Ernie Medina, Jr. has a Doctorate in Public Health, focusing on preventive care and lifestyle medicine, and has been on the faculty of Loma Linda University since 2015. Prior to that, Ernie spent 21 years in a medical group focusing on lifestyle-related diseases. 

Ernie started playing pickleball in 2016 and was introduced to the sport by his mom. Shortly after starting in pickleball, he helped co-found the Loma Linda Pickleball Club, and currently serves as it’s vice president. With his background in public health, he is a frequent speaker on pickleball as a public health intervention. (See the Pickleball Channel piece here: Can Pickleball Help You Live Longer? 

He is a USA Pickleball Ambassador since 2016, and has been serving on the board of directors for USA Pickleball since 2020. He also serves on the board of directors for Pickleball Joy, a non-profit organization that focuses on helping schools and churches start a pickleball ministry. He also serves as an advisor for Pickleball7, a similar organization on the East Coast. 

As a PPR certified coach, Ernie teaches pickleball as an adjunct professor at LaSierra University and Crafton Hills College and is the Tournament Director for the LLUH Homecoming Pickleball tournament and Halo Halo Cup tournament since 2018. 

He also played pickleball for a nationwide Prudential Life Insurance commercial in 2018, believed to be the first primetime commercial featuring pickleball.  https://www.ispot.tv/ad/dj4V/prudential-the-state-of-us-loma-linda-ca 

He and his mother, Dr. Loida Medina, are also featured in the Netflix documentary, “Living to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zone”, a Top 10 documentary which came out in 2022 and is still running today. 

Loida Medina, M.D. was born in the Philippines on May 20, 1938. She completed her primary and secondary education in her home country and went on to earn a medical degree from Manila Central University in 1964 on a partial scholarship. While awaiting her board results, she worked as a Science Instructor and College Physician at Mountain View College, a Christian institution in the southern Philippines. 

After passing the boards, Loida married her best friend and classmate. Together, they were recruited by Easton Hospital in Pennsylvania. She completed her internship at Northwestern Hospital and an Anesthesiology residency at Temple University Hospital. Loida served as Head Anesthesiologist at Berrien General Hospital from 1977 to 1997, then co-managed an urgent care clinic until her retirement in December 2021. 

Her passion for service continued through volunteer work with wellness immersion programs, Pathways to Health mega clinics, AU Sable youth medical camps, and ushering at the Howard Performing Arts Center in Michigan. 

An avid pickleball player, Loida competed at the national level in 2021 and 2022, earning a bronze medal in her age category. She was also involved with Dan Buettner’s Blue Zones project, featured in the Emmy-nominated 2022 Netflix documentary Live to 100. 

Loida continues to prioritize fitness, playing pickleball and exercising weekly. She winters in Loma Linda with her children. Her life is guided by a deep faith in God, believing that health and joy come from following divine principles, living abundantly, and serving others with purpose.