What started as an evening hobby to offset the frustrations of a post-crash career in commercial real estate quickly evolved into a thriving business rooted in Western North Carolina. Today, SimpleShot is a global leader in modern slingshot design and manufacturing, selling more than 40,000 units annually and inspiring a growing community of backyard marksmen around the world. “We're spreading joy through the world, one slingshot at a time,” Masters said.

From Basement Workshop to Global Brand

“I’ve always enjoyed woodworking,” said Masters, who began crafting slingshots that suited his own refined design sensibilities. “I like the beauty of wood, and I like good organic design.” Sharing his handmade creations in online forums under the name “Flippinout,” a nickname inspired by his grandfather’s term for slingshots—“flips”—Masters unintentionally branded himself as a maker of high-quality, visually stunning slingshots.

“I started looking at the market, and I saw that this was something that was special,” he said. But making them one at a time not only limited his capacity to meet demand, but also took the joy out of the process because customers wanted him to make the same slingshot again and again. Masters knew he had to find a way to scale, so he launched SimpleShot in 2012. 

Birth of a Brand

The company’s first mass-produced model was the Scout Slingshot. “The design itself is rooted in our iconic Axiom platform,” said Masters. “The shape was inspired by the fleur-de-lis—a nod to scouting culture—and the name Scout was chosen as a direct call to action.” It met a burgeoning demand for quality slingshots in the American market and launched a product line that would expand over the years to include modular designs and pro aluminum models. 

Accessibility is a core value at SimpleShot. “You could be a kid, or you could be in a wheelchair in your 80s, and you’ve still got the strength to pull the bands back and affect change downrange,” said Masters. SimpleShot has customers from all over the world that use slingshots for a variety of applications, from small game hunting to recreation. 

SimpleShot has a clear mission: “Our prime directive as a company is for our customer to have success early and often, and that starts by the time they come to our website,” said Masters. SimpleShot has positioned itself well to thrive on e-commerce, with several different websites that provide education and also serve as a customer funnel. “We’re a marketing company that happens to sell slingshots,” Masters joked. “We’re selling you this idea of fun, simplicity, affordability, nostalgia… those things are good feelings.” 

That user experience includes custom packaging, QR-coded video instructions, and even two sets of different ammo (clay and steel) and two ammo-specific bands in every slingshot kit. “We provide two sets of bands because slingshots don’t fit off the shelf—you have to tune the bands to yourself,” he said.

While SimpleShot sources components globally and has a remote team, the company’s distribution center in Asheville remains its operational heart. “This is the heartbeat,” Masters said. “All these folks live in Asheville, and they’re all super loyal to SimpleShot.”

Masters’ journey began in his West Asheville basement and grew with the support of the AB-Tech Small Business Incubator. “I would have never left if they didn’t make me leave,” he said with a laugh. While there, he also participated in the first cohort of Mountain BizWorks’ ScaleUp WNC program. In 2016-17, Masters was selected as a Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses scholar, and in 2017 SimpleShot was featured on Adventure Capitalists, a Shark Tank spin-off on CNBC. 

More Than a Toy

For Masters, slingshots are more than a business—they’re a philosophy. “When you hit the mark, it causes some sort of internal feedback with deep gratification,” he said. “There’s a deep mind-body connection going on… it’s light resistance, and it’s easy to go out and do it for hours on end.”

This has led Masters to brainstorm about therapeutic applications for slingshots. “If you could give [veterans] the understanding that this is a tool… you’re being a badass, but you’re also working your own stuff out through the process.”

From precision tools to playful targets like glow-in-the-dark golf balls and cast iron frying pans, every product reinforces the company’s mission. “All people who actually get into slingshots are still just big kids,” Masters said. “And they still want to play. It’s that primal joy of affecting change beyond your immediate reach that draws us in.”

With a 39% customer return rate—well above the industry average of 30%—SimpleShot’s impact is quantifiable. But for Masters and his team, the ultimate metric is joy. “The work we do results in a smile and someone being happy,” he said. “Not many people can say that.”

Learn more at Simple-Shot.com.