For almost two decades, I was in the corporate world. the BPO Industry specifically. But as far as I can remember, I’ve always had a fascination with archery. As a child I would watch the 1984 Robinhood TV series every week until the series ended. Growing up, 2 of my favorite movies were: Robinhood: Prince of Thieves, one of the very few Hollywood flicks with the lead actually having decent Archery grip, alignment and release; and Robinhood: Men in Tights, need I say more. While other kids were busy playing takyan(sipa), I was making stick bows out of bamboo or sometimes guava tree branches. In high school, I was lucky enough to join the University of San Carlos archery team and shoot alongside one of best archers in the country at the time. Archery gear then was not at all easy to come by but we had a great trainer and access to proudly Cebuano made bows. After college, life happened and I couldn’t find the time or place to shoot again. I tried a few times to buy new equipment and get back into the sport but it wasn’t easy then and access was limited. It didn’t help either that customer service wasn’t a thing with Archery stores then.
A couple of years back, an indoor Archery range called Wildbow opened and I was able to shoot again. My love for the sport was rekindled. Before long, I got new gear and started competing again with the help of some awesome local shooters. Although archery equipment had become more accessible then, one thing was still lacking. Pre and post sale support. Someone who could honestly tell you what gear you need and when to get them. I lost count of how much money I wasted on gear that was either low quality gear or equipment that I just didn’t need. I even remember someone trying to sell me hunting sights for the Olympic Recurve that I was setting up. Not every new archer would know that that is a complete mismatch and waste of money.
So in 2019, I decided to step away from the corporate world and fully embrace life as an archer and establish Island Archery. The target, pun intended, is to spread archery among the islands of the Philippines making it more accessible even to the farthest regions in the country. I aim to educate new archers, parents, anyone interested in the sport on the right way to shoot and the right way to go about buying archery equipment.
In the last few years, with the growth of e-commerce and online shopping,it has become a lot easier to buy new archery equipment. With that accessibility, I have also seen a rise in the number of people, mostly parents and new archers, spending money on the wrong equipment. Archery equipment is not cheap and contrary to popular belief, the majority of the serious archers in the country are not well to do or come from well off families. I aim to help everyone make the right choices on what gear to buy and when. I help new archers find out what equipment is right for them at specific points in their archery journey.
Archery is easy to learn but hard to get right. Years in the corporate world have taught me a great many skills that make me a uniquely effective coach. Being an active archer also gives me unique insight in shooting.
Archery supply, education and support. This is Island Archery.
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