Load Up!

The Beginning:

Welcome to my newest blog, "Keep Calm and Throw Paint".

Probably gonna be me...

I've started up this blog because I'm about to enter into the world of paintball; a sport that has been on my mind for quite some time now, and I'd like to share my adventures with, well, anyone interested in seeing the sport from a beginner's point of view.

My introduction to the sport will be a sort of baptism-by-fire in an upcoming event at PRZ Paintball in Picton, Ontario. The event currently has 499 RSVPs which makes it the largest event held at PRZ to-date, and it's still growing. If you're reading this and find yourself interested in the event, you can find all the information on the Facebook event page here.

Seriously though, I'm simultaneously terrified and ecstatic about getting into 'balling. There's something amazing about being on the verge of a whole new path of experiences in your life that puts your nerves on edge but in a way that you can't help but enjoy... That's not to say the terrified, apprehensive and generally scaredy-cat nerves aren't there, but I've had some help in handling them.

The Assassins' Creed:

Now there's some credit owed to a select group of individuals for getting me up off my butt and out to try paintballing...

The cast of characters, and sponsors.

The Asylum Assassins (though mainly my cousin Jason "Monster" Mclinton) are the reason that I'm going to try my hand at the sport, as Jay encouraged my father and I to come out and visit the field, and the rest of the Assassins jumped right on the support bandwagon to let me know that I had a group of people ready to welcome me into something new, and who were willing to show me the ropes. Nothing's harder than breaking into a new community when you don't know anyone involved in it, or when you DO know people but they simply can't make the time to help you get involved. The support that I've received from the team has just taken all the stress out of my 'paintball initiation'.

Starter Gear:

As you might imagine, I'm looking -with my first foray into paintball fast-approaching- to get my hands on some gear that I can call my own. The issue here was that, as I started my search, I had no idea what I was looking for. I didn't know what I needed, what suited me, or really... ANYTHING about paintball gear. Again, help came from the Asylum Assassins and a few other members of the community that I've had the privilege of speaking to.

I knew that I didn't want to blow a massive amount of cash when I was just starting out in the sport, but I also knew that I'd need something durable, multi-functional, and customizable. This, along with the some advice led me to the *drum roll please*... Tippmann A5

Dead simple

Now this next bit will come as what should be common sense, but might become helpful advice to anyone looking to buy themselves some gear. It doesn't matter where you shop, whether it's a paintball-specific retailer, or a general sports store, EVERY vendor will have a certain mark-up on the products they're selling.  The trick in buying yourself some starter gear (that I've found at least) lies in a three-pronged approach:

1. Know your product - Make sure you know what you're looking for and why.
2. Know your vendor - Try to identify a vendor who REALLY values customer service, or who boasts about their "purchasing power".
3. Know your advantage - You have money, they WANT your money, but you can shop anywhere you like, so ask for a 'deal' and you're likely to get one. Also, once you have a deal, ask other retailers who stock the same merchandise if they can beat it.

Put these three things together and you can typically get yourself a very respectable deal on what can amount to a full kit's worth of merchandise. Personally I've managed to knock the price on an "intermediate" Tippman A5 Basic package from $359.99 CDN down to $304.40 with another vendor working on a counter-offer to beat that price. 

Remember guys, it doesn't really matter what activity you're into, if you need to buy something, there's going to be a mark-up which means there's going to be room to bargain.

Shot Off the 'Break':

My 'break' as it were, is going to be the "Fight For Asylum 2 - PRZ Season Opener" and even though it's still two weeks away, I can hardly contain my excitement.

To give you guys just a slight idea of what I'm in for, here's a video of last year's Fight for Asylum event:

What d'ya think?

That video comes courtesy of Tom 'Tomcat' Cunningham at The Catshack Reports and it gives a great glimpse into the experience of the Fight for Asylum events... Oh, in case you didn't know this, and were wondering where all of the Asylum references were coming from, PRZ Paintball is actually the site of a former mental institution, earning it the "asylum" name. The point in all of this is that the field is massive and manic with just the right touch of eerie and it makes for a phenomenal battleground.

The Wrap-Up

So there it is, my first article about my preparations to join the wonderful world of paintballing. I hope you'll all come back to follow me through my experiences. I promise to bring photos, videos and epic tales back from my 'adventures'. So everyone, until next time...

Keep calm, and throw paint!

Joshua J. Taylor - Callsign Loading...