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We have seen so many of their videos that it feels as if we have known them for years, as if we were talking to them when we watch their videos in our house, on public transport or in our spare time. But if you had the chance to talk to them directly, what would you ask them? These are our questions.

CAM-MAN

«How is it going airsofters?» From the beginning, we discovered about what CamMan cares when uploading content to his channel: players. And when he records to distract people, to inform them, to make them enjoy more of this hobby, that is reflected in the response of subscribers.

The videos about fails and funny moments are the more liked ones on your channel. Why do you think it is? Do we prefer to laugh a while with the airsoft to see a pro game?

Everybody loves a laugh, Airsofters are no different. I’m actually a little embarrassed by that video now. The memes are so old. Although, thankfully it has introduced lots of Airsofters to my channel, that have stayed around for the more serious videos. 

Being a youtuber must generate very interesting situations when you play. What is going on? Do people want to escape your target to avoid being eliminated or do they prefer to be in your line of sight to appear in your videos?

I try to keep a low profile at games, as I don’t really want to be an “Airsoft Celebrity”. So people don’t tend to know it’s ‘Airsoft CamMan’ that’s shooting at them. So I’ve never had people deliberately wanting to get shot by me. Although I do occasionally get people on my team follow me to get into frame. 

We are sure that many readers are wondering how many cameras you wear on you during each game to film your actions from so many different angles. Tell us a little about the equipment you wear on you to play!

The most cameras I use at any one time is 4. HeadCam, SelfieCam, ScopeCam and recently I’ve been using a 360° camera to get some amazing and unique angles. Myself & Kicking Mustang were the first to adopt these amazing cameras into our Airsoft Youtube Videos.

For my headcam, I’m now using a GoPro 7 Black. This camera allows me to film in 4k 60fps with amazing gimbal like stabilization. My preferred ScopeCam and SelfieCams are the Runcam 2, and the 360° camera I’m using is the Insta360. 

It’s tough to get memory cards ready and batteries charged before a game. After a game I can have 300gb of footage to deal with.

It would not be the first case of a YouTube channel that ends up becoming a TV series. Could we see on TV in a future upcoming series on airsoft with videos like yours?

I’m not sure about that. Airsoft will always have a niche audience due to the general public’s view on firearms. Therefore, I think we are bound to the internet. I do hope one day, another platform such as Twitch, Vimeo or similar may attract Airsoft Content Creators like myself, so we have other options to share our content other than Youtube.

We have one last question. If you could have a "guest" in your next video, who would you like to see? (Let your imagination work, bet on originality! Novritsch, Trump…)

Airsoft related, I’d have to say BrainExploder. I love his content, and he has inspired me to do what I do. It’d be a pleasure to meet and play alongside of him. Outside of Airsoft it’d have to be John Wick. We could play CQB and kick some ass!

An Airsoft channel that tries to stand out from the rest. Sniping, CQB, Speedsoft, Milsim, 360 video gameplay and reviews. You'll find it all on my channel. Head over to youtube.com/airsoftcamman.

ANTRE DU DINGO DINGCHAVEZ

"Hello everyone and welcome to the den", Tom Clancy’s main character may not be so sociable but there is no doubt, Ding Chavez welcomes us with open arms in each of his videos to teach us new and very interesting things.

You have been sharing your knowledge for over 6 years through your YouTube channel. Are the reasons why you are doing it today the same as when you started?

Yes and no! I started uploading airsoft videos on YouTube to illustrate my written reviews with shooting tests. Later, I tried to do unboxings and then moved to the current format of «l'Antre» (the Den). That is, a presentation video when I receive the replica gun, the written review in which I dismantled everything and finally the shooting test video.

The main idea remains the unchanged: give players an idea of the material in which they want to invest a lot of money by answering basic questions: How does it shoot? Are the materials solid? Will it be necessary to extend the budget for upgrades? Etc.

What has changed is that now I take advantage of some collaborations that allow me to access materials that were financially out of my reach before.  This sometimes compensates the anecdotal income I get from YouTube. 

Your channel is highly valued according to the reviews. What is the most important thing when it comes to recording a review? 

Taking in the environment. Acting natural. If you make a video without really wanting to do it, just like "I have to do this because I have not posted anything for a long time", your audience will notice it, and you will notice it when editing the video. The key word is pleasure. The pleasure of filming, the pleasure of discovering new material, the pleasure of sharing though sometimes receiving criticism afterwards.

My videos are pure selfishness since they allow me to get my hands on products that I would have never bought, and they satisfy my desire for discovery. Whatever the content of the package I receive, I always enjoy unboxing it.

Ok, here is a difficult question, but one we must make: We saw that you have already tried the famous and controversial 40 Mike grenade, revolutionary or pure hype? Tell us!

Controversial because people comment without having tried the grenade, but the initial advertising carried out by Airsoft Innovations has been very awkward and based on "pain", so I can understand the fear. It does not revolutionise the game but it makes the most efficient 40 mm grenades in my opinion, there is a true medium and long impact distance range that can allow clearing an entire area.

I had my gas VOG-25 gathering dust but now I want to use the 40 Mike in play, especially outdoors. As long as the safety rules are respected, it remains an airsoft accessory just like a replica or a pyrotechnic grenade. We tend to criticise the material when the real problem is the use that players make of it. The easy solution is to ban the material instead of punishing the idiots...

We have seen your success on YouTube, what would you tell someone who would like to start a project like yours?

I would tell them to enjoy but without focusing on the number of views or subscriptions. YouTube is saturated, the channels that stand out are sponsored, generally speaking, people do not work alone, they do it full time and almost always with a background in the audiovisual industry.

