Post-season Interview #4 - Vancouver Thunder

This interviewee is relatively new to the sport and first played recreational paintball in 2006 when his boss invited him out with a group of friends. Mason Hwu so enjoyed his time that he gradually went from playing once a month to once a week. He made the leap from recreational to competitive when a group of regular players at Doodlebugs  Sportz asked him to join them in a local tournament. From then on, Mason has continued moving up through the ranks!

            Hwu played local and regional tournaments with Gunslingerz and DBS Titans for the 2008 and 2009 seasons and then went on to play nationally with DBSpaintball.com and DBS Kidz 2 from 2010 until 2011. Most recently, he has played with CDR, Joint Force, and of course Vancouver Thunder in the CXBL. Mason also debuted with Vancouver Vendetta in the Pro division at NPPL DC where the team managed a fourth place finish.

            Mason has moved around the field playing many different positions but is often first or second snake or centre insert. He explains that his coaches, Danny Cort and Mike Carrey have taught him, “that in order to help your team, play the position you feel you can make the most impact to help your team win. With that said, the biggest impact I can make is up the gut or in the snake!” 

Hwu, like many of you, has especially appreciated the many life long friendships that he has made throughout his paintball journey. His teammates, coaches and mentors have become like family and Mason finds that he often spends more time with these guys than with his immediate family. He hopes to continue creating memorable experiences winning CXBL and NPPL events with his Thunder and Vendetta family.

Photo Credit: Sheldon Carless

• What is your general impression of the 2012 Elite standings? Were there any major surprises or did the season finish as expected?

“We didn’t know what to expect in the Elite division since we were the only team from the West. But we practiced all year long and we were ready to give our best performance. It’s nice to see that our hard work resulted in multiple wins and finishing as the 2nd seeded team.” 

• Due to the merge of the Central, Western, and Eastern CXBL conferences this year, your team has had to journey a long way to compete in the CXBL Elite events. How, if at all, has the travel affected your playing this season? What is the most challenging part of travelling long distances for events?

“The biggest challenge for traveling long distances is the organizing all the logistics. We only play about 4 hours out of a 96 hour event trip. It’s the preparation for those 4 hours of play time that is most challenging. With proper planning, we were able to step on the field every time as comfortable as if we were playing at our own home field.”

• Vancouver is one of several teams with a handful of professional competitors from the NPPL. In your eyes, what separates the CXBL Elite from other professional leagues?

“CXBL is a set up as a season leading up to a championship. NPPL and PSP have series champions as well as individual winners for each event. CXBL just has one winner at the end of the season. In the end, they are all awesome.”

• What do you feel was your team’s greatest strength this season?

“Our team’s greatest strength would have to be our biggest supporter, Matthew Jantzi from Tsawwassen Paintball. He is not just the owner, but also our biggest team supporter. Without Matt, we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to play this season. Thank you Matt!”

 

• What are you able to take away from the 2012 season that will allow you to develop as a player and as a team throughout the off-season?

“Personally, there are so many things that i’m taking away this season that will help me grow as a player. The main thing would probably be reaching the 50 bunkers. This would be the same for the team. We play on our heals a lot of the time, but we can’t rely on that to win games. We’ve got to get great at reaching the 50 bunkers first.”

• What was your highlight of the season?

“My highlight of the season was meeting new friends and revisiting old ones. Carolyn Burden and her sons were an awesome surprise this season. They came out to help us in the pits for both events out of the kindness of their hearts. Thank you Carolyn, Ty, and Jacob!”

• Which individual on your own team do you most respect as a player and why?

“I most respect Danny Cort. His values of integrity and hard work are practically written on his forehead. Anyone can attest that he has the strongest work ethic and passion for paintball than anyone on the team.”

• Your team had a very successful season winning 6 of your 8 matches, losing only to Tremblant Cowboys and Drummondville Daytona by 1 point each. To what do you attribute your success this season?

“I would have to say that teamwork was the biggest attribute to our success. Teamwork on and off the field is so important to a winning organization. It was blatant that our teamwork was off during the second half against Drummondville Daytona. And as for Tremblant Cowboys, we again were on and off with our teamwork. When playing with such high caliber teams, there is little room to veer from perfect teamwork.  In the end, I’m so appreciative and grateful to be surrounded by a group of professional and talented athletes.”

