Janurary, 2005 Roger Desousa
February, 2005 Michelle Boot, aka Brat
March, 2005 Brandon Lingerfelt  
April, 2005  Sergio Marroquin, aka Kodiak
May, 2005  Joe Phillips
June, 2005 Ian Webb, aka Misfire
July, 2005 Wayne da' lane Nelson
August, 2005 Anthony Navarro 
September, 2005 Lars Duening, aka Yephoe

Janurary, 2005

Roger Desousa (Founder of www.Tunka.com)

Who are you? Name, age, day job, etc.

Roger DeSousa ...age 27... web developer/entrepreneur ... tunka.com founder... been playing paintball on and off for 10 years

Who do you play with?

I've played with Tunka.com members for the last year and a half on national forest

What really get's your heart pumping when you play paintball?

1) Being outnumbered 10 to 1

2) Playing 1 on 1 in deep woods where you never know when you gona get it

Describe what's best about paintball to someone who's never played before?

I'd say a nice healthy dose of action/suspense out in the fresh air... you could go sit on your cheeks at a action/horror movie for an hour and half of suspense or you can go play paintball out in the fresh air on national forest... both are good except in paintball you are sort of 'living it' and getting some excercise... maybe not as elaborate as a movie though...

Any advice you have for other players?

You win some and you lose some in rec paintball. If you're playing with friends, be sure to split the teams evenly so that you lose some naturally. Otherwise, your friends may lose interest.

What's your most memorable paintball moment?

Chased an opponent when the opponent turns around, trips backwards, and shoots himself in the foot :)

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February, 2005

Who are you? Name, age, day job, etc.

Michelle Boot (Brat); 29; Legal Clerk; Mother of 4 (ages 10, 8, 7, and 6); Full time student majoring in Business Management & Marketing

Who do you play with?

Mile High Outlaws and currently in the process of forming an all female team "Bad Girlz"

What marker do you use?

I just picked up a blue/black fade Alias Timmy

I have a hot pink GZ/2k2 hybrid Timmy

I have a baby pink Phantom

selling my Tippman Custom98E and my Spyder E99

What can I say... I'm a gun whore 

Tell us about your style of play, where are we most likely to find you on the field?

I'm a mid/back player, but can be a front if necessary

What really get's your heart pumping when you play paintball?

Everything, that's the point of playing

Describe what's best about paintball to someone who's never played before?

The adrenaline rush, there's nothing like it

Any advice you have for other players?

Practice, practice, practice... I don't have nearly enough time to practice (which is why I probably still suck)

What's your most memorable paintball moment?

There are many, I'm known for doing bizarre/comical things on the field, and 3 out of 4 of the Outlaws most memorable moments involve me doing something really stupid that had the rest of the team laughing hysterically in the deadbox.

And anything else you'd care to add...

If you're a girl and want to play, contact me... badgirlzpaintball@yahoo.com or you can see the newly forming webpage at http://www.geocities.com/badgirlzpaintball

March, 2005

Meet A Local Player Series:

Brandon Lingerfelt, aka Paintballer7 on PPC

Tell us about you; name, age, day job, etc.

I am Brandon Lingerfelt a 33 year old Sr. Systems Administrator for ITT Industries.  During the week I design and build servers, workstations, and network components for Satellite Control Systems.

I have played with Dominion for about a year, I played my very first tournament at the National Western Sportsmen's complex in November of 2003 and have greatly enjoyed every tournament since then.

What really get's your heart pumping when you play paintball?

Bunkering an opponent. I love the feeling of completely surprising an opponent and shooting them in the pack and not letting them shoot me.

The best thing about paintball is the competition; aggressiveness is rewarded in this long distance game of tag.

Any advice you have for other players?

Play harder and faster, don't sit back and wait for the game to come to you, take it to the opponent.

What's your most memorable paintball moment?

