A Paintball Life with Eric "E" Holland
E, pictured with a fuzzy who is clearly an excellent judge of character
Eric "E" Holland is one of the best guys I've met in paintball. He also has 30 years of playing experience, ran a paintball company, written and produced multiple scenarios, played with and managed a team that operates nationally with divisions that play tournaments at high level, scenarios, and big games, ran a large tournament series, and is generally both well-known and well-liked within the sport. His background is simply paintball---all of it. And I'm blessed to call him a friend.
I thought, with the background that reaches just about every aspect of the sport, he might be a guy that would be interesting to share with our little paintball world. So I asked him to work with me on the Book of E: A Paintball Life. It's a nice little novel, here for your perusal.
I thought, with the background that reaches just about every aspect of the sport, he might be a guy that would be interesting to share with our little paintball world. So I asked him to work with me on the Book of E: A Paintball Life. It's a nice little novel, here for your perusal.
Seen here with Greg Lund (owner of NFG Paintball), a paintball buddy that he's known for decades through the sport
When did you first play paintball?
1988 in the summer. I believe either the weekend of July 23rd/24th or 30th/31st.
Where?
We played in the Poconos at some private property owned by a friend of a friend of my older brother, Craig.
How did you get into it?
My brother is 3 ½ years older than me. He had gone once before and played with a group of his friends from High School. One of the guys backed out and I was invited up for the weekend. Neither my brother nor I owed any equipment so we had to borrow markers. We were told to get masks ahead of time. We were wearing glorified shop goggles and didn’t know any better at the time. We also headed to the local I. GOLDBERG Army Navy store and bought paintballs and 12 grams. I remember the 12 grams were bulk and we had to tell them how many we wanted and they counted them out from a giant box. The paintballs were sold pre-tubed in this little cardboard fliptop box. I can’t recall if it was 100 rounds or 120 rounds. However what you wanted were the refillable tubes. My brother borrowed a PGP Pistol for me and my brother used a Sheridan 68 Magnum.
We stayed at the cabin overnight and played a few set games. They were long. It was only the 10 of us. The first game was sort of a last-man-standing kind of game. Everyone played for themselves. I got shot out early and watched as the game unfolded. It absolutely terrified me.
The guy whose parents owned the property was named Chip. He had a 62 caliber SMG 60. I remember he didn’t carry much paint, but that thing would rip. The sound alone was intimidating. I remember being very nervous about being shot, but after taking one to the arm, I was good. Game On.
It was great fun. We did some team match-ups, 5 on 5. The last game I remember was a manhunt sort of game. Chip and one other guy went out to hide and then we did a hunt for them to see if they would win the mismatched game. I got shot sneaking around the backside. I remember my brother shooting out Chip.
On the way home, we were both very excited however our parents were not. My father is an Episcopal Minister. Both he and my mother sat us down and expressed why they didn’t want their sons running around playing a survival game in the woods. My brother who was 18 could play without their permission. He was in college at the time and would continue to go out with people from college up near Ithaca, New York. I would visit my brother on occasion at school through the fall and spring. My parents would put me on the Greyhound to Ithaca and I would spend the weekend with him. Little did they know we were sneaking off to go and play.
However, in the spring of 1989, everything changed for me. A field, local to my house, opened. It was Cobra Command. The original location was about 15 minutes from my house. I had gotten my first car around the same time. I remember they didn’t have any signage and it was initially hard to find. A friend and I drove up and found it in June of ‘89. I went and spoke with the owner and got the information. At that time you had to be 18 to play. I was only 16. I had to get my parents to sign and notarize a field waiver for me to play. The field in NY didn’t really care and had never asked my age. I think they just assumed I was just another college kid from Cornell.
So I had to muster the courage to have a sit down with my parents and tell them what all had been going on. My parent begrudgingly granted me permission on one stipulation. I had to attend church every Sunday. So began my weekly routine of early 7:30 service and changing into the parking lot as I drove off to the field to be there before 9am.
It was only a matter of what seemed like a few weeks before I was working (reffing) on Saturdays and playing Sunday’s. The field owner, Norm Fronk, gave my friends and I free passes if we would go up during the week and work in building more tables or bunkers. I would drive home from work and pick up pallets from a couple different spots and drive them up and drop them off. Each week we were adding to the field and staging. Although I was working after school, I remember both reffing and building at the field was a quick way for me to be able to afford to play.
1988 in the summer. I believe either the weekend of July 23rd/24th or 30th/31st.
Where?
We played in the Poconos at some private property owned by a friend of a friend of my older brother, Craig.
How did you get into it?
My brother is 3 ½ years older than me. He had gone once before and played with a group of his friends from High School. One of the guys backed out and I was invited up for the weekend. Neither my brother nor I owed any equipment so we had to borrow markers. We were told to get masks ahead of time. We were wearing glorified shop goggles and didn’t know any better at the time. We also headed to the local I. GOLDBERG Army Navy store and bought paintballs and 12 grams. I remember the 12 grams were bulk and we had to tell them how many we wanted and they counted them out from a giant box. The paintballs were sold pre-tubed in this little cardboard fliptop box. I can’t recall if it was 100 rounds or 120 rounds. However what you wanted were the refillable tubes. My brother borrowed a PGP Pistol for me and my brother used a Sheridan 68 Magnum.
We stayed at the cabin overnight and played a few set games. They were long. It was only the 10 of us. The first game was sort of a last-man-standing kind of game. Everyone played for themselves. I got shot out early and watched as the game unfolded. It absolutely terrified me.
The guy whose parents owned the property was named Chip. He had a 62 caliber SMG 60. I remember he didn’t carry much paint, but that thing would rip. The sound alone was intimidating. I remember being very nervous about being shot, but after taking one to the arm, I was good. Game On.
It was great fun. We did some team match-ups, 5 on 5. The last game I remember was a manhunt sort of game. Chip and one other guy went out to hide and then we did a hunt for them to see if they would win the mismatched game. I got shot sneaking around the backside. I remember my brother shooting out Chip.
On the way home, we were both very excited however our parents were not. My father is an Episcopal Minister. Both he and my mother sat us down and expressed why they didn’t want their sons running around playing a survival game in the woods. My brother who was 18 could play without their permission. He was in college at the time and would continue to go out with people from college up near Ithaca, New York. I would visit my brother on occasion at school through the fall and spring. My parents would put me on the Greyhound to Ithaca and I would spend the weekend with him. Little did they know we were sneaking off to go and play.
However, in the spring of 1989, everything changed for me. A field, local to my house, opened. It was Cobra Command. The original location was about 15 minutes from my house. I had gotten my first car around the same time. I remember they didn’t have any signage and it was initially hard to find. A friend and I drove up and found it in June of ‘89. I went and spoke with the owner and got the information. At that time you had to be 18 to play. I was only 16. I had to get my parents to sign and notarize a field waiver for me to play. The field in NY didn’t really care and had never asked my age. I think they just assumed I was just another college kid from Cornell.
So I had to muster the courage to have a sit down with my parents and tell them what all had been going on. My parent begrudgingly granted me permission on one stipulation. I had to attend church every Sunday. So began my weekly routine of early 7:30 service and changing into the parking lot as I drove off to the field to be there before 9am.
It was only a matter of what seemed like a few weeks before I was working (reffing) on Saturdays and playing Sunday’s. The field owner, Norm Fronk, gave my friends and I free passes if we would go up during the week and work in building more tables or bunkers. I would drive home from work and pick up pallets from a couple different spots and drive them up and drop them off. Each week we were adding to the field and staging. Although I was working after school, I remember both reffing and building at the field was a quick way for me to be able to afford to play.
E with what was, at the time, heavy firepower in a VM-68.
What was your first marker? My first marker was a gift from my brother. It was a belated 16th birthday present. I had to keep it “secret” for the 1988 Fall and Spring 1989. It was an NSG Splatmaster.
What have you gone through in shooting through the years?
