This article marks a milestone for the Catshack Reports, Tomcat, myself and our newest addition to staff, Richelle Shattell. On this date exactly one year ago marks our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!! ( Insert balloons, confetti and champagne for all). In all seriousness this has been a year of ups and downs for myself and Tomcat with many times the only steady thing being this website we have grown to love.
We have tried to bring you, the fans, articles that are interesting, fun, and that cover a broad base of the sport we all enjoy. We have interviewed everyone from pro players, industry insiders and the local joe paintballer as this is something we ourselves like to read. We put our passion for this sport into each and every article we put down on electronic paper. This is a love affair, with little to no compensation at all but that is not what we are about. We are about the lifestyle, the love, the game itself. We know that the memories we build and share with so many of you are the everlasting rewards.
Me and Tom finally got to meet this year at the spring Castle Conquest, and I have the picture to prove it along with a $10 Canadian Bill he gave me for buying him the same picture 
Meeting Tom in person was a memory I will never forget. It is like we share this bond that words will never be able to explain, a kinship if you will. This was the perfect setting for our meeting as it is more of a camping, slash 3 day party with paintball thrown in. Now I just need to get my passport so I can go up to the great white north to see what this Canadian paintball is all about.
One of my favorite articles/interviews I have worked on this past year has been the Lori George story. It is just something that is new and fresh feeling, a mothers story about her love for her son who just happens to play paintball at the highest level possible. Not that him being a pro player matters much to Lori, she is just happy that he found something that in turn makes him happy. Being able to interview her, people like Ollie Lang, and local players has been a adventure for me.
I want to share a little something I wrote about this sport, this has been on Facebook and in a few paintball videos so you may have seen it before. If you wish to use it yourself just let me know and we shall see. Here Goes:
This is our game, no not a game LIFESTYLE.
We strive to win but the memories shared with our team and our friends is much more important.
In 10, 20 or 30 years we will tell our kids and grandkids about the time when…
The time when we destroyed our bodies in an attempt to be the best
Even if we failed at that we did what few will understand.
We lives entire lifetimes with each fan of the trigger, with each ball sent down field.
We run for seconds, but stride for a lifetime.
We live for that moment in the sun, for the pregame huddle, for the burst of paint across their goggles.
These are the memories we shall never forget.
The stories that will live on after we are gone.
This game is our life, our dreams, and a part of us that will live forever.
~ Paul Forcier
Over the past year we have put out over 900 articles, interviews or product reviews. Each one has a little special memory for me and Tom and I have fully enjoyed putting each one out there for you to read. Our experience in this sport has built a lot of friendships and bonds that we cherish. We look forward to another year together with everyone and our continued success. Spread the word about our site, keep in contact with us and love the game.
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I think Paul summed it all up rather nicely, I certainly couldn’t have said it better myself. Meeting Paul in person at Castle Conquest only confirmed what I had already suspected, I could not have made a better choice for a partner in the creation of our little homegrown publication.
Some of the highlights this past year would have to have been the opportunity to speak with some of the pros to include such personalities as Thomas “The Troll” Taylor, Tim Montressor, Billy Bernacchia and members of Edmonton Impact to name only a few. Further still it was a real honor to speak with some of those living legends including Denny Tippmann Jr, Doug Brown, Blue Hanse and Tom Kaye. To be recognized as a legitimate publication is at least for me something to be especially proud of.
What is particularly interesting to note are some of the different stats taken from our behind the scenes statistics panel.
Top Stories of the Year – Angel Eye Goggles, Tippmann X7 Phenom, Angel AR:K, Living Legend Tom Kaye and Richmond Italia’s Revolution.
Top 5 Countries by visits – United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Malaysia and France
Top 5 Traffic Sources – Google, Facebook, Direct Traffic, PBNation and TechPB
Now on to year number two, I can safely speak for all of us here at the Catshack Reports when I say the first year was incredible and we are going to continue doing what we are doing. Thank you to all you manufacturers, players and our readership for all your support!
