Graeme Bodbyl (Armagillo Paintball)

In the game of Paintball we, as players are always looking for good quality gear that will work for us. I stumbled onto Armagillo Paintball and checked out the gear. I thought to myself this is some great stuff.

I wanted to find out what people thought about the gear that Armagillo is selling. I started reading reviews and researching. I saw nothing but good things written. I had a decision to make. What do I buy? I bought a beanie, short sleeve compression shirt and a couple other items. As they came in the mail and I unboxed my new gear I quickly saw the quality of the products.

I had the chance to chat with and learn about the man behind Armagillo, Graeme Bodbyl. He is a player that was born in Johannesburg South Africa. When he left the country in 1999, Johannesburg was the crime capital of the world. Living in an middle class neighborhood his house was surrounded by an eight foot wall topped with barbed wire and electric fencing. The family also had two German Shepard dogs; they were a deterrent to those who thought about causing harm or theft to the family. In this city it was not safe to go out after dark so Graeme’s parents looking for a better and safer life for their family started looking for a better place to call home. They thought about Australia, the U.S. and Canada. Low crime rate, good job opportunity were keys in their search for a new life. After researching they settled on Canada.

Paintball in Africa was a bit different at that time. They played in the bush. Graeme tells me, you would book an event. The field owner would truck all the gear needed to have a game, air compressor, markers, and masks to the field. Once the truck was unloaded they would play their game. He tells me there were no buildings on the field it was just the bush. He loved the game and played as much as possible.

After pulling up stakes, they headed to Canada. A new start to the rest of their lives. Having just graduated high school in South Africa Graeme re-enrolled in Canadian High School in the hopes of meeting people and seeing what Canadian school was like. Things in Canada were much different for Graeme and his family compared to South Africa but he had no regrets and with new friends and learning how things worked in Canada he began his new life. He went on to study Art, Hotel Management and Advertising at Sheridan College, none were for him, bad hours and not enough reward. Eventually Graeme found himself working in sales at the families electronic security company were he began to do very well.

As a kid Graeme was always looking for ways to earn a little extra spending money, he was quite the entrepreneur. He would find things that were hot at the time then buy and sell them. He would make a few dollars and move onto the next hot item. It did not matter what items he was selling as long as he was making money to go out with friends and play some occasional paintball. Graeme had tried starting several small businesses during his first few years in Canada, but with no luck, each one failing pretty quickly. In 2012 he was reintroduced into the paintball world and played his first scenario game. He was hooked again and quickly realized he needed a better mask but as a sales person he did not want to go to work with a lump on his forehead from a paintball impact so he needed to come up with a head protection solution. After trying every head protection option available and finding none that worked the way he wanted them to, he put his imaginative mind to work and came up with the first Armagillo. It worked well and others on the field started to notice the unique gear and thought it was cool. His homemade head gear did what it’s made to do and had a different look. People began approaching him and asking about it, Graeme thought, like he used to, I could sell a couple a month and this would make my paintball expenses cheaper.

For Graeme, this was the beginning of Armagillo Paintball and he started producing the dread head gear for a few local players. Graeme, always finding ways to make his head gear better and more comfortable, while still offering good protection, searched for the absolute best materials he could find. He eventually found an American company who was able to create the advanced mesh materials Armagillo uses today. He then paired the high quality materials with the production expertise of a Canadian cut and sew company who specialized in custom fabric military and law enforcement items and the result is the Armagillo dreads we have today.

High quality and excellent customer service is what makes Armagillo a great company. Graeme has also moved Armagillo into the performance and street apparel market with the brand's cutting edge style. Not afraid of trying new things Armagillo paintball continues to grow into a respected company in the paintball community.

Armagillo is some of the best gear that I have seen out there. This is a company that is owned by a baller that has a passion for what he does, making great gear for a great game. I will continue to support paintball by buying gear made by Armagillo paintball.