Oh sweet jesus...That is a long list
1st - NSG Splatmaster
2nd - Used PMI I that I bought from Norm. I added a Crossman Stock and cut off the top tube and added a direct feed (with 15 round stock feed)
3rd - PMI Piranha Short Barrel (with I&I Sports barrel extension)
4th. - WGP Sniper 2
5th - PMI - III
6th - WGP Autococker #9945
After that, it comes fast and furious. BRUTE Pump, LAPCO Spectre, CCI Phantom (unibody), Sterling Silver Pump, Montneel Z-1, Montneel Mega-Z, Daystate Sam Patriot, Tippmann SL-68. Bob Long Signature Series Side feed (purple splash). This pretty much takes me from 1988 up to 1995. This is where my paintball life makes a major change, and my SGT. YORK’S LIFE Begins.
Some markers of note in my collection. NYX Matrix, Toxic Matrix, Trauma Matrix, Smart Mag (Red Splash - gen1), Polished (Camo Splash gen2) Automag, Sniper 1 #1024, Shocktech NXT Shocker, Hybrid Traitor Shocker, Octane NXT Shocker, E-Tippmann 98 with pneumatic rammer, A pair of Bob Long Long Cockers (both purple Splash). This is the gun I am probably best known for shooting. Today, I am likely shooting one of my SP Shockers RSX, XLS or CVO. In all, I have over 70 markers in my current collection.
What have you gone through in shooting through the years?
Oh sweet jesus...That is a long list
1st - NSG Splatmaster
2nd - Used PMI I that I bought from Norm. I added a Crossman Stock and cut off the top tube and added a direct feed (with 15 round stock feed)
3rd - PMI Piranha Short Barrel (with I&I Sports barrel extension)
4th. - WGP Sniper 2
5th - PMI - III
6th - WGP Autococker #9945
After that, it comes fast and furious. BRUTE Pump, LAPCO Spectre, CCI Phantom (unibody), Sterling Silver Pump, Montneel Z-1, Montneel Mega-Z, Daystate Sam Patriot, Tippmann SL-68. Bob Long Signature Series Side feed (purple splash). This pretty much takes me from 1988 up to 1995. This is where my paintball life makes a major change, and my SGT. YORK’S LIFE Begins.
Some markers of note in my collection. NYX Matrix, Toxic Matrix, Trauma Matrix, Smart Mag (Red Splash - gen1), Polished (Camo Splash gen2) Automag, Sniper 1 #1024, Shocktech NXT Shocker, Hybrid Traitor Shocker, Octane NXT Shocker, E-Tippmann 98 with pneumatic rammer, A pair of Bob Long Long Cockers (both purple Splash). This is the gun I am probably best known for shooting. Today, I am likely shooting one of my SP Shockers RSX, XLS or CVO. In all, I have over 70 markers in my current collection.
With his trusty Bob Long Sig Series
What kinds of paintball were you playing back near when you started?
I was very aggressive and sneaky player. The field “pro” at Cobra Command was Timmy McCoy. He was feared. He took me under his wing and taught me how to play. Most importantly he taught me the value of shooting and not shooting.
Playing in the woods, you could get people to think they were “seeing things”. If they caught your movement. Cobra Command had thick juniper trees. If someone caught you out of the corner of their eye and shot at you, you could freeze and not move. Since paint was very expensive and you had to swap CO2 often after 20+ shots, many didn’t waste paint. You would play tight against those thick branches and wait for the paint to come. When you didn’t move or respond, often they would look away. You could take advantage of this and shoot them out. He also shared how to move to help evade. I still use this now when I’m playing big games.
The other cool trick was having a teammate with a 12 gram, give it a little “burp” or hiss and draw attention. You would tighten it back up and wait for the person to charge you, realizing it took some time to swap 12 grams.
When did you start playing in tourneys?
I started playing local tournaments in Spring 1990. A group of 4 fields created the first local league. The fields were Cobra Command, Iron Triangle, Main Line Survival (now Poco Loco) and a field at Blue Mountain (on the back side of the ski resort in the Poconos). We rotated who we played and where we played. We kept a league standing.
Who were your first teams?
I played on Team Cobra, with Tim McCoy. By 1990, I had become team captain at the age of 17. I also was a founding member of IRON BRIGADE, my team from Gettysburg College, Oh-No’s, Sewell Resurrection & Mantua Resurrection, KG Army, Misfit Resurrection and Misfit Toys. I have guested on a variety of teams of the years including some industry teams in the mid 90’s as part of the Pursuit Support Program, Black River Immortals, Silent Thunder, NY Dogs of War, Hypersonix, Flying Hell Monkeys, 187, BANG GANG and Freaks of Nature. I know this is not all of them. I simply can’t remember them all and it is before APPA.
What are some good memories from teams like the Oh No’s that you still have?
I think that what I remember is the old days of tournament play. Events weren’t like going and getting fast food. It was a complete experience. I remember the travel and cramming 10 guys into 1 hotel room. I remember playing and reffing the LIVELY SERIES events, The Paintcheck 5-Man, NAAPSA events around the country and playing the NAAPSA World Championships at Sherwood Forest in Laporte Indiana and APL events by Bob McGuire.
I remember driving to the BADLANDZ in Chicagoland area and playing a tournament in the basement of an old post office sorting building in Rochester NY. I remember the awe of the Cal-Mag Amateur Open which, of course, became the IAO. I remember meeting and playing teams from around the world: Canada, England, France, Germany, Russia, Japan, Brazil and Mexico.
I was very aggressive and sneaky player. The field “pro” at Cobra Command was Timmy McCoy. He was feared. He took me under his wing and taught me how to play. Most importantly he taught me the value of shooting and not shooting.
Playing in the woods, you could get people to think they were “seeing things”. If they caught your movement. Cobra Command had thick juniper trees. If someone caught you out of the corner of their eye and shot at you, you could freeze and not move. Since paint was very expensive and you had to swap CO2 often after 20+ shots, many didn’t waste paint. You would play tight against those thick branches and wait for the paint to come. When you didn’t move or respond, often they would look away. You could take advantage of this and shoot them out. He also shared how to move to help evade. I still use this now when I’m playing big games.
The other cool trick was having a teammate with a 12 gram, give it a little “burp” or hiss and draw attention. You would tighten it back up and wait for the person to charge you, realizing it took some time to swap 12 grams.
When did you start playing in tourneys?
I started playing local tournaments in Spring 1990. A group of 4 fields created the first local league. The fields were Cobra Command, Iron Triangle, Main Line Survival (now Poco Loco) and a field at Blue Mountain (on the back side of the ski resort in the Poconos). We rotated who we played and where we played. We kept a league standing.
Who were your first teams?
I played on Team Cobra, with Tim McCoy. By 1990, I had become team captain at the age of 17. I also was a founding member of IRON BRIGADE, my team from Gettysburg College, Oh-No’s, Sewell Resurrection & Mantua Resurrection, KG Army, Misfit Resurrection and Misfit Toys. I have guested on a variety of teams of the years including some industry teams in the mid 90’s as part of the Pursuit Support Program, Black River Immortals, Silent Thunder, NY Dogs of War, Hypersonix, Flying Hell Monkeys, 187, BANG GANG and Freaks of Nature. I know this is not all of them. I simply can’t remember them all and it is before APPA.
What are some good memories from teams like the Oh No’s that you still have?
I think that what I remember is the old days of tournament play. Events weren’t like going and getting fast food. It was a complete experience. I remember the travel and cramming 10 guys into 1 hotel room. I remember playing and reffing the LIVELY SERIES events, The Paintcheck 5-Man, NAAPSA events around the country and playing the NAAPSA World Championships at Sherwood Forest in Laporte Indiana and APL events by Bob McGuire.
I remember driving to the BADLANDZ in Chicagoland area and playing a tournament in the basement of an old post office sorting building in Rochester NY. I remember the awe of the Cal-Mag Amateur Open which, of course, became the IAO. I remember meeting and playing teams from around the world: Canada, England, France, Germany, Russia, Japan, Brazil and Mexico.
Back when tournies were all played in the woods
What kinds of tournaments were getting played back? Where were they? How many people were on the teams?
When I started playing tournaments 15 man had really come to an end. It was reduced to 10 man. However 5-Man was really taking off with the local events. I think events like Paintcheck 5-man and IAO really helped propel the sport in the early 90’s.
Were they all out in the woods?
Initially everything was in the woods, however, in the early 90’s after SC Village debuted the first speedball arena. Fields started to set up fields out of the woods. You could go and play a hybrid of fields using pallets, plywood, barrels and spools.
