Editing John Amodea

'''John Amodea''' is an American [[paintball]] journalist, photographer, publisher, author and documentary filmmaker. Active in paintball since 1985, he is known for his involvement in several specialist magazines, including ''[[Paintball Consumer Reports International]]'' (PCRI), ''[[Paintball 2Xtremes]]'', ''PaintballX3'' and ''[[Paintball.Media]]''.[1][2]

Amodea is also the director of ''[[The Complete History of Paintball]]'' (2020), a documentary examining the origins and development of the sport.[3]

== Early involvement in paintball ==

Amodea first played paintball in 1985 after visiting [[Skirmish USA]] in Pennsylvania during a camping trip.

In an August 2025 interview with ''Paintball Dirt'', he recalled regularly travelling from New York City to Pennsylvania to play recreational paintball.[1]

In 1989, Amodea and a business partner opened a commercial paintball field in Virginia.

According to Amodea, difficulties evaluating equipment using the information available in existing paintball magazines encouraged him to consider establishing an independent consumer-oriented publication.[1]

He also participated in tournament paintball, including playing for the American professional team [[Bad Company (American paintball team)|Bad Company]]. His publisher biography identifies involvement in early [[National Professional Paintball League]] (NPPL) tournament promotion and participation in the development of ASTM paintball safety standards.[4]

== Paintball publishing ==

=== Paintball Consumer Reports International ===

In 1991, Amodea began preparing a new magazine intended to provide independent equipment reviews and consumer information.

The first issue of ''Paintball Consumer Reports International'' (PCRI) was published in March 1992.[1]

The magazine focused on evaluating paintball markers, protective equipment and accessories, alongside tournament reporting and other industry coverage.

PCRI subsequently adopted the expanded name ''Paintball Competitions and Ratings International'' while retaining its initials.[5]

The publication continued through the 1990s and established Amodea as a specialist paintball journalist and editor.

=== Paintball 2Xtremes ===

Amodea subsequently became editor of ''[[Paintball 2Xtremes]]'', a major American paintball magazine.

The publication was acquired by [[National Paintball Supply]] in April 2000, after which it continued under new ownership.[5]

Amodea's editorial work included tournament coverage, equipment reviews, interviews and historical features.

The June 2005 issue included ''81 Moments That Shaped Paintball'', a historical retrospective documenting developments in the sport from its origins through the early 2000s.[5]

=== PaintballX3 ===

In February 2009, Amodea launched ''PaintballX3'', a free digital paintball magazine.

The first issue contained 126 pages covering professional tournaments, scenario paintball, equipment reviews, interviews and photography.

The digital format incorporated interactive pages, advertising links and video content.

A contemporary interview published by Social Paintball on 13 February 2009 identified Amodea as the editor of the newly launched publication.[6]

''PaintballX3'' continued publishing until 2014, according to Amodea's retrospective account of his editorial career.[2]

=== Paintball.Media ===

Amodea subsequently established ''[[Paintball.Media]]'', continuing his work in paintball journalism and photography.

The publication launched a new digital magazine in April 2015, featuring tournament reports, scenario coverage, equipment reviews and interviews.[7]

In his editorial for the first issue, dated May 2015, Amodea described a launch encompassing the magazine, a new website and Paintball.Media's first [[Millennium Series]] webcast in France. The website also provided archived tournament broadcasts, videos, news and equipment reviews.[11]

He identified webcast presenters and analysts including [[Max Lundqvist]], [[Chris LaSoya]] and [[Steve Rabackoff]], alongside writers and photographers including Erik Chateau, [[Gary Baum]], Alicia Bane and [[Josh Silverman]].[11]

The publication has subsequently operated in digital and print formats.

Amodea serves as editor and media director, coordinating contributions from writers, photographers and other industry specialists.[4]

In April 2020, as the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] disrupted paintball events, Amodea announced plans to continue publishing monthly while placing greater emphasis on equipment reviews, interviews, research and historical articles until tournament and scenario coverage could resume.[12]

== Technical publications ==

In addition to magazine journalism, Amodea authored a series of paintball equipment manuals published under the ''Survival Guide'' name.

The guides covered equipment operation, maintenance, upgrades and technical information.

The World Paintball Library's 2011 collector's catalogue documents several titles, including:[8]

* ''The Trracer Survival Guide'' (1996)
* ''The 68 Carbine Survival Guide'' (1996)
* ''The High Pressure Survival Guide'' (1996)
* ''The Tournament Survival Guide'' (1997)
* ''The Raptor Survival Guide'' (1997)
* ''The Angel Survival Guide'' (1998)
* ''The Autococker Upgrade Survival Guide'' (1998)
* ''The Automag Upgrade Survival Guide'' (1998)
* ''The Spyder Upgrade Survival Guide'' (1998)
* ''The Shocker Survival Guide'' (2000)

His publisher biography states that the ''Survival Guide'' series sold more than 100,000 copies.[4]

== Photography and historical research ==

Amodea has photographed tournament and recreational paintball since the late 1980s.

