"I refuse to pretend that fun things are no longer fun, just because I got old." That is such a great quote and so true. When I was in middle school, our class got to vote on what the teacher would give us on one of the last days of the school year and the majority voted for bagels. I'm going crazy thinking, "what the hell is wrong with you people?" We could have had pizza, tacos or Chinese food and they went with bagels. Turns out they decided on bagels because they wanted to seem mature. Screw maturity, I'd rather have pizza.
When I was in school at the end of the tears we had student teacher auctions. You paid the school to make them slaves for a day. Obviously we're teenagers so we got to dress up people. Teachers bought students vice versa, all the moneybwas charity for the teachers. My wrestling coach is a 4ft 10 Jewish man. (Strongest man go ever put a hand on me) we all spent a grand to make him dress up like little Boe peep! He did! We made the yearbook lol but I miss those days. When people could take a piss out of things and laugh. I ended up dating a hihj school teacher years later and the things we got to do for the kids was the best! Anyone here ever have "field days"?
@@noob.168 That's exactly the kind of attitude I like. Never let anybody tell you you are too old to have fun, just tell them you are too busy having fun to feel old.
@Majbritt Eriksson they kinda used to just be a fun magazine in the first place. They only really started getting political not that long ago. Don't you remember them getting wasted with a tribe and looking for dinosaurs?
This quote brings tears to my eye. I have a son and we are having a blast playing Nerf blaster. I tell you, the bonding is magic between father-son. Just because I am father doesn't mean I cannot play toy with kid.
Not really man. That quote irked me. For some people things stop being fun and we wish they would be fun again but something changed irreversibly and will never be the same. That doesn’t mean we can’t have fun. But usually as we change so does our definition of fun.
Ironically nerf is probably the least used blaster brand in most events, because their demographic is still largely kids, so the real hardcore people don't own any nerf
Oh trust me, we own lots of nerfs, but mostly out of love, of course you can mod those to hell and back but the adventure force pro are the rage right now, in the end all that matters is foam flinging, any brand is good, the limit is your imagination... And solvent welds
"Hazard" here! (dude in the gas mask/post apoc gear, and crawling zombie (After I turned)). This was an awesome video! and love seeing so many of my fellow Nerfers in this vid. Was well worth the wait, and glad you were able to have a fun experience within our community. It's Nerf or Nothing!
@@vommir. Fr, I think if the police in Detriot hate the paintball wars so much, this could be a legit alternative b/c the blasters can still shoot as far.
It's crazy, news coverage usually isn't this personal (or positive: it's always "gun this, gun that"). Glad they actually showed off the awesome and silly side of the hobby too, in that literally anyone can play.
As an event organizer in my local area all I want to say is thank you Vice! Thank you for being respectful but also helping to spread awareness of our fun hobby!
@@scottjs5207 Man, I remember back when you were making videos of playing in a church. You and Aldoss were two of the people that inspired me to put a GoPro on my head when I played. Now my videos are from a host pint of view. Glad to see more people posting #NerfGameplay videos!
@@norcalnerfclub3423 I'm honored to have been an inspiration. I still have a back log of videos I want to post, but 2020 and finishing college definitely did a number on motivation I'm still dealing with. Maybe I'll get back to it someday, but as it stands, I'm just collecting gameplay footage.
I'm glad the video was very open-minded and took the time to understand what makes the hobby fun and interesting. It would have been very easy to dismiss the whole subject as "loser adults who can't grow up keep playing with toys" but it wasn't. I'm glad the host interviewed a respected representative in the hobby and took the time to actively participate in two different events that real players would. While the scope of the hobby is too enormous to put into an 8 min video, I'm glad the most important parts were included.
I mean how is it different then the airsoft and paintball hobbys. it is just different ammo then look at the lego group. I mean sure some would say they should pick up a hammer and build a real house but if you look at some of the creation OMG. they are amazing. Cosplayers, 3d Printers, Epoxy model makers, etc.. it is all "kid stuff' but take any of these hater and see them create some of the same amazing things
@@sharazar How nerfing is different to airsoft and paintball is evident in the video; you can do it safely and without mess in far more locations. That whole sequence at the end in the mall wouldn't be possible with the others. And that's down to how it's a less extreme form of play. This is why it's possible to get together and play at a public park too. But also, nerfing can be varied a hell of a lot. That mall event would be at "HvZ" level performance for the blasters. That means there'd be a lower cap for how fast the ammo will travel. It's higher than "stock" but not so high to hurt or damage anything. At this range, which is probably say, 120fps cap, you can safely tag each other point blank and it won't really hurt. Notice they still all wear eye protection though, which is good practice because it could still be damaging to get hit in the eye. But then there's higher level events. A lot have a 150 cap. A lot of "pro" level blasters sold today aim for somewhere around this range. It's common for events to have a 200 cap. Or a hybrid where 200fps blasters are allowed for longer range, but there's a minimum engagement distance. And there's events with even higher caps.
Yeah it's honestly kinda unfortunate that even in larger cities it's hard to find games easily. I've only done a few games with friends but it's pretty fun and it's much more light hearted than airsoft and the barrier to entry is waaaay lower.
