Cue the Comeback

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Welcome back to the newsletter that likes to zig when others zag.

The Summer Olympics kicked off on Friday, and next week’s story will cover an athlete poised for big things there.

But today I have another story about a little-known athlete with a powerful story.

He went from a small-time hustler to the best in the world at what he does. Oh yeah, and he just so happens to be deaf.

It all began on the floor of a seedy bar in Tennessee.

Let’s dive in 👇

How Shane Van Boening Shot From Small-Time Shark to Pool Legend

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“He picked up the cue ball and threw it at me.”

It smashed him right in the chest.

The impact sent a jolt through his body as he collapsed to the floor.

Shane Van Boening was an 18-year-old pool hustler.

Traveling the States in an RV with his uncle, he happily collected cash from unsuspecting suckers in bars across the nation.

But on this night in a seedy Tennessee bar, he messed with the wrong guy.

Angry about getting hustled by a teenager, the man launched the cue ball right at Shane’s chest.

In a split second, the romantic, Hollywood-style life of the pool shark morphed into a dangerous reality.

Shane realized he was on the wrong path.

“I told my uncle, ‘I don’t wanna do this anymore. I don’t wanna live on the road anymore.’”

There had to be a better way.

Growing up in Rapid City, South Dakota, Shane Van Boening was surrounded by the game of pool.

His grandfather, Gary Bloomberg, was a trick-shot artist and owned pool halls up and down I-90, the longest interstate in the U.S.

After getting his first cue at 2 years old, Shane fell in love fast.  He hit his grandfather’s pool club every day after school.

“At 2 years old, he just seemed to know everything that you should be knowing when you’re 18,” Gary said.

“He just immediately picked it up by watching.”

Shane went with his grandfather to local trade shows to perform trick shot exhibitions for growing crowds.

“People would gather around, and he couldn’t wait to get to the table and shoot the shots,” Gary said.

“I almost had to drag him away from the table.”

But it wasn’t all rosy.

Shane was born deaf in both ears.  He’s worn hearing aids since he was a kid.

Unfortunately, his classmates bullied him for it.  They threw rocks at him, called him names, and stuck gum in his hair.

"I had a kid put a gun to my head," Shane said. "I had a kit spitting on me."

“I’d go home to my mom…I’d be going home crying.”

Pool wasn’t just a passion.  It was Shane’s escape.

“When I go play pool, it’s a different world for me where I don’t have to worry about [getting bullied].”

“When you walk into a pool room, what do you see?  You see people having a good time.”

Despite teachers insisting on treating him as handicapped, Shane’s parents wanted him to learn to function like every other kid.

“Most hearing impaired people out there,” Shane said, “they don’t speak very well.”

Outside of the classroom, Shane credited his communication skills to all the time he spent with a pool cue in his hand.

“What helped me most is when I grew up in the pool room, I grew up with my friends.”

Pool became his life, and the young Van Boening spent as much time as possible honing his skills.

By the time he was a teenager, he’d developed a reputation as a pool prodigy.

While his classmates were putting on their caps and gowns for graduation, Shane was on the road for a tournament.

"I said to myself that I didn't want to graduate with any of these other students so I decided that I wanted to play a professional tournament."

After the incident in Tennessee, Shane shifted his focus to going legit and all the ups and downs that came with it.

“You have to accept losing,” Shane said. “If you don’t accept losing, you’re gonna go crazy.”

In 2006, Shane faced off against Hungarian pro, Vilmos Foldes, in an International Pool Tour qualifier.

Down 5 games to 1, things weren’t looking good.

But Shane refused to quit.  He battled back to set the score at 9-5 Foldes.

After a dry break, the Hungarian never saw the table again.

Shane ran six consecutive racks in a stunning comeback win that helped him qualify for the International Pool Tour.

But natural talent alone isn’t what helped him turn pro at 22 years old.  It was also his tireless work ethic.

For one thing, his calendar is jam-packed.

He spends up to 300 days on the road playing professionally.

He practices up to 10 hours a day.  That works out to roughly half a million shots per year.

“I want to make a shot perfect,” he said.  “The only way to hit it perfect [is] you’ve gotta do it over and over and over.”

Shane is relentlessly committed to mastering his craft, striving for perfection in an imperfect sport.  Even now, nearly two decades into his decorated professional career, he doesn’t keep his foot off the gas.

As he made a name for himself in the sport, Shane got used to the questions about his hearing impairment.

Does it hurt his game? Is it a disadvantage?

He dismisses them all.

“Shane's a perfect example of someone turning a – perception-wise – a negative into a positive,” said manager Chuck Moss in 2007.

“He's able to shut things off when he gets into pressure situations. He can just tune everything out."

Shane told 60 Minutes the same in 2023.

“It’s actually a big advantage for me…when I play a pool tournament, I can just shut it off.”

Total silence.  Completely locked in.

It’s an advantage that’s helped him become one of the sport’s all-time greats.

Today, Shane Van Boening is considered one of the best pool players of all time.

The Wikipedia page citing his “Career titles and achievements” seems to go on forever.

It lists over 100 professional titles, including five US Open Championships – the Lombardi Trophy of the pool world.

Fans know him as “The South Dakota Kid”.  His matchups regularly generate hundreds of thousands of views across YouTube and ESPN.

Then there’s the Shane Van Boening Junior Open – a tournament that brings along the next generation of pro players.

AZBilliards estimates his career earnings at nearly $2.5 million since turning pro.

But Shane doesn’t care about the money or fame as much as he does about growing the game of pool into a more respected sport.

“You cannot gamble,” he said after overhearing an argument between two players.

“It’s gotta be a clean sport.”

As a teenage hustler, he learned that lesson the hard way.  But it could’ve been a lot worse.

For the game to move to a cleaner future, the incentives need to align.

When Shane first turned pro, he was taking a pay cut by leaving those “backroom money games” in the rearview mirror.

Now even as the number one player in the world, Shane only has six sponsors.  None are from outside the pool industry.

“A top player in pool can make only six figures,” he said. “After expenses, maybe five figures.”

He wants to change that outlook by turning the game away from gambling.

Instead, he wants to set an example and take the sport to new heights.

Bigger prizes, more events, media deals, corporate sponsors, and more eyeballs on the game.

Sharing his story is one way of doing that.

“I want to help other hearing-impaired kids and help them have a good future for themselves. [I want to] let them know that you can do whatever you want [in life].”

🐶

Today’s story was written by yours truly. If you’ve got a friend who’d enjoy it, why not share it with them?

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What did you think of today’s story?

Hit reply & send me your thoughts.

I love hearing feedback straight from you. Thanks in advance!

Tune in next week for the story of an overlooked athlete competing in her first Olympics, against all odds.

Til next time,
Tyler

Extra Innings…

👀 In case you missed it: After a rare condition turned his life upside down, Zach Ship found solace in an unlikely place: a blind baseball league.

🫛 No, I had no idea pea shooting was a sport and that they just competed for the 51st championship. Here’s a quick look.

🏐 “I’ve always wanted to play beach volleyball after I was done with basketball.” Now this 7-year NBA veteran is doing exactly that…at the Paris Olympics.

🫶 My favorite reader reply from last week: “I really liked the story about the blind baseball player... never even knew that was a thing. You got me stuck on a worm hole on YouTube checking out clips about blind baseball and how it works.”