• If you had to choose a team other than your own as most likely to win NAX, who would you choose and why?

“I would have to say Tremblant Cowboys. That team has pretty much the same guys that beat us last year at NAX. They bring a good fight.”

• Is there anything else you would like to add?

“I would like to thank all the CXBL staff and refs that made this season possible. Big super thanks to Louie Dalesio, Matthew Jantzi, Ian, Joey DeCaire, Marco, Chris, GI Paint, and everybody involved with CXBL.”


Mason, Thanks for taking the time to chat with me! It was great to learn about your rapid journey up the totem pole in the world of paintball. Congratulations on a successful first event with Vendetta and all the best to you and your teammates at NAX!

Signing off,

The Paintball Wife

Post-season Interview #3 - Scarborough Hustle

This interviewee was first connected to paintball when he played for a friend’s birthday party at 13 years of age. Now 23, Brett Robinson has 10 years of paintball under his belt. Joined by his brother Chase and several friends, the Robinsons started their competitive journey by starting a local young guns team known as Binbrook Revolution. The team played their first Soldier of Fortune young guns series and according to Brett, had “minimal success”. They soon came back stronger with a new team name – Anarchy and finished as the overall series champs in the same league.

After their Soldier of Fortune success, they went on to play Tournament of Champions (TOC) in the young guns division subsequently moving up to a successful season in the 5 man rookie division. Robinson and his teammates planned to play 7 man Novice TOC tournaments the following year but at that time the novice division ended up being united with the pro division meaning that their team (having never played 7 man style) had to play the likes of Synergy and Chop Shop. As a result, they finished the season 1-7 in last place but Robinson admits that it was an excellent learning experience.

 At the end of the 2006 CXBL season, Brett was presented with the opportunity to play in the first season of the MXL division. He began his CXBL career playing for Waterloo Wildcards in the 2007 season at the MXL level and as Robinson says, “I was bitten by the Xball bug.” He continued playing for Waterloo for the next 4 years through many roster changes, ownership changes, and location changes. Throughout those years, Waterloo always managed to finish in the top half of the ranks but due to the many significant changes, the team never managed an MXL season win. Following the 2010 season, Brett, his brother Chase, and their friend Jack Sikkema were offered spot on Scarborough Hustle - which was to be a new CXBL team. After learning that this would allow them the opportunity to play alongside Oliver Lang, the three were driven to accept the offer. For the next two seasons, Robinson was a proud part of Hustle, fighting to be competitive in their division and to maintain their CXBL spot.

In response to being asked about his paintball highlights, Brett says, “While I have never truly been on top of the Canadian paintball community, there are a few things that were really special to me throughout the years.” Some of his highlights include: the overall series win at SOF young guns and taking home the pocket bikes that they won as prizes, his first season playing the xball format with Wildcards, his first season at the CXBL level and playing alongside Ollie Lang, and getting his Gridfighters franchise and playing in the 2012 season. In terms of the future of his paintball career, Brett says, “things aren’t really sorted out for 2013 at this point but I can tell you that I will be playing lots of paintball!” Look for Robinson’s Toronto Hustle Gridfighters pro team and Hamilton Anarchy Semi-pro team in future Gridfighters events. Also watch out for them at PSP World Cup this year!

  

 Photo Credit: Sheldon Carless

•  What is your general impression of the 2012 Elite standings? Were there any major surprises or did the season finish as expected?

“While I wouldn’t call it a major surprise I am a little shocked to see Medonte as high up the rankings as they are. I know that Medonte’s secret to winning MXL was hard work and organization and it showed again in 2012.”

“I must admit that I am shocked to see my own team relegated down to the MXL division. I truly believe that we had many opportunities to put some wins together this season and it just simply didn’t happen for one reason or another. This certainly wasn’t the way I pictured the season unfolding in January.”

• What do you feel was your team’s greatest strength this season?

“Hustle’s greatest strength is our bond as a team. Almost every weekend the team spends time together off the field whether that’s out for dinner, team BBQ’s or just some extra paintball for fun on our day off.  We truly like to be around each other and that makes things a lot easier when you have to function together in stressful situations.”

• What are you able to take away from the 2012 season that will allow you to develop as a player and as a team throughout the off-season?