If you look on FB groups you can find groups almost anywhere to go play with. And if you don’t find any then make one and people will join. You’d be suprised how many there actually are. I live within an hour or so of 4 different clubs for nerf. And I’ve traveled the country playing in competitions.
As a "Nerfer", this is a worldwide hobby - join whatever local or online communities you can find! Most folks are very chill and like teaching you about Nerf beyond simple toys, I joined over a year ago and I love it.
@@RetroFoamStudios Where are you at? I ran events local to another group for 5 years without ever knowing about it. It's unfortunately harder to find us than it should be.
From now on, THIS is the video im going to show people when i tell them this is my hobby. Its been hard to explain the scale and possibilities over the past 6-7 years but this nails it. Awesome work on showing what this hobby is all about
For real man, I just had a friend of mine get me into this and these things are INSANE! Some of the springers coming out like the Gameface Trion will actually leave some nasty welts on you. I havent modded any of mine but for the mechanically inclined, what a fun little hobby. Im pushing 30 here too 😂
@mr.nobody3842 the main reason, for me, was, i was tired of all the mothers of little kids yelling at me. Almost every time in between games, there would be some kid flagging me, finger on the triger, in my face, and i would, kindly ask them at first, not to do that, and in the cases where the kids and parents got snotty, i would push the barrel away. I wasnt being an ass since most of the time i had a majority of players on my side, so i just got tired of it. There just wasnt a good community where i lived, which sucked, but i never had that problem with nerf, surprisingly. I have no hard feelings for airsofters as a whole, since there always are those people in every community, i just left due to a number of bad experiences and was just done with it.
@@Mr.Nobody5899 For me it's down to the community and the DIY aspect (and also price to a degree). If you have a 3D printer and some cheap hardware, you can build and customize blasters to a pretty crazy degree. The ability to play in public spaces is also very helpful for organizing games.
Who the heck is that Captain Pews guy?! He looks exactly like me, has my exact blaster and loadout and hangs out with my friends. Really though, I hope you had as much fun as we did Alzo! As a kinda/sorta stand-up nerd, I was a little starstruck and things felt surreal. Good sir, it was an honor to randomly meet you in person. Hi Captain Xavier! 🏴☠️😁
When I was in middle school, there was an event hosted in a nearby park called "ZOMB-EAST". It was a zombie survival LARP, if you had a nerf gun, you were a "survivor", and if you didn't, you were a zombie. If a zombie two-hand tagged you, you were now a zombie. After 55 minutes, a big blue tarp was laid out which was the "Helipad", and if you were still a survivor, you had to run your way to the Helipad. It was some of my best memories growing up. At around it's peak, 150+ people were showing up, which was incredible for something organized by a bunch of middle and high school students. It got me and tons of others into modifying nerf guns. Mainly just drilling out the air restrictors, but to me it was gunsmithing. We had to make a rule after some kids were inserting metal ball bearings into the tips of the nerf guns to give them more weight and make them more stable. It was genuinely some of the happiest days of my life.
Fun is fun! I’m sure that there is a group near you. There’s never been a better time to enter the Nerfing hobby. For $10 or less at a thrift store you can get the basic equipment and for about $50 (or less you you can find it on sale or second hand) you can have an amazing blaster. Facebook is an easy way to get connected to a local or regional Nerfing group.
This has been an amazing look into the hobby. Some solid reporting at hand, and I don't just say that as a fan of Xavier's. The conversation around how firearm culture interacts with the community was a good note to end on, and has inspired me to pursue my own builds with more confidence.
i go airsofting from time to time and every time I've been there I've had help each time I've been there, lots of people there dislike the youtube side of it that try and brandish everyone as cheaters but everyone when your in the safe zone is so chill and everyone has a good time and helps out newbies
@@Mr.Nobody5899 trust me, you feel the hits. I have small bruises from high power nerf darts. My personal blaster hits around 250fps. And our darts weigh 1.0 g.
Having been to this field myself, I can confirm it's just as fun as it looks! It might look intimidating from the outside seeing a bunch of folks strapped to the gills in equipment and gear, but it's genuinely such a great time all around. Happy to see more coverage on our little hobby!
I think the gun culture question about this hobby is super interesting, especially considering international communities. I'm Australian, and I've recently been getting into the hobby. My pipeline was via modding itself - I love DIY projects and what started as wanting a cool "functional" toy cowboy revolver has led me down a wandering path of nerdy blasters galore. But it has been a really interesting balance exploring the hobby while also living in a part of Australia with staunch gun laws, as well as a culture of caution regarding guns. One of the first questions I ALWAYS get asked when showing off my latest project is "is this legal?", and it can genuinely be a complicated and intimidating thing to answer. It's really nice to see some positive coverage of the hobby, and hopefully this will lead to a better global understanding and appreciation of harmless fun.
It is super interesting because the entire negative connotation about gun culture is a literal scapegoat pushed by a certain mindset of politicos and media to not have to deal with the complexity of increasing mental health crisis in western societies. The truth is the govt will not protect your life, they will only investigate your murder after the fact. We all have the right to defend ourselves by the best means possible.
I just got into the hobby in the past year. I gotta say, there's something about it that makes it not only easy to get into, but get this: It's FUN. All you need are safety glasses and a friend who's willing to take a dart to the face.