In 1997 it all changed with the WDP Hyperball World Championship, and the year following the launch of FOCUS’ SKYBALL. We as an industry were under a great deal of pressure to leave our camouflage behind. I think the idea was if we could drop the camo and leave the woods we would draw large corporate sponsors , get mainstream media sports broadcasting, and on the outside chance, potentially earn a spot in the Olympics.
What are your favorite stories from games in the 90’s and early 2000s?
Anyone who saw it, will remember a few legendary events. I was standing on the sidelines in 1994 when Tom Cole dropped a clothesline on a player who was running the tape and avoiding being eliminated (Editor's Note: Holy Balls!).
Who were you playing with the most, and who were your biggest rivals?
In the mid 90’s, it was originally the sister home team Chargers that was our rival. However, they ended up merging with us on Oh-No’s. We practiced often with Free Agents (aka Secret Agents), Green Dragons, ALL A’s 2, Sonic Rage, Lockout, and Turbulence. In that time, what I loved about paintball was you would be bitter rivals on the field and drinking buddies off. It was the nature of the sport. It was about the greater brotherhood.
When I started playing tournaments 15 man had really come to an end. It was reduced to 10 man. However 5-Man was really taking off with the local events. I think events like Paintcheck 5-man and IAO really helped propel the sport in the early 90’s.
Were they all out in the woods?
Initially everything was in the woods, however, in the early 90’s after SC Village debuted the first speedball arena. Fields started to set up fields out of the woods. You could go and play a hybrid of fields using pallets, plywood, barrels and spools.
In 1997 it all changed with the WDP Hyperball World Championship, and the year following the launch of FOCUS’ SKYBALL. We as an industry were under a great deal of pressure to leave our camouflage behind. I think the idea was if we could drop the camo and leave the woods we would draw large corporate sponsors , get mainstream media sports broadcasting, and on the outside chance, potentially earn a spot in the Olympics.
What are your favorite stories from games in the 90’s and early 2000s?
Anyone who saw it, will remember a few legendary events. I was standing on the sidelines in 1994 when Tom Cole dropped a clothesline on a player who was running the tape and avoiding being eliminated (Editor's Note: Holy Balls!).
Who were you playing with the most, and who were your biggest rivals?
In the mid 90’s, it was originally the sister home team Chargers that was our rival. However, they ended up merging with us on Oh-No’s. We practiced often with Free Agents (aka Secret Agents), Green Dragons, ALL A’s 2, Sonic Rage, Lockout, and Turbulence. In that time, what I loved about paintball was you would be bitter rivals on the field and drinking buddies off. It was the nature of the sport. It was about the greater brotherhood.
A view from the podium
How would you describe what the tourney scene was like back then, versus what it’s like now? How were the players different?
The biggest difference between then and now is grit. We didn’t just go to well manicured fairgrounds in the beginning. It wasn’t cushie. We played in some tough venues. We played in all weathers. We paid $100+ for paint and smiled about it. However, players were always willing to help each other.
How is the gear different? The playing style? The culture of teams? Of playing style? Of sneakiness/cheating? Do you still get to see and play with/against many of those guys? How many of the people you played with then are still friends to this day?
My Facebook is filled with guys from the past 32 years. They make up the majority of my lifelong friends. I speak with many of them on a weekly basis. The one story I share is from my first Paintcheck 5-man. I will be honest and say the concept of cheating was foreign to me. The fact that someone would remove paint was just not in my mind.
So we are there playing at Jack Frost Mountain, at the Paintcheck 5-Man. We played against SWARM which was Chip Kurt’s team. (Chip and I would become friends later). However, in this game, I shot a guy running up in the center. I remember vividly like it was yesterday. I hit the player in the mask---they looked left then right and didn’t see a referee. They wiped the hit and waved at my across the clearing. I literally stopped playing and was frozen in my thoughts, “How the hell is he doing that?” The player proceeded to shoot me out, and I remember going into Big E rage mode. The two of us shooting each other (granted me with my pump and the Swarm player with some sort of semi auto) shooting and wiping. I remember this went on for a few seconds before my position was overrun but additional Swarm players. I remember the ref shielding me for a moment so I could get out of my bunker. I was forced to leave as I was being pelted repeatedly and took the walk of shame. As I walked down the parking lot back to our staging area, a million and one thoughts raced through my mind.
Things that I remember from that event---meeting Charles “Happy” Holton. I remember walking past the guys from the Master Blasters as they took their iconic photo with Moe and Craig from Montneel Designs. I remember checking in with the All Americans guys I was friendly with. By this time, I was already attending Gettysburg College and I knew a bunch of the guys from playing at Sgt. York’s. I remember we came in nearly last if not last at the event. We were completely outmatched. I remember it was the first time I had seen a paintball marker that wasn’t black or brass. Oh Pawlek and the guys from Tour De Force played and I remember Oh’s polished WGP Sniper 2 pump in British Racing Green.
There are two major events which set my paintball life into motion. The first was attending Gettysburg College. On my first night there, we all met as freshman and transfers at the field house for a meet and greet and to go over some things about school. I was wearing my RP Scherer Factory Team shirt. A transfer student, Al Peninno stopped me to talk on the way back to the dorms. Al and his family owned Island Paintball Supplies in Jessup NY. They would later start the NY Dogs (of War) and I would become good friends with many in NYC and Long Island because of this connection. However, Al and I talked about starting a paintball club on campus. We talked for hours that first night.
We eventually met a few other students including Allen Edwards, who was a junior. He and a bunch of the guys from the R.O.T.C. had been going to play at a renegade field near Biglerville PA. We organized and within a year’s time we formed the Gettysburg College Iron Brigade paintball team, and the Gettysburg College paintball club. We would go once a month for the remainder of my time at Gettysburg with school funding and transportation to Sgt. York’s to play. It was again here, my friendship with the guys from home teams began, including All A’s, All A’s 2, and Green Dragons.
I will not forget a fateful day late spring in 1992 when I nearly got into a first fight with this guy at the field. I was there taking pictures for the college club, and this guy runs up on one of my players, and in my opinion, overshot him. We began jawing at one another. It came close to a fight with us pushing into each other and eventually cooler heads prevailed. We seemed to be at odds. We would see each other on occasion at the field and kept a peace. It was a little more than a year later, we would find ourselves recruited for the same team, The Oh-No’s. That man and I, Michael Maisonet, are now lifelong friends, although we laugh about the near fight years later. We have both been in each other’s weddings and I am godfather to his son Jay. He would also be my co-captain for the start of Misfit Toys.
Up until my graduation from Gettysburg, if I wasn’t at Sgt. York’s I was still making the drive home to Cobra Command. I was helping run events there on the weekends as well and helping run both the store and the field.
The second major event was related to Sgt. York's Friendly War Games. After my graduation in 1995, I started working exclusively for the owner of Sgt. York’s and eventually bought the business and ran it from 1996 to 2000 after we suffered a catastrophic fire.
Those few short years (1991 - 2000) put me in a position to have a host of memorable experiences, including the Paintcheck International 5-Man at Sgt. York’s. The All A’s were reffing, and I remember meeting Renick Miller of Aftershock, as he was yelling at us to move our stuff from our staging spot faster because they wanted that spot when our games were done. Sgt. York’s is where I first met John (Will) Bourgault, now my sales rep at Valken (and previously at NPS), Greg Hastings on the days he wanted us to try out his prototype pack system before the launch of REDZ, Carman Borgia (who is oddly nearly a neighbor of mine), and both Will Arroyo and Tommy Aguilera of Screaming Eagles. the Maliszewski brothers, whom I had originally met with the Baltimore Rats, along with Chris Cole in my Cobra Command days who was now a part of AA’s and eventually birthed IMAGE.
The biggest difference between then and now is grit. We didn’t just go to well manicured fairgrounds in the beginning. It wasn’t cushie. We played in some tough venues. We played in all weathers. We paid $100+ for paint and smiled about it. However, players were always willing to help each other.
How is the gear different? The playing style? The culture of teams? Of playing style? Of sneakiness/cheating? Do you still get to see and play with/against many of those guys? How many of the people you played with then are still friends to this day?
My Facebook is filled with guys from the past 32 years. They make up the majority of my lifelong friends. I speak with many of them on a weekly basis. The one story I share is from my first Paintcheck 5-man. I will be honest and say the concept of cheating was foreign to me. The fact that someone would remove paint was just not in my mind.
