Special Thanks

A special thanks to all the people we have met, and lost, all along the paintball adventure.

The Boss : Rich Telford. Rich have always support us in our project, always supplying the best content, with the true experience of the game.

He is the main wrigter of the Paintball Book : PAINTBALLER

PREFACE – PAINTBALLER The Paintball Book

The last world – PAINTBALLER – The Paintball Book

Sometimes I forget that paintball is such a young sport, only somewhere around 30 years old, yet somehow, I feel like it has been a huge part of our lives for as long as I can remember and I can’t imagine life without it. In the time we have shared, the industry has become almost like a very large family. This is a family that includes players, coaches, vendors, spectators, and photographers, even referees and of course many more I am probably forgetting. This family spans across the world and we all share a common passion for this sport and from this common passion, respect, companionship and trust for one another have grown. We often only see each other four or five times a year, but when we do, it’s as if we hadn’t spent any time apart. We have been through so many crazy, humorous and often emotional times together; we have traveled the world and competed with and against each other. At times, we have had very heated moments on the field, but off the field we have shared a handshake, a hug and a laugh
I have met some of the best people I could ever hope to know through paintball. Paintball players and enthusiasts are some of the most real, down-to-earth and giving people that you will ever meet. A paintball player will literally give you the jersey off of his back after spending all weekend trying to beat you on the field.
Some of the coolest and most dedicated people behind the scenes in paintball are the photographers and writers. Paintball photographers, no matter how large (or small) of a media outfit they are a part of, are key in helping the sport and industry grow. So much of paintball is visual and full of passion and the photographers are the ones who are capturing it and sharing it with the world. They are the ones who are exposing paintball to the world and future players. Whether it is a large magazine or a small website, the photographs are what touch people and share the event with people who could not be there or help people to relive the moment. The photographers are always there but seemingly appear to not be there at all. You will never find them in your way and, at least on the field, you will never even see them or know they were there until you see the shot they took of you. They catch you at your best, and worst, times but you trust them not to show the world your darkest moments.
The photographers go out on the field with a bunch of guys that are trying to shoot each other so they get shot and riddled with paintballs. As a player, I get shot once and I get to go to the dead box and I do this with adrenaline flowing to dull the pain, they are out there, feeling each and every shot that hits them, without the pain-relieving adrenaline. Photographers usually stay on the field for the entire event and get shot over and over again until they finally get the pictures they want. When they do get off the field, it’s not too long before they turn right around and go back out there. They do this over and over again, regardless of the amount of times they are shot, regardless of the conditions they have to endure. Capturing the moment and getting unbelievable shots is their main motivation with little to no concern for their own safety or comfort. Just comparing the amount of time the average player is on the field to the hours the average paintball photographer is on the field, most players just couldn’t do it.
I remember meeting a couple of guys years ago, I had seen them here and there , I had seen their work and I knew how talented they were but I had never met them properly. At events you meet so many people that it gets difficult to remember whom, what and when but I still remember meeting Romain and Fabien. They were super cool. They didn’t speak much English and my French was even worse. Yet somehow, we were able to talk to each other and get to know each other with a little help from a mutual friend, Sam. Little did I know at the time, we would get to know each other quite well and work together for years to come. They both worked with ”Facefull”, one of the most renowned and respected magazines to have existed in paintball. They were able to capture the beauty and heart of the sport and do so in a unique, creative fashion.
I couldn’t have more respect for the photographers that shoot paintball. The photos in this book convey what no words could. They capture those candid moments in time and provide a history from the last twenty years in paintball. This is a timeline, in pictures, of the birth and growth of our sport from its humble beginnings to its crash and burn fall and then the rebuilding again. This is what paintball was and will be again, raw and unscripted. This is paintball as it really happened, no sponsors, no fans, just real, down-to-earth paintball. Sometimes it’s great, sometimes it’s terrible but it is what it is and this is its visual story. .