@@LMvdB02 Getting a 3D printer just for nerf modding was the best decision I made. I used to think these things would cost 1500USD or something, but nowadays you can get a very good printer for 200-300USD!
Some of my friends and I recently started a club where we are. I saw this headline and I really thought it was going to be a huge diss on the hobby, but I was refreshed to see that the reporter got engaged and did what we do best. Have fun.
It is different than other shooting sports in that there is zero possibility that you would be playing with nerf and not remember every single second of the time that your playing with a children’s toy. It’s good clean fun. The best thing about it is you will never find an more accepting and accommodating group of people either than Nerf hobbyists.
Do it! Find a local game and go! People will lend you blasters and ammo, it's a hoot. Get a crazy workout or play it easy. I can't recommend it enough.
If you dig a little you’ll find people modifying blasters to shoot harder and faster, and a slew of 3d printed blasters of various capabilities. There are tons of options which make it a bit more exciting than basic stuff of the shelves.
This is amazing to see. Captain Xavier is the perfect example of someone who is both a creative force to be reckoned with as well as a generally knowledgeable and kind person. And Nerf is full of those people. Glad to see that more attention is being brought to the hobby!
One of the best things I've seen in a long time!!! Very positive way to release stress and I can see how it can possibly help with PTSD as well!!! Good for them for doing what most of us wish we could.
I've been hosting in the Philly area for quite some time. It's nice to see coverage that sheds a very respectful light on our hobby. We may not be perfect, but more often than not, you'll find a lot of solid friends in this hobby. The Cap. is definitely one of the best people to go to for this coverage too.
So proud of vice for doing a proper report on the hobby The Nerf hobby has been wonders for me taking a break from doing security, has got me into 3D printing soldering and electronics and have made tons of friends it's a great little hobby to get into and there's one little group in every town Nexus pro 150 FPS out of the box, is probably your best option for 50 bucks to get in right away
Got the nexus a couple years back because I said that for Xmas I wanted a red rider BB gun ( as a joke ) then played with the foam blaster, now I’m addictived and so are my nephews. Captain Xavier puts out quality content and actually reply’s to comments, his channel is really good.
Having played with and against Chaylo, I can say he brings both seriousness and silliness, in equal amounts, to the foam front. It is really nice to see piece that does not paint the foam flinging hobby as something to be mocked
As someone who plays magfed paintball, Nerf was definitely what introduced me to paintball/airsoft type stuff. Nerf is absolutely fun, but i wanted a more high intensity sport. If you're not looking for a more painful experience like paintball, i definitely recommend nerf.
They definitely picked one of the best Nerfers in the world to interview. You can’t verbally out maneuver Xavier. He’s extremely smart and well spoken. Fun seeing them use footage from the Blaster Battle in there for a moment too. Haha. End of the day? We all just like to have fun.
We need more stuff like this because I feel like most adults got so wrapped in the cycle of nine to five work for someone else that we are all desperate for fun like this but can't admit it
“I refuse to pretend that fun things are no longer fun just because I got older”. That line hit home 4 me & I can relate to that! I still play certain video games & with certian toys I grew up playin with & im 21 goin on 22 next February. 💯
I can't even lie to you I clicked on this video with the intent at laughing at this but now at the end of the video although it's still not for me I am happy that this exists and these people are out here doing something they love
I loved the arrow shooters as a kid. The Arrowstorm was perfect out of the box and its tips could fit darts. Cutting the nozzle off the end of the Bow&Arrow doubled its range.
You don’t know how happy I am to see my favorite TH-camrs featured on vice. Captain Xavier is the man when it comes to modded blasters, he has a whole juggernaut style outfit to go with his mini gun mod which he takes to games with him. He also buys blasters for cheap to give to kids who need a new blaster. Captain Xavier is my favorite
Can somebody make a poster from the Captain's quote at the end> "I refuse to pretend that fun things are no longer fun just because I got old." it is such a tidy way to sum up this hobby.
This general topic is fascinating. It wasn't until recent time that it really became known in the public sphere that there are people still playing with "toys". As far as anyone can tell, it's not specifically a new phenomena. At the very least we were broadly aware of this kinda activity for decades. Such as people collecting GI Joes and action figures, often derided as dolls. And while we knew about it, it's only recently that any kind of social acceptability has come to pass. Some things are easier to accept than other, like nerf blasters here. Though even then the interviewer still cracks a joke about adults refusing to grow up. The moral here is do what makes you happy as long as it harms no one else and is reasonably safe for you. Who knows, you may get a successful TH-cam or twitch channel.
I'm imagining the combat vet in a ghillie suit living off the grid. Showing off his arsenal of Nerf blasters. This actually looks fun hope someone starts something like this in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The hobby is actually very popular in the Bay Area, Especially San Jose. I've played at two Ragnarocktoberfests in 2018 and 2019 in San Jose. There will be a Ragnarocktoberfest there in 2023 that I am so excited about!