So we are there playing at Jack Frost Mountain, at the Paintcheck 5-Man. We played against SWARM which was Chip Kurt’s team. (Chip and I would become friends later). However, in this game, I shot a guy running up in the center. I remember vividly like it was yesterday. I hit the player in the mask---they looked left then right and didn’t see a referee. They wiped the hit and waved at my across the clearing. I literally stopped playing and was frozen in my thoughts, “How the hell is he doing that?” The player proceeded to shoot me out, and I remember going into Big E rage mode. The two of us shooting each other (granted me with my pump and the Swarm player with some sort of semi auto) shooting and wiping. I remember this went on for a few seconds before my position was overrun but additional Swarm players. I remember the ref shielding me for a moment so I could get out of my bunker. I was forced to leave as I was being pelted repeatedly and took the walk of shame. As I walked down the parking lot back to our staging area, a million and one thoughts raced through my mind.
Things that I remember from that event---meeting Charles “Happy” Holton. I remember walking past the guys from the Master Blasters as they took their iconic photo with Moe and Craig from Montneel Designs. I remember checking in with the All Americans guys I was friendly with. By this time, I was already attending Gettysburg College and I knew a bunch of the guys from playing at Sgt. York’s. I remember we came in nearly last if not last at the event. We were completely outmatched. I remember it was the first time I had seen a paintball marker that wasn’t black or brass. Oh Pawlek and the guys from Tour De Force played and I remember Oh’s polished WGP Sniper 2 pump in British Racing Green.
There are two major events which set my paintball life into motion. The first was attending Gettysburg College. On my first night there, we all met as freshman and transfers at the field house for a meet and greet and to go over some things about school. I was wearing my RP Scherer Factory Team shirt. A transfer student, Al Peninno stopped me to talk on the way back to the dorms. Al and his family owned Island Paintball Supplies in Jessup NY. They would later start the NY Dogs (of War) and I would become good friends with many in NYC and Long Island because of this connection. However, Al and I talked about starting a paintball club on campus. We talked for hours that first night.
We eventually met a few other students including Allen Edwards, who was a junior. He and a bunch of the guys from the R.O.T.C. had been going to play at a renegade field near Biglerville PA. We organized and within a year’s time we formed the Gettysburg College Iron Brigade paintball team, and the Gettysburg College paintball club. We would go once a month for the remainder of my time at Gettysburg with school funding and transportation to Sgt. York’s to play. It was again here, my friendship with the guys from home teams began, including All A’s, All A’s 2, and Green Dragons.
I will not forget a fateful day late spring in 1992 when I nearly got into a first fight with this guy at the field. I was there taking pictures for the college club, and this guy runs up on one of my players, and in my opinion, overshot him. We began jawing at one another. It came close to a fight with us pushing into each other and eventually cooler heads prevailed. We seemed to be at odds. We would see each other on occasion at the field and kept a peace. It was a little more than a year later, we would find ourselves recruited for the same team, The Oh-No’s. That man and I, Michael Maisonet, are now lifelong friends, although we laugh about the near fight years later. We have both been in each other’s weddings and I am godfather to his son Jay. He would also be my co-captain for the start of Misfit Toys.
Up until my graduation from Gettysburg, if I wasn’t at Sgt. York’s I was still making the drive home to Cobra Command. I was helping run events there on the weekends as well and helping run both the store and the field.
The second major event was related to Sgt. York's Friendly War Games. After my graduation in 1995, I started working exclusively for the owner of Sgt. York’s and eventually bought the business and ran it from 1996 to 2000 after we suffered a catastrophic fire.
Those few short years (1991 - 2000) put me in a position to have a host of memorable experiences, including the Paintcheck International 5-Man at Sgt. York’s. The All A’s were reffing, and I remember meeting Renick Miller of Aftershock, as he was yelling at us to move our stuff from our staging spot faster because they wanted that spot when our games were done. Sgt. York’s is where I first met John (Will) Bourgault, now my sales rep at Valken (and previously at NPS), Greg Hastings on the days he wanted us to try out his prototype pack system before the launch of REDZ, Carman Borgia (who is oddly nearly a neighbor of mine), and both Will Arroyo and Tommy Aguilera of Screaming Eagles. the Maliszewski brothers, whom I had originally met with the Baltimore Rats, along with Chris Cole in my Cobra Command days who was now a part of AA’s and eventually birthed IMAGE.
Misfit Toys in the Redz Days
I have to give a shout out to one special man, who spent a considerable amount of his own time to help teach me. And that is Steve “2E” Barber. I met Steve in-person for the first time in 1989 when I was touring colleges. Like any self-respecting paintball player, I wanted to go to a college that was close to a paintball field. I met Steve at Sgt. York’s on a Saturday. My dad and I drove out and I was there taking pictures. My dad was just letting me explore and I walked around the field for about an hour. I stopped in what was the old village.
Steve was doing snap drills. I took several photos of him and watched him drill. After he was done, we got to talking and he asked me to send him the photos when I got them developed. We had exchanged information. As I would return to Sgt. York’s, Steve would often critique my form and have me practice my shooting. Playing pump it was hard to both run and shoot so he helped me work out a quick-step that didn’t jolt my barrel up and down.
I have very fond memories of those years before he moved out to Pittsburgh to work for Smart Parts. In my first tour of the factory, I remember him zooming through the halls from station to station on his skateboard. Steve’s tattoos and signature mohawk were in full effect by this point. Even with his successes on the field, he was always kind to me. I have distinct memories of his mom stopping at Sgt. York’s. Sometimes she would drop off goodies for the guys to snack on while we were hanging out. He certainly deserves a much credit for helping to mold me, all of those Saturdays teaching me how to shoot, aim, and lane.
Steve was doing snap drills. I took several photos of him and watched him drill. After he was done, we got to talking and he asked me to send him the photos when I got them developed. We had exchanged information. As I would return to Sgt. York’s, Steve would often critique my form and have me practice my shooting. Playing pump it was hard to both run and shoot so he helped me work out a quick-step that didn’t jolt my barrel up and down.
I have very fond memories of those years before he moved out to Pittsburgh to work for Smart Parts. In my first tour of the factory, I remember him zooming through the halls from station to station on his skateboard. Steve’s tattoos and signature mohawk were in full effect by this point. Even with his successes on the field, he was always kind to me. I have distinct memories of his mom stopping at Sgt. York’s. Sometimes she would drop off goodies for the guys to snack on while we were hanging out. He certainly deserves a much credit for helping to mold me, all of those Saturdays teaching me how to shoot, aim, and lane.
Misfit Toys (and dog)
How did you go about founding Misfit Toys?
Well it’s a tough question. In 1998, I was captain of the Oh-No’s paintball team. In the early part of the year, myself and several members of the team started to see the direction of the team going in very different directions. One of the team members went online and blasted some of the higher-ups of the NPPL following a controversial call at an event. We had won the inaugural SKYBALL event (although I didn’t attend). The team was really doing well, but at the same time there was an US vs THEM mentality going. I realized we could not keep going together.
Myself and 12 other players opted to leave Oh-No’s and I handed the captaincy to another player. We split. At the time it was a tough situation. I think we were both right about things but just coming at it in a different way. Stubbornness lead to the team split. We played as OH-NO’s Junior for about a month. Then swapped to Demolition until June when the team name was officially changed to “Paintball Warriors from the Island of Misfit Toys” aka MISFIT TOYS.
Who are your longest standing members?
It is myself and Michael Maisonet. Justin Lenker joined and has played since 2000. Eric Sollenberger rejoined the team in 2004, having been on Oh-No’s and then All American’s II.
How did you go about building the team? How has that team evolved for you? What do your divisions play (tourney/mech/magfed/scenario)? What kinds of people do you look for when looking to add to the team? What are the core values of the team? What are you proudest of with regards to the team? Is there anything that you would have done differently in the early days with it, looking back? What does the team mean to you? If someone was interested in joining Misfit Toys or Misfits Militia, how would they do it?
Generally it’s word of mouth. We have three basic “groups”. Misfit Toys and Misfit Toys Killaz are the competitive teams playing D3 and under in X-Ball and 5-man. Misfit Militia is both the name for our mechanical 10-man crew, and then Misfit Militia Mid-Atlantic and North Carolina Chapters are specifically scenarios, big games and mag fed groups that play events up and down the east coast. I get requests through our Facebook and Instagram.
