Happy Monday Buffalo Paintball Fans!!! (And a Happy Thanksgiving to those North of the border). We are excited to bring you this weeks Spotlight, Xavier Nolan of Slaughterhouse Paintball.
Xavier is born and raised, hometown proud, Wheeling West Virgina! He is more than just paintball player, in fact, he's started a small paintball field/store (Slaughterhouse Paintball) as well as working at a family owned Meat Processing shop. On top of a full time job and his business he also does a little bit of Graphic Design work on the side helping players with logos and other designs. Xavier also tries to upload videos from games to his Youtube channel in hopes of bringing others to the game. He likes to think of himself as a Jack-of-all-Trades.
Xavier started playing about 8 years ago after a trip down a youtube rabbit hole that started with a viral video of Novritsch playing Airsoft, which lead to Hidden Hedgehog and boom he was hooked! X knew he had to try it but the closest field was about an hour away and no one around him was interested; his youtube journey continued and he taught himself how to play. When he turned 19 there was no holding him back, he hit the road for his first day at a field and he says "I've loved it ever since!"
Now 8 years after watching those youtube videos and driving an hour each way to play we asked Xavier about his local/home field situation. His favorite is obviously his own, Slaughterhouse Paintball, even if he spends most of the time there working. He does still get to play the odd match when some of his closest friends stop in. He still loves to travel and play when he can, in fact, he has a scratch off map the US and he scratches them off as he plays them. His favorite to visit is by far EMR and he thinks of it as a home away from home field.
Like so many that we sit down with Xavier has a hard time picking out one favorite thing about the sport. He especially enjoys the physicality of the sport, meeting such awesome people that he would not have otherwise met, and he says "it might sound odd but getting to let out a different part of your persona on the field that you dont get to in everyday life."; we get it sometimes you really get to let loose on the field once that first shot is fired. Xavier enjoys a variety of play styles and runs both speedball and magfed set ups; everything from Axes, to Sar12s, to pistols and even slingshots. His current favorite however is the PE EMF100 for MFOGs and probably the Axe Pro for open class, and tourneys!
Xavier says he'll never forget when he first started playing, his first bigger game at Command Decisions with PBS during "Con Thien." when he got to not only ride in a "Tank" for the first time but jump out of it in the middle of an engagement into Rex and hold an objective. "Still pretty epic to me to this day lol". This is the kind of memory he tries to create at Slaughterhouse PB. He has since expanded on his personal experiences driving 23 hrs, one way, from Wheeling WV to Florida for Dreaded Legends 3. It was his first CPX event and of course they stayed after and enjoyed the beaches in Florida.
To the new players, Xavier says "Don't get discouraged no matter what. If you like it or think it's cool, do it. Also, dont be afraid to get hit. It's part of the game and you'll get used to it. Don’t stay stagnant. Keep moving, in and out of game!"
On a personal note Xavier wanted to add this to his spotlight and we couldn't be happier to oblige him. Paintball and sports as a whole have such an impressive impact on some peoples lives. "Paintball has had a huge impact on my life for the better. I cant explain it but it's a part of me that I could never shake no matter how hard I try. I don't just stick to one style of play, I enjoy every genre of the sport. I'm grateful to everyone that I've met, played with/against, or even spoken to even if we dont see eye to eye. This sport has helped me grow more in life than anything ever has and I cant even begin to explain how. To many others it might just be a hobby or something to do on the weekends and that's okay, but to me it's much more than that!"
Here at Buffalo Paintball we could not agree more; to us, Paintball is a hobby, a game, a sport, a business, a passion, a love and at the same time it's intangible and beyond description.
~Eli Gallibois - PFOSA Founder | Buffalo Paintball