Paintball Journal

Pacific Paintball is pleased to announce the acquisition of Paintball 2Xtremes Magazine, the preeminent paintball industry magazine. “Pacific Paintball is dedicated to building the finest media based company in paintball. We are a one stop shop for anyone who wants to market to the paintball world,” said Shawn Walker, President of Pacific Paintball. “Now with the industry’s top magazine - Paintball 2Xtremes, the greatest Paintball Tournament Series in the world - the NPPL, the highly successful regional league - the XPSL, the popular live tournament web cast - NPPL Live.tv, the upcoming paintball television series airing on Fox Sports Net beginning this October, Pacific Paintball is uniquely positioned to provide industry and non-industry advertisers with a variety of media opportunities that reach paintball’s highly sought after audience and to continue its leadership role as a key supporter of the paintball industry.”

Paintball 2Xtremes Magazine (PB2X) was established in 1996 by John and Mike Henry and later purchased by National Paintball Supply in 2000. John Amodea, who was brought in as the magazine editor in 2000, will continue to serve as editor-in-chief of PB2X. Cheryl Amaya, Publisher of PB2X, said, “We are very excited about joining the Pacific Paintball family and about their desire to continue to grow PB2X. We are also pleased that all of our current management team will be staying with the magazine. This will allow us to continue to provide our readers with the best coverage of all aspects of paintball including; scenario ball, recreational ball, tournament play, professional teams, technical reviews, market news, and local coverage.”

Mr. Walker added, “We plan to invest significant time and resources into PB2X to increase all aspects of the magazine’s offerings, which readers will see over time. The transition will be seamless, with the October issue the first under Pacific Paintball’s management.”

Pacific Paintball was formed by Pacific Merchant Capital (“PMC”), a Santa Barbara, California based investment group. The principals at PMC have owned/operated middle market radio stations as well as built several niche media companies, including the largest taxi top advertising company in the United States, which is currently an integral part of Clear Channel Communications’ outdoor division. In addition to Pacific Paintball, PMC is currently building Brite Media Group, a leading alternative media business.

This is an interesting proposition. Hopefully, this will not skew PB2X’s view towards the NPPL too terribly much. I look forward to the October issue when I can see what changes have been made through the new ownership. I must admit, however, that I already have my reservations. Change is baaad…