There are many paintball companies out there with interesting tales and great products, but at Social Paintball we don’t always get to interview a great company, and a great person, with great products. We recently got to talk with Nathalie Whise of Shadow Paintball who was kind enough to conduct this interview all the way from Europe. Their custom crafted, yet affordable, barrel line will be hitting the United States markets in full force and we got a chance to get to know her and the company.
Hi Nathalie, can you tell us a little about yourself, where you are from, where you are living now, and what you do for a living?
Let’s start from the difficult questions, then? *laughs* You can easily say I’m a citizen of a large number of European cultures, although most of my time I spend living in Poland. Creating the company and the brand is a very time and effort-consuming task, that’s why I give all my time and effort to running Shadow.
How long have you been around paintball?
The first time I tried paintball I was a teenager, and I have to admit that the large number of welts and bruises scared me a bit. I remember as though it was yesterday when I went to my dad’s company with my first marker – I was mesmerized. The Chief technician asked: “How much did you pay for it?” I can’t remember the amount, but I’m sure it was a lot of money. The Chief started laughing at me, and it was at that moment I thought to myself… “I’m gonna try and do something like this myself.”
Do you have any other hobbies besides Paintball?
Of course I do, but I don’t have time for them! For many years I volunteered for a charity looking after children from difficult families. I’ve always had a soft-spot for kids, but sadly I don’t have any of my own yet. I also love fast cars! It’s actually quite useful for the company, because traveling from country to country stops being a chore, it becomes a pleasure.
Can you tell us a little bit about the founding of Shadow Paintball?
The thought first came when I had my first marker, as I mentioned before. After that, I fell in love with a paintballer and things just started coming together. It was like I was joining together the family business and interests with a new passion which came alive in me. One night I had a serious and long talk with my dad about what I wanted to do in the future, and that is how Shadow was born.
Why did you choose, or what is the story behind the name, Shadow Paintball?
Why Shadow? That’s a very good question. I simply like it, but if you want another reason, feel free to try and come up with one. 😉
Can you tell us a little about your product line?
From the very start the idea of Shadow was to make great products out of the highest-quality material, carefully and precisely made, but so that anyone could afford it. Only later did we start thinking of making products that a paintballer could make unique. And that is when we started making custom barrels. The custom barrel is the kind of product that you make only one of, whilst thinking about the person that it will be going to. It gives us the ability to put our hearts and souls into the product. It means that our work is given a purpose, especially afterwards when we get thank you emails from happy customers. That is when I feel satisfaction from my work.
Which product that you make do you think you share a connection with or like the most and why?
That kind of product has yet to arrive on the market.
What puts you apart from the competition?
The fact the owner is a woman! *laughs* But in all seriousness, that is the kind of question that our customers should be answering, not us. Try it and you’ll find out for yourself. I can only assure you that our products are 100% made in Europe.
What goals do you guys have for the next few years?
I’ll admit, it’s a lot like a kaleidoscope with us, and we have plenty of ideas. Unfortunately there’s only 24 hours in a day and it limits us a lot. But I promise you this – We’ll surprise you again in the future.
Is there anything you want the public to watch out for in the near future?
Yes there is. But we’ll talk about that in the near future…
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We wish Nathalie and Shadow the best of luck and hope that everything goes smoothly as they head across the Atlantic to deliver top quality products.