There is not one single moment...the first time I figured out how to drop paint in on someone I could not see by finding that perfect blind shot, Mad crazy 50 runs off the break, bunkering Ryan Watson in the Summer of 2003, Stopping Jared Eddington from bunkering me and not getting shot, Winning the Colorado Masters series in 2004, blowing tourney players away with my Bruizer S.O.B. a few years ago, getting totally destroyed by Function at tourney practice, hanging right with Fury at tourney practice, hearing Paul Miller scream "You Suck Again" when he shot somebody, my team pulling off a triple move (no one got shot) at the Colorado Masters Finals in 2004.

And anything else you care to say...

The purpose of playing paintball is to have fun, if it gets to where you are not having fun...change things until you start having fun again.

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April, 2005

Sergio Marroquin, aka Kodiak

Tell us about you...  Name, age, day job, etc.

My name is Sergio Marroquín and I happily married with two kids. I work for a Denver based company as a commercial refrigeration tech out of Colorado Springs.

What's your favorite CO field and shop?

Most of my practice and team play have been at Dragon Mans. After having spent some time at Battle Creek PB in Fountain, I think I've found a new "home" thou.

Who do you play with?

I'm currently team captain of the Dirt Hogs scenario paint ball team and also enjoy playing with the Renegades.

What really get's your heart pumping when you play paintball?

Being prior military I really enjoy the tactical aspects of scenario paint ball. Watching a tactical plan come together is very exciting for me.

Describe what's best about paintball to someone who's never played before?

The structure of a good paint ball game shows how people interact to reach a common goal. The aspects that apply to a game also apply to real life. Team work, goal setting and interacting with people of different backgrounds and beliefs. Now I'm not saying that paint ball is real life or the only way to get these skills. What I am saying is that paint ball has many positive attributes that are applicable to day-to-day life. The other thing that paint ball has is FUN, FUN, FUN!

Any advice you have for other players?

Have honor when playing, know that if you cheat and get away with it, one persons still knows you cheated, YOU. Play what you like whither it be tourny, woods/rec or scenario. Enjoy it and enjoy the camaraderie.

What's your most memorable paintball moment?

During BW II I was securing the tape line by the river. I was hiding in the tall grass and watched as an opposing player was coming up. I could feel my heart pounding and had the urge to jump up and start shooting. I KNEW that at any moment he was going to see me and eliminate me. I kept my wits about me and waited for him to get closer. He stopped once or twice to survey the area but did not see me. When he was relatively close and had his head turned away, I rose up and double tapped him. I'll never forget the surprised look or the few things he said after I eliminated him.

And anything else you care to say...

The more I play paint ball the more friends I make! I also want to thank Knight Owl for great advice on being a team captain.

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May, 2005

Joe Phillips, member Colorado Shooters

http://www.ColoradoShootersPaintball.com

Tell us about you...  Name, age, day job, etc.

Joe Phillips, 28, E-7 SFC U.S. Soldier

Who do you play with?

Colorado Shooters, Semi-Professional Paintball Team, Position: Front, Gun: A5 Speed

What really get's your heart pumping when you play paintball?

Standing in the startbox in front of the NPPL field grandstands and hearing the 10 second countdown on Sundays.

Describe what's best about paintball to someone who's never played before?

Anybody can play at any given time regardless of age, size, or gender.

Any advice you have for other players?

Win or lose--when it's all said and done, remember paintball is all about having fun.

What's your most memorable paintball moment?

When I was 11 years old, my dad brought home an original Splastmaster gun w/5 tubes of paint and said, "Let's go shoot each other."

And anything else you care to say...

I just want to encourage other teams to look for sponsorship outside the industry and maybe one day, paintball will be big enough for primetime.

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June, 2005

Ian Webb, aka Misfire (formerly Hitman)

Note: Misfire is also an acclaimed scenario game producer for Action Pursuit Paintball and operates his own website at  http://oldschoolproductions.esmartdesign.com/index.htm.

Name:  Ian Webb
Callsign:  Recently changed to 'Misfire' (I know "not again!").  I'll
explain later.
Age:  39
Day Job:  Network Integrator

Who do you play with?
I just recently entered a probational period with Black Light Company.
 Which is the reason for the callsign change.  Since BLC has a mining
theme to honor Colorado, I decided that it was a good time to change
the name given to me by Oddball and crew.  I also wanted to honor that
name so I put a sarcastic twist on it and came up with 'Misfire' which
is also a mining term.