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN! This is the man that single handedly taught me how to Thrift & Mod Nerf Blasters through his channel. I now have an Armory of 70+ Blasters. "Captain Pews" is actually "Dr. Pews" and is a splendid individual. Great to see this kind of coverage on our Hobby. Very Nice.👌
We did this in college. We'd enter the science building after hours to play, biggest group we had was about 60 for a zombie game. It actually had a concentrated zombie horde chasing down the last few survivors. It was a hassle when security booted us out.
Nerf is a shooting sport without any pretense that it’s anything other than pure fun. You’ll never find a more fun-loving and accepting group of people than the in the Nerfing hobby.
Man used to watch so many old TH-camr nerf channels doing narratives just the best videos when I was growing up I wanted a whole gang of nerf users so we can do battles but man seeing this makes me happy
Thank you for covering this! I ran a Dart Tag club in Christchurch, New Zealand for 8 years and they were the best fun times I’ve had in my life! Made soooo many friends and fought soo many battles and seeing this vid with Chaylo and crew has just made me happy!
I would 100% do this. This is harmless fun, it's competitive it's get people moving and running around and socializing, there's literally nothing wrong.
As nerdy as this is, I gotta respect how much fun these dudes are having. They're living their best life.
Hey Bobby
As a nerf modder from Nz i can confirm.... Its so much fun x'D
you could say they're having a....blast?...I'll let myself out
Nerdy??? So what it's nerf??? Isn't the big aspect of everything is "training" NO MATTER WHAT. I think this fits right in with "training"
It's not even "nerdy." It's just airsoft/paintball with less pain and more focus on weapon modification
"I refuse to pretend that fun things are no longer fun, just because I got old." That is such a great quote and so true. When I was in middle school, our class got to vote on what the teacher would give us on one of the last days of the school year and the majority voted for bagels. I'm going crazy thinking, "what the hell is wrong with you people?" We could have had pizza, tacos or Chinese food and they went with bagels. Turns out they decided on bagels because they wanted to seem mature. Screw maturity, I'd rather have pizza.
Saw the "right when he said it
When I was in school at the end of the tears we had student teacher auctions. You paid the school to make them slaves for a day. Obviously we're teenagers so we got to dress up people. Teachers bought students vice versa, all the moneybwas charity for the teachers. My wrestling coach is a 4ft 10 Jewish man. (Strongest man go ever put a hand on me) we all spent a grand to make him dress up like little Boe peep! He did! We made the yearbook lol but I miss those days. When people could take a piss out of things and laugh. I ended up dating a hihj school teacher years later and the things we got to do for the kids was the best! Anyone here ever have "field days"?
I once saw on Lego subreddit someone saying their reply to people asking "Aren't you too old to play Lego" was "I'm too old to care anymore"
@@noob.168 That's exactly the kind of attitude I like. Never let anybody tell you you are too old to have fun, just tell them you are too busy having fun to feel old.
@@adrianrocha49 at least someone wants their special work to be overtime
Even though VICE has had some hard hitting reports it is refreshing to see something to light hearted and feel good
FAX
Yup
Yeah, our snowflake generation need it
@Majbritt Eriksson they kinda used to just be a fun magazine in the first place. They only really started getting political not that long ago. Don't you remember them getting wasted with a tribe and looking for dinosaurs?
@@MrEd8846 yeah! I remember the good days of vice! I was kinda trolling with the comment
"I refuse to pretend fun things are no longer fun because I got old." Perfect summary.
This quote brings tears to my eye. I have a son and we are having a blast playing Nerf blaster. I tell you, the bonding is magic between father-son. Just because I am father doesn't mean I cannot play toy with kid.
Not really man. That quote irked me. For some people things stop being fun and we wish they would be fun again but something changed irreversibly and will never be the same. That doesn’t mean we can’t have fun. But usually as we change so does our definition of fun.
They took "its Nerf or nothing." to the literal extreme
Ironically nerf is probably the least used blaster brand in most events, because their demographic is still largely kids, so the real hardcore people don't own any nerf
🤣🤣🤣
😂
Oh trust me, we own lots of nerfs, but mostly out of love, of course you can mod those to hell and back but the adventure force pro are the rage right now, in the end all that matters is foam flinging, any brand is good, the limit is your imagination... And solvent welds
"Hazard" here! (dude in the gas mask/post apoc gear, and crawling zombie (After I turned)).
This was an awesome video! and love seeing so many of my fellow Nerfers in this vid. Was well worth the wait, and glad you were able to have a fun experience within our community. It's Nerf or Nothing!
Cool stuff! It's fun to see adults enjoying life like that.
@@vommir. Fr, I think if the police in Detriot hate the paintball wars so much, this could be a legit alternative b/c the blasters can still shoot as far.
Congratulations! This might be the first story about our hobby published by a major news outlet that isn't a hit piece! Great job!
Dude your hobby rocks
@@bayersbluebayoubioweapon8477 fr
I was pleasantly surprised myself. :)
its amazing to see it, what an amazing hobby we have
It's crazy, news coverage usually isn't this personal (or positive: it's always "gun this, gun that").
Glad they actually showed off the awesome and silly side of the hobby too, in that literally anyone can play.