Well it’s a tough question. In 1998, I was captain of the Oh-No’s paintball team. In the early part of the year, myself and several members of the team started to see the direction of the team going in very different directions. One of the team members went online and blasted some of the higher-ups of the NPPL following a controversial call at an event. We had won the inaugural SKYBALL event (although I didn’t attend). The team was really doing well, but at the same time there was an US vs THEM mentality going. I realized we could not keep going together.
Myself and 12 other players opted to leave Oh-No’s and I handed the captaincy to another player. We split. At the time it was a tough situation. I think we were both right about things but just coming at it in a different way. Stubbornness lead to the team split. We played as OH-NO’s Junior for about a month. Then swapped to Demolition until June when the team name was officially changed to “Paintball Warriors from the Island of Misfit Toys” aka MISFIT TOYS.
Who are your longest standing members?
It is myself and Michael Maisonet. Justin Lenker joined and has played since 2000. Eric Sollenberger rejoined the team in 2004, having been on Oh-No’s and then All American’s II.
How did you go about building the team? How has that team evolved for you? What do your divisions play (tourney/mech/magfed/scenario)? What kinds of people do you look for when looking to add to the team? What are the core values of the team? What are you proudest of with regards to the team? Is there anything that you would have done differently in the early days with it, looking back? What does the team mean to you? If someone was interested in joining Misfit Toys or Misfits Militia, how would they do it?
Generally it’s word of mouth. We have three basic “groups”. Misfit Toys and Misfit Toys Killaz are the competitive teams playing D3 and under in X-Ball and 5-man. Misfit Militia is both the name for our mechanical 10-man crew, and then Misfit Militia Mid-Atlantic and North Carolina Chapters are specifically scenarios, big games and mag fed groups that play events up and down the east coast. I get requests through our Facebook and Instagram.
Misfit Toys on a bit more modern field
How did you get involved with Fireball Mountain and Ballers Inc? Why did you get into building cockers? How long were you operating FBM? How did you get the rights to the Spanky bodies? Which was your favorite? How and why did that end?
My involvement in FBM started in 2001. I was good friends with the store manager at the Lawrenceville, NJ store. They were expanding to a shop that was right around the corner from my home in PA. I started working at the shop to fill in. Within a few months, I was running the shop. I was using my contacts and experience from Sgt. York’s to help build the shop up. In 2005, the owner of FBM wanted to sell the shop and needed help distributing the FBM products because he was changing the focus from anodizing and building the field business. They had a fire and it was found that they did not have all the proper permits for much of what was on the property. We were basically given full access to take over the sales and distribution of FBM products in 2008.
My involvement in FBM started in 2001. I was good friends with the store manager at the Lawrenceville, NJ store. They were expanding to a shop that was right around the corner from my home in PA. I started working at the shop to fill in. Within a few months, I was running the shop. I was using my contacts and experience from Sgt. York’s to help build the shop up. In 2005, the owner of FBM wanted to sell the shop and needed help distributing the FBM products because he was changing the focus from anodizing and building the field business. They had a fire and it was found that they did not have all the proper permits for much of what was on the property. We were basically given full access to take over the sales and distribution of FBM products in 2008.
Misfit Militia at OXCC
How and why did you get involved with the EPL? Why did you feel the need to do so? Where are the events? Where do you get teams coming in from to play in the league? What teams are have you taken notice with and keep your eye on in the league? Are you trying to grow the league out, or are you pretty happy with where it is at this point? What are the biggest challenges for you and the EPL? What do you find most rewarding?
Before I was in the EPL, I had been working with Brian Barno and GPL. Misfits had played the first two seasons, but in 2000, we started doing both playing and refereeing at alternating events. By 2004, we were only refereeing the GPL. I started as a head judge and moved quickly into the Ultimate Judge role in the first year. But in 2010 when I was diagnosed with cancer I had to step back.
By 2011, when I was feeling better, I coached Misfits to several podium places including several 1st and 2nds in both D4 and D5. My involvement in the league was more or less a challenge from Chad Rotella. I was critical of certain aspects of the event. I had always done things in a particular way. This was heavily influenced by both my GPL and PSP refereeing experiences. By 2011, I had been on the Semi Pro field PSP2 over numerous years and I would bark at Chad about the way calls were made. He basically told me, put up or shut up. Before the end of 2011, I was co-Ultimate and by 2012, the Ultimate of EPL.
We have made a great number of improvements to the league. In 2016 we merged the EPL with GPL forming the 5Star Series at OXCC. I would continue to help run the EPL North Conference and EPL Mid Atlantic (5Star).
The thing that I like about being a part of the EPL is that we are not static. I am hoping that in 2021 we can take what we have learned from 2020 and running events despite tremendous hurdles and put together a hybrid league with both 5man and Xball style events. As far as growth, the league is always growing. My biggest goal is to help maintain players who are ranking up into the D3 ranking. We, as a league need to help offer alternatives to players.
My biggest challenge for myself is simply time. The EPL is very time demanding. I have been trying to work with Brian and Chad to maximize our personnel and potentially run events on the same day, North and South.
Keeping quality referees is always a challenge as well. This past year with COVID, we lost several amazing referees who needed to remain socially distant with at risk family members. Some teams and players couldn’t travel to MD, and play wasn’t permitted in NJ until mid-July.
Before I was in the EPL, I had been working with Brian Barno and GPL. Misfits had played the first two seasons, but in 2000, we started doing both playing and refereeing at alternating events. By 2004, we were only refereeing the GPL. I started as a head judge and moved quickly into the Ultimate Judge role in the first year. But in 2010 when I was diagnosed with cancer I had to step back.
By 2011, when I was feeling better, I coached Misfits to several podium places including several 1st and 2nds in both D4 and D5. My involvement in the league was more or less a challenge from Chad Rotella. I was critical of certain aspects of the event. I had always done things in a particular way. This was heavily influenced by both my GPL and PSP refereeing experiences. By 2011, I had been on the Semi Pro field PSP2 over numerous years and I would bark at Chad about the way calls were made. He basically told me, put up or shut up. Before the end of 2011, I was co-Ultimate and by 2012, the Ultimate of EPL.
We have made a great number of improvements to the league. In 2016 we merged the EPL with GPL forming the 5Star Series at OXCC. I would continue to help run the EPL North Conference and EPL Mid Atlantic (5Star).
The thing that I like about being a part of the EPL is that we are not static. I am hoping that in 2021 we can take what we have learned from 2020 and running events despite tremendous hurdles and put together a hybrid league with both 5man and Xball style events. As far as growth, the league is always growing. My biggest goal is to help maintain players who are ranking up into the D3 ranking. We, as a league need to help offer alternatives to players.
My biggest challenge for myself is simply time. The EPL is very time demanding. I have been trying to work with Brian and Chad to maximize our personnel and potentially run events on the same day, North and South.
Keeping quality referees is always a challenge as well. This past year with COVID, we lost several amazing referees who needed to remain socially distant with at risk family members. Some teams and players couldn’t travel to MD, and play wasn’t permitted in NJ until mid-July.
With the custom jersey for the Nightmare Before Christmas themed scenario
How long have you been playing scenario and big game paintball?
Since the beginning of my time at Cobra Command in 1989.
How did you get involved in writing and producing scenarios?
I was asked by Norm Fronk, the field owner to help write up game variation for play at the field. “Attacking Wookie” was probably my favorite. Wookie was a fort we built across the small creek. We would get more and more inventive with the “goal” of the games. They were like mini scenarios in the general day of play.
From there, I wrote my first scenario at the field where we used the full property. I only remember doing it a couple times, but it is likely we had more there. We spent a bit of time clearing out new trails and building forts in “Deep Woods”. From there, we build new entrances to and from major access points. Generally on a day of play we would play from like this for to that fort. (Not very inventive, they were Alpha, Beta, Charlie, Delta Echo, Foxtrot, Wookie and Deepwoods.).
How do you find inspiration for creating those games?
I’m not really sure what started that. However I loved Halloween as a kid and I wanted to do a Halloween game. My second game I ever wrote was St. Valentines’ Days Massacre. They were less scenarios and more just long games. When I started running Sgt. York’s I did the St. Valentines’ Day massacre there, and that's where SPLAT-O-WEEN was born.
