Let's get the party started.

[MisterMiles]

Share a quick one-liner or short historical anecdote of your Michigan airsoft experience. Go. I will excuse myself from the beginning the exercise.

[Canto]

Herro thar everyone! Canto here! I've been a member of Michigan Airsoft since I started playing back in 2004 (doesn't seem like it's been that long). I'm out on the Southwest side of Michigan (Kalamazoo area).

I've been running a stock Echo 1 (lame as that sounds) AKS-74U AEG for years now; if it aint broke don't fix it. I use an OD green Chi-Com for gear and camouflage wise I've collected a little of everything over the years.

I like the idea of an introductory post for everyone, not a lot of people know where everyone came from, where they are at, or what everyone runs or uses...

[Combat Junkies Airsoft]

"Sometimes I wonder if there is more to life then being really, really,  ridiculously good looking." -zoolander

As far as history goes I started in this sport in 2002 back in the days of the big three. Tokyo Marui, Classic army and I.C.S. I joined the forum in 2006 and CJA was formed in 2011. If I wanted to I good write a book on all of the guns and gear I've owned and all of the memories.

[Ajax]

Well I'm a relatively new member of the airsoft community, but I've been playing airsoft for around 5 years. I've been playing seriously for about a year now. I'm the CO of the recently formed Task Force Phalnax. We aren't that established yet but we're working on it. The only three guns I own that are even worth mentioning are my G&G CM16 raider, my G&P M4, and my KJW P226.

I look forward to playing more with you guys!

[zorak]

I joined MIA in late 2003 after Munin put me in touch with the rest of Geist Kompanie, started playing in 2004, and got really into it. As GK slowly fell apart, and other interests grew more significant in my life, I stopped playing so much. Now I play occasionally at best. An increasing portion of the community is younger than my daughter is. My favorite weapons are the ARES/STAR L85 and the Systema PTW.

[Puma1]

I Joined the airsoft community (officially) in 2013 (Jan 30, 2013 at 9:11pm, to be exact).
I had been lurking on the forum since late 2012 and had bought myself a gun in late 2012.

Since then I've probably gone through 12 to 13 guns and a few pistols.  My first real event was a Rec. Game at No Limits where my Mb06 decided to start slam firing right at the beginning of the first round.
I ended up using a Crossman Pulse Mp5 and a plastic shotgun that got lent to me.  Somehow or other I still had fun at that event. My favorite event so far has definitely been Grayling, all politics aside.  While I won't be returning this year for BS it was a really cool atmosphere to be playing in.

That's pretty much everything for me.

[Prophet]

I'm a fairly new member of the MiA community but I've been playing airsoft for about 5 years, around 3 of which I would be despised if I was around you guys. This community helped me out of the stigmas of kids playing airsoft. The usual stuff, basing firearms knowledge off Call of Duty, tac vest full of high caps, running around someone's yard spraying full auto, not calling hits...I could go on. Now I've been exposed to what airsoft is supposed to be and I'll be attending as many events as I can before college.

[Dingo™]

I joined MiA the summer of 2006. My very first 'MiA' game was Canto's Op Starlight in Bangor. As we all know, Bangor in the spring time can be quite overwhelming to a rookie, but that was an epic day complete with M80s being thrown across the field that night. I spent part of that day with Mirage and Blindshot, eventual creators of Team RAGE. The following year my buddies and I met Nexus and the Team Black Talon crew, and after talking quite a bit, we joined their team. Eventually half of us broke off and created our current team, Palisade.

[luke213]

Well I'm wordy but I'll try and keep this short. I started researching then playing in 2003 came to MIA and a bunch of places that are gone now like Airsoft Players, etc. Picked up a Tokyo Marui M16A2 as my first airsoft gun, then shortly after a KWA Glock 19 and it spiraled from there;) I've kept just about all of the guns I've bought over the years, other than a few I bought for parts or repaired and sold. But all but a handful are still in my collection today 12+ years later. Living in the UP there was little to no airsoft anywhere around here, and being an older guy even then I was 20(compared to some people who started much younger). I started organizing games and buying more guns to lend out to get more players. I also started going to allot of the events downstate when time and money allowed. So I played with quite a few of the guys and teams that are no more back in those days.

