How long have you been playing paintball?

12 years

How did you get started in paintball?

Decided to tag along out to Baldwin with my buddies church group.  After a full day of foggy goggles and broken paint I was hooked.

What is your greatest memory from playing?

Winning world cup in my first pro event with Philly.

What was your greatest achievement so far in your paintball career?

Back to back world cup appearances in 2008/09

How long have you been playing professionally?

6 years

What do you think defines a professional player?

A person who constantly strives to be the best.

How often do you practice per week?

Usually we’ll practice 3 times before each event.

What teams have you played for?

Snafu, Cypress, Vintage, Philly, Doc’s Raiders, Vicious, Aftershock

Who did you look up to in the paintball industry prior to going pro? Do you still look up to them now?

Adam Gardner, Todd Hugo, Spesh Robinson, Ryan Greenspan, Chris Lasoya……to just name a few.

Are there any infuential people who’ve shaped your game considerably?

JP, Jason Trosen, Tim Montressor

How did you earn your spot on the Philly Americans?  Who are some other noteable players you’ve played with on that team?

Danny Manning hooked up a try-out a couple months before world cup in 2004.  My brother and I flew out to Pittsburgh and took turns playing with Miami Effect and Philly all weekend.  Spesh took us aside after practice and asked if we would be interested in playing with Philly.  I think the word “Yes” came out of my mouth before I even realized what he was asking. A couple “notable” players I’ve played with on Philly would include: Adam Gardner, Todd Hugo, Spesh, Eric Dearman, Fedorov, Tim Montressor and Ryan Moorhead.

2009 was a great season for Philly Americans in the pro X-Ball circuit, What do you attribute that to? Are there any highlights from the season you’d like to talk about?

Our success over the last couple of seasons was due to a combination of a LOT of practice, the best coaching in the world under Jason Trosen and having 8 players that were all best friends and who also, just happened to be really good at paintball.

When I reflect back on the last couple seasons, the first thing that sticks out in my mind is the fact that we placed in the top 3 in, I think, 8 or 9 tournaments in a row.  That is a pretty amazing accomplishment and something that I’m really proud of.

After the Philly Americans team ended in 2009, you showed up playing for Vicious. How did you make that connection, and what happened there? Was your departure from the team a mutual decision?

After Smart Parts went out of business we were all left without a team.  Obviously I still wanted to play paintball and I heard through the grapevine that Vicious was interested in picking me up, so I gave Greg Pauley a phone call and that was that. There were a lot of reason why things didn’t work out with Vicious,  but I think the main reason is just simply that we didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of things…..I’ll just leave it at that.

You played with Chicago Aftershock for PSP Chicago Open, do you plan on sticking with them or was that a one time situation?

I couldn’t be happier with Aftershock right now and I definitely plan on sticking with them for the remainder of this season.

What keeps you playing paintball?

I love to compete.  Simple.

What suggestions do you have for new players who want to become pro some day?

Keep practicing, try to find the best competition in your area and take advantage of every opportunity you get.  Sometimes you only get one.

A lot of people may not know this, but you’ve got a twin brother. What has he been up to? Does he play anymore?

After the Philly try-outs my brother (Paul) left for Rome on a 6-month study abroad program, so Philly was forced to let him go before he even had a chance to make another practice.  When he came back I hooked him up with Doc’s Raiders for the rest of the 2005 season, in which, they won world cup in Div. 1.  We both played on Doc’s for the NPPL’s that season as well.  At the time he was still attending college at Iowa State and at the end of the season he graduated and took a job in Vail, Colorado as an architect.  Things just got to busy for him with his new job and all the travel so he decided to stop playing.

How are you able to support yourself while playing so many events?

I’m very fortunate to have found a job with Supairball.  They are very understanding of my paintball commitments.

What do you think needs to happen in Minnesota to develop divisional teams that will be able to compete nationally?

More cooperation between local fields in developing an affordable, competitive local tournament circuit.  If we had one unified league I think it would promote the growth of paintball in MN more successfully.  This obviously wouldn’t happen overnight, but I think eventually a few players or even a few teams would emerge who I’m sure could compete nationally.

You’ve been seen around Northside Sports in MN helping out a local team, Absolute. What has prompted you to do help them out?

Vince approached me last year and asked if I wanted to help out and I said I would.  I haven’t really played too much locally over the last few years and I thought this would be a great opportunity to help some kids out.

Are there any up and coming paintball players in MN that you think will make it far in paintball?

Dan Norcross is on the right track.

Finally what MN Paintball player (Past or Present) would you like to see featured next?

How bout Dan.