girls can beat their fathers. It’s a great dating tool because, you know, rather than just sit and drink and be awkward, you can face each other and have music playing, so it’s a pretty easy sell. … The definition of the club is a community of people who get together to socialize, philosophize and exercise around this little ball. So that’s what we were trying to tap into.
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