I love this. These folks are enjoying their lives the way they want to and we should all be so lucky
Love that the reporter had a badge that said “press” on it during the zombie war lmao
😂😂😂
“I refuse to pretend, that fun thing are no longer fun, just because I got older” amazing words to live by
Fun control
Amen
As an event organizer in my local area all I want to say is thank you Vice! Thank you for being respectful but also helping to spread awareness of our fun hobby!
Yes! That's how I felt!
@@norcalnerfclub3423 💯🤘
I concur. Would be nice to see more people join up from this.
@@scottjs5207 Man, I remember back when you were making videos of playing in a church. You and Aldoss were two of the people that inspired me to put a GoPro on my head when I played. Now my videos are from a host pint of view. Glad to see more people posting #NerfGameplay videos!
@@norcalnerfclub3423 I'm honored to have been an inspiration. I still have a back log of videos I want to post, but 2020 and finishing college definitely did a number on motivation I'm still dealing with. Maybe I'll get back to it someday, but as it stands, I'm just collecting gameplay footage.
I'm glad the video was very open-minded and took the time to understand what makes the hobby fun and interesting. It would have been very easy to dismiss the whole subject as "loser adults who can't grow up keep playing with toys" but it wasn't. I'm glad the host interviewed a respected representative in the hobby and took the time to actively participate in two different events that real players would. While the scope of the hobby is too enormous to put into an 8 min video, I'm glad the most important parts were included.
Capt. Xavier is the perfect ambassador for the hobby.
I mean how is it different then the airsoft and paintball hobbys. it is just different ammo
then look at the lego group. I mean sure some would say they should pick up a hammer and build a real house but if you look at some of the creation OMG. they are amazing.
Cosplayers, 3d Printers, Epoxy model makers, etc.. it is all "kid stuff' but take any of these hater and see them create some of the same amazing things
Reusable ammo that is on par with standard because it is the standard unlike reball
@@sharazar How nerfing is different to airsoft and paintball is evident in the video; you can do it safely and without mess in far more locations. That whole sequence at the end in the mall wouldn't be possible with the others. And that's down to how it's a less extreme form of play. This is why it's possible to get together and play at a public park too.
But also, nerfing can be varied a hell of a lot. That mall event would be at "HvZ" level performance for the blasters. That means there'd be a lower cap for how fast the ammo will travel. It's higher than "stock" but not so high to hurt or damage anything. At this range, which is probably say, 120fps cap, you can safely tag each other point blank and it won't really hurt. Notice they still all wear eye protection though, which is good practice because it could still be damaging to get hit in the eye.
But then there's higher level events. A lot have a 150 cap. A lot of "pro" level blasters sold today aim for somewhere around this range. It's common for events to have a 200 cap. Or a hybrid where 200fps blasters are allowed for longer range, but there's a minimum engagement distance. And there's events with even higher caps.
this is the most wholesome thing I've ever seen today. I wish there were more events like this around America.
Yeah it's honestly kinda unfortunate that even in larger cities it's hard to find games easily. I've only done a few games with friends but it's pretty fun and it's much more light hearted than airsoft and the barrier to entry is waaaay lower.
If you look on FB groups you can find groups almost anywhere to go play with. And if you don’t find any then make one and people will join. You’d be suprised how many there actually are. I live within an hour or so of 4 different clubs for nerf. And I’ve traveled the country playing in competitions.
As a "Nerfer", this is a worldwide hobby - join whatever local or online communities you can find! Most folks are very chill and like teaching you about Nerf beyond simple toys, I joined over a year ago and I love it.
I have no nerf community near me :(
@@RetroFoamStudios me too
Sadly, as a nerfer, our hobby is very much going to be divided as more and more of us take things to the extreme tbh
@@RetroFoamStudios Where are you at? I ran events local to another group for 5 years without ever knowing about it. It's unfortunately harder to find us than it should be.
@@kagenlim5271 wtf?
This journalist screams chill. I love this guy.
From now on, THIS is the video im going to show people when i tell them this is my hobby. Its been hard to explain the scale and possibilities over the past 6-7 years but this nails it. Awesome work on showing what this hobby is all about
For real man, I just had a friend of mine get me into this and these things are INSANE! Some of the springers coming out like the Gameface Trion will actually leave some nasty welts on you. I havent modded any of mine but for the mechanically inclined, what a fun little hobby. Im pushing 30 here too 😂
As an avid airsoft player I wonder why nerf instead
@mr.nobody3842 the main reason, for me, was, i was tired of all the mothers of little kids yelling at me. Almost every time in between games, there would be some kid flagging me, finger on the triger, in my face, and i would, kindly ask them at first, not to do that, and in the cases where the kids and parents got snotty, i would push the barrel away. I wasnt being an ass since most of the time i had a majority of players on my side, so i just got tired of it. There just wasnt a good community where i lived, which sucked, but i never had that problem with nerf, surprisingly. I have no hard feelings for airsofters as a whole, since there always are those people in every community, i just left due to a number of bad experiences and was just done with it.
@@Mr.Nobody5899 For me it's down to the community and the DIY aspect (and also price to a degree). If you have a 3D printer and some cheap hardware, you can build and customize blasters to a pretty crazy degree. The ability to play in public spaces is also very helpful for organizing games.
Who the heck is that Captain Pews guy?! He looks exactly like me, has my exact blaster and loadout and hangs out with my friends.
