By Grant Kramb
With Summer League season kicking off this week I thought it would be a good time to talk about my journey with axe throwing and how I became a member of the American Axes family. I started here looking for a connection, not only to what I was doing but to the people I was surrounded with. I call it a family because that is the easiest way to describe it, not only with my peers but with all of the members as well, relationships have formed that I am lucky to have. Funny enough those relationships have driven me to improve my game, and although I have a long way to go it’s good to see you all doing the same.
I have always been motivated, almost to a fault, by winning; simply put, I cannot stand any other outcome. It does not matter the activity whether its a simple card game or a heated tournament game during week 8. My first time throwing was a disaster, I was a baseball player that motion was all I knew, I am sure you can hear the thumps of the axe against the board at 90MPH right now. With a little help from our resident pro Colton I became consistent sticking and was finally and axe thrower. It was not until I saw a league night though that I wanted more, the competition and community, what could be better? That is when it all really started for me.
I bought my first axe and I went to work, I started with an Estwing which may not be the greatest choice for a competition axe but it was a start. Something you all may or may not know about me is I am obsessive about things I have a passion for. I love baseball, something me and Dan have bonded over, and now I love axes. I spend endless hours teaching myself different throws that I saw on TV. I would watch past tournaments anywhere I could find them and try every little thing I saw the pros doing. I am still doing that and I would recommend everyone else do the same. You can always be better, try things, give them a real chance and maybe you will too.
Of course, so much has changed for me and American Axes as a whole since I started my throwing journey. I am now on my millionth different throw surely to be millionth and one by next week; I am now throwing my seventh different axe with more coming. At American Axes we have transitioned to WATL which sparked something in a lot of us I am sure, new challenges and the always arm-length goals we have all set. Perfection, pro status, killshots hit, games won, whatever it is that pushes you keep using it. After all, even with all of this change we still do this for the same reasons we started in the first place; a little friendly competition.
For me my goals are clearer than ever, I will earn my pro status… I will go to worlds and represent American Axes, hopefully with some of you all as well. I have a long way to go but who doesn’t love a challenge. Good luck to all of our throwers throughout the rest of Summer season, I can’t wait to get better with everyone!