“Coming out of 2012 I am personally much more aware of how hard I need to work to get ahead of the competition. I know that me, along with many of my 2012 team mates are working hard on their own physical fitness in the off season and leading up to the PSP World Cup. The biggest thing I will work on with any team I play on in the future is practicing with the attitude that every practice is like its game time. Not just when you’re on the field but in between points at practice, talk more about what went wrong, adjust better, get yourself turned around faster so you can get more points in, etc. Working smarter AND harder for the 2013 season will be my goal.”

• Having lost to Toronto Rockstar, Hustle is the team to be relegated for the year ahead. Do you plan on remaining together for the 2013 season in the MXL division?

“This is still yet to be 100% decided but it isn’t looking like the same team will be competing in the MXL division. With 12+ players it’s hard to get everyone on the same page especially with us all at different points in our personal lives. More than likely the majority of Hustle will remain together, whether that means playing CXBL, MXL, Gridfighters Pro or PSP/NPPL is still to be determined.”

• What was your highlight of the season?

 “There weren’t too many on field highlights for Hustle this season, so the highlight of the season was by far the trip to Ottawa for Border Battle. You can’t put a price on a road trip to play paintball with some of your best friends!”

• Which individual on your own team do you most respect as a player and why?

“This is a tough call but in terms of respecting someone only based on paintball it would have to be Keith Choi. This guy is a monster, tending bar every weekend, sleeping for a few hours during the car ride to the field (if someone is nice enough to pick him up so he actually gets to sleep) every single weekend! Then he wakes, plays like a boss and never complains! This guy LOVES paintball and works as hard as anyone to play it and that is one of the reasons I respect Keith Choi.”

• Your team had a very difficult season, losing every match played. That being said, you and your teammates always seemed to enjoy playing and finished every match with smiles on your faces. What were you able to take away from these losses as a team? How did you maintain such positive attitudes in the midst of struggle?

“The key to maintaining our smiles and upbeat attitudes was simple, we know that getting angry NEVER WINS GAMES. I have seen many players removed from teams for the issues they cause in the pits and we made sure that wasn’t an issue on our team. The other bonus we had working for us was as I said earlier, we truly are all good friends and we are all mature enough to keep our heads high and support our team mates. It may have not helped us get any wins but our plus minus could have gotten worse and no relationships were ruined during the course of our season.”

•  If you had to choose a team as most likely to win NAX, who would you choose and why?

 “I would have to pick Windsor Lockdown. While I do think that Tremblant may have a slight advantage in the dedication of their pro players I think that the core of Lockdown is one of the strongest teams ever assembled in Ontario or even Canada. With that being said I will be cheering for Lockdown and hoping that their Canadians including Ryan Dowling and the Herda brothers make a good showing.”

• Is there anything else you would like to add?

“I would like to add that I think it’s great what you’re doing for the sport here Niki! While you might still be small time every little bit helps for the exposure of our sport and I appreciate that.”

Brett, thanks for the interview! While you and your teammates may have had a tough time on the field this season, you were all an inspiration of team spirit and camaraderie off of the field. I wish you all the best in whatever the 2013 season brings! 

Signing off, 

The Paintball Wife

Post-season Interview #2 - Tremblant Cowboys

This interviewee has been involved in the sport of paintball since he was just 9 years old. Gerry Harris Matticks knew immediately that this sport was something he wanted to invest in for more than just fun. At the age of 12, Gerry played is first 3 man GT (Golden Triangle) event. Later, he joined the CXBL playing from the get-go in the CXBL division for Laval Skorpions.

Throughout the years Harris Matticks has played for a variety of teams including: Montreal Machine (SkyBall), Laval Skorpions, Mirabel Impact, Kingsey Falls Kamikaze, Shockwave Canada, Scrub Life, and of course, Tremblant Cowboys. He has a CXBL championship under his belt which he secured in 2010 with Kamikaze and a PALS Thailand win with Shockwave Canada in 2011.

Gerry is usually seen playing midfield and back positions and plans to continue to develop his skills in this area. He is known by his competition for having a larger-than-life personality that plays out in his on-field run-throughs. Harris Mattick’s future paintball ambitions include another CXBL championship win and making it pro in the PSP. Watch out for him at NAX; his confidence in his team in unmatched!

 Photo Credit: Sheldon Carless

• What is your general impression of the 2012 Elite standings? Were there any major surprises or did the season finish as expected?