Really though, I hope you had as much fun as we did Alzo! As a kinda/sorta stand-up nerd, I was a little starstruck and things felt surreal. Good sir, it was an honor to randomly meet you in person.
Hi Captain Xavier! 🏴☠️😁
"The story you are about to hear is true. A name was changed to protect the guilty." :P
@@CaptainXavier Call me whatever! I'm just happy to be here. 😁
When I was in middle school, there was an event hosted in a nearby park called "ZOMB-EAST". It was a zombie survival LARP, if you had a nerf gun, you were a "survivor", and if you didn't, you were a zombie. If a zombie two-hand tagged you, you were now a zombie. After 55 minutes, a big blue tarp was laid out which was the "Helipad", and if you were still a survivor, you had to run your way to the Helipad.
It was some of my best memories growing up. At around it's peak, 150+ people were showing up, which was incredible for something organized by a bunch of middle and high school students.
It got me and tons of others into modifying nerf guns. Mainly just drilling out the air restrictors, but to me it was gunsmithing. We had to make a rule after some kids were inserting metal ball bearings into the tips of the nerf guns to give them more weight and make them more stable.
It was genuinely some of the happiest days of my life.
Fun is fun! I’m sure that there is a group near you. There’s never been a better time to enter the Nerfing hobby. For $10 or less at a thrift store you can get the basic equipment and for about $50 (or less you you can find it on sale or second hand) you can have an amazing blaster. Facebook is an easy way to get connected to a local or regional Nerfing group.
This is a wonderful example of how to express a love for “violence” in an absolutely non violent way.
Definitely need more of these fun vids to balance out the depressing ones.
I actually stopped watching Vice because of all the negative stories, finally something that's different
Agreed
This has been an amazing look into the hobby. Some solid reporting at hand, and I don't just say that as a fan of Xavier's. The conversation around how firearm culture interacts with the community was a good note to end on, and has inspired me to pursue my own builds with more confidence.
And the bit of black humour with the black players was epic!
I enjoy people who enjoy and are not ashamed of their passions. Especially harmless passions.
"So you know y'all gon' die first..."
Bro did them *DIRTY* LMFAO
Loved this story. The reporter was great. Lastly, sick edits. All of the five stars!
Nerf has a better community than airsoft in almost every way
they are so helpful and kind and that's what makes a group like this fantastic
i go airsofting from time to time and every time I've been there I've had help each time I've been there, lots of people there dislike the youtube side of it that try and brandish everyone as cheaters but everyone when your in the safe zone is so chill and everyone has a good time and helps out newbies
I mean your not always gonna be in a good mood when you can actually feel the hits
@@Mr.Nobody5899 trust me, you feel the hits. I have small bruises from high power nerf darts. My personal blaster hits around 250fps. And our darts weigh 1.0 g.
Having been to this field myself, I can confirm it's just as fun as it looks!
It might look intimidating from the outside seeing a bunch of folks strapped to the gills in equipment and gear, but it's genuinely such a great time all around. Happy to see more coverage on our little hobby!
Trust me it definitely doesn't look intimidating at all. It's nerf. Lol
@@tommychoppa7564 lol right? 😀
Wow you're such a big boy
I think the gun culture question about this hobby is super interesting, especially considering international communities. I'm Australian, and I've recently been getting into the hobby. My pipeline was via modding itself - I love DIY projects and what started as wanting a cool "functional" toy cowboy revolver has led me down a wandering path of nerdy blasters galore.
But it has been a really interesting balance exploring the hobby while also living in a part of Australia with staunch gun laws, as well as a culture of caution regarding guns. One of the first questions I ALWAYS get asked when showing off my latest project is "is this legal?", and it can genuinely be a complicated and intimidating thing to answer. It's really nice to see some positive coverage of the hobby, and hopefully this will lead to a better global understanding and appreciation of harmless fun.
It is super interesting because the entire negative connotation about gun culture is a literal scapegoat pushed by a certain mindset of politicos and media to not have to deal with the complexity of increasing mental health crisis in western societies. The truth is the govt will not protect your life, they will only investigate your murder after the fact. We all have the right to defend ourselves by the best means possible.
even these fun lighthearted documentaries vice kills it
Vice earned my respect with their “blasters”30 seconds in! Solid piece to explain our hobby!
I just got into the hobby in the past year.
I gotta say, there's something about it that makes it not only easy to get into, but get this: It's FUN.
All you need are safety glasses and a friend who's willing to take a dart to the face.
And of course, a couple bins of AF Pros or DZ Waffleheads...
Face or the groin? 😂😂😂
And some springs, lipo charger, new flywheels, a 3D printer etc.
@@LMvdB02 Getting a 3D printer just for nerf modding was the best decision I made.
I used to think these things would cost 1500USD or something, but nowadays you can get a very good printer for 200-300USD!
Airsoft is better imo if had some surreal moments playing airsoft idk it feels more realistic and like there’s more of a Consequence to getting hit
Worked at a theatre years ago and we use to host events like this. Great times and a lot of fun.
My man was enjoying himself fully.
Some of my friends and I recently started a club where we are. I saw this headline and I really thought it was going to be a huge diss on the hobby, but I was refreshed to see that the reporter got engaged and did what we do best. Have fun.
