Much has been made of the demise of Smart Parts last year most of which was straight out the bullsh!t bin but people love to gossip and when the worst of these people open their mouths, the names of Billy and Adam Gardner were always gonna be high on their list for attack and ridicule.
I was lucky enough to play for their team, the All American’s team ofyesteryear and I knew these guys pretty well after staying with them at their houses when I went Stateside; the Billy and Adam I knew bore little resemblance to the pictures being painted by some people but it is the nature of such things to gain unwarranted traction and so the name of Smart Parts became synonymous with ‘fail’.
The truth of the matter is, Smart Parts got caught out just as everybody else got caught out by the downturn in worldwide paintball.
The heinous crime that Adam and Billy committed was to believe in themselves and their products when they invested over 10 million dollars to expand their production line to accommodate demand; there’s not a businessman in the US that wouldn’t have made the same decision had they enjoyed similar market penetration and product line that these guys had with Smart Parts.
When the financial sh!t hit the financial fan, Billy and Adam got caught with their Smart Pants down and had to suffer the ignominy of the bank foreclosing on their loan to SP even though SP had always kept up with their repayments to the bank.
Basically, Billy and Adam got hit with a double whammy of a marketplace decline and a bank’s somewhat heartless decision to pull the financial rug ….
When some people began dancing in the aisles at the demise of Smart Parts, I always maintained we [the industry] needed them more than they needed us …. Billy and Adam are both financially secure and then some … neither of them has to work again …. Ever.
And so what explains their return to the nut-farm we call paintball?
The brothers Gardner suffer from the same affliction as a lot of us … they have paintball coursing thru their veins just like Richmond Italia and Gino Postorivo both of whom have more money than God and had also left paintball only to return later to buckle up their straps on their white coats.
And so, what’s new?
Gog Paintball is Billy and Adam’s new baby, and the guy on the spot over here in Europe is Phil Webb, the same Phil who used to run SP’s European operations over here before.
As to what Gog Paintball is doing in terms of product lines?
Go visit Gog Paintball to see what they’ve got at www.smartpartspaintball.co.uk …..
I've had a look at this website and it's a pretty comprehensive product line for all types of baller, whether you're a pro or a newbie, there's something on there that will satisfy any baller.
It's a user-friendly kinda site where you can navigate around quite easily and allows easy access to all of their product lines.
I think Smart Parts are back in town if only to return to the paintball arena under a new name, they will still be giving you guys the same quality of product lines and of course, after-sales service.
For people who are not familiar with Smart Parts, it might be an idea to get your ass over to their website to see what they have to offer ...... it will definitely not be a waste of your time.
Billy and Adam are back, along with Phil Webb over here, all we can do is wish them luck and hopefully they’ll help give our market a necessary kick up the ass … and boy do we need it, welcome back guys!
I was lucky enough to play for their team, the All American’s team ofyesteryear and I knew these guys pretty well after staying with them at their houses when I went Stateside; the Billy and Adam I knew bore little resemblance to the pictures being painted by some people but it is the nature of such things to gain unwarranted traction and so the name of Smart Parts became synonymous with ‘fail’.
The truth of the matter is, Smart Parts got caught out just as everybody else got caught out by the downturn in worldwide paintball.
The heinous crime that Adam and Billy committed was to believe in themselves and their products when they invested over 10 million dollars to expand their production line to accommodate demand; there’s not a businessman in the US that wouldn’t have made the same decision had they enjoyed similar market penetration and product line that these guys had with Smart Parts.
When the financial sh!t hit the financial fan, Billy and Adam got caught with their Smart Pants down and had to suffer the ignominy of the bank foreclosing on their loan to SP even though SP had always kept up with their repayments to the bank.
Basically, Billy and Adam got hit with a double whammy of a marketplace decline and a bank’s somewhat heartless decision to pull the financial rug ….
When some people began dancing in the aisles at the demise of Smart Parts, I always maintained we [the industry] needed them more than they needed us …. Billy and Adam are both financially secure and then some … neither of them has to work again …. Ever.
And so what explains their return to the nut-farm we call paintball?
The brothers Gardner suffer from the same affliction as a lot of us … they have paintball coursing thru their veins just like Richmond Italia and Gino Postorivo both of whom have more money than God and had also left paintball only to return later to buckle up their straps on their white coats.
And so, what’s new?
Gog Paintball is Billy and Adam’s new baby, and the guy on the spot over here in Europe is Phil Webb, the same Phil who used to run SP’s European operations over here before.
As to what Gog Paintball is doing in terms of product lines?
Go visit Gog Paintball to see what they’ve got at www.smartpartspaintball.co.uk …..
I've had a look at this website and it's a pretty comprehensive product line for all types of baller, whether you're a pro or a newbie, there's something on there that will satisfy any baller.
It's a user-friendly kinda site where you can navigate around quite easily and allows easy access to all of their product lines.
I think Smart Parts are back in town if only to return to the paintball arena under a new name, they will still be giving you guys the same quality of product lines and of course, after-sales service.
For people who are not familiar with Smart Parts, it might be an idea to get your ass over to their website to see what they have to offer ...... it will definitely not be a waste of your time.
Billy and Adam are back, along with Phil Webb over here, all we can do is wish them luck and hopefully they’ll help give our market a necessary kick up the ass … and boy do we need it, welcome back guys!