 “The surprise I had was Daytona making NAX and beating out 2 really strong teams. Another thing that surprised me was when we (Cowboys) lost to N2 but they came out and played a really strong game and got the win. We still finished 1st as expected.”

• What do you feel was your team’s greatest strength this season?

 “I believe our greatest strengths were playing as a team and everyone gelling on and off the field, bringing in some other players from the states who also gelled really well with our team and bringing some experience from a higher level of paintball.”

• Cowboys is made up of many experienced CXBL players as well as several Houston Heat competitors. Did you find it easy to come together as a team or did you have to work to become comfortable on the field as one unit? Did you find that working with the Houston Heat guys was a growth opportunity for you and your Canadian counterparts? If so, in what ways were you challenged as players?

“When we brought in the Huston Heat guys we didn't know what to expect from them or how they would react with us as a team but we ending up gelling really well on and off the field. We came together a lot better than I thought we would and it shows, Taking 1st place in the CXBL regular season. Most of the guys on the team already have a lot of experience so bringing the Huston Heat guys just made us stronger and gave us a little more experience to add to the team. The biggest thing that they showed us is that coaching is a big importance to the game and we would not have done as well without it. A great coach makes a great team!”

• What are you able to take away from the 2012 season that will allow you to develop as a player and as a team throughout the off-season?

 “What we can take away from the 2012 season would be just to get better as a team on the field and off the field, to learn from our mistakes from the season and not to make them in the following season. Also, to build strength on our individual skills as well.”

• With a roster such as yours, many predicted your team for the win this season. Did you and your teammates have the same confidence in a 2012 season win?

“We came into this season with a lot of confidence but still taking every game one point at a time. Our loss to N2 shows everyone that anyone can be beat at any time but at the end of the year we will still be number 1 and NAX champions.”

• What was your highlight of the season?

 “My highlight would be at Event 2 when we beat the Raiders with only a few seconds left but the biggest highlight of the year for me will be when we win NAX.”

• Which individual on your own team do you most respect as a player and why?

 “I can’t pick just one person from my team as I respect them all but if it wasn't for Phil Guy I would have never had the chance to play with Shockwave Canada and I would have never had the learning experiences I have had. He is a veteran of the sport. He has always highlighted my mistakes as well as letting me know when I have played well.”

• This season was unusual in that not a single team went undefeated in any division of the CXBL. Your team suffered a surprising loss to Medonte and had very close matches with Raiders, Lockdown, and Thunder, winning each by only 1 point. What went through your mind after losing to Ntwo? Can you tell me about the collective mindset of the team during close match situations?

“I'm not surprised that there were no undefeated teams in the CXBL this year. The talent of paintball in Canada is rising. The loss to N2 was surprising to us as well but they came out and played a really strong game and deserved the win. During the close games the mindset in the pits for everyone is just to stay calm and focused and never give up until the clock runs out. We put the most experienced players on in situations like that and have won all our close games which shows we have what it takes to win NAX.”

• If you had to choose a team other than your own as most likely to win NAX, who would you choose and why?

 “If I had to choose another team most likely to win NAX I would have to say Thunder. They are only about seven or eight guys who play solid as a team and never lose their cool in the pits. They are a very talented team.”

• Is there anything else you would like to add?

“I would like to say thanks to the CXBL for making great events and helping to improve the sport in Canada! I would also like to wish the best of luck to all the teams who will be competing at NAX.”

   Gerry, Thanks for the interview! All the best to you and your teammates 

   at NAX! 

    Signing off,

    The Paintball Wife 

Post-Season Interview #1 - Cambridge Raiders

        With the 2012 CXBL Elite season now behind us and NAX yet to come, I thought this the perfect time to reflect and to dream about what is ahead for each team. This was certainly a season full of surprises and excitement and I wanted to get the player’s perspective on their highlights and struggles. Join me over the coming days as I hear from a member of each CXBL Elite team and be sure to post your comments and questions too! 

 

        This interviewee became involved in recreational paintball 12 years ago and more seriously began his tournament career in 2008. Derrick Weltz’ first competitive team was known as Shut Down Kids or “SDK”. Together they had hopes of playing D3 NPPL in 2009 but due to the bankruptcy of the NPPL that season, the group began to search for a CXBL team to join. After attending a variety of RXL and MXL tryouts, Derrick and 3 of his SDK teammates became part of Woodstock Defiance RXL.

