My Paintball Story - A Designers Perspective



As a teenager I can never remember being excited about anything. That is of course, anything other than paintball. From the first time I went out to my local field in Wisconsin I was hooked. It was for a birthday party and after that first time I never looked backed. Having left the field with just about any magazine I could get my hand on I was instantly introduced to the world of flashy ads and the latest technology. I couldnt get enough of it.



Spending more and more time at the field meant months went by, and then years, as I slowly grew up. Coming into high school I was being pressured by just about everyone around me to figure out what course I wanted to take with my life. A heavy question to ask a young kid who just likes to mess around in the woods with his friends. The only thing I could think to do was to follow what I loved, and that was art. I quickly realized that in order to stay involved in paintball as money became more and more tight I would have to enter the production side of the sport. This is when I made the decision to start taking my first computer graphics classes.





(My first EVER attempt at Photoshop. Yeah, Ive come a long way.)



Learning the intricacies of the full Adobe Creative Suite I fell in love with screenprinting for tshirts. Meanwhile, on PbNation, I was getting introduced to a thread called The Young Guns Club. Many awesome individuals came out of this club which consisted of a bunch of internet loving 16 year olds. One of them being the amazing Jimmy Hickey. You no doubt have seen his work throughout the paintball industry. Because of this club, and Jimmy, I was introduced to PBRack and quickly began creating very crude designs for the brand while we all grew up together.



But, a heartfelt story isnt without its setbacks. During my freshman year of highschool I was out on my local ski hill for a good ole day of snowboarding. Ill save you some of the details as they can be found in my ebook on my website, however, the day ended with me breaking my left arm completely in half. This caused internal bleeding in my arm which led to the removal of some dead muscle. After 2 weeks in the hospital, several surgeries, and months of physical therapy, I was on track to being able to use my left hand again. It was during this time that I was faced with the decision of whether or not I would be able to even hold a paintball gun again. Not only that but both sports were becoming so expensive that I was forced to choose between the two. Having already devoted a large portion of my life to the sport, I chose to stick with paintball.





(Thats me on the far right looking like a total scrub in my first PSP tournament ever. I was still wearing a splint on my left arm at the time but would take it off during points and avoid diving on it as to not re-fracture my bones)



Over the next several years I continued to do design work for various small companies within paintball as well as many local fields and teams. From tshirt designs, to jersey, to fliers, and anything in between. I just wanted to get my hands dirty and help out the sport in any way that I could. That, and to continue doing two things that I loved. I've traveled all over the United States and Canada in pursuit of the sport that I love and been through many challenges to get to each and every tournament along the way.



I spent my 19th birthday in Canada with PBRack and the amazing crew at Ambush Paintball in Surrey, B.C. To this day these are some of, if not the, coolest group of people I have ever met. They are the epitome of what paintball should continue to be as a sport and I still travel to their field as much as time and money allow. This is just one of the many instances in which acquaintances became friends through this sport I love so much.



I have since moved to Portland, from Milwaukee, in the continuing pursuit of a career in design and the paintball industry to do much of the same work that got me hooked on paintball when I was just a young little lad. If it werent for the internet, and more specifically PbNation, I would have never had the opportunity to thrive in this community and I would have never met some of the people I call my closest friends. Ive been playing paintball for around 11 years, designing for 7, and I have no intentions of stopping any time soon.





-Nick





Some of the my work that I have enjoyed seeing the most:









Growing up as a kid I had always looked up to those in the paintball industry who were shown as the stars of the sport. The ones who went out and put in work day in and day out. The ones who went into the arena and came out with the battle scars to prove it. The ones who, despite setbacks, overcame adversity to be major players in the sport of paintball. But what about the ones who also went through all of this yet were never in the spotlight? This is the (very short) story of how I became a designer for the paintball industry and how, even though I wasnt in the spotlight, I faced many of the same challenges.As a teenager I can never remember being excited about anything. That is of course, anything other than paintball. From the first time I went out to my local field in Wisconsin I was hooked. It was for a birthday party and after that first time I never looked backed. Having left the field with just about any magazine I could get my hand on I was instantly introduced to the world of flashy ads and the latest technology. I couldnt get enough of it.Spending more and more time at the field meant months went by, and then years, as I slowly grew up. Coming into high school I was being pressured by just about everyone around me to figure out what course I wanted to take with my life. A heavy question to ask a young kid who just likes to mess around in the woods with his friends. The only thing I could think to do was to follow what I loved, and that was art. I quickly realized that in order to stay involved in paintball as money became more and more tight I would have to enter the production side of the sport. This is when I made the decision to start taking my first computer graphics classes.(My first EVER attempt at Photoshop. Yeah, Ive come a long way.)Learning the intricacies of the full Adobe Creative Suite I fell in love with screenprinting for tshirts. Meanwhile, on PbNation, I was getting introduced to a thread called The Young Guns Club. Many awesome individuals came out of this club which consisted of a bunch of internet loving 16 year olds. One of them being the amazing Jimmy Hickey. You no doubt have seen his work throughout the paintball industry. Because of this club, and Jimmy, I was introduced to PBRack and quickly began creating very crude designs for the brand while we all grew up together.But, a heartfelt story isnt without its setbacks. During my freshman year of highschool I was out on my local ski hill for a good ole day of snowboarding. Ill save you some of the details as they can be found in my ebook on my website, however, the day ended with me breaking my left arm completely in half. This caused internal bleeding in my arm which led to the removal of some dead muscle. After 2 weeks in the hospital, several surgeries, and months of physical therapy, I was on track to being able to use my left hand again. It was during this time that I was faced with the decision of whether or not I would be able to even hold a paintball gun again. Not only that but both sports were becoming so expensive that I was forced to choose between the two. Having already devoted a large portion of my life to the sport, I chose to stick with paintball.(Thats me on the far right looking like a total scrub in my first PSP tournament ever. I was still wearing a splint on my left arm at the time but would take it off during points and avoid diving on it as to not re-fracture my bones)Over the next several years I continued to do design work for various small companies within paintball as well as many local fields and teams. From tshirt designs, to jersey, to fliers, and anything in between. I just wanted to get my hands dirty and help out the sport in any way that I could. That, and to continue doing two things that I loved. I've traveled all over the United States and Canada in pursuit of the sport that I love and been through many challenges to get to each and every tournament along the way.I spent my 19th birthday in Canada with PBRack and the amazing crew at Ambush Paintball in Surrey, B.C. To this day these are some of, if not the, coolest group of people I have ever met. They are the epitome of what paintball should continue to be as a sport and I still travel to their field as much as time and money allow. This is just one of the many instances in which acquaintances became friends through this sport I love so much.I have since moved to Portland, from Milwaukee, in the continuing pursuit of a career in design and the paintball industry to do much of the same work that got me hooked on paintball when I was just a young little lad. If it werent for the internet, and more specifically PbNation, I would have never had the opportunity to thrive in this community and I would have never met some of the people I call my closest friends. Ive been playing paintball for around 11 years, designing for 7, and I have no intentions of stopping any time soon.-NickSome of the my work that I have enjoyed seeing the most:

NickHammondDesign.com

~~~ Never stop dreaming. ~~~

D E S I G N / P O D C A S T / P H O T O ~~~ Never stop dreaming. ~~~ __________________