Down Under Paintball

Join me this week as I had a chance to sit down with one of the most requested players on the show. Jarrahd Cosier has had a very rich paintball career getting the opportunity to travel the world to play and he shows no signs of slowing down.

Jarrahd has been able to bridge all the gaps in the paintball in Australia playing on teams up and down the east coast, always happy to pick up a gun in whatever series or event there is to offer. He is one of the most respected and nicest guys in our community and it shows in this episode.

Aussie runner podcast - https://aussierunnerpodcast.libsyn.com/

Training for ultra podcast - https://trainingforultra.com/

Limited resources podcast - http://lrcast.com/

Join me this week as I sit down with Brodrick Ward a guy who has taken paintball by the horns and changed his whole entire life around to chase his goals. We find out what those goals are and what drives him to keep pushing.

I have only met Ricky a few times but in the few moments of talking I came to quickly realise that he is a person dedicated to taking his game as far as possible, he mentioned his goals to me and I knew I had to get him on the show, I’m glad I could share you all his story and hope this episode inspires others to push themselves with as much dedication and purpose, I not only in paintball but in all areas of life.

Join me this week as I sit down for a chat with Ben Armitage a massive scenario paintballer from South Australia, we discuss everything that's happening down south with paintball and gel blasters as well as a big dive into what the D-Day event is like in america.

Ben gives a look into the growing gel blaster scene in South Australia and how it is being used to bring people into the paintball side of things and help unite 2 small groups of players that share a common love for the woods and scenario play.

Join me this week as I sit down with Jason Byass, currently on a break from the sport to focus on some other pursuits Jason fills us in on his paintball journey and gives us an insight into what it's like to build a team that sticks together from the bottom to the top of the game.

Jason shares with us his views on what impact an import can have on a team, what it’s like to be a paintball “papa” and the differences between being a paintball player and a captain.

One of the quiet achievers of the sport Brendan has done it all and been involved in almost every part of paintball for the better part of 2 decades. From reffing social paintball through to paintball in the professional division, as well as playing all forms of the sport from pump, mechanical, scenario and tournament paintball.

Brendan helps me with an event review of the recent Total WAR Scenario Paintball Games at Action Paintball Games between us we had both sides of the field covered and share some stories from the battle field.

Join me this week as I sit down for a chat with Rob Ambrose aka Rookie. Starting his Paintball career in 1991 Rob shares with us his journey through the competitive tournament scene in Australia before finding himself playing for Sydney Swat. The most amazing thing about Robs career is he is still out playing and competing to this day.

In this episode Rob gives us all a great insight into what the competitive paintball scene looked like in the mid 1990’s, what the best current gen guns were and who the hot teams were at the time. He shares with us his travels around the globe and everything in between.

Join me this week as I sit down for a chat with Mick Jones aka Plucka, a long time east coast baller always happy to support any event that is offered locally. He gives the listeners a rundown of the Charity cup at Ultimate paintball in Camden N.S.W an event in which his team Plucka Ducks came away with the win.

Plucka also lets us know about his paintball journey starting with his brother on a team called Straight Edge, after seeing some success and getting bitten by the paintball bug moving onto team Platinum and travelling the country with the Super Sevens Series. After that time he moved onto the X-fighters before moving to the newly formed team Explicit which he would play for many years and eventually take over the role of captain.

Mick fills us in on the end of 2013 when he got the news some players off his team were going to form a new super team NVS. He gives us an insight on what it was like to lose some good players and friends in the blink of an eye and the trials and tribulations of having to rebuild a paintball team. Mick now finds himself captain of the East Coast Hawks, a newly formed team which so far has an unbeaten record. The future is looking bright for this new team and the things that they will achieve.

Join me this week as I sit down for a chat with Elmo Sheehan, one of the all-round nicest guys you will ever meet in the country. Elmo gets to events all over the east coast of Australia, having played for many years and many different teams he find himself playing with East Side Raw, coming hot off being crowned the 2019 Super sevens Champions.

Elmo shares some great stories with me this week such as being dragged into the sport by his younger brother Chris aka shittaz, growing up with a paintball field nearly in their back yard and the great family the Jeffries are who run Fireball Paintball in Hartley. Elmo brings to light his passion for the sport, the bonds he shares with his paintball family and what it takes to make a successful paintball team all while having fun.

