Editing Ryan Brand

'''Ryan Brand''' is a paintball coach, former professional player and co-founder of [[Project Paintball]]. He played professionally for [[San Antonio X-Factor]] before becoming the team's coach in 2011. His coaching career includes X-Factor's 2019 [[National Xball League|NXL]] season championship.[1][2]

== Playing career ==
Brand began playing paintball in 1997 and entered competitive play in 2003. He was an original member of the BKIT movement and became a professional player with San Antonio X-Factor in 2006.[1]

He later participated in mechanical ten-player competition with [[Infamous (paintball team)|Infamous]]. At the inaugural [[International Classic Paintball League|ICPL]] ten-player event, held at Chicago Badlandz on 1 and 2 June 2019, Brand and [[Archie Montemayor]] joined an Infamous roster combining current players, former members and guests. The team finished second.[3]

== Coaching career ==
Brand began coaching X-Factor in 2011.[1] A contemporary preseason interview confirmed his coaching role ahead of the 2013 season.[4]

In 2019, X-Factor won the NXL Philadelphia Open and Chicago event before securing the overall NXL season title. The team finished three points ahead of [[Russian Legion]] in the season standings.[2]

An NXL retrospective credited Brand's tactical planning as an important part of the Chicago victory, where X-Factor completed the tournament with seven wins and no losses.[2]

Brand continued coaching X-Factor in subsequent seasons. The team's official roster for the 2025 NXL Tampa Bay Open lists him as a coach.[5]

== Project Paintball ==
In 2019, Brand and his longtime teammate Archie Montemayor founded Project Paintball. The company specialises in limited-production paintball equipment and clothing, including customised markers and playing accessories.[6]

== Recognition ==
Brand received the Coach of the Year award at the Summit Awards presented in 2025.[7]

== See also ==
* [[San Antonio X-Factor]]
* [[Archie Montemayor]]
* [[Project Paintball]]
* [[Infamous (paintball team)]]
* [[International Classic Paintball League]]

== References ==
# [https://paintballnerd.com/blogs/interviews/fun-five-with-ryan-brand Fun Five Interview with Ryan Brand]. Paintball Nerd, 2 January 2023.
# [https://www.nxlpaintball.com/post/a-history-of-the-nxl-chicago-champions A History of the NXL Chicago Champions]. National Xball League, 9 September 2021.
# [https://infamouspaintball.com/blogs/events-news/the-first-icpl-10-man-mechanical-event The First ICPL 10 Man Mechanical Event]. Infamous Paintball, 20 June 2019.
# [https://www.socialpaintball.com/2013/02/15/san-antonio-x-factor-coach-ryan-brand-2013-preseason-update/ San Antonio X-Factor, Coach Ryan Brand, 2013 Preseason Update]. Social Paintball, 15 February 2013.
# [https://pbleagues.com/team/roster/XuhPJlpYRKzXOPft San Antonio X-Factor at NXL Tampa Bay Open 2025]. PBLeagues.
# [https://prjctpaintball.com/ PROJECT official website]. Project Paintball.
# [https://www.iconicpaintball.com/post/2025-summit-award-winners-best-paintball-players-of-the-year 2025 Summit Award Winners, Best Paintball Players of the Year]. Iconic Paintball, 26 June 2025.

[[Category:Players]]
[[Category:Paintball coaches]]
[[Category:Paintball industry people]]