I like to draw parallels between the paintball industry and the snowboarding industry.

At first glance this may seem a little odd, but they both started in a similar time (around the 1980s) and they are both represented by an older group and a much younger group of folk. A group who in some form or another has been full of misfits of sorts, cut from a different cloth. In essence, those of us who play paintball, and snowboard in a sense, often can have a problem with uptight blowhards.

This brings me to the subject of this blog. Apparently, a few of our neighbors around town don’t like us too much *gasp!*. You see, in the DAM video review/efficiency test we built up this sweet shooting range. OMG SAFETY PATROL! Now there is no netting, but there is a natural safety feature built in. We have a huge distance of open area for the paint to fall that is closed off to the public, thus eliminating the need for netting. Being that we spent all this time building the target range up; we are obviously going to be the children that we are at heart and just want to shoot paint at it. I mean, why not?

It’s post 5PM and we are outside just messing around with our newest toys the Dye DAM, GOG eNMEy and Valken Proton. We have some older paint we bought a long time ago that ended up staining, and we are not going to sell that to customers so it has been kept as tech/shooting/boredom paint in the office. We’re having a grand old time having target competitions & shooting the crap out of our new range when big blue shows up.

This wasn’t in the “tap you on the shoulder I have a question” type of way, no, this was a legitimate Hollywood moment. Ethan turned and at that exact moment *BOOM* all of the lights on the cruiser turn on and blind us all. Sweet eye squinting interrogation room vibe, if you catch my meaning.

Yeah, it was kinda like that.

Now, we’re a business, we have had to work with the police on a few occasions in our time at Broomfield. Truth be told, the Broomfield Police are absolutely spectacular individuals and we have always had a good experience with them. This experience was no different . So, after the lights were turned down and we were able to see, the police just asked us what we were doing. They could see we were clearly product testing, and that we were within the guidelines of the law and.. honestly, that we weren’t dumb kids with dangerous tools acting all foolish. They informed us that someone had called about “gunshots” – more specifically, a revolver. I’m not sure how many of you have shot firearms before.. but a revolver does not really have a specific sound signature. It certainly does not compare to a paintball gun, by any stretch of the imagination.

At any rate, this was not the first time this had happened, and we could clearly tell the cops had the attitude that they knew they were checking in on something that did not need to be checked on. The best part about the entire experience is that the officers informed us that if they were to be called on to our location like this again, they would politely inform the caller that we were within the guidelines of the law and they can cool their jets. In parting, one of the officers said  that they were quite jealous of us being able to just sit out back and shoot paintballs at stuff for fun. And I quote “Ok, you guys enjoy yourselves, it looks like a lot of fun… I’m jealous” *wistful look*

Bringing this right around back to my original statement. How often as paintballers do you all have to deal with some ignorant ass who thinks you are just some dumb kid shooting the town stop signs? What are some of your stories of having to deal with a little guff because you like to shoot gelatin filled with food product at inanimate objects.. or most importantly other ballers!

Seriously, this stuff is nonsense.

Most importantly, to keep these stereotypes from continuing, play paintball responsibly and safely. Don’t give people a reason to dislike us, make them envy us! Just like the Broomfield police .

- Trevor

Click here for the entry form!

It is that special time where we giveaway another sweet product to give a thanks back for all the support we have been receiving on all of our different mediums that we interact with you all. Thank you for being our customers and supporting all of us being able to pay our mortgages and make more videos for you all!

So, watch the video below, follow the directions, read the rules and good luck!

Contest Runs from Nov 5th, 2012 – Nov 30th, 2012.

Step 1 – Subscribe to us on YouTube (www.youtube.com/hustlepaintball)
Step 2 – LIke us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/hustlepaintball)
Step 3 – Fill out Sweepstakes Form on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/hustlepaintball/app_194975693850063)

BONUS ENTRIES:
You can get up to 2 bonus entries.
1. Retweet on Twitter
2. Share on Facebook

Hustle Paintball’s Dye DAM (Dye Assault Matrix) Sweepstakes Rules

Please read these Official Rules before entering this promotion (the “Promotion”). By participating in the Promotion, you agree to be bound by these Official Rules and represent that you satisfy all of the eligibility requirements below.