I've never seen Cap's workshop and field in such beautiful & clear video resolution. 💙
:):) it really is!
I didn't know this was a thing. It looks like a lot of fun . I'm a childish adult so it's right up my alley.
Nerf is quite a fun hobby, I love to play in games and such and I would highly recommend giving it a try!
It is different than other shooting sports in that there is zero possibility that you would be playing with nerf and not remember every single second of the time that your playing with a children’s toy. It’s good clean fun. The best thing about it is you will never find an more accepting and accommodating group of people either than Nerf hobbyists.
Do it! Find a local game and go! People will lend you blasters and ammo, it's a hoot. Get a crazy workout or play it easy. I can't recommend it enough.
If you dig a little you’ll find people modifying blasters to shoot harder and faster, and a slew of 3d printed blasters of various capabilities. There are tons of options which make it a bit more exciting than basic stuff of the shelves.
It's a blast (pun intended).
Capt. Xavier is the perfect choice to introduce people to the adult foamflinging.
Well done!
This is amazing to see. Captain Xavier is the perfect example of someone who is both a creative force to be reckoned with as well as a generally knowledgeable and kind person. And Nerf is full of those people. Glad to see that more attention is being brought to the hobby!
One of the best things I've seen in a long time!!! Very positive way to release stress and I can see how it can possibly help with PTSD as well!!! Good for them for doing what most of us wish we could.
I've been hosting in the Philly area for quite some time. It's nice to see coverage that sheds a very respectful light on our hobby. We may not be perfect, but more often than not, you'll find a lot of solid friends in this hobby.
The Cap. is definitely one of the best people to go to for this coverage too.
Unfortunately we dont have such events up in Canada. Great video! 👍 💪
Actually, you do. There is a fairly decent Nerf Community in Canada. I am friends with several of them.
@@CaptainXavierwhat I wish I could go to nerf events, I’m in mass 😢
So proud of vice for doing a proper report on the hobby The Nerf hobby has been wonders for me taking a break from doing security, has got me into 3D printing soldering and electronics and have made tons of friends it's a great little hobby to get into and there's one little group in every town Nexus pro 150 FPS out of the box, is probably your best option for 50 bucks to get in right away
This is the type of content i dont mind watching from Vice. Fun video.
WATCH NEXT: 'Potential Environmental Nuclear Bomb': The Disappearing Salt Lake - th-cam.com/video/e_c7Oja2Smo/w-d-xo.html
Got the nexus a couple years back because I said that for Xmas I wanted a red rider BB gun ( as a joke ) then played with the foam blaster, now I’m addictived and so are my nephews. Captain Xavier puts out quality content and actually reply’s to comments, his channel is really good.
Thanks!
This is up there for top 5 Vice videos this year
Having played with and against Chaylo, I can say he brings both seriousness and silliness, in equal amounts, to the foam front.
It is really nice to see piece that does not paint the foam flinging hobby as something to be mocked
As someone who plays magfed paintball, Nerf was definitely what introduced me to paintball/airsoft type stuff. Nerf is absolutely fun, but i wanted a more high intensity sport. If you're not looking for a more painful experience like paintball, i definitely recommend nerf.
NERF and Super Soakers were and still are fun. I love magfed paintball, but you have to love the roots too 😊
Really tickled to see a positive news story about the hobby. It is goofy and most of us like it that way, glad they showed the fun!
They definitely picked one of the best Nerfers in the world to interview. You can’t verbally out maneuver Xavier. He’s extremely smart and well spoken. Fun seeing them use footage from the Blaster Battle in there for a moment too. Haha.
End of the day? We all just like to have fun.
LOL I love the hosts candid banter with everyone. Just keeping it real
This isnt weird. this is a win for sure. There are people out there who didnt have fun as a child.
We need more stuff like this because I feel like most adults got so wrapped in the cycle of nine to five work for someone else that we are all desperate for fun like this but can't admit it
“I refuse to pretend that fun things are no longer fun just because I got older”. That line hit home 4 me & I can relate to that! I still play certain video games & with certian toys I grew up playin with & im 21 goin on 22 next February. 💯
One of your best fluff pieces to date, thanks for keeping it lighthearted today.
I can't even lie to you I clicked on this video with the intent at laughing at this but now at the end of the video although it's still not for me I am happy that this exists and these people are out here doing something they love
I loved the arrow shooters as a kid. The Arrowstorm was perfect out of the box and its tips could fit darts. Cutting the nozzle off the end of the Bow&Arrow doubled its range.
These types of events can be a lot of fun and I hope this report helps spread awareness of their existence so that even more people can enjoy them.
You don’t know how happy I am to see my favorite TH-camrs featured on vice. Captain Xavier is the man when it comes to modded blasters, he has a whole juggernaut style outfit to go with his mini gun mod which he takes to games with him. He also buys blasters for cheap to give to kids who need a new blaster. Captain Xavier is my favorite
Can somebody make a poster from the Captain's quote at the end> "I refuse to pretend that fun things are no longer fun just because I got old." it is such a tidy way to sum up this hobby.
