If you are currently talking about pool coaching and videos there is no way around Sharivari from YouTube. Within just two years the 30-year-old German has become one of the most known pool coaches in the world. His instructional videos already got more than 12 million views by people from all over the world. What stands out when watching a video is his ability to communicate complicated concepts in a way that makes it understandable for every player. Combine this with outstanding video quality and remarkable skills on the table. There you have it: A typical Sharivari video.
Andre “Sharivari” Schickling
But who stands behind Sharivari? His real name is André Schickling, but he prefers to use Sharivari. “All of my friends call me Sharivari or just Shari since I was 13.” he says.
“When I was a kid, playing pool was always something special for me. I went to the local pool hall with my Dad and we played for hours. Unfortunately, while getting older I lost the fascination for the game and we only played every couple of months – until it even became only once a year. I regret that. If you want to become really successful in anything, you must work hard from an early age.”
At the age of 23 he joined a pool club and found his fascination for the game again. “At that time, I was more than a rookie. The only thing I knew was a stop, follow and draw shot.” he says sincerely.
Today, Sharivari is no rookie. In fact, he was voted as the 11th most influential person in the recent Pool’s Power 15 poll. His knowledge about the game is tremendous. In his many video lessons, he demonstrates principles about position play, cue ball physics and fundamentals. But how can a beginner transform into one of the best pool coaches within this short time range?
“I learned more and more about the game and realized how complex and beautiful it really is. I was digging every piece of information. Pool became my passion and the only thing I could think of. You could almost say it’s a love story. The pool hall was my living room. When I wasn’t there, I was either watching pool videos, reading books or just thinking about the game.”
Eight years later Sharivari combines over 100,000 pool players on his YouTube channel.
“I remember the time when I was watching my subscriber counter and couldn’t wait to reach one hundred. At that time, I was still uploading my videos in German. It took me quite a while being brave enough to change the language to English. Actually, my first video in English was for the AZBilliards Ghost Challenge.”
It’s obvious he made the right decision. “In the beginning I just wanted to watch me playing drills on video, so that I can analyze my mistakes. At some point I decided to commentate on what I am doing, so that others could enjoy watching those videos as well.” he says. Since then he grew as a player and his videos keep getting better and better. He is constantly introducing never seen before methods to give his viewers the best possible learning experience. “I shook my head in disbelief when I saw that line bend. I have never seen that in any other pool channel.” one of his subscribers comments.
“When producing those videos, I always try to see things out of the perspective of a student. This forces me to use every tool that I have, to make things as clear as possible. A while ago I introduced the first-person view with my GoPro. This gives my viewers the opportunity to experience everything from my perspective.”
Tracking a virtual ghost ball into those first-person videos was the icing on the top of an already excellent cake. His type of videos will set the standard for future pool instructional videos
It is no wonder many pool related companies became aware of Sharivari. André signed a deal with the pool branding marketing agency “Supr Charged” to represent him in his pursuit of sponsorships, and as of today he is sponsored by many well-known brands. Just recently he also signed a promising deal with KAMUI Brand and ShootersPool.
Thorsten Hohmann
Thorsten Hohmann explains: “I like to connect competent people. André is very passionate about pool. The combination of his knowledge, creativity, drive and video editing experience let’s him produce high end content that’s not only engaging and educational but also very much needed in our pool industry.”
And also KAMUI Brand seems to be very happy with his new ambassador. “We actually fell in love with what André is doing. He is assisting many players to grow all over the world.” Masato Hiraoka, President of KAMUI Brand says.
So, what can we expect from Sharivari in the future? Currently he is recording his videos in the local pool hall around his apartment. Interestingly, 2-times World Champion Ralf Souquet also practices in the same pool hall.
Ralf Souquet
“I was never a big fan of internet lessons or coaching via video but the current situation doesn’t give you a lot of options. Very often I see André recording his stuff at our local pool hall “Karo Double B” while I am practicing at the same time on a different table. Watching some of the final content on his YouTube channel Sharivari afterwards made me think different about everything. He puts a lot of hard work into this and has probably created one of the best free teaching channels on YouTube. Who knows, maybe we can work together on some future projects and make it even better.” Ralf Souquet kindly says.
We would definitely look forward to this. Sharivaris’ next big milestone however is the build of his own recording studio.
“The Covid-19 lockdown was a real crisis for me. Recording new videos was almost impossible. Currently I am waiting for my Gabriels Billiards table to arrive. Gabriels provided me one, so that I can finally build a real recording studio. This has been my dream for a long time.”
Together with the Illuminated Cueing Arts system he is going to use in his studio, the possibilities are endless. We are sure this will raise the quality of his videos even more. Looks like there is a lot more to come. One thing is certain: Sharivari loves what he is doing. And we love what he is doing for the pool playing community.
“My biggest passion became my job. I always enjoyed teaching pool. Producing videos is one of my hobbies since I am 13. And of course, I love playing pool. I just feel so lucky that I can do this for a living and don’t want to do anything else.”
