Let's get the party started.

[Gunny87]

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.

I was there too @Gimpalong ! I Also played with SK at that game before joining the team.

I acquired my first airsoft gun [an HFC M92 FS Spring Pistol] at the age of 12 (back in 1999) and I played airsoft through most of high school with a group of friends which were mostly backyard games, but we started organizing larger games with 20-30 people on private property just outside of the Plymouth-Canton area. Unless there was anyone playing airsoft prior to 2001 in Plymouth-Canton, then I like to think of myself as the "John Smith" of airsoft to Plymouth-Canton.

I got out of airsoft towards the end of high school and started playing paintball since I knew more people who played that, but I always preferred airsoft over paintball. Woodsball was starting to become obsolete and replaced with speedball which made me like playing paintball even less. 

I took a break from playing both for about 4 years while I was finishing high school and starting college but decided to get back into paintball since I had a couple buddies in college who also played paintball. Right before I committed to buying a Tippmann A5 package, I decided to browse the internet and see if airsoft guns were still a thing. To my surprise I saw that there were WAY more AEGs than back in the late 90s and early 2Ks from when I was more familiar with airsoft. Instead of buying that Tippmann A5, I bought a Tokyo Marui P90 instead and the rest has been history!

I discovered MIA towards the end of 2008 after I decided to get back into airsoft instead of paintball and I first started playing with Snafu and his group of friends in Canton/Ann Arbor. Those were "backyard" games but with adults at a small built up field in Canton and then at a farm out in Ann Arbor. I also played games out at @Yankee 's private field.

Otherwise, I was also playing at more official venues like Farmington CQB when the Hellfish were hosting those games. I played at MTAC when that was around, and played outdoor airsoft at No Limits while the Hellfish were hosting games there, but also attended some Task Force Iris events at Hell's Survivors (Durbond I & II), played airsoft at Bangor and Charlotte, attended one of Sky Pilot's events at Futureball, made it out to one event at Lowell, and of course at SFOD for a few years.

My buddy "BUnit" and I met Piper at a game at SFOD and joined Immortal in 2009 and I was on Immortal until 2012 when I joined SK. But the thing that I love the most about airsoft is that it doesn't matter what "team" or "side" you are on because at the end of the day, all that matters is that you're having fun enjoying this hobby. I wouldn't do anything any differently even if I could since I met so many awesome people along the way and have so many great memories. 

Now I mostly just ref games at Action Paintball once a month with SK, and of course still attend larger national events with the community and make it out to the Bastard's events as often as I can. I have a 14 year old cousin who got into the sport and enjoys playing with me when he can and my friend who I got back into the sport with will be getting out of the Navy in less than a year and is coming back to the state since he already has a job lined up and will be getting back to playing with me.

[Yankee]

I also played games out at @Yankee 's private field.

Yeahhhhhhh buddy! Those were good times @Gunny87. I remember a certain tree...

[Frag3K]

Well I wish I could say i had a storied history with airsoft, but honestly I didn't know it really existed until last summer. Playing a lot of Battlefield 3 and 4 I had watched a lot of Levelcaps videos on YouTube.  Stumbling on his airsoft vids I decided to give it a shot and myself and a couple co-workers hit up Tango Down, used a couple of their rentals and now I'm hooked. One month after TD I had my own Combat Machine, army issued Multicam ACU, and two bottles of .20 bios and went to a Hells Survivors open game by myself. Now hardly a week goes by that I'm not buying a piece of kit or gun part. Look forward to meeting not of you guys.

[Troubadour]

I also played games out at @Yankee 's private field.

Yeahhhhhhh buddy! Those were good times @Gunny87. I remember a certain tree...

Gdeya maya shapka!

[Mosin]

Started playing back in 2004 with bb guns (the pump ones, only doing one pump, with paintball masks) at my buddies property. Thought the idea/challenge of hunting another human was the most exciting thing I could do at the age of 14, so I started looking into airsoft and paintball concurrently.

Starting dabbling around Atomix Paintball as it was a few miles from my house in Novi around 2005, ended up playing there quite regularly and volunteer reffing when they were short staffed in order for deep discounts on admission and paint when I wanted to play. Fast forward a year and playing the same exact field and the same style kinda got boring, around late 2005 started looking at an airsoft sniper rifle to get back into the tactical side of things.