 Under the direction of Travis Kropf, Nelson Fonseca, Ed Evans, and Adam Mutsaers, the 2009 Defiance squad won the RXL title meaning that they would make the bump to MXL in the 2010 season. Weltz and the majority of his Defiance teammates stayed together for the MXL season, adding only Pat Padovan and Zach Burke to the roster. Finishing the 2010 MXL season in 1^st place, Woodstock became the first central team to win the title in two divisions in consecutive years. Facing a big jump to CXBL, Derrick and his teammates faced many questions as to where all of their players would end up between Defiance and Cambridge Raiders. Because both teams existed within the same camp, the decision was made to sell the Woodstock Franchise and merge many of the Defiance players with 4 Raiders veterans under the Cambridge name. In 2011, Weltz’ first season as a CXBL competitor, Raiders finished 3^rd within the central conference earning them a spot at NAX. Not bad considering many of the players, Derrick included, had been RXL competitors only 2 years prior.

Weltz has also had many opportunities to play at PSP and NPPL events throughout his competitive paintball career including playing NPPL events with Raiders and PSP New Jersey with 3CT. While Derrick is one of few players to make the bump from RXL to CXBL in 2 seasons, his greatest paintball highlight thus far was playing with Demons Red at PALS Thailand. He reflects, “It was the hottest climate I’ve ever played paintball in. It puts 2010 PSP World Cup to shame, if anyone remembers that!” It also gave Weltz the chance to play with a team from Iran and they were very successful despite having to find ways to communicate across a significant language barrier.

Derrick, you’ve been part of my personal paintball family since the 2009 Defiance season and it has been an absolute pleasure to watch you develop as a player throughout the years. Best of luck at NAX ---try to maintain your penalty free year!

   Photo Credit: Sheldon Carless

• What is your general impression of the 2012 Elite standings? Were there any major surprises or did the season finish as expected?

“To be honest everybody is in NAX that I expected, except one. I assumed Recon would have been in and Daytona would have been left at 7th place. Nothing against those guys on Daytona but the Elite division if full of talented teams.”

• What do you feel was your team’s greatest strength this season?

“Hmmm that's a tough one, I don't think we ever really relied on one strength this season. One thing that has helped us tremendously off the field is the guidance of our friends from the south, Alfred De Los Santos, G-no Benedicto, and Eric Prum.  We brought them on board, to not only add depth to our roster but to give us some leadership and to help develop us into better all -around players.”

•  What are you able to take away from the 2012 season that will allow you to develop as a player and as a team throughout the off-season?

“We were able to take away a new style of play and execution of plays from this season which will help us be successful in seasons to come. Obviously I can't reveal too much information.”

•  What was your highlight of the season?

“My personal highlight thus far is my penalty free season. Anybody that followed last year’s stats will be aware of my penalty riddled season (22 minutes, 4 majors and 1 minor).  Accomplishing this task wasn't luck; I had to alter my style of play. Before, I played almost with reckless abandonment. Although it did allow me to excel in my rookie season, in the top league it hindered my team.  This season I've taken more of a slow and methodical approach and I take the bites when I see them come available.”

• Which individual on your own team do you most respect as a player and why? 

“This is a tough question, but as a player it would have to be Gno. His ability to stay calm and relaxed in clutch situations is something I admire and respect in his playing style.”

•  Last season Raiders went into NAX seated 3^rd in the Central conference and 7^th overall. This year, with the new Elite division, the Eastern, Western and Central teams have played against one another all season and only the top six teams have a shot at the championship rings. Your team finished 6^th in the 2012 Elite season, meaning you head into NAX as the lowest ranked team. I am sure this is not the way that your team expected to finish the season. Can you tell me a little bit about how you got here and what you will do to prepare for NAX in hopes of finishing at the top? 

“Well going into this event we were ranked 2nd, and like you said we ended up 6th. That kind of speaks for itself. We just pooped the bed. Leading into this event we knew the only way we wouldn't make NAX is if we lost both our games and N2, Recon and Daytona won all of their games. So it was very slim chances as those teams all played the top teams.  Knowing that, we didn't practice or dissect the layout as well as we normally do. We had poor attendance at every practice, just because everybody wants a little summer vacation and July was a beautiful month. That is what took us off our high horse and put us where we deserved to be after not putting in the time or effort like other teams had. But be assured that will not happen again in our run for NAX.”