We, the self-taught, do not have such high level. If you want to make a living on YouTube, you have to clearly find another subject better than airsoft... Then there is the "easy" solution for videos under 10 minutes, with a title and an exciting thumbnail and usually not related to the the subject. They get a lot of views and subscribers but little time viewed, people quickly realize that they have been deceived.

Therefore, indexing goes up a little faster, while you do not attract interesting people to your channel... It all depends on the personal goals, I prefer to have fewer but true subscribers and who are old enough to practice with the replicas I present rather than looking for school kids to get new subscriptions... 

We have one last question. If you could have a guest in your next video, who would it be?

Ok this is going to take a while!

Actually, I would like to record a video again with Khan Seb, we had a great time the first time around and he loved discovering new material. I also like the way Bruce thinks, from the German channel BB2K airsoft, and in another style (not at all of my generation!) Nabil "Aïekillu" Larech, who speaks to a younger audience but is always very enthusiastic. 

These are people who enjoy making videos and you can tell on the screen, they have a broad grin. Well, Nabil is a true youtuber who makes a living with his work, and that makes a difference :-) 

Anyway, thanks for showing so much interest towards my humble collaboration in the world of airsoft, and do not forget the main thing: it is just a hobby, play seriously without taking it too seriously!

BATTLE AIRSOFT ESPAÑA

"Maybe you should pull the F***ing trigger" is the welcome message in the videos of BATTLE AIRSOFT Spain. A great intro to make a statement on why are we here, and leave the nonsense at the door.

The fact that there is two of you in the channel is to have to record half, or is it to have twice as many videos? On a serious note, what does each of you contribute to BAE? Because you have two very different styles.

Well since Buddy and I (Harrods) started at the same time, our game modes and our load out were very similar, if not identical. But little by little each one of us took what we liked the most in this world, equipment, replicas, preferences of fields, etc. 

Buddy, has a more leisurely way of playing, he plays in different roles, select, sniper, but little by little he is starting to like the rifle. I am the other side of the coin (Harrods). My style of play is not so slow, and I usually do not care how many times I get eliminated in order to have a good time. 

Regarding the technical level, I have to say that Buddy has built most of the channel, he has spent the most hours. I usually in charge of social media and public relations.

Being a YouTuber is not about filming one morning, editing in 10 minutes and uploading it to YouTube to harvest likes and subscribers (right?). Tell us how is the process of creating a video from the idea until you post it and how long does it take.

So you get the picture. A review with chroma, between filming, mounting and editing can take around 10-12 hours of work. That is why in some videos we have had to lower the complexity in the editing process. Time is money, and unfortunately we have little now. A mantra that we have in common is that the channel is ours and we upload what we want and when we can. We are not bound by any kind of obligation. Many times we spend countless hours we spend in front of the camera and behind the computer, and how little recognition they get.

You made a video about speedsoft, explaining what it was about, busting myths and gossip... why do you think there are minority groups that hate it? 

The famous and controversial speedsoft video, was not a video we made, as a minority of people thinks, to seek controversy and gain fame. Quite the contrary, in that video I wanted to speak my mind. 

I was tired of being frowned upon, getting comments and, above all, of being judged by people who did not know me. I am sure that if I did not wear a paintball mask I would not have this kind of prejudice before playing. I was fed-up of being told: "Man, if I shoot you and you yell “hit”, you do not shoot only to the face, you do not over shoot" basically all the prejudices that have been created in the Spanish community by a few that influence many. 

I do not want to address the topic of the video, but here is a summary to give you some perspective: let each one play as they want and where they want, as long as they respect the safety and company rules.

I understand that there is something that you may not like, even that you hate with all your heart, but trying to destroy it is taking it too far. Although they hate it and really dislike it, speedsoft is increasingly growing in Spain and we will have to learn to live together, coexist and learn to respect this type of players.

This question is for Harrods. We love the guns that you mount, first because you make them rifle range and secondly because of the things that you add on them and the colours you choose. Where does this come from, are you influenced by video games or speedsoft?

Thank you very for the compliment, I have to say that this is something that simply grew in me. Since, as I always say, the player is the one who creates his load out step by step depending on the gaps that he faces at the time of the game; this is where the Hi-Capa comes in, it was a hand gun that ticked, if not all, most of the boxes that I demand from a replica. 

Regarding the range of colours, variety is the spice of life. But I will not deny that I wish I could get my hands on the things they set up in the USA and Japan.

Not everything that has a different colour to multicam has to be speedsoft. The most striking part in these type of videos are the colours, since we are not used to seeing so much variety. But there are teams that practice multicam speedsoft and with their fully Krylon MK18 have won tournaments in this modality. 

And finally, we have seen that you have shared your views on head shots in airsoft in your respective channels. After having seen other points of view, what are your thoughts now?

Well, we still believe that, just as football players use shin guards, airsoft players must use the protection measures according to the game and its evolution. 

We do not support head shots if there are others parts of the body available. However, if you only show your head, that is where you will get shot. Otherwise, what is this kind of tactical advantage in which you can look around the corners without exposing yourself to enemy fire?

Unfortunately, this is airsoft, and although many do not like to say it, all we do is fire 6mm plastic balls at each other. Whether we like it or not, they are influenced by many factors that we do not take into account when shooting (wind, humidity, distance...) and let me remind you that heads shots are not banned, that being said one can always be graceful and avoid that bad shot that we so often complain about when we are hit.

And remember guys, there is a world beyond multicam, long live woodland!! ;)