Join me this week as I sit down with Karl Simpson, the other half of the wonder twin combo. Karl was the first in the family to get bitten by the paintball bug, dragging Ben into the sport and using that brotherly rivalry to excel and always have a person to push. He has had similar success to Ben however they do split up from time to time to guest on teams around the Asia Pacific region.

Karl has always been a big ambassador for self-diagnosis and always bringing an analytical mindset to the game, using footage as a tool as well as building a honest feedback system within teams. Always being able to rely on your team mates for honest constructive criticism and being able to feel comfortable giving it where needed, this builds trust and a strong bond between teammates.

He has been someone to always keep it simple, really driving in phrases like “what’s stopping you”. Karl has a way of making even the toughest games and field layouts look easy, using a calm methodical approach to most things and thankfully in the later years he has helped pass this mentality onto many new players and help out the up and coming generation.

Join me this week as I sit down with Ben Simpson, one of the most winningest people to ever play the sport down under matched only by his twin brother. Ben has gone from strength to strength working his way onto Sydney Swat before forming NVS and in recent years playing with East Side Raw and now Perth Crisis.

On the show Ben dives deep into how it all started and what motivators drove him to always improve himself and the others around him. We chat about how to create the best team environment to play in, some common pitfalls players and teams find themselves in and what it takes to chase the big goal of a series win in the Super Sevens.

Ben also covers his beliefs on the importance of media to dissect and breakdown your own game to become your own greatest critic. As he says the footage doesn’t lie, Ben has over a decade of footage archived from events he has played all around the world.

Join me this week as I sit down with Josh Bailey, one of the most common New Zealanders to appear in lines ups across Australia, Josh has played on many different teams over the years helping the kiwis travel over and represent in the super sevens series as well as being well traveled in his own country taking many tournament wins.

Having started like most kiwi’s do at young age he navigated the pit falls of being young and broke by helping his local field out in exchange for paint. Finding himself in one of the great paintball hubs in New Zealand and having some very successful training partners he was able to focus on training correctly and getting his fundamentals up to speed quickly.

Making the decision early in his career to value playing with friends and having fun, Josh shares some great memories and stories that he has made along the way. As josh says himself he may not have had the most successful paintball career but he definitely has friends and experiences that will last a lifetime.

Join me this week as I sit down with Ryan Jacka, a fresh face in paintball having put in the hard yards and quickly rising through the ranks, chasing his goals and landing a spot on Sydney Swat. Finding himself in the middle of one of Swats toughest years on record he was quickly propelled to a leadership role taking the bull by the horns and helping get the team back on track for the 2020 season.

Ryan is an example of the phrase “trust the process” when he was initially introduced to the sport he, along with his team Syndicate, got to work and put in the effort on and off the field attending regular park training sessions and not missing a chance to be involved in paintball. In a testament to their effort 3 of those original players are now playing for Swat.

We review the recent 7man Hyperball event held at Action paintball games Yarramundi. Ryan breaks down the field for us, we go over what plays worked, what plays didn’t and hopefully give the listeners a taste of what they can expect if they want to sink their teeth into Hyperball.

Join me this week as I sit down with Neil Martin, with paintball resume as long as a phone book and enjoying one of the longest lasting careers at the top level in Australia and abroad you can still catch him playing in the pro division of the super sevens to this day.

Neil has done it all from playing on the best teams in the country to winning a world cup in Orlando Florida. Neil puts some rumours to bed on an event that happened over 26 years ago and shares some stories about what it’s like to have a paintball family that spans the globe.

I found so many points to take away from this episode from Neil’s outlook on Australian paintball and just how driven he is as an individual to keep pushing himself still to this day, He is a man that truly has a love for the sport and has achieved some amazing things by just going and getting involved, being a part of paintball at every opportunity and not waiting to be asked to join in.

Join me this week as I sit down with Jordan Gatt a fresh face in the super sevens pro division playing for the eskimo brothers. He made his stamp on the pro division taking second place in his first ever event.

He has only been in the sport for a little over a year and has made waves quickly moving through the ranks of the super sevens and the eskimo brothers program. After talking to him you can see why Gatty has had success in leaps and bounds as his approach to the game is methodical, thought out and determined, his future is looking very bright and he will certainly be a player to follow.

This week we cover 10 things you wish you knew before you started, taking a dive into some tips for new players to give you a leg up if you are wanting to push your game and break through as quickly as possible. I always have had a focus in helping new players and helping grow the future of the sport and I wish I knew these before I started.