What are the biggest challenges in creating and running them? How have you found way to balance the games? How do you try and satisfy players with a wide variety of reasons to play---competitive players, those looking for missions, young guns, those looking to just have fun and be goofy, and those looking to just shoot people?
The biggest challenge for any event promoter is not really having a stake in who wins or looses. MOST IMPORTANTLY - players are there to have a good time. You must in all things create an “out” for teams who find themselves backed into a corner. You can’t think it up on the fly. You need to lead with , if “A “ happens then Team X can do this. It helps keep it fair and fun. In some cases if I have run a mission, I have a set number of points for a valued target. If they target becomes seemingly unattainable, you double the value or shuffle mission order.
I write way more missions that I can ever run in a day. This is because I have to feel the pulse of the play. I have attended too many poorly run scenarios where I’m having ZERO FUN...either because I’m bored and we keep destroying the other team because they can’t get out of their spawn or been on the receiving end, where you feel like you have spent the whole morning seeing one acre of the field.
As an event promoter, that is irresponsible. People won’t put up with that and you will lose long-term customers. I am shocked that so many fields or promoters still stick to the “at 11 o’clock “ it’s this mission C, then 12 o-clock mission D, etc. (Editor's Note: Completely agree)
Since the beginning of my time at Cobra Command in 1989.
How did you get involved in writing and producing scenarios?
I was asked by Norm Fronk, the field owner to help write up game variation for play at the field. “Attacking Wookie” was probably my favorite. Wookie was a fort we built across the small creek. We would get more and more inventive with the “goal” of the games. They were like mini scenarios in the general day of play.
From there, I wrote my first scenario at the field where we used the full property. I only remember doing it a couple times, but it is likely we had more there. We spent a bit of time clearing out new trails and building forts in “Deep Woods”. From there, we build new entrances to and from major access points. Generally on a day of play we would play from like this for to that fort. (Not very inventive, they were Alpha, Beta, Charlie, Delta Echo, Foxtrot, Wookie and Deepwoods.).
How do you find inspiration for creating those games?
I’m not really sure what started that. However I loved Halloween as a kid and I wanted to do a Halloween game. My second game I ever wrote was St. Valentines’ Days Massacre. They were less scenarios and more just long games. When I started running Sgt. York’s I did the St. Valentines’ Day massacre there, and that's where SPLAT-O-WEEN was born.
What are the biggest challenges in creating and running them? How have you found way to balance the games? How do you try and satisfy players with a wide variety of reasons to play---competitive players, those looking for missions, young guns, those looking to just have fun and be goofy, and those looking to just shoot people?
The biggest challenge for any event promoter is not really having a stake in who wins or looses. MOST IMPORTANTLY - players are there to have a good time. You must in all things create an “out” for teams who find themselves backed into a corner. You can’t think it up on the fly. You need to lead with , if “A “ happens then Team X can do this. It helps keep it fair and fun. In some cases if I have run a mission, I have a set number of points for a valued target. If they target becomes seemingly unattainable, you double the value or shuffle mission order.
I write way more missions that I can ever run in a day. This is because I have to feel the pulse of the play. I have attended too many poorly run scenarios where I’m having ZERO FUN...either because I’m bored and we keep destroying the other team because they can’t get out of their spawn or been on the receiving end, where you feel like you have spent the whole morning seeing one acre of the field.
As an event promoter, that is irresponsible. People won’t put up with that and you will lose long-term customers. I am shocked that so many fields or promoters still stick to the “at 11 o’clock “ it’s this mission C, then 12 o-clock mission D, etc. (Editor's Note: Completely agree)
Landing a hard-earned MOFO award
,How long have you been working in your paintball company Thor Productions? Why and how did you start doing the graphic design work? Did you have a background in it prior to paintball?
Thor started in 2000 when I closed Sgt. York’s. It was originally my handle for the custom cockers I was building on my own. The guns I called Warhammers. This name stuck from a few custom guns I had made while I was still running Sgt. York’s. So I kept it and ran with it. I think I started doing graphic designs around 2003. I was essentially a double major in college for Child Psychology, but also in studio art. Although there was no official double major at Gettysburg, I petitioned to get special permission to be able to continue as an Art Major and complete the full set of coursework including the Seniors Studies and Gallery projects. I pulled those skills in my graphic design.
Who all have you and your teams been sponsored by? How did you create those relationships? How do you feel that they have been mutually beneficial? What do you look for when trying to create those relationships?
That is a tough question. I have to start out by saying I met Gino Postorivo when I was just a teenager. I used to take a drive from Cobra Command to his shop, So. Jersey Paintball, then National Paintball Supply. We developed a great relationship and NPS was our sponsor from the very beginning. Of course, with that came PROBALL and ultimately DIABLO. When we formed Misfit Toys, we kept that same relationship and transformed the NPS /32 degrees brands becoming EMPIRE.
This comes with one caveat. I know that a lot of people either love him or hate him. I can tell you at the time of my fire at Sgt. York’s in 1999, Gino called me personally to see how he could help. I wasn’t even sure how I would recover or re-open after the fire. I had lost everything and was fighting with my insurance and lawyers to make it right. Gino, without any hesitation, asked me to make a list of everything I thought I might need to re-open my store. I created a list, and it was about 10 grand worth of inventory.
Gino, without batting an eye, saw I had no paint on my list and suggested a few more items. He put together a package for me with enough paint and equipment to get me back open in a matter of weeks. He extended me several months to work down the balance. At no time have I seen such generosity. I was truly blessed that he helped me through one of the most difficult times in my life. So regardless of what else happens, I have stuck with Gino, NPS and now Valken. Only after Gino left EMPIRE (forced out) did we make a switch to GI SPORTZ for a period of time because of my relationship with Brian Barno, who now owns OXCC . We also had to add GI to the sponsors for a short period when Valken was being black-balled from the PSP. We had no choice and needed to shoot something at the national events.
Other than that I can say I was pleased we were one of the first team sponsored by REDZ back in the Oh-No’s days. We continued with REDZ and R7 until that closed up shop.
JT was an early sponsor, I would say until we parted ways with EMPIRE when Gino left. This is about the same time we switched to GI and were using VForce. \
We had been sponsored by Bob Long back in the Sgt. York’s days when we all shot the BLSS Cockers. I still shoot mine to this day. However with the advent of electronic markers, by 2002 most guys had switched to other markers.
Around 1998, we picked up Smart Parts as a team sponsor for barrels. John Young was on the team until 2000, when I moved back to Philly. He took a sprinter portion of Misfits to form Hyperactive, but those players almost all returned to Misfits after Hyper Sport Works suffered their own fire that closed down that business. We continued to be sponsored by Smart Parts until the bankruptcy. At that point, we had been slowly splitting between guys on the team shooting Shockers and Intimidators. Around 2006 we officially picked up Bob Long as a sponsor again. However when the opportunity presented itself to return to GOG, we did so adding the DLX and SP brands to the team sponsor list.
In the last few years, we picked up CK FIGHTLIFE /Contract Killer, Exalt, Ninja Paintball, RAZA Paintball, Virtue, Bunker Kings and most recently VULCANO USA and GATORMAILE.
Thor started in 2000 when I closed Sgt. York’s. It was originally my handle for the custom cockers I was building on my own. The guns I called Warhammers. This name stuck from a few custom guns I had made while I was still running Sgt. York’s. So I kept it and ran with it. I think I started doing graphic designs around 2003. I was essentially a double major in college for Child Psychology, but also in studio art. Although there was no official double major at Gettysburg, I petitioned to get special permission to be able to continue as an Art Major and complete the full set of coursework including the Seniors Studies and Gallery projects. I pulled those skills in my graphic design.
Who all have you and your teams been sponsored by? How did you create those relationships? How do you feel that they have been mutually beneficial? What do you look for when trying to create those relationships?
That is a tough question. I have to start out by saying I met Gino Postorivo when I was just a teenager. I used to take a drive from Cobra Command to his shop, So. Jersey Paintball, then National Paintball Supply. We developed a great relationship and NPS was our sponsor from the very beginning. Of course, with that came PROBALL and ultimately DIABLO. When we formed Misfit Toys, we kept that same relationship and transformed the NPS /32 degrees brands becoming EMPIRE.
