sad day... doc throws in the towel

[thorn]

wow, doc, without you who will make cool stuff anymore? if u really do love the sport of paintball though, might it help to move to somewhere like houston where this is lots of pb stuff to do, lots of job ops, and lots of other custom pb makers? techna, deadlywind, etc. are in houston. or california. thats if u like pb, so if u do, u could always move somewhere else. if not, well, maybe you could hook up with a custom parts factory that makes stuff, i dont know. but i do wish you great luck in whatever u do. a chapter in this sport really is coming to a close.

[68magOwner]

....pic says it all, his stuff is crazy, i could only dream of having crazy cool skills like doc.....tom kaye, then alot of AKA staff (although they are still staying in paintball), now doc, this is bad....just bad

[Rather]

If the Doc is really serious. Props to him for his years of laboring to entertain the brutes.

Yes it is a sad day, but the way i see it, when the great minds of the past have exausted themselves and are losing thier drive, Some young mechanic/tech specialist is ready to launch off and fill in the shoes of a predecessor. We will miss doc of course, but soon enough someone WILL step up and start doing the same as he has (mabey not in alaska this time ) and create thier own works of ART. Musicians today get thier inspirations from bands of the past only to improve upon or heck mabey even surpass the artists of the last generation, why can't the same progression apply to machining?

Doc- Find something that you are happy with. You have given us many beautiful/strange/unique works that have made us feel like we're unworthy to gaze upon even a picture of your masterpieces. I myself have seen one of your 98/mag hybrid guns that was at an AO event. I felt like i should have packed my bags and left because i wasn't worth to be at the same field as that gun. FInd something that starts getting more money in your pocket so you can live an easier life with no little voice in the back of your head saying you need to finish a project for a whiney kid.

[sabrefanpc]

As much as I will miss your creations, innovations, and of course the-whiteboard, I hope you figure things out and just follow your heart.

[Maggot6]

Sense I never ordered from you, or even knew who you were I can't feel much empathy towards you, but that did make me "think" a little about jobs and responsibilities... And, I wont be so monotone from the people I buy from ;from now on. Thanks for the great service you;ve given to fellow pb'ers over the years.

[mcdkid]

like mentioned before- on the guild, he is being offered a Dream job that he doesn't want to dream about. the job is basically work at NPS in NJ. he will have access to any machine, any tool he wants, and he can move there on someone elses money. but he dosn't want to live in NJ and probably will mix AK to much, i can understand that. but every one on the guild is pushing for him to go for a week or 2, check it out, then decide.

[luke]

Doc,

Having been down that same road (for 16 years) I know how you feel. Take Tuna's advise and chill out for a while. Paintball has changed dramatically in the last 5 years, its not the same as it was before. It will make more sense once you get away and can look at it from the outside. Thats when you can make a better decision on which way to go.

Good luck

AGD

[Automaggin2]

Wow that is really sad. Back in the day when I first started paintballing about 6 or 7 years ago, my friends and I would always go to his website and drool over his work. He does some amazing work and gets very little credit for it. He is an innovator and a major force in the underground paintball scene (rec ball and scenario). What a sad day


If there ever was a paintball hall of fame, you would get my vote.

[behemoth]

Doc, Ive spent countless hours looking at your site, at your boards, at pics of the INGENIOUS artwork you have created. Ive marveled at the stuff that you can pull out your your ***.

You're a Legend, a Great, you're among the ranks of Palmer, and Kaye...

Your work was unapreciated, and thats the kind of **** thats turned this sport into a bunch of kids with cheaterboards and Halos.

I hope you find happiness, however it may come.

Best wishes
-Josh

[Commissar_Loki]

Doc,

Never asked something of you, but I do admire your work greatly. You some of the best custom work I have ever seen, and I am impressed that you held out this long to be quite honest. I just hope that whatever career you decide to take you enjoy yourself man, you deserve a long relaxing time. Good luck!


-Butch

[master_alexander]

Doc,

man i only joined about 6 months ago, and i have heard only the best of you. To tell you what i think, i am a 14 year old paintball obsessed tinkering kid who wants to be like you, but does not have the time nor equipment. I am sad that my role model might be reigning. I am mad about this and i just think you should take a different approach to this. I don't know what but don't completely quit on us...

~alex

[Kevmaster]

As the PROUD owner of a Doc Nickel custom Rainmaker (he did the thing that makes it the most custom--the ONLY upper reicever for a warp feed), this comes as a huge loss. I'm at a total loss for words. I don't know what has happened in paintball recently as I've semi-gotten out of it, but damn. This is just unacceptable. We are losing those who gave so much to make it what it WAS.

Admittedly, I bugged you about getting the work done, but never once did you disapoint me or did I get to the point where I coulnd't take it. Also, I probably never wrote my thanks, but you can ask anyone who was at the IAO in '03 and on the RMOG team, I was the happiest RM owner there and mine was one of two that worked all day.

Doc, its a sad day to see you go. I wish you the best in whatever you take on in the future. Hopefully, you'll find something you can enjoy in paintball, but if not, I offer you my best. Please feel free to ask if there's anything I can do to help you out. You've done so much for all of us, it would be the least I can do.

[Quackman71]

Doc

Well Doc if you happen to breeze by I want to thank you for the work you did on my Z-body. You fixed the theads so the power feed would stay on again...I dont even have the body anymore but you fixed it when I needed it and I had some good times on the field with it. Good Luck

[FooTemps]

Doc,

Can't believe you're leaving the game (not to mention before I had a chance to join the ranks of you and other high end machinists). I've been inspired by the level of your work, both in quality and creativity. Hell, I remember the one time I was inspired enough to design an electro frame out of a y-grip I went straight to you to see how the machining costs would pan out. (I went broke before I even could hit the machining costs though) It's always been great reading the whiteboard too. I never figured that you of all people would leave the custom paintball ring so early... We're gonna miss you

[rabidchihauhau]

You know, this is SO familiar.

I've been doing paintball 'something' for 22 years now, and I've only had two cases of paintball 'burn-out':

one was when my team (who broke their backs to get competitive) were cheated out of a finals finish by the referees at a major event. I vowed never to play again, threw my gear in the back of the deepest closet I had and didn't play for 6 months. My friends brought me back and after playing again with them for one day, I decided that I could only keep going on one condition, and that would be if I was doing something about the problem.

That decision led to the creation of the NPPL.

The second time was when it had finally become clear that the NPPL was no longer what it had been set out to be, had in fact become a tool of the promoters. And I decided that I could only continue if I did something about it.

That decision led to the creation of the USPL patented game format and PaintFest, which of course we all know was copied by NXL with me out of the picture.

This time around - no burn out, but instead, the decision to do something about it. So I created Vengeance Paintball Distributors and am doing something.

You can let the burn-out control you, or you can control it. You can let the 'job' control you, or you can control it. If I let VPD control me, I'd get no sleep, I'd have no time with the wife, etc., etc. Remaining physically, mentally and psychologically healthy is just as important a 'tool' for a business as a lathe or good paint in inventory. Regardless of what it might 'cost', folks who work for themselves have got to recognize that they MUST set aside some time for themselves, away from the job. If nothing else, it allows you to come back to the desk or the workbench with a fresh approach. (Government studies have proven a diminishment of productivity when workers spend too much time on the job.)

Its all mental, and the decision of how to handle it lies in the hands of the individual.