PROMOTERS

Fred Shultz stated, “In 1984 my partner and I had a large construction company, and his birthday was coming up and the crew and I wanted to get him something cool. One of the guys that worked for us suggested a Splatmaster paintball marker which I had no idea what the Splatmaster was, but I felt that would make a great gift. It wasn’t long before I realized that I also had to get in on the fun, so I purchased one for myself and by then everyone on the crew had to have one. I was hooked.” 

Fred stated that he started playing on a vacant lot that quickly grew into 45 players. The property became too small and Fred and his partner ended up relocating to a new location that could accommodate. At that time Fred started "Battle Action Games". The new location continued to grow and some of the players decided to form a team called Ironmen and he subsequently formed his own team named Constant Pursuit. 

Fred and his team played mostly local tournaments until they heard about Jim Lively's 15 man in Tennessee known as “The Masters”. 

Shortly after this event, Fred found a new way to create funding for charities and created events and played in charity events everywhere they had one. Fred stated that at one of the events he was approached by Randi Kamiya, the editor for APG. "He had seen me at other charity events and asked who my sponsors were." Fred told him that he had no sponsors and did not mind paying his own way support and play the game and the charities. To his surprise, a picture of him was used as a cover shot (one of many) which launched him into a career in the paintball industry as sponsorships came his way to support his efforts. 

Fred also says that he had the privilege to get sponsored by Tim Schloss, creator and distributor of the Tigerstripe design and brand products, shortly after, Dan Colby of then Air America, and now, Immortal Air, Ross Alexander of line SI, and eventually, Tom Kaye Airgun Designs, and many more supported him with sponsorships. 

Fred’s popularity increased to new heights and his main goal was to “build this sport as big as he could.” Since then, Fred had a number 1 show on ESPN2 shot on the actual New York St. on the Disney lot. The number one show on MTV, Roadrules, put out a video "The Fun Of Paintball With Fred Schultz " that sold almost a million copies and helped bring people into paintball with such great players like Tim Montressor. Fred stated that he has been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to help build our sport, and he feels blessed to have met and developed great friendships with some of the greatest people that have been his friends and supporters for so long.

Fred stated, “Now I want the WCPL to continue to build paintball always thinking of the players. I have had many more achievements in my years involved with paintball, but I think you get the picture. The group that I am with now are some of the greatest people in the sport and I am so proud to be building this new organization with them. Play Hard, Play Safe, Play Fair. Mr.Fred”

In 1984, Fred Schultz was partners in a construction company.  He and his crew wanted to get something special for his partner's birthday.  Someone suggested getting him a Splatmaster paintball gun.

The sport being relatively young at that time, Fred was unaware of what a Splatmaster was, but upon being told, “ I felt that would make a great gift. It wasn’t long before I realized that I also had to get in on the fun, so I purchased one for myself.”

Pretty soon “everyone on the crew had to have one. I was hooked”, and they all began playing games in a vacant lot.  They quickly outgrew that location and Fred opened up “Battle Action Games”.  As play at Battle Action Games grew, teams began to form.  One of them was the Ironmen.  Fred put together Constant Pursuit.

Playing mostly locally, Fred and Constant Pursuit would make their national debut at the “Masters” 15 player woodsball tournament hosted in Tennessee by Jim Lively.

During that time, Fred discovered that paintball made an excellent fund raiser for charities and Fred began appearing at and hosting charity paintball events.  It was at one such event that he made the acquaintance of the editor of APG Magazine – Randy Kamiya – who had seen Fred at other charity events inquired about Fred's sponsors.  He responded that he didn't mind paying his own way and did not then have any sponsors.

A few months later, Fred was surprised to find himself on the cover of APG magazine (the first of numerous cover appearances), which helped to launch his paintball career.  Shortly thereafter, sponsorships began to flood in, including support from Tim Schloss, creator and distributor of the Tigerstripe camouflage design; Dan Colby of what was then Air America, and is now, Immortal Air; Ross Alexander of line SI (the Bushmaster paintball gun), and eventually, Tom Kaye of Airgun Designs and the Automag and Worr Game Products Autococker, among many others.

It was during this time that Fred decided that his primary goal would be to “build this sport as big as he could”. And to that end, Fred has helped create and has appeared on the number 1 show on ESPN2 shot on the actual New York St. on the Disney lot, the number one show on MTV - Roadrules, put out a video "The Fun Of Paintball With Fred Schultz " that sold almost a million copies and helped bring people like Tim Montressor into the game. 

Fred feels that he has been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to help build our sport, and he feels blessed to have met and developed great friendships with some of the greatest people that have been his friends and supporters for so long.

“Now I want the WCPL to continue to build paintball, always thinking of the players. I have had many more achievements in my years involved with paintball, but I think you get the picture. The group that I am with now are some of the greatest people in the sport and I am so proud to be building this new organization with them. Play Hard, Play Safe, Play Fair.” Mr. Fred

Fred Schultz hosts the Flag Pull Productions podcast Mr. Fred and Friends every Tuesday evening on Streamyard.