What get's my heart really pumping when playing?
Actually, waiting for initial contact.  Whether it's setting up an
ambush or going with the offensive force to take an objective.  Once
the shooting starts I actually settle in a bit.

Describe what's best about paintball to someone who's never played before?
That's hard to do, there's so much that is great about the game.  When
I was playing years ago, I probably would have said the rush of
adrenalin you get when playing.  These days I think that the people
you meet are the best thing.  One thing about this game that is
different than any other is the wide range of people that play the
game.

Any advice you have for other players?
Are you sure you want to ask this?  I mean it's like asking to open
the flood gates of the Hoover Dam.  ;-)  I would tell anyone that is
fed up with some of the garbage that goes on around the game, to
remember that you can find jerks in any setting.  If I had kept that
in mind I may have stayed in the game instead of getting out in 1990,
only to get back into it in 2002.  The trick is to find good people to
play with regularly (or even semi-regularly).  Don't assume that one
type of paintballer is more likely to be a problem than another type
either.  It's simply not true.  Even when I was playing 'back in the
day' when honor was a bigger deal (at least it seemed that way), I saw
people that cheated.  It's the nature of competition.

I'd also tell new players to at least try different flavors of the
game.  If for nothing else to get a sense of the history of the game.

What's your most memorable paintball moment?
Man, that's tough, there are so many moments to remember.  There are
three that really stick out in my mind though.  The first time I got
hit, it was in the mouth.  Don't forget that I started playing when
shop goggles were the only eye protection.  My lip blew up like a
balloon, the paint tasted awful, and I was hooked.

Another one, is a time when I was with my first team.  We went by 'The
Death Dealers', I know it's not PC, but we most certainly weren't PC
back then.  I was with a couple of the newer guys on the team, and we
were working towards the opposite flag station.  We had gotten side
tracked by a small amush that got a few of our people, but a number of
us cleared them out.  When we got to the flag station, the flag grab
was made and was being run to our end of the field.  Within a few
seconds the defends came out, there were 4 of them.  Two of us stayed
to take care of them, or at the very least slow them down.  I got one
right away, and as I was dodging I fell.  I ended up shooting from the
ground, rolling and spinning around pumping shot after shot out of my
Nelspot.  I kept going until nobody was shooting anymore.  When I got
up the flag station ref checked to make sure that I hadn't been hit.
This was when I realized that my teammate was just standing there.  It
turned out that I had gotten all of the defenders, while the ref asked
him "Don't you think you should be helping him?"  My teammate had
answered that he couldn't hit anything that day, and that I couldn't
do anything wrong that day.  I almost shot my own guy at that point.
At the end of that 45 minute game, I had gotten 9 'kills.'

The most recent memorable moment happened in California, the first day
that I had come back to the game.  It was late in the day at a
speedball field.  It was 4 minutes or so into a 10 minute game, and I
had run out of paint.  I started to walk off the field when one of the
employees at the field told me to stay in and at least shoot air at
the other team.  After a minute or so I got bored with that.  So I
charged up the field to another bunker.  On the way there, I felt a
ball hit me.  A ref was right next to me, so I asked for a paintcheck.
 "Clear."  Crap, that one hurt, I was hoping I could get out and load
back up.  I think to myself that there's another bunker I can try for,
so I jump out and go as quick as I can to that bunker.  I hear behind
me, "Damn, that was a new lens."  The ref was gogged.  One of the
players on the opposite team called herself out, and she was in the
next bunker up.  I moved one more time, and then realized that I
wasn't being shot at anymore.  I turned around, and there were three
guys, with their backs to me all shooting at my team.  I walked up to
about 8 feet behind the first one, and shouted "Surrender!"  Wow, he
did!  I did that 2 more times, and that game was over.  All the
players on the sideline were dying with laughter, because they knew
that I didn't have any paint.

