Age - 30

Paintball Team Name Los Angeles Infamous

 

Current Paintball Sponsors Empire Paintball is our main cowboy paintball sponsor. They provide Empire AXE paintball guns, Z2 Paintball Loaders, Pure Energy Air, Event Goggles and head to toe Empire Contact Pants, Jerseys and protective gear. Infamous shoots only the best paintballs Empire RPS Ultra Evil.

How/when did you first get into paintball? I lived on 40 acre property when I was in high school and a bunch of kids brought gear over to play paintball. After that my brother Gator Glaze and I were hooked and began playing. One of my best friends Josh Hill was the first to have a paintball gun out of our friends. Then we met Chris Vanmeter and a bunch of other kids that played paintball at our high school. We formed a group of paintball players and began going to a paintball park every weekend.

 

What was the name of your first paintball team? The first paintball team I played on was the Sitting Ducks with my brother Gator Glaze. We showed up at the tryouts a little nervous, once we saw all the players trying out we were confident we would make it. We made the top squad and had a successful rookie year. Josh Minkowski Aka Whisper Aka Winston Aka Moose was also on the Sitting Ducks with us.

 

What was the first paintball marker you shot? My friend Josh Hill worked a janitor job for the summer and got a Tippman Prolite. So that was the first gun we shot, my brother and I bought a set of Tippmann Prolites after that.

 

How did you make it to the Pros?  I was scouted by a lot of pro teams in my second year playing tournament paintball. Davey Williamson was actually one of the first players to invite me to play professionally. Steve Rabackoff invited me the very same day. I declined the offers because I wanted to gain more experience so that when I turned professional I could stay there. A lot of kids jump early and never learn to win in the lower divisions. I stayed in the lower divisions and learned how to win there. Then when I thought the time was right I went Pro with Avalanche when they were the original rock star team with Chris Lasoya, Rocky Cagnoni, Jon Richardson, Travis Lemanski, Brian Fow, Todd Martinez, Mark Knop, Steve Rabackoff, Eric Roberts, Jeremy Salm, Ed Poorman and Sean Ellis Those were some of my best memories, I grew up with these guys because I started on the team when I was only 20 years old.

 

Who has influenced you the most in paintball? There have been a lot of influences and I could make a list of people that have had an impact on my life. Stand outs- My brother Gator Glaze has been my best friend and we helped each other come up in the ranks. We used to run target shooting and sliding drills in the back yard. We really did a lot to motivate each other to get better.

What are you best known for doing on the paintball field?  I am very well known for shooting slow and accurate. Most of the players make fun of me for shooting slow but I balance it by making them count. A lot of players pop out from great spots to shoot 50 balls and miss entirely. I can thank Russ Maynard for making it important to me to make my shots count. Countless hours of drills on the target range were spent working on accuracy. Its one of the most important things for a front player to posses.

 

And off the paintball field? Positive Attitude, wins and losses happen in paintball. You have to accept some fields wont play well for you team, sometimes calls dont go your way and sometimes you blow games making stupid mistakes. I feel I always contribute to us making forward motion to figure out the next game plan. Instead of destroying each other over mistakes, we can accept them and adjust. Even if we get knocked out of an event early, I try to make sure we all hang out and have fun together. The reason I do that is because we play a whole season together and you need players to gel. So if we miss the cut, I begin looking forward to the next event.

 

What paintball marker do you use now?  I use an Empire AXE

 

If your paintball teammates had only one word to describe you, what would it be? Calculated

 

What are your pre-game rituals? The only thing I need to do pre-game is look around at my team mates. They are some of my best friends and I want to earn their respect and be able to look them in the eye. I want them to know I did my part and everything I could to win the game. Pre game, nothing in the world matters except the people who have their hands in the huddle and are looking down field with me. Thats a special time and to be a part of it

 

Do you have any superstitions? I have to put paint on and dirty up anything that is brand new, if I dont I will get shot on the new gear. I have always done this and its a bit strange but it clears my mind.

 

Name at least one paintball item you couldnt win without. The best paintballs in the world Ultra Evil. People dont realize how important paintballs are. You live and die by the quality of the paintballs you use. When it comes to a tournament we have to figure out which paintballs will be most effective with our paintball guns.

How often do you practice paintball between events? We have really busy schedules and we dont practice as much as other teams. We usually manage to get in two practices. If we got more in we would be able to show better results on a consistent basis.

 

 2 on 2 full field drills is one of the best paintball drills you can put together. It forces situations that are very important to the game of paintball. You learn to communicate very well when you only have one partner to depend on. Once someone is shot you get a 2 on1 and that has a chance to end up as a 1 on 1. So you doing 2 on 2s is a great drill to work a lot of combos.

 

What is the key to keeping a paintball team together or to building a successful paintball team?  The real key as I have seen over the years is finding paintball players to fit your teams mold. If you pick up paintball players that are against the grain, they will cause mutiny and make it hard to get players to gel. You have to bring in the right youth that is willing to be a part of building a paintball team. We have figured out our mold. Its a little harder to pick up the paintball players that fit the mold but in the end we dont waste time and money. Off the paintball field is just as important as on the paintball field. If you cant stand your teammate you will have a hard time finding long term success.

What does the future of paintball have in store for you?  The future is very hard to predict in this crazy sport. I can say that no matter what happens I will be involved in getting more players to play, helping paintball grow and making sure dealers are around to supply equipment and facility's to the best game in the world. I love this sport and I would like to see as many people as possible play it.

 

Where would you like to see paintball elevate to in the next 3 years?  In the next three years I would like to see the industry work together to take the sport to the next level.

 

LIKE team Infamous on facebook www.facebook.com/LAinfamous

 

Any final words of advice to up-and-comers? Pay your dues and quit looking for a free paintball deal. My first paintball jersey was hand sewn and I didnt get anything for free. Work hard at the paintball field. Minimize you time in the parking lot. Get good at paintball and you will get to see the world over and over for free.