Another event, another flight home. So many times, I’ve done this and I can’t help but recall all the years I’ve been in paintball and all the experiences I’ve gone through. I remember my first trip to Europe; I had just started playing with Ironmen, literally just got on the team. They wanted me to go to France. I had never really done any traveling so I didn’t even have a passport. I got my passport and got on the plane to Toulouse, which I had never even heard of. I came to discover that it’s one of the coolest places in France. I got there and was so excited that I couldn’t sleep all week long. I went to the event and it was bigger than anything I had ever seen; with my excitement and feeling slightly nervous, it’s a wonder I was able to maintain my focus.

In the States, all the teams hated each other. Well, not really, but they definitely acted like it. If you saw each other at an airport, you just walked by or maybe said hi or nodded. It wasn’t the way at all in Europe, they were all really friendly. Even the American teams were friendly there. Things were a little different on the field too. I remember that if one of the guys on our team got shot, the stand went crazy because they wanted the Americans to lose. When we shot one of the Europeans guys, the stands all booed. I was starting to get annoyed with it but then we played Joy Division, they were one of the best teams and we needed to beat them to stay in. They came onto the field and played a great game but we did beat them. I thought, based on what we knew in the States, that this was going to be the start of a long rivalry. I couldn’t have been more wrong. After being beaten and knocked out of the tournament, Joy got drunk and sat on the sidelines, and sang and cheered for the rest of the event. It was one of my best experiences in paintball. I learned that we didn’t all have to be competitive jerks.

We all start to play paintball to have fun because it is one of the most exciting things we can do. The best of the guys start to compete and then get stuck on the fact that they have to be better than everyone else and start treating each other badly. That is all wrong, I have met some of the greatest people in the world through paintball. You can be one of the best, be on a great team and still be cool person. It’s important to try to get to know everyone because paintball players are fun people. One of my best friends, who I only get to see once every five years or so, is the captain of Joy, Magued. I would drop everything and fly across the world for him if need be and there are tons of guys like that in paintball.

Paintball has had its ups and downs, we grew too big, too fast and we paid for it. I feel like we are now entering a renaissance of paintball. We are about to grow again and, hopefully, we have learned from all of our many past mistakes. There was a time when top players got paid and were taken care of for all of their hard work and time. Eventually, the money stopped coming in and the players were the first to feel the pinch. Companies that were making millions of dollars and becoming huge very fast were not giving anything back to the players. Little by little, we are going to work our way back to the point where the players are respected and taken care of, and eventually even compensated. Not just one guy on a team but the whole team and not making millions of dollars but enough to earn a living so that you can do what you love and pass on what you have learned to the next generation. That’s really what life is all about: living as best you can, learning from your mistakes and doing what you love, but also being able to pass on your knowledge and experience to future generations, training them to be better than you were, and helping to make the sport a better game and the world a better place.

Lauren Hamet

Laurent have created the modern paintball, a true visonary , a great leader. we had the change to work with for long years, on incredible projects shen your passion is paintball. Facefull, Toulouse word Cup, Millennium, Supair ball. This guy have been THE engine of this sport. He stills support his team “THE TONTONS FLIGINGUEURS” 30 years after the begining.

EDOUARD EL GARA

Doudou, One off the most creative people I ever met. the only one to dare a naked cover for the launch of facefull. Edouard have also been of the the greatest capitain of the french golden years, with his team, The wolverine.

THE Roubix

One of the pillar of the FACEFULL story. The most creative, and adaptative partner in this magazine. The Art Director of PAINTBALLER THE PAINTBALL BOOK, Julien have always been there.

JJ

The logistic man. Always suprises with him. But always taken with a smile.

JAMIE EMR PAINTBALL,

Endless Mud and Rain, Special thoughts to him and the paintball museun initiative

Special Thanks

Special Thanks

The last world – PAINTBALLER – The Paintball Book

Lauren Hamet

EDOUARD EL GARA

THE Roubix

JJ

JAMIE EMR PAINTBALL,

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