Join me this week as I sit down with Dave Hall a player with his finger on the pulse of Tasmanian paintball. Dave is in a unique position having had the taste for paintball in Victoria before making the move down south, he was able to hit the ground running when Paintball in Tasmania became legal in 2015.

Working at a paintball field he is able to help shape the experience of all the new players getting into the sport and help build a great paintball community. Dave regularly travels to the mainland for events and is able to bring all that experience home to help with running events.

For such a short amount of time and with such a small population Paintball in Tasmania is booming, it will be exciting to see what the future holds and follow their story.

Join me this week as I sit down with my Amanda Andrews a Victorian based paint baller who has played events all around Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Always seeking out the toughest competition where ever she could find it.

Her introduction to the sport was at one of the best fields I have ever played at Extreme Indoor Paintball in Geelong, moving from that into local tournaments before discovering the world of paintball around the country and quickly becoming a regular starter at interstate events.

Amanda enjoyed a great playing career guesting with some awesome teams from all over the country, before switching sports and diving into the world of roller derby, she now works with refs inc attending events both as a referee and player.

Join me this week as I sit down with Bourke Grundy one of the owners of MacDev. Bourke shares his own story of how he was pulled into the world of paintball when MacDev was asked to design and air system for a paintball gun, this led to a trip to a paintball field which had Bourke and his brother James hooked.

The company has now risen to worldwide success producing paintball markers, barrels and soft gear. This was all spurred by the brother’s first look at a paintball marker and them both agreeing that they could make one better. This philosophy is one the company still holds true today.

Bourke gives an insight as to what it’s like to manufacture and export paintball markers from Australia to all around the world, dealing with different countries laws and the problems that presents.

Join me this week as I sit down with Connor Johnston, he is an Eskimo Brother from New Zealand and the owner of PB athlete clothing.

Connor tells us all about his start at a young age in paintball down on the South Island of New Zealand, the teams he has played with and a look into the growing and sometimes shrinking New Zealand paintball scene.

We chat about the ups and down of creating a paintball clothing brand and about the level of detail he puts into his product as he tries to grow the business on a global scale and what the future holds for Connor and his paintball career.

Join me this week as I sit down with Danny Cumming the owner of 3 paintball fields in Victoria one of which plays host to the NXL.

We chat about Danny’s introduction to the sport and how his love for it drove him to make massive life changes and purchase his first field. We cover quite a lot of the behind the scenes of owning a field and running the everyday rec players and how even a ban on the sport in Victoria was not enough to stop the field from running.

This episode was a roller coaster story steeped in drama as we dissect the history of Victorian paintball, the ups and downs of the industry and how after the dust had settled Danny stood firm as the owner of 3 busy paintball fields in some of the nicest areas in the country.

Join me this week as I sit down with Michael Youman the Super Sevens Pro Head Referee. We chat about his introduction to the sport through a friend, quickly becoming a regular at practice getting into the speedball scene and playing with team EADC before discovering a love for all things Woodsball and creating the team Bush Pigs. Yowie hasn’t missed a Total War event since 2012 and has travelled to the United States to play multiple day big game events. He has worked his way up the ranks as a referee and now finds himself in the top job for the Super Sevens pro division field.

Join me this week as I sit down with Nathan McDonnell of Eskimo Brothers. We chat about his humble beginnings in the bush and how he pushed on to become one of the country’s most aggressive snake players getting starts on teams such as Blade, Hostile Intentions and NVS. We discuss the importance of paintball family and how the friendship and bonds your team forms off the field translate to success in an event and how a team of players who see each other only 4 weekends a year are able to click and perform as a unit.

Join me this week as I sit down with Kane Reid . Kane is a strength and conditioning coach from Fielding in New Zealand and has worked closely with top athletes including the Expendables paintball team. We talk about how to focus on and analyse your training to get the most out of your sessions, the importance of strength and mobility on the field and an insight into what it’s like to train with and pick the brains of the likes of Yosh Rau, Blake Yarber and Ryan Greenspan from Dynasty.

Links to some of the topics we cover in the show:

Join me as I sit down and chat with Australian reality TV star Zach Kozyrski about Perth Crisis and the Western Australian paintball scene.

We cover topics such as paintball fitness, what it’s like to travel yearlong to paintball events, building a successful team with a brand new roster and an insight into reality TV.

Thanks again to Zach for joining us on the show.

Join me this week as I chat to Will Macdonald about the South Australian paintball scene.

We discuss growing up Paintballing in America, Paintballing in a new country, taking to the field with pump action markers and the steady growth of the PYANO series.