Joshua Thielen, also known as "The Beast," is an American Cornhole League (ACL) competitor. He's also a cousin of the famed Minnesota Vikings wide receiver.
"I grew up in the Detroit Lakes area with a lot of family," Joshua Thielen said. "At a young age, I began to realize that being a professional athlete wasn't going to be for me. My middle school gym teacher showed our class the odds of becoming a pro, and I knew that wasn't happening."
Thielen was wrong. After graduating from Detroit Lakes High School in 1996, Thielen went to the University of St. Thomas, where he graduated with a degree in biology and later received his master's in business.
"I work with doctors, which I have been doing for about 20-some years now," he said. "It is a really rewarding, fast-paced, difficult job, which I love. I get to apply my biology degree and business degree in supporting new technologies in healthcare. My job has taken me to many different places."
After a work stint in Milan, Italy, Thielen moved back to the state with his family. His wife, Maren, and his kids, Vincent and Olivia, reside in California.
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"On the weekends, we would be hanging out with our neighbors. One of our neighbors had some cornhole boards, so we'd play," Thielen said. "That turned into playing at some local tap takeovers at nearby bars. Being a competitive person by nature, I really wanted to win. We would go on to meet some really fun people, and one of those guys was starting a cornhole league. The league is called "Pacific Coast Cornhole," based out of Pleasanton, CA."
Thielen started to take the backyard game more seriously. It's a simple game: throw bags at the board to earn points. The first team to hit the desired number wins.
"In 2018, I started playing some of the top players in the region, but I wasn't practicing a lot," Thielen said. "I purchased some nice cornhole bags and professional boards and started to throw all the time. It was so fun for me, and it started to become a stress reliever for me. Through that whole process, I realized I was really good and could compete with some of the top players in the world."
The COVID-19 pandemic gave Thielen more time to develop into an elite player.
"The virus hit and shut everything down," he said. "The positive of that was I got a lot more free time. Being at home, I got to practice a lot and became really good. In 2021, I started playing with some of the best players in the state and actually became the No. 1 cornhole player in California that year and got my pro card. I also competed virtually and defeated the top-ranked player in the world."
Thielen was recently drafted as the second pick in the ninth round of the 2023 ACL draft to the Ohio Aviators. The ACL is a nationwide league made up of 16 teams. Each team has 16 players and a manager.
Airmailing bags on national television wasn't the type of professional athlete Thielen envisioned becoming as a kid.
"Growing up, I couldn't stand cornhole," he said. "We'd play with friends and family get-togethers, and I was awful. I couldn't get the bag to go into the hole ever, or I would get a funny bounce off the board. As a kid, I was a big fan of all Minnesota sports. I always had dreams of hitting a grand slam with the game on the line in baseball or scoring the winning touchdown in football. We were definitely a big sports family but didn't think there would be an opportunity to play a professional sport. This is a cool opportunity to live that dream."
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Since becoming a pro, Thielen is 5-1 on nationally-televised broadcasts.
"It was only in the last five years that cornhole was featured on ESPN and CBS," he said. "It's a lot of pressure, and I have been on a couple of broadcasts. Last year was my first time, and we had some really good runs. The first time was definitely nerve-racking. You have a lot of people in the audience with bright lights shining down on you, and we played two world champions."
But what separates the pros from the average Joes?
"There's the physical component. Can you get your hand and your body to get the bag where you want it to go?" Thielen said. "Then there is the strategy component, which is trying to play chess, not checkers. You have to think about two or three turns into the future and hopefully put your opponent into a tough position. The final component is mental toughness, and that separates the casuals from the top professionals. When push comes to shove, with the game on the line, there's a different level of play where the pros can hone in mentally and make their shots. It may not be because they are better physically, but they are better mentally."
Despite his professional status, cornhole isn't Thielen's top priority. However, for others around the country, the backyard game turned into a livelihood.
"About 10% of the pros do it as their normal job, and that number is probably higher now as it has become more popular and the sport has gained more sponsors," Thielen said. "There are cornhole pros making six figures doing it. It's not like NFL money, but as a 20-something-year-old kid, making six figures is a lot of money. I am not one of those players."
Thielen lived out his childhood dream of being a professional athlete and said that his cousin greatly influenced his path to becoming an ACL pro.
"Seeing what my cousin Adam has done inspired me," Thielen said. "If he can do it, I can do it – was my mentality. Yes, his sport is a lot harder than mine. But at the same time, we both had to work hard to achieve a certain level of talent. Watching Adam grow into the player he is today has inspired and helped me on my journey."
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