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS PROMOTION. THIS PROMOTION IS IN NO WAY SPONSORED, ENDORSED OR ADMINISTERED BY, OR ASSOCIATED WITH, FACEBOOK.

1. Eligibility. The promotion is open to individuals who are at least 18 years or older (or the age of majority in entrant’s state of residence), and who, upon entering the Promotion, at the time of the drawing, and if asked to provide an affidavit of eligibility following the drawing, have either: (i) a user account on Facebook and “like” Hustle Paintball on Faceook and subscribe to Hustle PaintballYouTube Channel. The promotion is open to any residents of any country where the promotion is legal. Winners outside of the United States will be responsible for paying for shipping of the prize. If you do not meet any of these requirements or any other eligibility requirements in these Official Rules, you are not eligible to win a prize, and Hustle Paintball. (“Sponsor”) reserves the right not to award prizes to you. Employees, directors, officers and contractors of Sponsor and Sponsor’s advertising and promotion agencies, and their respective immediate family members and/or those living in the same household of each, are not eligible to win. The Promotion is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations and is void where prohibited.

2. Promotion Period. The Promotion starts at 12:00 p.m.EDT on November 5, 2012, and ends at 11:59 p.m. EDT on November 30, 2012 (the “Promotion Period”). All entries must be received during the Promotion Period to be eligible to win a prize.

3. How to Enter. (a) On Facebook. “Like” Hustle Paintball through your Facebook account, if you have not done so already. Fill out the information requested by the Promotion entry form (the “Entry Form”) provided under the sweepstakes tab on the Hustle Paintball Facebook page (located at http://www.facebook.com/hustlepaintball), and submit the Entry Form by clicking the “submit” button. (b) On YouTube. Subscribe to the Hustle Paintball YouTube channel. (c) Bonus Entries. a. On Facebook. By clicking the “share” button for our promotion announcement you will receive an additional entry into the Promotion. You may also earn an extra entry by Retweeting our announcement, for a total of 3 entries per person.

Only one (1) entry per person, per platform, during the Promotion Period, provided however that a person may earn Bonus Entries as set forth above. Entries become the property of Sponsor. Use of any automated system to participate is prohibited and will result in disqualification. In the event of a dispute as to any registration, the authorized account holder of the email address connected to the Facebook or Twitter account that is used to enter will be deemed to be the registrant or player. The “authorized account holder” is the natural person assigned an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted address.

4. Prize: One (1) winner will receive: (i) Dye DAM (Dye Assault Matrix) paintball marker. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received.

5. Random Drawing: The winner will be selected in a random drawing from all eligible entries to be held by November 30, 2012. We will then verify that all steps have been followed including subscribing to Hustle Paintball’s YouTube channel. The winner will be notified by email (at the address provided in the Entry Form) by December 1, 2012. Prize will be awarded within thirty (30) days after winner verification. If a prize notification is returned as undeliverable or if the winner does not respond to the notification within seven (7) calendar days, it will result in disqualification, and the prize will be awarded to an alternate winner in a separate random drawing. The prize winner may be required to execute an affidavit of eligibility and liability/publicity release within seven (7) days following the date of attempted notification. Prizes are not assignable or transferable, except to a surviving spouse.

The prize is awarded “AS IS” and WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, express or implied (including, without limitation, any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose), except that the prize will be subject to its manufacturer’s standard warranty (if any). No substitutions or exchanges (including for cash) of any prize will be permitted, except that Winner is responsible for all federal, state, local, sales and income taxes associated with receipt and/or use of any prize. Entry and acceptance of any prize constitutes permission to use winner’s name, prize won, office affiliation, hometown and likeness for online posting and promotional purposes without further compensation, except where prohibited by law.