Fred Schultz is a 2020 Paintball Hall of Fame Inductee.

Flag Pull Productions Podcast Mr. Fred and Friends

The legendary promoter of the Masters, the Music City Open, Skyball and the WPF with partner Sam Caldwell, Jim Lively began his paintball journey in Tennessee in the early eighties and was immediately hooked!  Involved with the paintball industry and competitive paintball from its earliest incarnations, anyone serious about competitive paintball through its formative years played Jim Lively's events! Now in the Pacific Northwest, Jim Lively has once gain been bitten by the paintball bug, and will promote the Gold Rush Classic seven-man woodsball event in 2025!

In 1990 Dan founded Air America. The company was the catalyst for air delivery systems & set standards for HPA that the industry still follows today. 

Dan developed a long line of “firsts” that have withstood the test of time. Those include the 1st expansion chamber-Whispering Death, the Uni-Reg Air System, the Apocalypse on/off, the Raptor 3000k, the Raptor Rex 4500k, the removable bottle – the Armageddon, the dovetail mount, the cradle mount, the Genesis booster pump, the tool-free regulator – Abbadon, the titanium regulator – Prophesy, a noise enhancement device – the Intimidator, both regulated & unregulated fill stations, & the Melee field regulator. 

Later,  the ORIGINAL GUERRILLA AIR company was formed, creating the Ambush regulator, the Assault regulator with auto shut-off (the 1st to be able to open without fully venting), the original Myth regulator which has the regulator in the bottle & which outshot everything on the market, & the rotating collar regulator. 

Today, Dan’s company is IMMORTAL AIR which has come full circle with its AURA & TELOS regulators, & has patented a one-piece spring pack & wrench flats. 

Air America was the beginning of a lifelong passion & commitment to the sport & its players. A  former United States Marine, Dan has operated paintball fields – currently Panhandle Paintball in Florida - as well as being a regular presence in and around events across the country.

Dan Colby is a 2017 Paintball Hall of Fame Inductee.

www.panhandlepaintball.com

Steve began playing paintball at Paintball Blitz, in Gurnee IL when he was 16 years old. That first day, he learned what the paintball community was like, and that is what hooked him. He  was about to leave before the last game of the day, because he had run out of paint, and Dan (Colby) himself took his rental, filled it with paint, and sent him back out to play the last game. That was the moment that Steve knew paintball was going to be his sport for life. 

Steve grew up in an overprotective household, so he had to sneak out to play, and hide his gear at a friends house until he left for college, where he still drove 4 hours on the weekends to play at Dan's field, before asking him for a job. Eventually, Steve was hired to work at Air America Weapon Systems, where he learned at the feet of the master how to build, diagnose, repair, and design High Pressure air regulators for everything from Paintball, to space travel. Steve stayed at Air America until the last day of the company, and transitioned to work at Guerrilla Air.

In the early 2000's, Steve was asked to be a moderator for PBNation as it was hitting its height of popularity, and he moderated the Air Systems Forum. Most people knew him back then as P8ntballSteve, where he answered any question about air systems, regulators, regulations, laws concerning air systems, etc

To Steve, the game had changed by the late 2000's, and most paintball events had turned into a hyper-competitive atmosphere. It was no longer the community he had fallen in love with, and he left the mainstream of events, opting for those very few Scenario games a year, where the community was still like it had been before airball.

By 2017, Steve found himself a contractor for the military, and was moved from Northern Illinois, to Pensacola, FL, where he found more time in his life, and the itch to play more often returned, however the lack of paintball was very easy for him to see. At the time, the only field in the area was a club run in the owners backyard. Steve didn't expect much, but found that this small, local field, with only scuba tanks (and eventually a Genesis he donated to be able to get more usable fills) had the same feel of community as Paintball Blitz had had 20 years before. Steve was again hooked, and worked with other local fields as they started to open in the area, explaining the ins and outs of running a field, and maintaining all of the fields and equipment. In 2019, he was honored to be accepted as a member of B.o.B. White, and continue to travel to play big games with them, although not as often as he would have liked to. 

Then, in 2021, Dan Colby and Steve purchased one of the local fields, and Panhandle Paintball was born. They began Panhandle Paintball with one main goal for the field; they wanted the field to have the kind of community Paintball Blitz had had. The kind of field anyone could show up to play, and everyone is welcoming. Where everyone is willing to help each other, teach each other, share stories, and form real friendships. Steve is proud of Panhandle Paintball, proud of the local paintball community for exceeding this goal, and  proud to be part of the World Classic Paintball League, which strives to bring this kind of community back to those who were left behind when tournament paintball became fast paced.

www.PanhandlePaintball.com