This comes with one caveat. I know that a lot of people either love him or hate him. I can tell you at the time of my fire at Sgt. York’s in 1999, Gino called me personally to see how he could help. I wasn’t even sure how I would recover or re-open after the fire. I had lost everything and was fighting with my insurance and lawyers to make it right. Gino, without any hesitation, asked me to make a list of everything I thought I might need to re-open my store. I created a list, and it was about 10 grand worth of inventory.
Gino, without batting an eye, saw I had no paint on my list and suggested a few more items. He put together a package for me with enough paint and equipment to get me back open in a matter of weeks. He extended me several months to work down the balance. At no time have I seen such generosity. I was truly blessed that he helped me through one of the most difficult times in my life. So regardless of what else happens, I have stuck with Gino, NPS and now Valken. Only after Gino left EMPIRE (forced out) did we make a switch to GI SPORTZ for a period of time because of my relationship with Brian Barno, who now owns OXCC . We also had to add GI to the sponsors for a short period when Valken was being black-balled from the PSP. We had no choice and needed to shoot something at the national events.
Other than that I can say I was pleased we were one of the first team sponsored by REDZ back in the Oh-No’s days. We continued with REDZ and R7 until that closed up shop.
JT was an early sponsor, I would say until we parted ways with EMPIRE when Gino left. This is about the same time we switched to GI and were using VForce. \
We had been sponsored by Bob Long back in the Sgt. York’s days when we all shot the BLSS Cockers. I still shoot mine to this day. However with the advent of electronic markers, by 2002 most guys had switched to other markers.
Around 1998, we picked up Smart Parts as a team sponsor for barrels. John Young was on the team until 2000, when I moved back to Philly. He took a sprinter portion of Misfits to form Hyperactive, but those players almost all returned to Misfits after Hyper Sport Works suffered their own fire that closed down that business. We continued to be sponsored by Smart Parts until the bankruptcy. At that point, we had been slowly splitting between guys on the team shooting Shockers and Intimidators. Around 2006 we officially picked up Bob Long as a sponsor again. However when the opportunity presented itself to return to GOG, we did so adding the DLX and SP brands to the team sponsor list.
In the last few years, we picked up CK FIGHTLIFE /Contract Killer, Exalt, Ninja Paintball, RAZA Paintball, Virtue, Bunker Kings and most recently VULCANO USA and GATORMAILE.
Packin' a Shocker
Your team is extremely active in social media. How have you made that part of the team culture?
I run the social media for not only the team but also several paintball sites. For the team, It is important to not only showcase the current players but to catalog the 23 year rich history. Additionally it’s one easy way to give back to out sponsors - get the word out. Especially in these turbulent times over the past year, helping raise awareness for fields and stores and sponsors is important to help keep the sport we love alive. We can also use it for good by promoting good causes. We support the ALLY REMEMBERED Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing support for those who have been victims of domestic violence. https://www.allyremembered.org/,
Do you do all of that work personally, or is it a group effort?
I am the webmaster for the team and the Misfit Social Media.
Is it a conscious effort to help out sponsors?
Absolutely - this is critically important to help support and showcase those who have supported us. Too many teams are looking for a free handout. They don’t understand that sponsorship is joint venture, where we need to give of ourselves and our time to support positive companies that also support our team goals and mission statement. In all ways you need to support them.
Do you feel most teams actually do enough on their ends to work in social media?
I think that many teams are coming around and doing more. I really like what I see with teams giving back. Some notable teams are Team Defiance out of Maryland / Virginia, Texas Cyclone paintball, Soup Can Cocks with their charity games, and Denver Expendables. I am however most impressed with Team Defiant who was working to connect players who have some paralyzation or mobility issues and getting them into a paintball wheelchair to help grow the sport .
I run the social media for not only the team but also several paintball sites. For the team, It is important to not only showcase the current players but to catalog the 23 year rich history. Additionally it’s one easy way to give back to out sponsors - get the word out. Especially in these turbulent times over the past year, helping raise awareness for fields and stores and sponsors is important to help keep the sport we love alive. We can also use it for good by promoting good causes. We support the ALLY REMEMBERED Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing support for those who have been victims of domestic violence. https://www.allyremembered.org/,
Do you do all of that work personally, or is it a group effort?
I am the webmaster for the team and the Misfit Social Media.
Is it a conscious effort to help out sponsors?
Absolutely - this is critically important to help support and showcase those who have supported us. Too many teams are looking for a free handout. They don’t understand that sponsorship is joint venture, where we need to give of ourselves and our time to support positive companies that also support our team goals and mission statement. In all ways you need to support them.
Do you feel most teams actually do enough on their ends to work in social media?
I think that many teams are coming around and doing more. I really like what I see with teams giving back. Some notable teams are Team Defiance out of Maryland / Virginia, Texas Cyclone paintball, Soup Can Cocks with their charity games, and Denver Expendables. I am however most impressed with Team Defiant who was working to connect players who have some paralyzation or mobility issues and getting them into a paintball wheelchair to help grow the sport .
E with his buddy Tim
Why is the ICC so special to you?
Tim and I have been friends a long time. When we competed in 10 man, we used to play against each other. Tim just had a very positive outlook on the sport and life. We have had members of our team play in each of the events. ICC brings back the best of what I love about paintball. It is one of the only events left that measures talents and grit player for player. We have been compartmentalized into “rankings”. Once upon a time I would have been ranked as Semi-Pro or “Amateur”. Granted that has been a few years. Players today are too comfortable in their niche and are obsessed with their “Rank” and points. It is a foreign concept to me. We play for the love of the sport. One of the questions I get from the younger players is, have you played against “pro players” - Well yes. That is because that is what you did. There was no “pro” for the first few years of playing. However when the Pro division opened it was nothing like today. You didn’t have to ask permission to join that group. You just chose to play in those ranks measuring against the best teams if that time. On the east coast that was IMAGE, Lockout, Bad Company, All Americans and All Americans II . However practices would all include the “Amateur” contenders at the top of the game. TURBULENCE, SONIC RAGE, Justice, Green Dragons, Free Agents, Screaming Eagles, NJ Jesters (which would become the birth of Ground Zero). These are the guys we played with/against. - The ICC unapologetically takes us back to a time where ranking doesn’t matter. You play for the love of the game and to measure your skill.
What does that tournament, in particular, mean to you? And you were good friends with Tim Montressor. For those that didn’t know him or didn’t know him?
Well, what would you want for paintball players that are reading this to know about him? Tim was a genuine guy. He would walk the walk. If he gave you his time it was because he genuinely cared about his fellow players. I remember a 5 hour alcohol fueled discussion at Paintball Extravaganza with Tim, Joey Blute, myself and my co-captain Terry and a variety of others. We hashed out all kinds of ideas he had after the first event, which was only 18 teams. He wanted input from a variety of people and players and wasn’t interested in what the industry wanted to provide - he wanted a players, old-school perspective.
What do you think his legacy is in the game?
Tim gave us true competitive paintball back. For that I am eternally grateful.
Tim and I have been friends a long time. When we competed in 10 man, we used to play against each other. Tim just had a very positive outlook on the sport and life. We have had members of our team play in each of the events. ICC brings back the best of what I love about paintball. It is one of the only events left that measures talents and grit player for player. We have been compartmentalized into “rankings”. Once upon a time I would have been ranked as Semi-Pro or “Amateur”. Granted that has been a few years. Players today are too comfortable in their niche and are obsessed with their “Rank” and points. It is a foreign concept to me. We play for the love of the sport. One of the questions I get from the younger players is, have you played against “pro players” - Well yes. That is because that is what you did. There was no “pro” for the first few years of playing. However when the Pro division opened it was nothing like today. You didn’t have to ask permission to join that group. You just chose to play in those ranks measuring against the best teams if that time. On the east coast that was IMAGE, Lockout, Bad Company, All Americans and All Americans II . However practices would all include the “Amateur” contenders at the top of the game. TURBULENCE, SONIC RAGE, Justice, Green Dragons, Free Agents, Screaming Eagles, NJ Jesters (which would become the birth of Ground Zero). These are the guys we played with/against. - The ICC unapologetically takes us back to a time where ranking doesn’t matter. You play for the love of the game and to measure your skill.