• It was rumoured that your team had some issues with paint during your match against Daytona. In a game such as paintball, there seems to be a variety of factors outside of player control that can affect the match. How did your team respond to this situation? What can you do as a team to continue to keep positive and still play your best when something outside of your control affects your game?

“I’m not trying to take anything away from the Daytona guys as they played great and took advantage of our downfalls. But yes we unfortunately had probably the worst batch of paint I've ever shot. I hope when the match goes up it shows our pits and how frustrated/defeated we were within the first 10 minutes of the match. We couldn't keep enough clean pods and we had a really hard time getting 5 working guns on the field. It was the first time since 09 when I started in the Raiders Camp that I've seen Raiders have an unorganized pit, and not taking anything away from other pit staff. But we do have the best pit staff in the league (Corey and Meg, hats off to you both). Luckily we were able to get new paint for our match against Vancouver the following day (hats off to Jay Steele and Eddie Ralf on helping out) but that paint wasn't enough to help us against Vancouver.”

• If you had to choose a team other than your own as most likely to win NAX, who would you choose and why? 

“I'd have to give it to Lockdown. Some players may not like this comment but I know all the Heat guys are on absolute fire this year and so are the Damage guys. But looking past those players, I'd have to say Lockdown is a stronger roster. That is if they can stay out of penalty trouble which they have been riddled with at NAX in the Semi-finals game every year for as long as I can remember.”

• Is there anything else you would like to add? 

“You are doing an amazing job at this whole internet blogging thing and I wish you the best, and for people reading please go like Outside the Mesh on Facebook! Niki, Nolan and I will also miss your home cooked healthy meals! And congrats on the new house, see you moving day, maybe.”

 “Best of luck to all teams participating at NAX!”

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions, Derrick. I wish you and your Raiders teammates all the best at NAX! 

Signing off,

The Paintball Wife

Meet Murdertron - A Brand for Your Lifestyle!

                It’s tough to find quality apparel these days and if you are anything like me, sometimes you want something a little more interesting than the oh-so-typical chain store repeats. There’s nothing worse than walking into store after store finding the same-old clothing except maybe taking said clothing home to discover the seams are poorly sewn and the material is cheap. Few things excite me more than finding clothes that I love that are actually made with quality materials! So when I discovered Murdertron, my feet were swept from beneath me! Not only is their apparel unique, but all of the designs are carefully thought out and created on premises by the super slick Alex Blackburn and marketed by the ever-handy Chris McKee. Let’s be honest, who doesn’t love a company that has their supporter’s best interests in mind? Do yourself a favour, read on to learn more about this awesome company and then head over to their site http://shop.murdertron.com/ and find yourself some sick new duds! You won’t regret it! 

 It's hard to see but that's me in the centre sporting my favourite Murdertron shirt!!!

(Timeless Burnout- Blue)

Photo Credit: Robert Lee

• How did Murdertron originate? Who founded it and why?

Alex: “ I had always wanted to get a clothing line off the ground, and Murdertron started out with custom t-shirts that I was making. I'd been designing shirt ideas for a long time, and had finally started getting a few made. Doing one of kinds was expensive, and I was originally doing them for myself, but our friends starting showing interest in them. The real push to get my own company started up was when people started stopping me in the street and asking where I bought my shirt. The looks I got were pretty funny when I said I made it myself, but the reactions were all super positive.”

“While all of this was going on, I was working at a car dealership with a long time friend, Chris, who I'd been bouncing business ideas back and forth with during our shifts. He had some really solid ideas, and with all the back and forth realized we both had always wanted to start a company that represented all the stuff we love.”

Chris: “We both had a ton of different ideas, and going over them during our breaks at work we realized that we both had the same goal: Build a lifestyle company that was involved in all the scenes that we grew up with and were proud to be a part of. Everyone we knew was of course worried that we'd end up hating each other and it would all end terribly blah blah. We both had different aspects to bring to the table and we went back to school to polish up on our respective niches; I work more on the business and marketing side, and Alex is on the creative side. It's been over 3 years, and we've managed to not kill each other. Yet...”

