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Thread: Tom Kaye Retires from Paintball, AGD Under New Management

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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2000
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    Tom Kaye Retires from Paintball, AGD Under New Management

    To all my friends on AO and in Paintball,

    It has been no secret that AGD has been under financial stress for many years. With the recent downturn in the industry it no longer makes sense for me and my family to pursue a living from this great game. Effective today I will be retiring and moving on to other business ventures outside paintball.

    Dave Zupan who many of you know as my vice president, has bought out our inventory and will be taking over running the company. For most people AGD will still be in business as usual and you will still be able to call and order product. Please give him the same respect and feedback you have given me for so many years.

    It has been a privilege to watch an industry grow from a spark into a raging fire that covered the world. I am proud to have contributed in my small way. Most of all I was glad to know the people of paintball, especially my customers. AO has been my constant companion for years now and I never expected all the benefits, joys and sorrows that came from knowing you all.

    I will still continue to promote and participate in the Shatner event but its unlikely that I will be attending any other events during the year. I certainly didn’t think it would end like this but I am the last of a long gone group of paintball founders that are not around any more.

    I sincerely hope that paintball gets past its recent flurry of issues and comes together as the great game and industry we all know it can be. To all of the players I want you to remember that its YOU who control this game and this industry. Treat it wisely and vote with your dollars so your kids can play along side you some day.

    I will answer questions in this thread, please start another one for general comments and I will sticky it.

    Thank you all for being the greatest customers and friends that a guy could wish for!!

    Tom Kaye AGD
    Last edited by AGD; 12-08-2004 at 06:57 PM.

  2. #2
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    wow didnt see this coming

  3. #3
    Join Date
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    Woah! Good luck in your other ventures. Given the state of the industry today, I would retire too.

    I truely hope that this is not the beginning of the end for AGD. That would be a sad day indeed. Again, good luck, and godspeed!
    Red/Black Freeflow Lotus Racegun
    Red/Black Acid BPS Twister Cocker
    Bright Black Y-Grip/Warp ULE Mag
    Blue 99 Dark Angel w/Matching Accessories
    Matte Black Stock Class Sniper 2
    Feedback: https://www.automags.org/forums/showthread....&threadid=94972

  4. #4
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    i can't say that i blame you one bit. but it is sad that you have to do this i wish that this didnt happen but i do not blame you in any way shape or form.

  5. #5
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    Sep 2004
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    Oh sure, you and your sat
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    Unhappy



    You'll still play Shatner though.... Right

  6. #6
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    May 2004
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    Brooklyn NY
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    sorry to hear you go tom, i wish ya the best of luck to you and your family wherever you may be going, and i will always continue to shoot your great gun!

  7. #7
    can someone explain whats going on, why is he quiting????

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
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    Sorry to see you go. You've done a great thing, with mags, and AGD, and AO, (and air tanks, and warp feeds, and barrel condoms and yadda yadda YA), and most importantly, the sport of paintball as a whole. Best of luck with your future endeavors, I hope you'll find happiness in whatever you choose to do.

    **edit** TOM KAYE, good friend of ours... honor us with one last chat party before you go for good?

    Also, will AO and irc.automags.org stick around?
    Last edited by BobTheCow63; 12-08-2004 at 06:31 PM.
    Calling all Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, and other east coast AOers...

    AO Mid-Atlantic Meet (planning stages)

    Let us know what dates and locations work for you!!

  9. #9
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    So is this officially the end of an era in paintball? It sure feels like it...

  10. #10
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    Aug 2003
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    Backpacking in the Sierras
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    tom,
    i would like to thank you for an outstanding product and service that has lasted through all of these years. from my first mag in 1991 (#1496) to my x-rogue mag of today, thanks.

    sorry to see you go,
    cory
    Last edited by Eatem Alive; 12-22-2004 at 06:43 PM.

  11. #11
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    Those goofy air tanks, they'll never catch on!


    Have fun with the rest of your days.

    > QUIKFLASH.COM
    JOIN THE NINTENDO FUN CLUB TODAY MAC!

  12. #12
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    Aug 2003
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    Holy crap

  13. #13
    MindJob Guest
    We Shall Avenge You.............

  14. #14
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    Holy ****!

  15. #15
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    Sep 2003
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    If you havent already figured it out... Your not supposed to take me seriously
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    Really sad to see you go , youve done an awsome thing for paintball, and paintballers everywhere. Your still gonna pop back once and a while at Shatnerball right?


    Congrats Dave, hope to see you on the forums!

    Well Miss You Tom!

  16. #16
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    Mar 2004
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    I havnt even bought one of your guns before you quit...well...does the new owner have any plans for new guns ect? If you dont mind me asking...what buisnes endevor are you going for now?

  17. #17
    Pursue your new job with the same enthusiasm and you'll be all set

    Probably was best that you left now before things could possibly get bad.

