Being broke is a hassle. Being broke and a paintball player
is a death trap. The following is a culmination of pinching
pennies, skipping lunches and cashing in every cent to play
every Sunday. It's not easy, it's hardly ever fun, but
if you need the money week in and week out, this handy guide
is for you. (We left out the illegal activities, sorry
Scarface.)

10. No Shame- The first and foremost step in trying to make
some money is to throw caution to the wind. Forego any pride
you may have received from years of straight A's,
accomplishments and the endless one night stands that make
you feel like a man. If you're taking these steps to try
and make some money, you will need to be focused on what you
really want in life and from paintball. There is no kidding
yourself when you're stuck on a street corner in downtown
Orlando with no way to afford a flight home. Get with it
kid, it's tough and it's life.

9. Get Sponsored- Sponsorship is not an animal. It can not
be purchased, treated like a dog and expected to pay back
when times get tough. A sponsorship is a relationship
between a player and a company, not a player and money. It
must be earned, cherished and appreciated. Don't expect
the big pay off when you sign on, it takes a long time to
earn the big discounts and a ton of work. This brings us to
our next point.

8. Stop Wasting Time- The biggest problem players end up
creating for themselves is joining a team with different
outlooks and goals. If the team is not willing to learn and
improve, leave. Allowing other people's lack luster
intentions to become a burden creates a waste of both time
and money. If it's not worth it, get on with your life. Go
to the field, find a team willing to win and join up.
Practice as often as possible, score that sponsorship and
save some money.

7. Work It Off- The local field is always looking for help.
If you don't mind being shot for a few hours every
weekend, discounts and deals will work their way into your
everyday life. By utilizing those discounts and selling
gear, you could in fact make more money than you save,
allowing for a double plus good situation to present itself.
Just make sure your boss never finds out, or your ass is in
the can.

6. Are You Going To Eat That?- Bag your lunches. Simple
economics will prove that for the price you pay at
McDonald's or at the lunch line at school, you can easily
fit double into a bagged lunch. Bonus points if you are
somehow able to bag a lunch and receive lunch money from
daddy Warbucks. Good luck not getting caught.

5. Sell It All!- Ebay was created for a reason: to dump all
your worthless crap onto somebody else for hard cash. If you
aren't using it, don't care about it or haven't even
seen it in years, it might be time to sell that guitar, air
soft gun, Sega Genesis or even your car. C'mon! How often
do you really drive? Well, maybe not the car, but for the
smaller stuff, the useless can be turned into something fun.
Be concerned that you will eventually run out of crap to
sell and this technique is only workable for a short period
of time.

4. Get Creative- The mind is a terrible thing to waste, and
you don't have to. If you have a skill, trade or talent,
use it to your advantage. People are willing to pay
thousands to see something no one else is able to do (or is
willing to do). Song writer's, artists and poets can make
a pretty penny if they spend the time and effort on their
work.

3. Become A Driver- If you've got a license and have a
steady supply of underage kids in your area, hosting a group
of snot nosed high schoolers isn't a terrible idea.
Teenagers hate being seen with their parents, it's a fact.
They would rather ride with a complete stranger than be seen
with their own blood. While heartbreaking to the parents,
this allows for a huge advantage to the slick haired, wild
and crazy paintball player from down the street. You know,
the one that parties in his attic. Charge enough for gas and
a slight overhead and you've got yourself a homemade part
time job. Just watch out for those kids pushing blow, your
Dodge Caravan is no Millennium Falcon, so don't push the
law, they'll catch your ass.

2. Become A Mercenary- This one is a bit trickier but
actually works. First, you'll need skill. Practice as much
as possible, shoot everybody you know, play every position,
get some game. Second, make sure everyone knows your name,
that you're always around and always on the up and up.
Lastly, show up, gear in tow, to every local tournament you
can make it to. This is where the magic happens. By the laws
of paintball, there will always be one player missing from a
team. Always, always, now and forever. Most local teams
don't have the dedication to break out of local
tournaments. There will always be one player that wants to
celebrate the next tourny the night before and get plastered
out of their mind. His mistake will make you money. Find the
team, offer your services. If you've done everything
correctly, demand for payment. Nine times out of ten they
will be able to scour up enough money to make it worth your
while and you'll get a free day of play out of it.
Everything has already been paid for, it's just about
timing.

1. Are You Kidding??!!- What is the number one way you can
do to break even and above in paintball?  Get a real job.
Work 40 hours a week or more. Playing paintball is a
financial masochism. It is an ongoing dept that extends
farther than you ever want it to. Until you can make it onto
a fully sponsored team, win the lottery or find out you had
a rich uncle that just died, paintball will eventually eat
all of your money. In fact, if you've tried the above and
still can't walk away from paintball, but have no money to
speak of, you'll need a job, without question. If it
really isn't worth it, quit or play on the off chance on a
sunny day. If you're as serious about paintball as you
claim, stop taking the easy way out by half assing it
through life. The hassle will be worth it in the end.

However, know that you will be fired time and time again.
You will get bitched at. The Taco Bell manager will make you
work till 2 A.M., you'll question your values and you'll
wonder if it really is worth it to play paintball. You will
miss your friends and even worse, break hearts left and
right. Money will become a foreign tongue to you. People
will never understand, mistrust you and worse, criticize you
in front of the class because they think you're out in the
woods every weekend.

It isn't about the haters, who you're trying to get back
at, or trying to prove someone wrong, it's about what you
want to happen. Chase after it and run it till you die.
Drive is #1, and without it, you will go nowhere.

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