Hostile Kids

Hostile Kids (HK) was an American tournament paintball team and player community associated with SC Village in Southern California.[1] Its members included players who progressed into professional competition, while the wider HK community provided the foundation for the HK Army equipment and apparel business.[2][3]

Contemporary results record a team named Hostle Kidz at SC Village in June 2001 and Hostile Kids competing in Division 2 X-Ball in March 2004. Later teams using the HK identity included Hollywood HK and Giant HK.[4][5][6][7]

Origins

Former captain Alex Cadalso traced the name to an undated youth tournament run by Hostile Takeover at Tombstone Paintball in Corona, California. Scott Kressin, Mark Kressin and Steve Nabi won the event.[1]

The group expanded for Cal Jam seven-player competition through connections with Dead On and Mutiny. Recruits included Josh Myers, Bobby Aviles and Vinnie Palmieri; Cadalso and Cassidy Sanders joined from Mutiny.[1]

Alex Fraige recalled encountering Hostile Kids in early 2002 wearing a shield resembling the IronKids emblem. This prompted a challenge match, which IronKids won.[1]

Cadalso credited Todd Martinez with arranging practices against Avalanche, and named Markus Nielsen and Steve Quan as supporters.[1]

Tournament competition

Early records

The Xtreme Tournament Circuit standings for 2 and 3 June 2001 list Hostle Kidz tenth in the rookie division at SC Village. The spelling is that used in the published standings, which do not provide an individual roster.[4]

Cadalso said the team also entered NPPL events as Check It Factory.[1] Contemporary scoreboards place Check It Factory in the novice division at the 2003 National Professional Paintball League events in Huntington Beach and Las Vegas. It reached the quarterfinal stage at both tournaments.[8][9]

Hostile Kids subsequently competed in Division 2 X-Ball at the Paintball Sports Promotions Los Angeles Open in Pomona in March 2004. WARPIG recorded a 6-5 victory over OK Outlaws during the event.[5]

Date	Event	Entry name in the source	Recorded result
2 and 3 June 2001	Xtreme Tournament Circuit, SC Village	Hostle Kidz	10th, rookie division.[4]
7 to 9 February 2003	NPPL Huntington Beach	Check It Factory	Novice quarterfinalist.[8]
10 to 13 April 2003	NPPL Las Vegas	Check It Factory	Novice quarterfinalist.[9]
3 to 7 March 2004	PSP Los Angeles Open, Pomona	Hostile Kids	Division 2 X-Ball participation; recorded a 6-5 match win over OK Outlaws.[5]

Roster changes

Professional teams recruited players from Hostile Kids. At the February 2004 Mardi Gras Open, the Los Angeles Ironmen fielded Paul Katic and Scott Kemp, both identified in contemporary reporting as former Hostile Kids players.[2]

In a 2012 interview, Sanders recalled repeated departures from the early HK core and the difficulty of assembling a regular line-up. He preferred playing with his existing teammates and eventually stepped away to study and work.[3]

Cadalso also identified financial difficulties as a barrier to completing an NPPL season.[1]

Style and media

Hostile Kids became associated with Agg, a paintball term encompassing appearance, attitude and playing ability. Later commentary connected the term to Southern California surfing and skateboarding culture and discussed its association with HK Army and pbFashion.[10][11]

David "Quittski" Quittman filmed the Hostile Kids and surrounding Southern California scene through 818 Productions. The historical archive maintained by Iconic Paintball preserves films including 818 Mixtape 2.1 and HK Army Mix, catalogued as approximately 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 respectively.[10]

Sanders later contributed to HK Army's promotional films. In his 2012 interview, he described his work filming players who supported the brand.[3]

Development of HK Army

HK Army identifies 2007 as its commercial founding year.[12] Sanders recalled returning after several years away to find that former teammates had developed HK Army into a clothing company. He then contributed his filmmaking and other creative work.[3]

The team identity and the commercial operation appeared alongside each other at events. A March 2008 Bears Cup report identified Mark Kressin at an HK Army clothing and pbFashion headgear booth, while separately recording Hollywood HK's attendance with its tour bus.[6]

The business subsequently expanded into a broader equipment range, including goggles, loaders, air systems, barrels and protective equipment.[12]

Later HK teams

Hollywood HK

Hollywood HK was documented by November 2007, when it finished second at the Spyder Cup Grand Finale.[13]

A team list published in March 2008 included Mark Kressin, Scott Kressin, Steve Nabi, Jason Pineda, Bear D'Egidio, Damian Ryan, Jason Calef and Rory Naminatsu.[6]

Hollywood HK won Division 1 at the NPPL San Diego event in November 2008, defeating LA Hitmen in the final. This was an event victory; the Division 1 series championship went to Aftermath II.[14]

International appearances and Giant HK

In September 2010, organisers announced that Scott Kressin, Mark Kressin and Josh Myers would represent HK Army in the X-Ball competition at the Fed Cup in Britain.[15]

In March 2012, Social Paintball announced Giant HK for Division 1 at the NPPL Surf City Open in Huntington Beach. The proposed squad included the Kressin brothers, D'Egidio, Nabi and Josh Victorino. D'Egidio described it as a reunion following several years of occasional tournament entries with changing players.[7]

References

From Street Rats to World Class Pros. Alex Fraige, including an interview with Alex Cadalso; reproduced on Paintball Forum, 1 August 2004.
Mardi Gras Open 2004. Dawn Mills, WARPIG, 12 to 15 February 2004.
Cassidy Sanders Interview. ProPaintball, February 2012; reproduced by Dave McAuley, 19 May 2012.
Xtreme Tournament Circuit: Overall Standings. WARPIG, SC Village, 2 and 3 June 2001.
PSP LA Open 2004. WARPIG, 3 to 7 March 2004.
Bears Cup: March 2008. Bear D'Egidio, including HK Army Booth! on 10 March and Hollywood HK 2008 on 12 March 2008.
HK Rides Again. Sqyire, Social Paintball, 27 March 2012.
Huntington Beach NPPL: Quarter Finals Scoreboard. WARPIG, 7 to 9 February 2003.
NPPL 2003 Las Vegas: Finals Scoreboard. WARPIG, 10 to 13 April 2003.
Nostalgia: 818 Productions. Iconic Paintball, historical film archive. Accessed 27 October 2026.
On Agglettes. Andrew Levick, Social Paintball, 20 January 2012.
About HK Army. HK Army, official company history. Accessed 27 October 2026.
Dynasty Entourage Wins $120,000. Nice Gunns, 10 November 2007.
NPPL San Diego. WARPIG, 14 to 16 November 2008.
HK Army to play FED Cup!!. Organiser announcement on P8ntballer, 7 September 2010.

External links