And anything else you care to say...
I'd like to ask everyone to do anything they can to further the game
of paintball.  Do whatever you can.  Playing with heart and honor is
the very least any of us can do.  If you can do more, do more.  Ref
some games, get some new people out to the field, stay active on the
PPC forum, help a kid out at the field, just do something to give back
to the game.  That's the biggest reason that I started coordinating
scenarios at APP.  Knowing what I do now (and I don't claim to know a
ton) about coordinating these games, my hat is off to Hangernaid for
starting up the new business and to Badger for putting together Border
Wars 3.  (Which it turns out I can go to, by the way.)  See you all
there!

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July, 2005

Who are you? Name, age, day job, etc.

Wayne Nelson 16

Field Manager for Battle Creek Paintball

(Human Resources, Webmaster, Computer Tech, Head Ref)

Tell us about your style of play, where are we most likely to find you on the field?

I am the Captain for BCP Factory (team.battlecreekpb.com) a 3-man rookie

tournament team. We are currently 1st place in the CAPS 3-man standings.

When i'm not playing speedball I use one of my pumps, either a SL68-2 or

a Tracer. I always want the front bunker in those woodsball games and I

play any position in speedball but I prefer the foward bunkers.

What get's you heart really pumping when playing?

I love being in impossible situations, outnumbered,out gunned or out

maneuvered its all fun for me. Especially if its like myself vs many

others, it puts the pressure on and I love it.

Describe what's best about paintball to someone who's never played before?

Paintball is unique because it is fun even when you are losing. Plus no

two games of paintball are ever alike, every time I play it is a

different situation and so it never gets boring.

Any advice you have for other players?

I found that playing with a pump gun really improves your accuracy/skill

by putting yourself at a disadvantage. You teach yourself to become

accurate when you can't put out 8+ balls per second.

What's your most memorable paintball moment?

I was playing with my cousin on our Island Field (Very large field) when

we decided to take on 8 players by ourselves. I was using my trusty

SL68-2 and he was using a semi-auto Spyder. It took about 30 minutes but

we managed to isolate and eliminate every player out there using strong

teamwork rather than rambo style aggressiveness. It showed how

coordinated small unit tactics can win even in heavily outnumbered

situations.

And anything else you'd care to add...

I didn't quite know what to expect at Border Wars III but I was very

impressed by the sportsmanship of all of our Colorado players. Even

though there were a few bumps next scenario we will do much much better.

A big thanks to everyone to came to Border Wars III!!!

- Wayne ('da lane) Nelson

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August, 2005

Who are you? Name, age, day job, etc.

Anthony Navarro

Age 34.... But I feel like 50 :)
Day job- Well I own and operate Colorado Indoor Paintball Inc., Action Pursuit Paintball L.L.C, I also am a registered nurse specializing in surgical and pediatrics.... I volunteer time when ever my schedule allows.  I also just started a new company E2.  It stands for Energetic Entertainment.  E2 helps people start paintball parks, and stores.  We obviously specialize in state of the art indoor parks.  Basically we do everything from consulting to turn key operations where an investor writes a check and we build it from the ground up- literally you open the door and its ready to go- store, website, marketing campaign with T.V/ yellow pages, rental equipment, trained staff, etc,etc,etc.

Tell us about your style of play, where are we most likely to find you on the field?

The first team I ever played with was The Usuals out of Denver.... We took 4th our first event.... I didn’t play tourney again for about a year.  I played my first NPPL event with Sharpshooters Grey in Chicago, about 2 months after I blew out the ACL and other goodies out of my right knee.  Played with KORE about 3 years ago and we did pretty well on the local level.  Around that time I began the process of building Colorado Indoor and I took about a year off from tourney play.  Starting something this big can literally kill you if you don’t have focus.  Around that time I was picked up by Dominion V3 out of Seattle... We ended up doing pretty well at World Cup and finishing the season 6th in the series.  The next year the team did pretty poorly through the year with the bring spot being our 3rd place finish at World Cup in 2004.  There are a few videos out there from Derder and 720 that show me getting destroyed :)  I was scheduled to try out for 1 NPPL team and 2 Div III X-Ball teams when I broke my left leg.  2 months of not playing paintball just about drove me insane!!!  Currently I guest for 420 out of Denver for local stuff.  Played 1 PSP this year with Throttle ( that was a lot of fun) missed semis by 20
points.  Right now with getting the new company off the ground, I have been focusing my efforts on training and coaching local teams.  I have always liked teaching and now that my staff is kickin' butt, it gives me time to helping local teams make their mark.  When things settle down a bit I will try out for an X-ball team next year. 