• How did you come up with the name Murdertron?

Alex: “You probably think it's from the fact that we were born in the 80's and we are die hard fans of the Transformers franchise from Hasbro. Well you're wrong! Although we did grow up with Transformers, (and He-Man, Ninja Turtles and G.I. Joe) the name actually came from when I was making the transition from 7man paintball to Xball. When I was first learning about Xball people were saying things like: "The coaches and sidelines are controlling the players and telling them what to do and when to do it" and "the players are like robots" so this "new" paintball format brought up this image of robot players killing each other. We played with a few names but MURDERTRON seemed to be the best fit.”

• Does Murdertron have a mission or a vision for the future of the company?

Chris: “Our mission with Murdertron is to create quality and original gear that sets itself apart from everything else out there. We want it to show how much we put into it, and have our supporters be proud to wear it.”

“Our vision is to build not just another clothing brand, but to create an image that involves everything we stand for, and that represents our supporters. Whether your skater, a baller, a boarder, have a sweet car, or just want some standout streetwear, that's us. That's who we represent. “

Alex:”Exactly, and on that note another thing we really pride ourselves on, is just to keep in touch with our supporters. We want to know what they like, what they are up to. We just like to stay involved with the people who have taken the time and put in the money to support our brand. We really think that's important and we do go out of our way just to make single individuals feel noticed. Our mission is to continue doing that.”

• Tell us a little bit about some of the products that you have to offer. What are some hot-sellers?

Alex: “Pretty much everything has been embraced with open arms. We really take the time to go over every single item. Almost every single piece we have for sale has been touched by myself; I do the embroidery, I put in the tags, I silkscreen... not to mention I do the graphic design (or at least think up and sketch the concept of the design). That doesn't mean Chris won’t add his time and input on the production side, because he does do that too. We want to make clothes that are comfortable and not just another cookie-cutter rectangle shaped t-shirt; and we want to make designs that will stand out (the company name helps out with that)”

Chris: “Right now we carry: hats (beanies, fitted caps, and snapbacks), sweaters and hoodies, long sleeve tees, tees, sunglasses... we have a little bit of everything for both men and women... And yes the long awaiting men’s tanks will soon be out!”

• Do you have any exciting plans for future designs or products that you can share with us?

Chris: “We've got a ton of stuff in the works. As far as future designs and products, we can't say too much, but it's going to reflect how we've grown in the industry.”

Alex: “We have a huge list of ideas, for designs and different apparel but as Chris says we kind of have to keep them on the hush right now till we gather the time and resources to produce them. We can tell you that we are going to continue to put the time and effort into bringing you some sweet gear, and we are looking at doing a few collaboration pieces with some other companies, I can't tell you which right now, mostly because I just don't want to jinx it. But if you want to be some of the first in the know, the best thing to do is follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Just look up "murdertron". We're also looking at starting a blog. The blog's purpose will be to give everyone more of a personal insight on ourselves and our brand, what we're up to, what we like, and won’t necessarily be apparel orientated.”

 Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Chris: “First and foremost thank you Niki, for taking the time for this interview, and of course a massive thanks to everyone who's currently supporting us and helping spread the word! It’s your support that’s helping us grow.”

Alex: “Yeah and a big thank you to Nick Slowiak, the guys on Edmonton Impact Echo, they were all a big help in getting this brand off the ground. All the guys on Scrub Life, my teammates on Kamikaze, Random Heroes, Mirabel Impact, Shawn Monk, Girl Paintballer, Todd Ancich, Marc Beaudin, Dan Healey... PKFilms! (Check them out on YouTube and Vimeo) Some of the stores that carry our clothes here in Ottawa: Fall Down Gallery, Reap & Sew, Trackwerks. Our music groups: DefineD, Prehistoric, Homebased... I hope I didn't forget anyone, We really appreciate you guys lending a helping hand and giving us a chance to showcase our brand.”

“Also if you're are a store or know a store looking to carry Murdertron e-mail the info to chris@murdertron.com”

Alex and Chris, it has been an absolute pleasure to speak to you about your company and to hear about your vision for the future. I wish you all of the best as you continue to sow into the Murdertron brand. Thank you for creating unique apparel that stands out and feels great! I see only great things ahead for you! 

Signing off (to go shopping at murdertron.com),

The Paintball Wife