This general topic is fascinating. It wasn't until recent time that it really became known in the public sphere that there are people still playing with "toys". As far as anyone can tell, it's not specifically a new phenomena. At the very least we were broadly aware of this kinda activity for decades. Such as people collecting GI Joes and action figures, often derided as dolls. And while we knew about it, it's only recently that any kind of social acceptability has come to pass.
Some things are easier to accept than other, like nerf blasters here. Though even then the interviewer still cracks a joke about adults refusing to grow up.
The moral here is do what makes you happy as long as it harms no one else and is reasonably safe for you. Who knows, you may get a successful TH-cam or twitch channel.
Finally a Militia I wanna Join
Agreed 😂😂😂
So wholesome. Thanks for brightening my TH-cam feed. More hard hitting, but also more like this please.
Looks like solid fun. Bunch of friends hanging out and staying active, and no one gets hurt.
This totally rules, looks like a really fun and safe way to enjoy that part of American culture
I'm imagining the combat vet in a ghillie suit living off the grid. Showing off his arsenal of Nerf blasters.
This actually looks fun hope someone starts something like this in the San Francisco Bay Area.
There is a huge group of nerfers in the Bay Area. I’m sure you connect with them (the club is called Bay Area Nerf).
The hobby is actually very popular in the Bay Area, Especially San Jose. I've played at two Ragnarocktoberfests in 2018 and 2019 in San Jose. There will be a Ragnarocktoberfest there in 2023 that I am so excited about!
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN! This is the man that single handedly taught me how to Thrift & Mod Nerf Blasters through his channel. I now have an Armory of 70+ Blasters. "Captain Pews" is actually "Dr. Pews" and is a splendid individual. Great to see this kind of coverage on our Hobby. Very Nice.👌
This seems like something that would end up on inter dimensional cable
How refreshing to see grown men acting like ‘Nerdy’ kids in this world of haters. Rock On Dudes! 🤩
@@thotslayer9914 Wtf is wrong with you? Your a stupid kid!
i can 100% agree once you hit 30's you stop caring and start truly doing what makes you happy
I love this video man, great positive outlook on the hobby. Xaviers one of the goats as well, glad they got him on.
We did this in college. We'd enter the science building after hours to play, biggest group we had was about 60 for a zombie game. It actually had a concentrated zombie horde chasing down the last few survivors. It was a hassle when security booted us out.
As a nerfer I compliment vice for not making us look like some people who can't grow up, or the " beta airsofters"
This is the content we wanted from Vice.
Ugh this was nice, no need to make it meta, just approve or not
Hey! I'm glad to see the nerf community getting more exposure.
no way they put the cap on vice news, thats crazy
I've legit never played Nerf, but this honestly looks like a shitload of fun
Go do it! It is. Paintball but sillier!
It is.
This was a good fun story. You need more positive ones like this one.
It is kind of nice to have a middle ground between Airsoft and Nerf
more like between paintball and nerf
Nerf is a shooting sport without any pretense that it’s anything other than pure fun. You’ll never find a more fun-loving and accepting group of people than the in the Nerfing hobby.
Some decent fun content from Vice for a change.
America is pretty messed up, makes sense. But I enjoyed this
As a nerf organizer at a campus, thanks for the coverage. It’s a good community
People finally realizing how fun NERF guns are ☺🥳
Shout out to the journalist, loved his vibe
in 3 years of Vice news this is pure gold
These are the kind of nerf battles I want
I was obsessed with nerf modding in 2008 spending my time on nerfhaven and youtube, this makes me want to revisit it.
The Nerf military armament that takes flinging foam to a new level
Would have been nice to highlight the STEM aspects of the hobby including the fully community designed ones too.
Calling it STEM when its all very basic CAD design is a bit of an overstatement
Man that looks so dang fun, wish we had that where I live.
Man used to watch so many old TH-camr nerf channels doing narratives just the best videos when I was growing up I wanted a whole gang of nerf users so we can do battles but man seeing this makes me happy
Love the fact that vice decided to use the same serious background music and editing to cover a fun hobby lmao
Love to see people living their best life and have fun
No way. I found this guy a few days ago through his TH-cam shorts!! So insane 😂🤘🏼
Welcome. Check out the others, mayve? Doctor Flux does some crazy builds as well and Walcom S7 has the largest collection of NERF blasters.
The reporter to the all black team had me absolutely howling with laughter. Great reporting and great mini doc.
Those nerf bows were pretty dope though NGL. I got good with mine when I was a lad. This dude has the playground I want to go to
I'm a Nerfer from the Philippines, and we've got a huge community here.
This hobby isn't only in the US, We've got clubs worldwide!!
I love this kind content and it’s nice to see stuff like this. They seem like so much fun!
Thank you for covering this! I ran a Dart Tag club in Christchurch, New Zealand for 8 years and they were the best fun times I’ve had in my life! Made soooo many friends and fought soo many battles and seeing this vid with Chaylo and crew has just made me happy!
This is really cool becuase you'd never be able to do paintball or airsoft in a mall.
This is awesome, keep it up people. Great activity, safe, social and positive.
I would 100% do this. This is harmless fun, it's competitive it's get people moving and running around and socializing, there's literally nothing wrong.
I think this will catch on more as the technology improves