Five Questions with Lacr All-Star and New GoPro Ambaador, Paul Rabil

Five Questions with Lacrosse All-Star and New GoPro Ambassador, Paul Rabil

Lacrosse is one of the oldest team sports in North America, dating back to Native American and Plains Indian tribes. Traditional lacrosse games were often major events that could last several days with as many as 100 to 1,000 men participating and goals ranging from 500 yards to six miles apart.

Today's lacrosse, popularized on the east coast at the high school and collegiate level, is now one of the fastest growing team sports in the country, and All-Star player Paul Rabil is one of it's most decorated athletes.

GoPro is thrilled to welcome Rabil into its family of ambassadors and as the first GoPro team sports athlete. In celebration of the partnership, we launched GoPro: Paul Rabil Do One More, an original production featuring Rabil, showcasing his unique point of view, philosophy and play of the game.

As an ambassador, Rabil will use GoPro cameras to capture unique points of view never before seen in lacrosse and help bring greater exposure to the sport he has dedicated his life to. Rabil's content will be used for entertainment and instructional purposes, showcasing immersive video from play on the field, strength and conditioning training, practice drills and his travels around the world for the sport.

We had the chance to sit down with Rabil and talk with him about his passion for the sport and how he uses GoPro to capture and share his very unique story:

What drew you to the sport?

Lacrosse has the physicality of football, the hand eye coordination of basketball, the speed and endurance of soccer. That was really attractive to me in my youth and remains one of the things that excites me most about the sport today. As a young kid I excelled in team sports, but I was getting pulled in a lot of different directions. In high school, I was able to excel in lacrosse by combining all of the different skill sets from the sports I had played previously and I never looked back.

What is the hardest thing about lacrosse?

That is a difficult question! There are a lot of things that make play challenging, from the pace of play to the contact and speed required to get by your defender and the precision and control needed to control this tiny rubber ball, which is being passed at high velocity 20 to 30 yards between teammates. But I think the coolest part of the game is the unique style of each player. There are obviously coaching tips and points, but there's so much opportunity for players to express themselves through the sport, right down to the equipment they use. In lacrosse, the ball is the only thing that's standard issue. Everyone picks their own style of protective gear, stick, and every player strings their own head. It's unlike any other team sport out there and I love that players are totally in control of their equipment and style. It's so unique.

What hurts most after a match?

Probably my arms. As an offensive player, I'm always going up against long pole defenders and I'm getting bashed across my arms, which means a lot of bruises. My legs also get pretty tired. A midfielder runs an average of three to five miles in a typical game!

How did you start using GoPro?

My mom got me my first GoPro for Christmas it was the original HERO camera, which I still have! From the very beginning I saw GoPro as an opportunity to capture content for lacrosse from unique points of view. In general, lacrosse isn't a regularly covered by the sports networks so there is a ton of opportunity to bring the sport to life and do some really compelling storytelling. I started posting my content on social media and it really started to drum up attention, including from the GoPro team.

What is your favorite mount/setting?

It really depends on what I'm shooting. I'm putting a lot of work into developing content for The Paul Rabil Experience, my online subscription service, which gives video instruction on different skills required for the game, my strength and conditioning programs and my nutrition and meals. If I'm shooting conversational Q&As for subscribers I use the tripod mount and I'm shooting with my HERO4 Black in a Medium frame and usually not over 1080 resolution -- max res capacity of my YouTube channel.

When Im outside dodging and shooting, Ill shoot in 4k. Ive also been messing around with the new HERO4 Black upgrade going at 240 frames per second, really slowing down the skill when I'm editing.

I use a ton of different mounts depending on the type of shot I'm looking to get, primarily the Chesty, Helmet Mount and Jaws Flex Clamp on goal.

Okay, I know this is actually six questions, but what do you hope people will remember about you as a lacrosse player?

It's the championship teams that I've been a part of at every level. There are three guys in lacrosse that have won a Division 1, MLL, NLL and World Championship, and Im lucky enough to have accomplished that by the time I was 27. I joined lacrosse legends, Gary Gait and Tom Marechek, with this honor and it's something I'm super proud of.

I also hope it's for the work I've done off the field to support and elevate the sport. I am constantly challenging myself to grow, build my brand, and expand my businesses to innovate in the game, and lower the barriers to entry as we get more people involved in lacrosse.

All along the way, I want to leave proof of my impact by capturing and creating really amazing and unique content for the lacrosse community. I want to be great at telling the story of lacrosse to the world.

LINK:	http://gopro.com/news/five-questions-with-lacrosse-all-star-and-new-go...
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