Style of play- I would say very aggressive.  I like getting into Doritos and Snakes and doing some damage. 

What get's your heart really pumping when playing?

What really gets my heart pumpin' is being on a team that dominates games from the very beginning- great communication, the team moving along both taps at the same time, watching big back players bunker people, watching a skilled player bean someone in the melon with a off-hand shot, getting dirty.  i love sliding and going home with 2 lbs
of mud on me,  I love doing 3 on 1s and 2 on 1s.... I have always loved em and I think i always will- Its just a great challenge.

Describe what's best about paintball to someone who's never played before?

What is the best about paintball?  The very first time I played- I was hooked.  The adrenaline was just unbelievable.  The first time I truly played speedball about 1 year after i first played- well that was like going from drinking a Redbull to doing crack! :) ( It was just that much more intense).  It also had more of an element of team work.  The first out of state NPPL event and PSP events- well the best way to describe that is "brotherhood",  For those 4 days, the teammates you have are your brothers and you will destroy anyone that tries to keep you from playing on Sunday.

There are just not enough words to describe what is the best about paintball- Its teamwork, adrenaline, brotherhood, pride, fun, challenging, friendship, hard work.  Do you remember when someone first asked you "why do you do that.  It looks like it hurts.  How can that be fun".  You can talk to them for hours and they will never see your point.  You put them on a field for 30 minutes and then you can sit back and watch as they try to explain to you why they suddenly feel so alive :)

Any advice you have for other players?

Play because you love it.
Don’t ask for something unless you have already given something.
Play as often as you can, it keeps you sharp.
Don’t whine and complain about every little thing.  Life is short, enjoy it.
Keep your gun up.
Always give your all- your team will know if you are not.
Support your sponsors if you ever get lucky enough to have some.  You piss one off and you may not ever get another.
Be loyal to your field.
Find a field that is focused on quality and support it.
Register early for events.
Accept advice from players who do things that you want to be able to do.
Never burn bridges.

What's your most memorable paintball moment?

Well there are a few.
Helping my team to a 3rd place finish at World Cup is pretty high on the list... I had 3 really good games where I took 3 players out and helped us get into the finals.

Opening Action Pursuit Paintball on August 28th 1998 and our first weekend was jam packed :)

Designing the most popular AKA gun ever made- The Highlander Viking.  It stole the show at the Vegas open 2 years ago.

Opening Colorado Indoor Paintball on June 15th 2004 and watching our winter series bring in over 61 teams.

Getting national exposure for NPPL feeder events, Pan Am feeders, and other out of state tourney promoters who have been looking at hosting events at Colorado Indoor.

Action Pursuit brining scenario play back from the brink of extinction and now watching our Big event series, BorderWars, and other events begin to attract more and more scenario players.

Getting to know some amazing people in my 8 years so far.  People that are very giving of their time and knowledge.

Couple of people that come to mind
Lory
Garrett Olsen
Becky Downes
Carlos Soto
New West Bank
Landmark
General Air
Fearsome
My original webguy- Dave Sargent
Steve Speicher
My dad
My family
All my sponsors- Empire/Eclipse/Crossfire/NXe/R2K/AKA/Hybrid
Technologies/Titanium Paintball/
There are many more

And anything else you'd care to add...

Its been a pleasure bringing paintball to players in the region.  Even those who just seem to wake up and want to have a bad day- they are a challenge to try to make happy and I have learned to embrace it.  We have always been on the cutting edge and copied many times.  I enjoy watching new fields open- it always helps bring more to our field.  Its always a really good day when players are tired, dirty, painted up with a arm full of prizes from either our tourneys or scenarios- and to hear them say thank you is just awesome.  Look for bigger and better things from Action Pursuit and Colorado Indoor in the years to come. 

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September, 2005