BERO's community-focused mission and Holland's authentic sobriety journey showcase a celebrity brand done right—grounded in real values, not just cash grabs.
Insiders say Holland has been laser-focused on proving himself as more than Spider-Man, and his excitement about learning from Nolan and Damon suggests he's hungry for artistic credibility.
The BERO Padel Classic took place April 29, 2026 at Pura Padel in Sherman Oaks. Winners Team Shandy chose charities receiving $20K from BERO plus $5K from Hexclad. The Odyssey opens July 17; Spider-Man: Brand New Day opens July 31.
Two blockbusters, a sobriety glow-up, and a killer brand—Tom Holland is playing the long game, and this summer's going to be his proof of concept.
Tom Holland traded the red carpet for a padel court on Wednesday, and honestly? It was refreshing. The Spider-Man star showed up at Pura Padel in Sherman Oaks, California for BERO's second annual Padel Classic—an invite-only tournament that brought together talent from sports, entertainment, and culture under one very aesthetic roof.
Simu Liu, Steve Aoki, Rainn Wilson, Jay Shetty, and Diplo were all there, but the real headliner might have been who wasn't playing: Zendaya arrived to support BERO and her man, casually holding a can of his non-alcoholic beer like it was the most natural thing in the world. Because for these two, apparently, it is. "BERO's whole message is community and reaching out to people, friendship and hanging out with one another," Holland told The Hollywood Reporter before the first ball flew.
"Padel, for me, is one of my favorite sports. I love playing it with my family. I love the social element of it." But here's where things get juicy: the event also marked BERO's launch of sleek new glass bottles—a move Holland admits he's been pushing for since day one.
"I was always really hungry to get a glass bottle out there," he said, explaining that most non-alcoholic brands go blue-and-obvious with their branding. His vision? Something you can order at a bar next to your friends drinking full-strength beers and not feel like a spotlight's on you for the wrong reasons.
The sobriety angle is where Holland gets genuinely animated. He's been clean for a while now, and he's not shy about the changes. "I'm just a better version of myself," he said flatly.
"I am clearheaded and I'm able to work harder. I think I do better work. I think that I handle things going wrong at work in a much more gracious way." He even admitted he used to be someone who "likes to panic a lot"—but not anymore.
Having BERO as both his product and his accountability partner? That's some next-level brand alignment. "It would be incredibly unauthentic if I was trying to sell non-alcoholic beer while also drinking myself," he noted.
The man is literally staying sober to keep his marketing honest. Someone tweet this man's PR team. When pressed on padel versus pickleball—the eternal debate of our times—Holland didn't hesitate: "Padel all day." He gave credit to Zendaya's mom for getting him into pickle, but acknowledged the sport lacks what makes padel great.
"I think pickle for me kind of lacks the power that padel has. In padel, you can really smack it. And I love that padel feels more in line with tennis." For someone who loves tennis but admits he's "not a very good tennis player," padel gives him that "young kid's dream to play tennis at a high level." Fair enough, Tom.
We respect the self-awareness. But let's talk about what's actually got Hollywood buzzing: two massive films dropping back-to-back this summer. Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey opens July 17; Spider-Man: Brand New Day follows on July 31.
That's a two-week window that could make or break careers—and Holland knows it. "Both of the movies are absolutely fantastic and could not be more different," he said, radiating controlled confidence. On The Odyssey, he teased: "You're going to watch the movie and then you're going to leave the theater scratching your head, saying to yourself, 'I don't understand how he did that.' It's like really mind-blowing work." High praise from someone who's worked with Nolan.
And about working alongside Matt Damon on the press tour? He's genuinely stoked. "I'm excited to go on a press tour for The Odyssey with Matt Damon and learn from him and watch the way he navigates it." Meanwhile, Nolan's involvement in every piece of promotional creative has clearly impressed Holland: "He's over every piece of creative we do for press and promo.
It's just really interesting to see what one of the greatest living directors does on set and then what he does for the press tour." The Spider-Man return hits different after COVID-era Zoom interviews and years away from full-blown press tours. Holland admitted he's "daunted" by the travel and number of events, but there's a charitable angle he's excited about: "The movie is all about community. All of these stops that we're doing, we are working in cultural events, community events and there will be charitable components." It's a smart pivot—using Spider-Man's built-in fanbase for good while dodging the dreaded junket fatigue.
Whether this strategy pays off when both films hit theaters remains to be seen, but one thing's clear: Tom Holland isn't just showing up to promote movies. He's positioning himself as someone who gives a damn about authenticity, community, and—most importantly—the work.