In late 2005 I joined up with "Team Tehn". The leader of the team knew of a good area of woods that was in the back of an industrial park and would host rec games out there. Team Caedes was kind of our rival team, ended up meeting dudes like Airsoftdevil and Mirage, Connors, and the rest of RAGE then. I had a UTG M324 that I teflon modded and that was about it, and honestly it was one of the better little springer I've ever had. Shot true out to about 40-50 meters, which was all you needed in dense woods, and was pretty light.

After about half a year of playing there I got picked up by RAGE and started going out West for the first time to meet Canto & the Bangor scene (Timm, Deadprez, a few other dudes). I ended up leaving Team Tehn and joining RAGE on full time somewhere around 2006, and eventually starting doing spotter work for Livonia. Ended up playing games almost constantly once every other weekend out West, and when we weren't playing we were building up OpDoc's field. Eventually reached the point where it was time for me to enlist, so I signed up to go try my hand at being a SEAL with the U.S. Navy.

As it turns out, the medical center (MEPS) that processed me in lied about my eyesight in order to fulfill the contract, as SEAL is worth a bit more points to a recruiter than the average bear. Ended up going through boot camp in a SPECWAR division (Basically just meant we worked out earlier in the morning and did more PT). Once I was in Pre-BUD/s a second physical was done, only with the Dive Officer. They noted that my eyesight was way worse than what was written, and I was basically told I can walk from the Navy, or choose a new job. I remembered that OpDoc was a Corpsman and saw a bit of trigger pulling time (or so he said), so I figured I'd follow that route.

During the 5 years I was in, I think I hosted two or three charity events around Christmas leave time. Once I got out Geronimo was my first event as a free dude. We hosted a few more under the RAGE banner, but had some internal issues and majority of us thought it'd be best to formulate a new team that works off a true democracy platform. In August of 2014 we formed The Bastards, which right now is the only group in Michigan putting on MilSim events at the local level.

That's about as much as I can recall without thinking on it too hard.

[a1]

Call me a1,

I've been on the boards for about 6-7 years.  Usually make a show to  Rec games in Taylor, did a long number of games at Farmington while it was operating.  Helped out with the initial conception of the Matrix Airsoft as well with Hockeydemon.  Looking to get back into it since I have more time and money on my hands.  A quick google search of "Legitimate airsoft events in south east michigan," pretty much got me involved after discovering SEMIA.  Don't play in your backyards kids.

Also, if anyone knows who to message about transferring post count, that would be greatly appreciated! 

[luke213]

Call me a1,

I've been on the boards for about 6-7 years.  Usually make a show to  Rec games in Taylor, did a long number of games at Farmington while it was operating.  Helped out with the initial conception of the Matrix Airsoft as well with Hockeydemon.  Looking to get back into it since I have more time and money on my hands.  A quick google search of "Legitimate airsoft events in south east michigan," pretty much got me involved after discovering SEMIA.  Don't play in your backyards kids.

Also, if anyone knows who to message about transferring post count, that would be greatly appreciated! 

Done;)

Luke

[Sev]

SDM of Task Force Phalanx. Been airsofting about 7 years (seriously for about 2 now).

My first gun was a Crosman springer M4 from Walmart (come a long way since then:)).

My current primary is an A&K DMR Masada, backup is an A&K SVD springer.

Just attended White Mountain and had a BLAST!

[3-6Romeo]

Been here since 2012, got into after playing in my friends yard when I was younger. Started getting into gear more and more as the times gone by and collected a decent little comlection of stuff. Have a pretty sweet STG that's missing a gearbox, an HPC without pouches, few uniforms. Started selling a lot of stuff off because I need some money.

First event was at the Sabr field in Lowell then some Scen game shortly after at the same place. Ended up making a team, got some cool patches.
I've been through quite a few guns and some gear. Pretty hardcore chairsofter which will change soon, especially with more games being hosted somewhat close by (an hour drive is close for us). Hopefully I'll get out to a National game before I join the army next year.