    Good luck!

    Paintball will always remember the contributions you gave to the sport.

  18. #18
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    So you are retiring from Paintball in gernal or just from the Buisness/Industry? And does this mean you will no longer be posting on AO?

  19. #19
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    Wow, good luck Tom. You were an industry leader.
    [Something Cool is Here]

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by WARPED1
    Wow, good luck Tom. You were an industry leader.


    Ahhh....why does it have to be the "were" word...why cant it stay "is"?

  21. #21
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    so whos doing the military stuff now? no one? or did he take that too?

    please dont leave the boards

    does this also eman we may be facing even more changes with agd?

    did agd drop the hair(in favor of ptp) or what?

    soo many questions..but they dont need to be answered right know...

    except this one..WHERES THE WARP SLUGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!


    hope you enjoy your retirement. i was hoping you were going to pcik the new owner like willy wonka and the chocalate factory style. o well

  22. #22
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    Sep 2004
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    Tom i never you personlly, but its sad to see you go, even we do share one big moment in each others life, for me it was calling game over on top of The Temple of Doom when you claimed the flag to defeat Shatner, knowing i'm seeing one of the great minds of paintball and of course for you to win that. all in all good luck and thanks for everything

    mini mag
    X-Valve
    evil on/off no drop
    chrome intelliframe
    14' freak barrel

    fishbone cocker
    superfly bolt
    shocktech small drop
    shocktech on/off

  23. #23
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    Good luck tom. You made paintball what it is today for me. Your product brought me into the sport and in business. I hate to see this happen but you have to do what you have to do. Like I said good luck and april and I give our best wishes for you.


    When true evil smacks you in the face you never forget it.


    Official DevilMAG Thread
    Devil's Den Paintball
    The Aggressive Generation

  24. #24
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    Farewell Tom. When I see that pic from 1991 I will laugh, but not because you guys look a little goofy (sorry), but because I will think of the man who stuck his tongue in the breech of a mag, and shoot it, to prove that AGD is awesome. Thanks for my markers, and good luck with whatever you do.

    My mags:
    CF67870
    VV05148

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
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    wow was i surprised when i saw this thread title... that was unexpected.

    well, good luck in whatever you decide to do, you will be missed.


    and yes, i would also support a paypal donation to keep AO.
    xvalve, ule body, logic vert frame, WWA barrel
    68/30 PE nitro tank
    cp unimount
    halo B

  26. #26
    Join Date
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    You could EASILY run AO with a donate button. We all love it THAT much.
    Good luck, praying for ya man.














    On another note, who wants to start the tomsotherbusinees.org forum that we can all troll around in?
    AIM-bertmcmahan
    My email:bertmcmahan@hotmail.com
    My feedback thread
    Good traders: richie,Roguefactor,moufo48,845,brtncstm160,vf-xx

    Mags don't shoot darts... they shoot nails.
    I used to be bertmcmahan, that I did.

  27. #27
    It's hard to be an innovator in a stagnant industry. The top of the line hasn't been raised at all in 2 years.

  28. #28
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    man sad

    there is no way anyone will forget you and what you have done for this sport ...
    and people will carry on the mag name for many many years to come ...
    i am very happy i got back into mags ... and i will never go back to the jap junk.. sold by other companies ...

    as for keeping ao up ... there are plenty of people that would be willing to pay a small fee every month .. to keep this great site up and going ...

    count me in on that ........


    thanks for every thing you have done to paintball .......

  29. #29
    Join Date
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    While I was busy dealing with morons and making announcements on AO and then Tom hits me with a hammer! Ouch!

    Well... my personal expressions will remain in the private forum. In the meantime we AO Admins and Mods will sort out the details as they are given to us and keep things running until we get clear instructions from Tom.

    And no... we had no warning. I read it here.... So we are a ship without a Captain until we see what he wants to do. But in the mean time its bussiness normal until we know what to do.

    I for one an tireing of the politics and undehandedness of many people getting into the bussiness myself. So its no real suprise to me. It's not been fun lately. So I understand some of Tom's motivations to move on. Being excited about what you do is important. And the excitement is not there like it was I guess.


    AGD, where we are so good we can do it with only ONE tube!

    cphilip.com

  30. #30
    Riotz Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by cphilip
    I for one an tireing of the politics and undehandedness of many people getting into the bussiness myself. So its no real suprise to me. It's not been fun lately. So I understand some of Tom's motivations to move on. Being excited about what you do is important. And the excitement is not there like it was I guess.

    True statement Phil.


    AGD is what made me get hardcore into the sport and it also one of the same things that made me get out.


    Blame the people who are bullies in the industry.

    Most of the people who are active in the sport now are changing things for the worse and they don't see it. They claim to be prophets and saviors but they are just spoilers.

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