In this episode of catching up with Dynasty we sit down with Archie Montemayor and hear about some of his most memorable moments in paintball, what he is up to when he is off the field, and how the second NXL event of the season (the Lone Star Major) went. Archie has been a top contender for his entire paintball career, no matter where he is playing on the field it is normal to see him making huge memorable moves down the field to blow the game open. While he is most known for his role in Texas Paintball, Archie started playing professionally in 2006 with X-Factor, in 2009 he left to play with Dynasty and returned to X-Factor in 2011, then returned to Dynasty in 2022 where he has helped the team win 5 out of the last 6 major NXL tournaments! When not playing paintball and winning tournaments, Archie has multiple business ventures that keep him very busy, including Project Paintball.
What is Project Paintball?
Project Paintball is owned and operated by Archie Montemayor and Ryan Brand, the company started in early 2019 and was created from the liking of rare, unique, high quality paintball equipment. The idea behind the company is to produce products that you are not going to see every day, so everything that Project releases is very limited and will not be made again, so the likelihood of seeing someone else with the same thing as you at the field is extremely low. In addition to being rare, Archie and Ryan wanted to produce gear that could be looked at as a piece of art, something that stood out, was different than everything else being produced, and add their twist on popular products. This includes unique anodizing, custom milling, and cool designs that you won't find anywhere else.
What's The Best Way To Get Project Paintball Gear?
If you have been to the Project Paintball website, PRJCTPB.com you likely noticed that all of the items currently show as "Sold Out" this is because their products are in such high demand that they sell out within minutes and can be compared similarly to Alex Fraige and Oliver Langs Company, Hormesis Headbands. Since the demand is so high for these products there is a substantial resellers market similar to the sneaker culture where on the second hand market these products typically cost more than they did originally! The best way to get the jump on a Project PB drop is to follow them on instagram at Project__pb (thats with two underscores), this is where they post the most about upcoming product releases.
What does Project Paintball make?
Since the idea behind the company is to make unique items, the sky really is the limit as they can produce anything that relates to the sport with their twist on it. The first product that they released was the Project G CS2, which had unbelievable success and has led to additional high end markers being released including a Project TM40 which had custom milling, numerous different limited edition anodized Planet Eclipse LV2s, and according to Archie there is a custom milled LV2 in the works which is to release soon! Other products that they have released include Project Long sleeve shirts, unique barrel covers, cufflinks that double as JT Proflex plugs, casual wear, custom pod packs, custom JT goggle straps, and custom JT Pro Joggers. Every now and then we get some sneak peaks of professional players utilizing Project gear before it is released either on social media or on the pro field at events, so be sure to keep an eye out, you may get a glimpse at what's to come!
Why did Archie join Dynasty (again)?
Prior to rejoining San Diego Dynasty in 2022 Archie Montemayor was heavily considering retiring from playing professional paintball. He was looking forward to putting his focus elsewhere, but after some conversations with Alex Fraige and having some joyus feelings about playing more, he decided to leave X-Factor and rejoin Dynasty. Since rejoining the team has had unparalleled success but even with that aside, Archie is enjoying the process with the team and other players who help to inspire him, which speaks greatly to the Dynasty organization all together. Since the Covid break Dynasty has taken the gold in 8 out of 11 major events, which includes 3 World Cup victories in a row!
How does Dynasty prepare for an event?
Before the NXL Lone Star Major in Texas San Diego Dynasty practiced at GG Sports park which by Archies account is a pretty incredible field. Prior to visiting it he had not realized the magnitude of th this field, with 10 different styled fields with unique themes to them on 20+ acres of land this top notch field is one of the best in the nation. Revo and NYX joined Dynasty for a weekend long scrimmage to hone the shots and get dialed in on this layout, since the NXL switched to having only 1 weekend of practice on a field layout. All around everyone had great games, New York Xtreme had some fantastic off the break shots that presented challenges all weekend, the push back from other teams in practice definitely helps to identify mistakes on the layout prior to going into the event.
Did Dynasty win the 2023 NXL Lone Star Major?
The second Event of the NXL season kicked off with a storm which even caused the venue to evacuate, making it so some of the preliminary games were not able to be played. this left Dynasty in a precarious situation since the only game that they were able to play on Friday was to Infamous, which they lost. This game played very differently from all other games at this event, Infamous came out of the gate with aggression and off the break shots that were able to give them the body advantage early in the point. With this advantage Infamous was able to dominate the snake every point and make the most out of it. Having this weather delay gave the team time to break things down, find what they needed, and head into what had to be a great Saturday. In their second prelim game they were able to go 6-0 and have a well controlled game, the third prelim game was against Houston Heat where they also pulled out a win, although this was a much closer game. The fourth and final preliminary game was against Uprising, where they were able to pull out a 3rd win, giving them the best point spread in their bracket, but still made it in with the 3rd spot in their bracket and had to play the wild card round on sunday. It is rare that a team emerges from the wild card round to win the event since they have to play an additional match, tiring out the players, but it does happen!
Dynasty made it to the finals and was matched up against Houston Heat for the second time this event. With this layout there was not much protection in the snake, but it was a fun layout to play, some teams try on the dorito side of the field, but the snake kept things interesting. For this finals match, Archie sustained an injury in the Semi Finals match against X-factor while running to snake and his left hamstring was causing problems. Rather than trying to push himself and causing further injury Archie sat and let Mikey take his place. Mikey was eager to play and Archie had full confidence in him to play the position masterfully, and that is exactly what he did! At the end of the tournament Dynasty took the win, this was the first time that Archie has taken a win without playing the finals. When it was time to celebrate the victory the team went to Perry's Steakhouse and got a private room for a truly incredible dinner!
What is Archie Montemayors Most Memorable Moment in Paintball?
Archie has seen his fair share of incredible moments in paintball, from going pro with his friend and quickly finding success to winning series titles and MVP awards, but his favorite is actually from the 2022 season. Winning World cup in 2022 with Oliver has to be his favorite, others that have meant alot to him include the 1st event win in 2022, and in general this "moment in time of winning."