Jeremiah “Prince” Labiano’s is back in 2010
SEBURO: Oakland Blast called you a couple of weeks ago to play for them in 2010. Tell us about how this came about.
PRINCE: Well I’ve been sitting on my ass on the off season and haven’t played paintball very much due to the main fact that I didn’t know who I was going to play with for the 2010 season and also I’ve just been busy at work (yes I do have a real job). I’ve got a few calls from other teams but no moves were ever made, plus I wanted a local gig. I’ve talked to Jason Bornstein, Dave Baines (before he made the move to impact), and Tyler Harmon about playing for BLAST in 2010 and nothing was really set in stone until the legendary Terry Fong texted me a couple weeks ago and said if I want the spot, it’s mine. I had to take it!
SEBURO: Tell us what you think about joining a team who are the 2009 USPL Series champions and coached by the legendary Bob Long.
PRINCE: I’ve known everyone on the team for a while now. BLAST has been our local sparring partners for th last few years. My strongest relationship I’d say I have with the current members on BLAST are the bros, Jason and Corey. We go way back since before I even played pro and when Corey didn’t even like chicks. I had the opportunity to play with them for a couple of seasons with the Bushwackers, which I definitely enjoyed. Everyone else I’ve known for a while too, but never really had the chance to play on the same team as them so I’m really looking to strengthen my ties with all the other guys on the team this season.
I really feel honored to be given the opportunity to play with BLAST this season. With the team being the USPL series champs last year, I really need to step my game up and bring the heat. I’m not worried at all because we definately got a nasty line up! Playing for Bob is big too! He’s an OG of the game and when I first started playing paintball, he’s one on the people that inspired me to be the best I could be in the sport, which I think got me where I’m at today. Bob definitely knows what he’s doing and I’m excited to work with him this season!
PRINCE: I’m definitely looking forward to playing with jason and Corey again this season. Like I said, we go way back and we’re definately going to have some more memorable moments this season both on and off the field. I can’t wait!
SEBURO: You have been away for most of last season as the Bushwackers slowly disappeared from the scene. What have you been doing in the meantime?
PRINCE: Well, ever since the Bushwackers collapsed, I’ve just been focusing on graduating college, which I’m projected to do this spring, working, and training Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, and MMA. To be honest, I didn’t even think I was going to play this season. I just got really burnt out with what had happened with the Bushwackers and after seeing all the drama that was going on in the industry, I was over it. It felt good doing other things, other than paintbalI, in the off season. I could get sloppy on Saturday night and not have to worry about making it to Jackson’s house (big ups to my man Jackson Cheung of San Francisco Explicit) at 7am to bum a ride to Capital Edge Paintball in Sacramento to practice! Also I think training helped me refocus and it got me to where I needed to be for this season, both physically and mentally. I’m looking to do big things in the MMA world too, but now that the new year has arrived it’s time to grind!
SEBURO: Can you tell is what happened to the Ron Kilbourne and the Bushwackers?
PRINCE: To be honest, I don’t know what happened to Ron. After PSP Chicago last year he disappeared off the face of the earth. He wouldn’t answer any phone calls and nobody could get a hold of him, not even the sponsors. Players began dropping like flies and in the end it was just me, Ryan, Chunk, and Mike. Money ran tight and we just couldn’t afford to go to the last events. Even if we wanted to continue to play the USPL, although the entry was already paid, we didn’t have money to travel and also didn’t even have a full roster to compete.
SEBURO: What has happened to the rest of the Bushwackers? We know where Jason, Corey, Greg and Shane went, what about Chunk, Ryan and Neil?
PRINCE: The last I heard from Chunk (Martin), he’s been working and bailing criminals out of jail (he’s a bail bondsman). I think he still plays and helps out and coaches the SCU paintball team. You can find Ryan (Podesta) at the local paintball fields beating up on noobs and working at his 10,000,000 jobs. I think he still has his overseas gig and is going to be playing in the Millenium Series this year. Also he will be becoming a father soon (yeah…I know…Ryan having a kid..scary!). So congrats to him! Neil (Eberle) has been working multiple jobs too and by the way he’s been popping kids out like hot cakes, he’s probably going to need to get another one soon! Mike is playing for Fuzion this season and that’s pretty much it.
PRINCE: I’m doing pretty good fighting. I started off doing Jiu Jitsu and it just led in to MMA and Muay Thai. So far, I’ve fought 2 MMA smokers, 1 MMA Pankration fight, 1 Muay Thai smoker, and a dozen Jiu Jitsu tournaments. Technically theres no winner in smoker fights but check out my videos on youtube (search for “50jerm”) and you can see how I get down! The pankration fight I tapped the guy out in like 2 minutes, and they actually declare a winner so thats the only fight I really consider myself winning. This year I’m looking to fight amatuer MMA and maybe PRO depending on what my trainer wants me to do. Also I’m looking to compete in as many Jiu Jitsu competitions as I can this year. I got first place in the blue belt featherweight division a couple weeks ago and I’m looking to get as many medals as I can! I really got in to fighting last year and I plan on taking this as far as I can, just like I did with paintball.
SEBURO: You are one of the fittest guys I know, you are doing some kind of training every day. What is your routine? How do you find the time to gym, train, study, school and work?
PRINCE: I always find time to work out. I’m a big advocate of working out and staying fit and it’s something I think everyone should do, whether or not you compete in any competitive sport or if your just an average Joe. I usually lift weights 3-4 times a week for at least one hour. I usually do chest and biceps on day one, back and triceps on day two, shoulders and traps on day three, and legs on day 4. I train at least 2 days out of the week with mixture of Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, and MMA and this is for at least 2-3 hours a day. I’m a really busy guy. If I’m not at school or work, I’m in the gym lifting weights or trying to choke people out on the mat!
SEBURO: New team – New gun- what is colour scheme you have chosen for the new Bob Long?
PRINCE: We’re shooting Victorys. I went with a different color scheme from my usual red or purple. I’m going to let you guys wait and see when I get it in my hands!
SEBURO: Say something to your fans who haven’t seen you for a while. I’m sure they’d be looking forward to watching you tear up the snake again.
PRINCE: To all my fans out there, if I have any (lol), I want to thank you guys for your support throughout the years. Stay true and keep doing what you guys love to do and do let anyone tell you you can’t do it. Expect big things from BLAST this season and I’m definitely going to try and keep doing what I do best. Getting nasty in that snake! Shout out to all my niggs out there that are still in the game grindin it out every weekend and to my Capital Edge paintball family. Big ups to pbrack.com and If you guys haven’t checked out Pbrack’s new clothing line, go check that out ASAP! If any of you guys are ever in the area and want to train, come check us out at crispimbjj.com for jiu jitsu in Pleasanton CA and True Fight Club for muay Thai in Hayward CA. Good luck to everyone this season and see you all in HB in April! I’m out this bitch!
-Prince
SEBURO: Thank you for your time Prince, I really apprecite it. You have given us a great insight into your life in and out of paintball and we wish you all the best on Blast for 2010 and beyond.
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