6. General: Sponsor will not be responsible for late, lost, illegible, incomplete, damaged or misdirected entries and accepts no responsibility for any injury, loss or damage of any kind resulting from an entrant’s participation in the Promotion. By entering the Promotion, each entrant agrees to these Official Rules and waives, and releases Sponsor and Sponsor’s parents, subsidiaries, and affiliated companies, and all other businesses involved in this Promotion, as well as the employees, officers, directors and agents of each, from, all claims, costs, injuries, losses, or damages of any kind arising out of or in connection with the Promotion or delivery, misdelivery, acceptance, possession, use of or inability to use the prize (including, without limitation, claims, costs, injuries, losses and damages related to personal injuries, death, damage to or destruction of property, whether intentional or unintentional), whether under a theory of contract, tort (including negligence), warranty or other theory. Sponsor reserves the right to amend these Official Rules or to terminate this Promotion.

Any provision of these Official Rules deemed unenforceable will be enforced to the extent permissible, and the remainder of these Official Rules will remain in effect. Sponsor is not responsible for any typographical or other error in the printing of any Promotion materials, administration of the Promotion or in the announcement of any prize. The Promotion and these Official Rules will be governed, construed and interpreted under the laws of the state of Washington. Entrants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and by the decisions of Sponsor, which are final and binding in all respects.

7. Winner List; Rules Request: For a winner list, email support@Hustlepaintball.com December 5, 2012 and before June 30, 2012). To obtain a copy of these Official Rules, visit support@Hustlepaintball.com.

Sponsor: Hustle Paintball 2795 Industrial Lane, Broomfield, CO 80020

Confidentiality: By entering, you may be contacted by Sponsor with future promotional offers. Information provided by you to participate in this Promotion is subject to Sponsor’s privacy policy at http://www.hustlepaintball.com/privacy-security

Customer Service…

Don’t you think the paintball world could use a heck of a lot more than it currently has? Let’s be honest here, most places in the industry (especially in retail) do not take this part of their business seriously. That is where Hustle Paintball’s mission has come from. We, as players & consumers, were so tired of being dicked around by someone who doesn’t even know what metal most markers are made from (some “expert”), that we decided to take being an online paintball store to the next level.

We may be an online store (yes, the evil empire, hated by all), but what we do as an online retailer is provide a level of customer service unparalleled in the industry, so much so that we strive for your online visit to be much more like if you were to visit us in person. We do this by trying to personalize any shopping experience you have with one of us. Either by phone or email, we put all our effort into getting you what you want, exactly the way you want it.

I am sure a lot of you have a local store of some kind that you shop at. Not just because you want to support local business and the store is a hop down the street from your jammies and cereal bowl; but because that store provides you a service.

Yeah, we have a local Colorado showroom as well .

They have your back 100% of the way and understand that when you have an issue, it needs to be taken care of. But guess what? It doesn’t matter if you are in any one of the 50 states of the  United States of America or beyond. Hustle Paintball is that store! Hustle Paintball has your back, and that is what really counts. Our mission is to take care of you when something happens so that you do not need to worry when placing an order with us.

There is something to be said about having a staff that is 100% comprised of people who have an actual care about what is going on in the industry. You seem to get a level of care and respect that is nonexistent when you work with someone who just has no passion for it. We all have our own opinions on what we like and what we like to do, but not a single one of us is going to bash on you for your choices or try to make you feel less for any purchase you have made.

We are here to help; THAT is what we love to do. We are not here to sell you what will bring us the highest profit margin – when you want something, we will tell you what is our favorite. We will tell you which is our favorite in which price range as well. To me, the experience we bring is like when you walk into a decently run Cold Stone Creamery.

It’s kind of like that.

If you have no clue what ice cream, size, or toppings you want mixed in; the person behind the counter is typically very happy to go over all of the choices and different flavor combinations they have tried and like themselves.

We are here to educate, explain and give our personal ideas and opinions. We are NOT here to TELL you what and how to buy. I am not writing this to toot our own horn, but as a business it is important to know what it is that you do that sets you apart. We are different from every single other online paintball retailer, and in a lot of cases, local shops as well because the level of care that we provide is 100%.