Then I got roped into helping a buddy of mine with his stepson's birthday party after not playing for I'm not sure how long over 6 years under 10. And well here I am, back addicted to airsoft and playing as often as I can. Organizing games up here again, playing with a group that has sprung up semi local to me with a fair sized player base. And allot slower than 10 years ago even though I no longer smoke(guys who remember me from games I always had a cigarette hanging from my mouth while playing). So I'm enjoying it again and trying my best to not get burnt out organizing games, and playing other people's games to keep interested.

Luke

[Legionnaire]

Joined MIA in 2009. In 2010 I started posting quick airsoft videos to my Youtube channel: Cravona, as just something fun to do and to feed my enjoyment of making videos. After garnering some views and subscribers I decided to focus more on the Youtube channel and currently now have over 1,500 subscribers. The channel has honestly been the driving factor behind keeping me into airsoft. I also love buying and selling guns/gear.

My first Milsim was OP: High Value I or II (can't remember) at FAH's field. Since then I've attended some other MIA milsims, rec games, and some larger national games.

[kjones734]

Started playing in 2005, I started with backyard games with plastic gearbox guns until someone showed up with a TM ak47 and opened my eyes. Now I mostly lurk the local rec. games and play with I get some free time. Started hosting at matrix about 2 years ago, thats about it.

[Coldwave]

Started playing backyard airsoft around 10 years ago with springer pistols and shottys. From there I bought an lpeg then an aeg and kept going up from there. Took my kit from surplus OD trousers and an old school lbv to RS gear and HPA.
I joined MiA back in '09 and floated from the black clovers, to Immortal for a few years and finally settled with the A-Team. It's been a hell of a ride, met a lot of cool dudes along the way and owned way to many replicas.

[Timm]

Got my first springer at 11 (HFC SIG P228). Lurked MiA and saved up a couple years, then joined MiA and  bought a TM Ak47 at 13. Came to my first game at bangor that same year, with Canto's approval. (Flashfire 1 anybody?)

Fast forward 10 years and prolly ~100 replicas later I've settled at 15 (still have that TM), used to moderate the commerce section (RIP?) and am still enjoying the hobby. Can't beat the MiA community.

Thats me.

[luke213]

Hey Timm nope on the Moderator status, I just haven't gotten all the guys that did individual boards back into their roles yet. And any other guys reading this if you had mod status just shoot me a PM and what boards you were doing and I'll make it happen for ya.

Luke

[Gimpalong]

I was introduced to airsoft in the summer of 2006 by a friend who took me out to the Weapons of Mass Instruction (WMI) retail store in Lowell, MI. I'd played paintball since 1996, but wasn't a huge fan of the shift towards speedball and was looking for something new. I played my first game at the WMI field using a rental Classic Army M4A1 and was hooked. My first non-recreational game was Operation Tequila Sunrise in Kalamazoo. By that time I'd bought my first gun, a CA G36K. Between 2006 and 2011 I played semi-regularly, turning up at games all over the state from Bangor to SFOD and Charlotte to Futureball and Hell Survivors. I first ran into this crazy, bearded, hawaiian shirt wearing guy named Pagan at Operation Island Thunder in 2011. By 2012 I'd started to team up with Relarz and the RAGE guys or Pagan and the rest of the Suicide Kings whenever I ran into them at games. Officially became a Suicide King at the conclusion of Operation Northern Light III at the Trenton Steel Mill. In 2013 and 2014 I tried to branch out and hit some larger events such as the Northern Light IV, Lightning Strike IV and Blacksheep at Grayling. I've always tried to attend the Firestorm series of events at Bangor.

I've met a ton of great folks through MiA and especially since we've started to do more with social media and FB over the last 2 or 3 years I've gotten to put a lot of names to a lot of faces.