Here is the second part of the interview with Steve Davidson of 68 Caliber News as follows…enjoy!
Your paintball career….how long…which teams…we want it all please Steve?
You got most of that with the first question, but:
1984 to 1989 – Muthers of Destruction
89-92 Werewolves of NJ/PA Competition Paintball Team
Psyclones NPS factory team
Blackhearts
’93 Special Delivery (pick up team for NPPL games with guest from top teams)
after that, dates are fuzzy
New England Express (guesting)
Brass Eagle Factory team (guesting)
Texas Black Diamonds (1993 NPPL Amateur Champions)
Nemesis
guesting for several teams at NPPL events (can’t remember their names – sorry guys)
coached and owned VFT, coached several other teams
Tournament ball from 84 through 97
generalled two of the very first big games (won both of them, lol)
What is your vision of the future for paintball?
Hmmmm. my HOPES are: that the industry puts some muscle into its trade association (PSTA); right now it seems to be treading water a bit. I’d like to see it establish minimum standards for certain things, particularly safety, I’d like to see it engage in a national advertising campaign for the sport
I’d like to see the tournament bodies get together, somehow and eventually work towards creating a unified system: not necessarily ONE format or one league, but a ‘meta’ body that can regulate things like (again) safety, technologies, etc.
I would desperately like to see “the industry” put all of their promotional and sponsorship dollars into backing GOOD events, rather than backing teams or individual players. (Sorry teams and players – I’ve got nothing against you guys but am thinking about the sport here): so many more folks would be able to participate if we went this route – and it would also serve to make the sport fairer by removing a lot of dollar influence over who can afford to compete.
I want to see the culture of the game tweaked a bit: gangsta and bad boy stuff is all well and good on the competition side of things (after all, you have to have a set if you think you’re good enough to get out there and sling the paint) but we need a bit more maturity on everyone’s part in realizing that the face of paintball has to have a broad and wide appeal. Here’s the analogy I use:
When there were independent video stores, the real profit was made off of the X-rated tapes in the curtained off back room. The stores didn’t stick Jenna Jameson and Ron Jeremy in the front window – they put Disney posters out there. They wanted the broadest possible selection of consumers to walk through their front door. Once inside, the consumer – THE CONSUMER – decided what kind of tapes they wanted to rent – the decision wasn’t forced on them by the store owner.
Similarly, paintball needs to put ‘Disney’ in the front window and curtain off the ‘porn in the back’. Parents are now probably the most influential single consumer group so far as the paintball industry is concerned – our key demographic is of an age that is still heavily influenced by (and many reliant for money on) their parents. If paintball is perceived by parents as something they want their kids to do (or at least don’t mind if their kids participate in) we’ll see bigger numbers and more dollars. Who’s more likely to lend their kid an extra few bucks to attend an event or buy a new piece of gear? – the parent who thinks paintball is cool (maybe they play themselves every once and a while) or the parent who thinks it is dangerous, a bad influence on their kid? That question kind of answers itself if you are being honest.
The biggest problem with that approach is getting folks in the industry to understand that going this route DOESN’T mean they have to give up on whatever it is they do in paintball that might not be family/kid appropriate. If you want that porn tape, you can still have it – just be a little discrete. I guess the best way to put it is this: NEW players (indirectly) fund your game. The porn tape costs less because the kids are renting Bambi. So, whether you like it or not – everyone in the industry NEEDS those families to play and get involved. The more of them there are, the more you’ll be able to play.
The recent upheaval for paintball in Germany…what is your overall feeling on the issues plaguing German paintball enthusiasts?
Germany is a very unique case because of the history and politics involved. Their constitution makes it illegal to form neo-Nazi groups, distribute related literature, etc, and those who are ultra-sensitive to those issues have managed to tie guns (of all kinds) to those concerns. Therefore, it is a very emotional issue, not one really subject to logic (“it’s just a game” does not play as a valid argument).
I support German paintball and 68Caliber is doing everything within its power to help them advance their cause; what we really need is an international, industry-wide effort, spearheaded by an organization like the PSTA, that directly addresses the German government on behalf of the paintball industry in Germany. What we don’t need is misbehavior of teams at German paintball events. “Hey, let’s shoot up a German town with paintballs because they want to ban the game” is NOT a politically astute move, no matter how good it may feel at the time.
Unfortunately, paintball as an industry has not proven to be very good at organizing itself politically; it may take the loss of paintball in Germany to make folks realize that we’re vulnerable because if German paintball does go, there WILL be a ripple effect.
I always find it ironic that paintball is a game that rewards and teaches PROACTIVE strategy and tactics (make them play your game) on the field, but that the industry itself remains passive and reactive. It is truly a shame.
Who would be among your favorite people in the paintball world Steve?
My wife, Karen, of course. Tom Kaye and Budd Orr, some old time pros like Bob Long and Renick Miller, Tom Cole, Chuck Hendsch, a bunch of inside folks like the teams at Kee and Tippmann, other media types like Keely Watson, John Amodea, my long-time partner in crime Biff Thiele, Rene Boucher from Paintball News, and several other folks who I probably should name but it’s early in the morning and I’m suffering from old fogeyitis.
Got any insider info you could share with the readers of The Catshack just yet?
Yes! Plug time! I just released a book called A Parent’s Guide To Paintball, published by Liaison Press and distributed to the paintball industry by Kee.
This is an introductory-level book designed for two markets – parents who’s kids play or want to play (youth organizations who want good info too) and kids who play who want to convince their parents to get them a nice paintball something for X-Mas (or who are trying to talk their folks into letting them play).
It is, if I say so myself, the perfect tool for fields and stores to put on their counter. Having worked in retail for quite a while, I know that a LOT of time is spent answering questions from folks who have yet to spend a single dime on paintball. Most good retailers spend the time to answer those questions in the hopes of getting future sales – but in the back of their mind is the fact that they are “wasting” good time answering the same questions over and over, when they could be selling stuff.
That’s where the book comes in. It’s priced so that store owners could give it away if they want, or sell it as an ‘impulse’ purchase; they can pitch it to a potential customer as “this book will answer all of your basic questions”.
The book itself is organized in such a way that you can either read it cover to cover, or read just a section to find the answers to a specific question.
It is also entirely honest about both the good and the bad of the game. I think that when someone has the true skinny on paintball, the vast majority will be inclined to become involved, and I believe that an educated consumer makes a much better customer, so I think that the book can be a really good tool for retailers to use to increase their customer base.
Retailers can get dealer quantities and pricing from Kee. It is also now available through on-line book sellers like Amazon and everyone can read excerpts from each and every chapter and keep up with news about the book on the website www.paintballparentsguide.com.
The real scoop is that I’m working on the second book in the series which covers the basic skills every paintballer needs to master if they want to become a good player. Not tournament tactics or scenario sniper skills, but the bread and butter ones like – learning how to shoot well, timing, reading terrain, communications, visualization, that kind of thing. I guarantee that if you are new to the game and you learn what will be in that book, your game WILL improve tremendously.
Let me also put a plug in for the publisher here: Liaison Press is owned by Creative Guy Publishing ( www.creativeguypublishing.com) and that company publishes a lot of genre fiction that I think many paintball players will enjoy, so please go check it out.
Thanks for the opportunity!