What does that tournament, in particular, mean to you? And you were good friends with Tim Montressor. For those that didn’t know him or didn’t know him?
Well, what would you want for paintball players that are reading this to know about him? Tim was a genuine guy. He would walk the walk. If he gave you his time it was because he genuinely cared about his fellow players. I remember a 5 hour alcohol fueled discussion at Paintball Extravaganza with Tim, Joey Blute, myself and my co-captain Terry and a variety of others. We hashed out all kinds of ideas he had after the first event, which was only 18 teams. He wanted input from a variety of people and players and wasn’t interested in what the industry wanted to provide - he wanted a players, old-school perspective.
What do you think his legacy is in the game?
Tim gave us true competitive paintball back. For that I am eternally grateful.
The guys at ICC
What do you think he would want to tell new players reading this over a beer, and for those of us that have some years under our belts to know or remember about the game he loved and represented so well?
Players/manufacturers gave all - literally all to make this sport possible. In the early days people like Bud Orr, Dan Colby, Tom Kaye, Bob Gurnsey, Bob McGuire, Sam Caldwell, Jim Lively, Debra Dion Krischke, Jessica Sparks, Ray Gong and Jerry Braun made this game a sport. They gave legitimacy to this game of marking our friends with paint and kept many municipalities from shutting the infant sport down. Tim saw what had happened. We went from having “our game” to being a mass produced experience and somewhere in their some really well meaning people forgot about those people who founded this game. Tim gave it back to us. He reminded us of our younger selves and helped us remember why we truly play this game.
You do tournaments, run national-level (divisions in multiple states), create, promote, and run scenarios, produce graphics for paintball, and, on occasion, actually do get to play paintball. How in the hell do you find time to do this? How do you balance your paintball life, work life, and life with your wonderful wife Deb, and your fur kids? How did you learn to strike that balance? Any secrets to keeping a happy life with all that going on?
Well - the honest truth is paintball takes up a great deal of my life. Most of my friends that I socialize with are through paintball. With my knees as bad as they are now, I do get to play but only maybe once a month or every 6 weeks or so. There are times where I am not able to play because I am running events. It does make me a bit misty eyed, but I love being able to coach. Continuing the teams (Misfit Toys and Misfit Militia) keep me very busy but it rarely feels like work. I love collaborating on projects with other field owners and sport enthusiasts. My primary goal overall is to give back and grow the sport. Brian Barno is one of my longest paintball friends. He now runs three paintball parks and Super Game event series. I work hard with him and other regional parters to make this game something that was as addictive as it was for me at 15 years old. I take students out to play and have continued that relationship with several members joining the team in various capacities.
How did getting and then beating cancer affect you as a player?
It was a very tough time. I went into it very arrogantly. I felt like I was indestructible (which of course I wasn’t). It was only 7 years after my knee injury. It truly shook me to my core and made me more thankful for what I could contribute. It saddens me because there was a time, where I knew we had the crew to go pro. So many of the guys from the time period are now playing semi pro. Had we been able to stick together I have no doubt that is where we would be. I was sick all the time. I have very vivid memories after my first treatment and thinking, “well this isn’t so bad”. My mom took me out for a celebratory lunch to mark the start of my road to recovery. Before I got home the dizziness and nausea set in and I couldn’t keep anything down. This would continue for weeks. I was just about confined to the couch, losing most of my strength. One part of the squad went to the World Cup in 2010 and made the podium. They brought me the plaque to hang on the wall. I knew it was their good-bye. It wasn’t a bad way, I just knew that I couldn’t keep players hostage not knowing how long I would be out of commission. I found the cancer lump at the Chicago event that summer and four weeks later was getting surgery and just weeks after, once the surgery scars had healed enough, I started the radiation. I gave everyone a free pass to move on. I would be 8 months before I really felt well enough to play, and I did not have the same fortitude .
Was paintball and your paintball family something that you could look to while you were fighting it? Has it changed your perspective at all about the game after you went into remission? Do you think you learned anything that players who are going through that fight now might find helpful?
It was critical for me to be introspective. I had to keep the goal of getting better and getting back on the field. However, the reality of both the knee catastrophe and the recovery from cancer putting me in a role I wasn’t familiar with - the role of mentor only. I still of course play competitively, but it's frustrating my mind knows what to do, but my body can’t keep up. I know the added weight hasn’t helped.
If you knew what you know now about paintball, and the paintball life that you’ve had over the last few decades, what advice would you give a younger you? What would you want teenage E to know?
When the doctor tells you to sit out and rest, listen. I’m living with the aftermath of catastrophic knee injuries.
Play.
Play as much paintball as possible.
Players/manufacturers gave all - literally all to make this sport possible. In the early days people like Bud Orr, Dan Colby, Tom Kaye, Bob Gurnsey, Bob McGuire, Sam Caldwell, Jim Lively, Debra Dion Krischke, Jessica Sparks, Ray Gong and Jerry Braun made this game a sport. They gave legitimacy to this game of marking our friends with paint and kept many municipalities from shutting the infant sport down. Tim saw what had happened. We went from having “our game” to being a mass produced experience and somewhere in their some really well meaning people forgot about those people who founded this game. Tim gave it back to us. He reminded us of our younger selves and helped us remember why we truly play this game.
You do tournaments, run national-level (divisions in multiple states), create, promote, and run scenarios, produce graphics for paintball, and, on occasion, actually do get to play paintball. How in the hell do you find time to do this? How do you balance your paintball life, work life, and life with your wonderful wife Deb, and your fur kids? How did you learn to strike that balance? Any secrets to keeping a happy life with all that going on?
Well - the honest truth is paintball takes up a great deal of my life. Most of my friends that I socialize with are through paintball. With my knees as bad as they are now, I do get to play but only maybe once a month or every 6 weeks or so. There are times where I am not able to play because I am running events. It does make me a bit misty eyed, but I love being able to coach. Continuing the teams (Misfit Toys and Misfit Militia) keep me very busy but it rarely feels like work. I love collaborating on projects with other field owners and sport enthusiasts. My primary goal overall is to give back and grow the sport. Brian Barno is one of my longest paintball friends. He now runs three paintball parks and Super Game event series. I work hard with him and other regional parters to make this game something that was as addictive as it was for me at 15 years old. I take students out to play and have continued that relationship with several members joining the team in various capacities.
How did getting and then beating cancer affect you as a player?
It was a very tough time. I went into it very arrogantly. I felt like I was indestructible (which of course I wasn’t). It was only 7 years after my knee injury. It truly shook me to my core and made me more thankful for what I could contribute. It saddens me because there was a time, where I knew we had the crew to go pro. So many of the guys from the time period are now playing semi pro. Had we been able to stick together I have no doubt that is where we would be. I was sick all the time. I have very vivid memories after my first treatment and thinking, “well this isn’t so bad”. My mom took me out for a celebratory lunch to mark the start of my road to recovery. Before I got home the dizziness and nausea set in and I couldn’t keep anything down. This would continue for weeks. I was just about confined to the couch, losing most of my strength. One part of the squad went to the World Cup in 2010 and made the podium. They brought me the plaque to hang on the wall. I knew it was their good-bye. It wasn’t a bad way, I just knew that I couldn’t keep players hostage not knowing how long I would be out of commission. I found the cancer lump at the Chicago event that summer and four weeks later was getting surgery and just weeks after, once the surgery scars had healed enough, I started the radiation. I gave everyone a free pass to move on. I would be 8 months before I really felt well enough to play, and I did not have the same fortitude .
Was paintball and your paintball family something that you could look to while you were fighting it? Has it changed your perspective at all about the game after you went into remission? Do you think you learned anything that players who are going through that fight now might find helpful?
It was critical for me to be introspective. I had to keep the goal of getting better and getting back on the field. However, the reality of both the knee catastrophe and the recovery from cancer putting me in a role I wasn’t familiar with - the role of mentor only. I still of course play competitively, but it's frustrating my mind knows what to do, but my body can’t keep up. I know the added weight hasn’t helped.
If you knew what you know now about paintball, and the paintball life that you’ve had over the last few decades, what advice would you give a younger you? What would you want teenage E to know?
When the doctor tells you to sit out and rest, listen. I’m living with the aftermath of catastrophic knee injuries.
Play.
Play as much paintball as possible.
FALL 1990 - Fall 2020