His photography has documented professional teams, tournament formats, players, equipment and events across several decades.

He has also maintained an extensive collection of historical paintball publications, photographs, videos, tournament records and other archival materials.

In February 2019, Amodea published an account of his historical research for ''The Complete History of Paintball''.

During a research visit to New Hampshire, he met former NPPL secretary and scorekeeper [[Steve Davidson]], who provided access to tournament records, score sheets and catalogues from the late 1980s and early 1990s.[9]

Amodea also visited the site of the first recorded multiplayer paintball game in Henniker, New Hampshire.

His historical research has subsequently supported further articles and documentary productions examining the development of paintball.

== Documentary filmmaking ==

=== The Complete History of Paintball ===

Amodea directed ''[[The Complete History of Paintball]]'', a documentary released for streaming on 21 April 2020.

The film was developed over approximately two years, incorporating historical interviews, archival footage, photographs and documents.[3][9]

The 171-minute documentary examines the sport's origins, equipment development, commercial playing fields, tournament competition, scenario games and international expansion.

An extended six-hour director's cut was also produced.[3]

=== Other documentaries ===

Through Paintball.Media and its associated film archive, Amodea has continued producing and distributing paintball documentaries.

The [[PaintballFilms.com]] catalogue includes:

* ''These Kids Can Ball''
* ''If Only You Knew: Simon Says, The Story of Simon Stevens''
* ''If Only You Knew: Jerry's World, The Story of Jerry Braun''
* ''Jeremy Salm/Avalanche Sniper Incident''
* ''The Complete History of Paintball''

The platform also includes the ''Iconic Paintball Teams'' documentary series, featuring historical profiles of teams including [[Chicago Aftershock]], the Florida Annihilators and Constant Pursuit.[10]

== See also ==

* [[Paintball.Media]]
* [[Paintball 2Xtremes]]
* [[Paintball Consumer Reports International]]
* [[The Complete History of Paintball]]
* [[Paintball film]]
* [[Paintball media]]

== References ==

# [https://paintballdirt.substack.com/p/weekly-newsletter-ft-john-amodea Brandon Olson, "Weekly Newsletter ft. John Amodea of Paintball.Media Magazine", Paintball Dirt, 25 August 2025. Interview covering Amodea's early paintball involvement and publishing career.]
# [https://viewer.joomag.com/paintball-media-magazine-february-2026/0169920001770776292/p20 John Amodea, "How We Got Here", Paintball.Media Magazine, February 2026, p. 20. Retrospective account of his editorial career.]
# [https://paintball.media/the-complete-history-of-paintball-stream-it-now/ John Amodea, "The Complete History of Paintball – Stream It Now", Paintball.Media, 21 April 2020.]
# [https://viewer.joomag.com/paintball-media-magazine-august-2025/0346860001754877182/p174 Paintball.Media Magazine, August 2025, p. 174. John Amodea editorial biography.]
# [https://www.automags.org/forums/forum/automag-owners-forums/paintball-talk/122630-history-of-paintball Paintball 2Xtremes, "81 Moments That Shaped Paintball", June 2005. Historical retrospective reproduced on Automags.org.]
# [https://www.socialpaintball.com/2009/02/13/john-amodea-paintball-x3-magazine-at-the-paintball-extravaganza-2009/ Social Paintball, "John Amodea, Paintball X3 Magazine at the Paintball Extravaganza 2009", 13 February 2009.]
# [https://paintball.media/our-new-magazine/ John Amodea, "Our New Magazine – Read It Free!", Paintball.Media, 27 April 2015.]
# [https://worldpaintballlibrary.com/COMPLETE%20WHOLE%20Revised%20Guide%20DEC%208%202011%20Latest.pdf World Paintball Library, revised collector's guide, 8 December 2011. Catalogue of John Amodea's Survival Guide publications.]
# [https://paintball.media/behind-the-scenes-of-the-complete-history-of-paintball-full-length-feature-documentary/ John Amodea, "Behind The Scenes Of The Complete History Of Paintball Full Length Feature Documentary", Paintball.Media, 27 February 2019.]
# [https://www.paintballfilms.com/ PaintballFilms.com, official film catalogue, original documentaries, team histories and archival interviews.]
# [https://viewer.joomag.com/paintball-magazine-premier-issue-may-2015/0863549001429972777/p6 John Amodea, "From the Editor", Paintball Media, May 2015, p. 6.]
# [https://viewer.joomag.com/paintball-magazine-april-2020-issue/0908903001585575537/p8 John Amodea, "From the Editor", Paintball Media, April 2020, p. 8.]

== External links ==

* [https://paintball.media/ Paintball.Media]
* [https://www.paintballfilms.com/ PaintballFilms.com]
* [https://paintball.media/author/johnamodea/ John Amodea's articles at Paintball.Media]
* [https://paintballdirt.substack.com/p/weekly-newsletter-ft-john-amodea John Amodea interview at Paintball Dirt]

[[Category:Paintball media]]
[[Category:Paintball industry]]
[[Category:Paintball players]]