Life at the Lanes

New HBO Docuseries Celebrates Pro Bowling Association

Interview by Jordan Staggs

 

Once considered a nostalgic American pastime, bowling is experiencing a major cultural resurgence—drawing nearly 70 million people to the lanes each year, far surpassing participation in sports like basketball, golf, and soccer. At the center of that momentum is the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), which has entered a new era under CEO Peter Murray’s vision to transform the sport into a global entertainment phenomenon. From the release of the first-ever bowling docuseries, Born to Bowl on HBO MAX—executive produced by Ben Stiller and produced by A24—to expanded media deals with The CW, CBS, and Paramount+, the PBA and Lucky Strike Entertainment properties are capturing fresh attention worldwide. With breakout stars like Brandon Bonta helping usher in a new generation of fans and competitors, bowling’s next chapter could see the sport become a major force in global sports and entertainment.

The AMF PBA World Championship finals—the major championship finale of the World Series of Bowling XVII—airs live June 13 at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+. Top seed EJ Tackett averaged more than 227 across five different oil patterns to lead the field, positioning himself one win away from an unprecedented fourth consecutive World Championship title. The World Championship is the hardest to win in the sport, and returns to Thunderbowl Lanes (now AMF Thunderbowl Lanes). VIE was thrilled to catch up with Tackett ahead of the championship to learn more about the future of bowling, Born to Bowl, and his love of the game.

VIE: Let’s start at the beginning! Tell us a little about yourself and your background.

EJ Tackett: My family has an entire background in bowling. My dad used to bowl in the PBA a little bit back in the late 1980s and early ’90s. He bowled the regional tour for a long time, then went out on the national tour for one summer and decided it wasn’t for him. He came home and got a job, but he was always in the business of bowling. I think he started working at his first pro shop in 1989 or ’90, then my parents bought a bowling center in 1998 when I was five, so I’ve had free access to bowling pretty much my entire life. My entire family bowls, top to bottom, left to right, first-, second-, and eighth-cousins. Everybody bowls. All of this has always happened in northeast Indiana, a little town called Huntington, where I grew up. I currently live in Bluffton, which is in the next county over. Both are similar in size, with around 30,000 people in the entire county. My life has always revolved around the sport of bowling.

VIE: Was bowling something you always thought might become a full-time career?

EJ: I was bowling pretty much from the time I could walk, pick up a bowling ball, and push it down the lane. I was about two years old when I first started bowling. It’s something that I’ve always done, but it really wasn’t what I wanted to do. I went to college to play golf because that was what I always wanted to do. I grew up watching Tiger Woods and always aspired to play professional golf. But those guys are incredibly skilled and talented, and I just wasn’t good enough to make it out on the PGA Tour. I played against some guys in juniors and college who are now out winning on the PGA Tour. Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Bryson DeChambeau, a very young Scottie Scheffler—all of those guys were around playing events when I was super young. It’s a good list of people, and the reason why I’m not on the PGA Tour. I believe everybody has their calling, and everything works out for a reason. Golf didn’t work out for a reason, and I guess that reason was to bowl. It’s worked out pretty well.

VIE: When did you join the PBA? What did that achievement feel like?

EJ: I first joined the PBA Tour in October of 2012 after I decided to leave college. I went to a school called IPFW (Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne) for three semesters. School wasn’t for me, and college golf was very competitive. Mentally, I was worn down, and it was affecting my golf game. So I decided to leave and try myself on the PBA Tour.

Bowling is different from a lot of other sports. It’s a little bit easier to get your PBA card. But maintaining a spot on the national tour, competing, and making a living is extremely difficult and just as hard as in any other sport.

VIE: Do you feel the future of bowling as a professional sport is in jeopardy?

EJ: I don’t believe that the professional part of the sport is in jeopardy at all. I think these rookie classes that we have here in 2025 and 2026 have been absolutely phenomenal. The future of our sport might be the brightest that I’ve ever seen. We’re finally getting to see the results of how great the college programs have become, and the opportunities that have arisen from junior players pursuing college scholarships. It’s taken ten to fifteen years, but good things take time. There are going to be a lot of stars we see over the next five to ten years, with new faces coming on the tour and younger players creating their own legacies—lasting ones at that.

VIE: How did you learn about the idea for Born to Bowl, and were you excited to be part of it? What did it feel like to see the series premiere on a platform as big as HBO?

EJ: As far as the Born to Bowl goes, the guys showed up and said, “Hey, we’re going to do a documentary, and you’re going to be one of the guys that is a part of it.” I’m like, “Well, that’s cool.” I really wasn’t nervous about it. I was excited for it, for sure.

Everyone got to see it this past March and April, and it’s been fantastic. I’m so happy it was made and so grateful for the people who poured their heart and soul into it. It took someone like Ben Stiller to get behind it, alongside A24, with the support of PBA, to make it all happen. I think, at the end of the day, it was worth it for everyone. It was worth it for the sport, and I think over the coming years we’ll see how big the results of this documentary are and what it’s going to mean for bowling.

VIE: Tell us a little about filming! Was the process challenging, or did you enjoy it?

EJ: As far as the filming went, was it challenging, or did I enjoy it? The answer is yes. All of the above. It was fun to be able to tell my story and get a new audience to see bowling in a different way.

It was challenging because you’re out there trying to do the best you possibly can and competing against the best players in the world. But you also have a camera following you around, and you’re mic’d up and doing all the extra things that come with creating a documentary. That was a new challenge for all of us.

I think they did a wonderful job combing through thousands of hours of footage to portray bowling and all the guys featured in the documentary. To see that all come together on a big screen was kind of surreal.

VIE: Do you have a favorite moment from the docuseries?

EJ: Personally, my favorite part of the documentary was the guys filming at my bowling center (EZ Bowl in Bluffton, IN). That was really, really cool to see my little establishment and my little town get featured on a global stage. Because not only was it my business, but my family was in it. A lot of great friends and customers who are like family were in it. It was a collective thing for my community, putting this little town in front of the whole world.

VIE: What do you hope is the main takeaway that audiences will get from watching Born to Bowl?

EJ: I think the main takeaway for people is to understand that bowling is an extremely difficult sport. It’s not just throwing a ball down the lane and knocking the pins down. There are so many different facets to the game that most people don’t understand. I hope that putting this in front of them gives them a different appreciation for bowling and how difficult it actually is.

And with the players, we’re normal people. We just happen to be really good at bowling. I say all the time that everybody’s good at something. It just so happens that what I’m good at is on TV. It doesn’t make me any different than anyone else. It just makes me known by more people. I just want everybody to know that we’re normal people who just happened to be good at throwing a bowling ball.

VIE: Tell us about the World Championship of Bowling ahead this June. What does this tournament mean to you? What can fans expect?

EJ: The AMF PBA World Championship is one of my favorite majors, obviously, for the reason that I’ve had a lot of success in it. But also, it’s one of my favorites because all your skills culminate in one tournament. We bowl on five different oil patterns throughout the World Series of Bowling. Each is a different length and shape. You have to throw different bowling balls from different parts of the lane at different speeds. It tests every part of your game. That’s what I enjoy the most: being able to navigate all those challenges, put together several consecutive days of elite bowling, and give myself an opportunity to win a major championship.

As far as what fans can expect? One game can change everything.

VIE: Thank you, EJ!

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Born to Bowl is now streaming on HBO MAX. Learn more about pro bowlers and PBA tournaments at PBA.com.