You may have seen recurve archer, Anthony Marino, at USAT events but not because of the bow in his hand, but because of the camera. We asked him some questions to find out more about what Shore Shot Archery is and what he is doing to support the sport we love.
Where did Shore Shot Archery come from?
Shore Shot Archery came from me trying my best to combine where I live (The East Coast of New Jersey by the Atlantic Ocean) with my passion for archery. So, the Shore in Shore Shot is, well, the Sea Shore. It’s an identifier of my roots and where I am from. At the same time, it is a great play on words because it sounds like the word Sure and we all want to be Sure or Shore of our shot. The last part Archery is easy it tells people what I do. If I just went with Shore Shot as my companies name it may get confused with firearms, pool or anything else that has a shot in it. Plus, archery needs more visibility so I am right out front with it here. That’s why we are Shore Shot Archery.
What are your goals for this video series?
My goals of the videos and the different series come from 3 different fronts. Now these fronts sometimes overlap but in their purest form they are to educate, entertain, and to inspire. On the education front I have videos like “How To…” and “Tournament Tour XYZ”. This helps get people to be more comfortable in the sport. This was driven some by a story I read about a new NASA employee who said his 1st day on the job was like learning a new language. Well archery may not be rocket science but to someone new it can be overwhelming. So, I have done my best to make it simple and explain things. Now for the entertainment front this is my attempt to entertain archers and archers-to-be. With the goal to get them to look further into archery content and just new ways of thinking about archery. Some examples of these videos are my “Funday Sunday” and “My Thoughts” videos. With the first being funnier and the latter being more serious. Now for the 3rd inspiring archers. This is aimed at filming top archers and sharing those clips with everyone. I can not tell you how many people thank me for filming their top/favorite archer. They tell me the clips inspire them to shoot more and they like to examine them to see how top shooters form works.
Do you prefer behind the camera or behind the bow?
Now that’s a tough question! I would say it depends on the situation. Being behind the bow is awesome; its just me, the bow, and we are shooting arrows into the target. I can focus on myself and working on my shot. I feel it really allows me to work on myself, it’s like targeted self-improvement. On the other hand, being behind the camera has its own benefits. I can really pour my passion of archery into my videos. It allows me to create something that can affect the lives of others. I can express my creativity in my videos and that is something I can not do in my shot if I want to consistently hit the target. So, in short, when I want to be the best I can be its behind the bow. When I want to take creative risks and discover new things, it behind the camera.
What has archery taught you beyond the sport?
It has taught me that if you putting everything you have into something without a plan, you will probably find 1,000 ways to climb a mountain without ever actually getting to the top. I am not saying you will not learn something, because you will. You should learn things like your patience, work ethic, desire to success, and mental fortitude, but most importantly, a plan. Because without a plan, it doesn’t matter how good you are at the above things. You just have potential with no direction. What you really want is direction and magnitude. You get the magnitude from using your patience, work ethic, desire to succeed, and mental fortitude in a direction. I feel archery has taught me this, especially since for most things in archery I had to learn the hard way. I have found 1,000 ways to climb that mountain or shoot that bow. But now I know what I am made of, and I have a direction. That lesson I can apply to every part of my life for the rest of my life.
Your mom, Sharon, is a big member of team Shore Shot. What does it take to work as a team?
Yes, my mom is a great help but my father Tony and brother Matthew have also been a big help. They are more of the behind-the-scenes work that no one sees. Shore Shot has really become a family business. At first it was just me with inputs from the rest of my family, but now they play an active part in Shore Shot Archery’s growth and development. I find that to work as a team, you need great communication and to understand where the other person is coming from. Because if you can’t talk about a problem then its doesn’t get solved and it can’t grow into something bigger. My family has always been good at communicating with each other and I think this is one of the aspects that is driving Shore Shot’s success.
What has been your best day so far – either as an archer or a camera man?
For this question, I have one for both. As a camera man, it is great to capture that moment in someone’s shot where its complete poetry, it’s a work of art in itself. Then being able to share that with others all over the world via video just puts the cherry on top. As an archer, my best days are either when I am struggling and figure out a solution which leads to great shooting or when I am just shooting well. You know when that shot, whether it’s mine or someone else’s, is just pure poetry, that’s what makes the best days for me.
Where can people find your videos?
You can find my videos on my YouTube Channel Shore Shot Archery. I also post the videos on Shore Shot Archery Facebook and the behind the scenes clips and things I am up to on my Instagram anthonyarchery720.