I kid you not. We recently had a customer call us and tell us that they did not get every item they ordered. Here is the thing, I pulled and packed the order, and it was double checked by both Ethan and Jeff. We take shipping out orders extremely seriously as we ourselves hate getting things incorrectly. We ordered these items specifically for the customer, and inventory was 100% spot on. The “missing” items most definitely were in the box when it left the warehouse. Not a single one of us was concerned on if this was an honest issue, or something a little more sinister. It doesn’t matter. Our job was to make sure the customer got his product, and so we have. We call this “investing in our future” – who in the heck cares if someone was telling the truth, or lost it themselves or what have you. Our #1 concern is YOU, the customer being satisfied with your order and with us. If we ensure that, you are much more likely to order with us in the future.

Start making a statement to the other companies (you know who they are) If you do not want to deal with stress, or have things blamed on you. You know where to shop.

Thank you for reading, we have a lot of passion and love for what we do, and if we didn’t – we wouldn’t.

Thanks for having us be a part of your wedding Dominic!

-Trevor

I want to take the time to acknowledge how special the team we have here at Hustle Paintball is. Seriously, this is not your typical pyramid of power supported by the ever stalwart pull of the paycheck. Honestly guys, if it were about the money; I am not sure a single one of us would be answering phone calls, or responding to emails.

This article is titled “Family Dinner” because that is what we like to do. We do not literally sit down and have a scheduled family dinner, but we often sit down together and celebrate things like anniversaries, or team goals we have reached.

We also <3 Sriracha!

In fact recently on our day off we had our traditional “Chinese and Champagne” day to celebrate a milestone for two of our team members’ time here.

Jay, as of early August has officially been here a year. Trevor, as of early August has been with the company for three years. It has taken Ethan some time, but he really has put together a hell of a team to help push our expectations of this company even further. Seriously, have you seen our video channel lately? Things are improving around here, every little thing is being looked at and we are asking ourselves as a team on what we can do to improve and make things better.

Much of what our mentality is in the office; we try to spread everywhere through our different mediums of interacting with you all, our customers. I mean, really we do not just see you all in the same light as some other companies out there. You are not walking wallets to us that we just want to pillage and move on to the next.

He may be the boss, but he sets the pace and grinds out every single day with us.

Especially locally, but even over the phone: Josh, Eric, Travis, C.J. – The list goes on and you know who you are; you are our friends.

On the 20th, we are all going to see the Denver Roller Dolls steamroll some people and just go out and have a good time together. This is not a “Team-building” exercise, something that we are doing because we believe we should. We are all going together because we genuinely want to. Being a team, and teamwork itself are the foundation of this company. When big things happen around the office, it is because we all put our heads together and create something as a team. There is not a single one of us who believes they are better than the person to the left or right.

This brings me to our teamwork outside of the office as well. As you all know, 100% of Hustle Paintball Staff are active paintball players.

Friendship & respect is what drives a lot of what we do.

Ethan, Jay, and Russell are on Team Anomaly and practice almost every weekend of the year regardless of weather. Trevor plays a lot less now due to his knee issues, and Jeff has a big family to take care of.

Regardless of why or when we play, every single one of us has a passion for this sport that we bring into our teamwork in the office. When you see us push a product, or “advertise” it, it is because we in fact like the product personally, and want to see it do well.   The nice thing about this team mentality is often we have differing opinions on things. If you ask Ethan his opinion on one thing, you may get a wildly different opinion from Russell. That’s the thing, both opinions are going to be grounded by an actual paintball player who has a legitimate reason for what they like and do not. It is up to you at that point to make a decision on how likely your opinion is to line up with the person you are speaking with.

Really, all I am trying to say here is that teamwork and friendship have been the driving force behind this company. Not only do we consider ourselves a team in the office and on the field, but we consider you all — our customers, a part of our team as well.

Thank you for your support, and for being a part of the Hustle Paintball family!

- Trevor