Tomcat asked that Smart Parts guru, Sean Scott if he minded terribly much stopping by The Catshack for a quick chat. Sean being the great guy that he is, made a point of taking me up on my offer and spared a moment out of his hectic schedule to give us all a little insight into what makes Sean Scott tick. Although a super busy Scenario Coordinator / Public Relations Coordinator for Smart Parts, Sean shared some of his personal history on how it all began for him.
Hey Tomcat.thanks for the Catshack invitation.
I started playing paintball in 1995 with my best friend, Galen Adams. Galen took me out to Jaeger Subsurface Paintball in KC, MO. Needless to say and like so many other ballers I was just plain hooked. Galen and I ventured out again to a place near where we both resided called Drop Zone Paintball and so it all began I started reffing and working there the following weekend.
Drop Zone 1995 – 2001 Lawrence, KS
I worked at Drop Zone Paintball as a referee first. Then I became very interested in the way all the paintball markers operated. I learned from Ken Farris, owner of Drop Zone, and also from Master Technician, Jerrod Houghton. The rental fleet was made up of Tippmann SL-68II pumps, Pro-lites, a few Pro-AMs, Trracer Pumps, and later on Tippmann Carbine 68s and Pro-Carbines. I have worked on more Tippmann guns in my life then I care to think about! After awhile, I was in charge of the entire fleet keeping them operational.
Since I was a tinkerer, Ken talked me into buying an Autococker as my first marker. I tore it apart the first day and worked on it. I bought upgrades and learned everything I could about it. It finally got put back together in a year and it shot awesome. Since then, I have owned at Automags, Automag RTs, Angels, Kapp Cockers, a totally pimped out Spyder, Rainmaker (which I still have), and various other markers. Whenever something came out new, I would take it from the store and play with it. I would then learn everything I could about and all the upgrades. When I was done, it would go up on the wall as a used marker. It was during these times that I learned so much technical wise. I participated in PTI classes, the old Pevs Classes, fixed Angels for WDP at events, and even became factory certified on many markers as well.
Later on, Ken Farris opened a store in Olathe, KS. I came on full time with the opening of the Topeka location much to my parents disappointment. I was going to the University of Kansas trying to get back into the school of Architecture and I decided to drop out to go into paintball. It took many years to pay back the college loans for a degree I never got, but I do not regret it for one minute. I told my parents one thing, which I still hold true to this day I am going to learn everything I can about paintball and the industry.
Ken, Galen, and myself even all lived together running the entire operation from our home. Galen and I even learned websites and built the first Drop Zone websites. We did everything possible in order to run our business and I was apart of it all first hand. I learned all the ins and outs of the industry and also how to run a successful store and field. Our phone number while living together is still operational and goes to the Lawrence Store now.
Galen and I also started a paintball team called the Dislexic Dogs (yes its spelled correctly). We were victorious in many tournaments at the time competing in the Amateur division of the IAO 2000 5 Man AM. We also took 4th place in the 10 Man tourney that year. We participated in Jim Lively and Sam Caldwells WPF Series and took 2nd overall. We enjoyed many regional, local, and national events across the US. During these times is when I had the privilege of meeting the movers and shakers in the paintball industry which really helped bring me to where I am today.
In May 2001, due to personal reasons in my life, I moved to Northern California to be with my family and left Drop Zone which brings me to the next chapter in my life.
KAPP (Kick Ass Paintball Products) 2001 – 2004 Santa Rosa, CA
When I moved to California to be with my immediate family, I started to work for a company called KAPP. They were responsible for a large part of the aftermarket world of paintball that we see today. I started working for them in sales and later worked my way into research and design with the building of the famous KAPP Cockers. I have built more Custom Cockers then most of anyone will ever see in their life time and I still have 2 of them sitting right here in my office at Smart Parts!
At KAPP, I learned more about customer service, sales, and the engineering end of paintball. When I was building cockers and in the R&D role, I learned the basics of Machining and CNC work. All this did was expand my knowledge in paintball and make me even more valuable later on in the industry.
During this time, I played with a team called the Mommas Boys. They were a great bunch of guys and really carved a name for themselves. Many of the guys on the team now play with the Bushwackers in the PSP. I ended up getting all burnt out and left tournament paintball completely in 2003. I lost my passion for paintball as the industry was going through rocky times.
The world of Tournament Paintball was a wreck. Teams were cheating and the reffing was horrible. For things to change for the better, the referees had to become better or the format was going to have to change. With the PSP, the format did change and the refs improved, but that was after my positive energy for paintball was gone.
When KAPP began heading down the road to failure, a man by the name of Darryl Trent asked me if I wanted to come and work for him. At this time, he was the West Coast Sales manager for Smart Parts Inc. So, there I was, KAPP was going out of business AND I hated paintball. I decided to give Smart Parts a try and maybe, just maybe, I might find a way to turn this all around.
Smart Parts 2004 – Present Santa Rosa, CA/ Latrobe, PA
I worked for Smart Parts for while out of the West Coast office with Darryl. The industry at the time was very stale and I spent a long time wondering if I had made the right decision for myself. Then in October 2004, Darryl dragged me to a scenario game at Ft. Ord that was being hosted by BlackCat Paintball. My love for the game was re-invigorated once more and for that I was grateful to Darryl.yet the industry was still in a sorry state and by December 2004, I personally was ready to find employment elsewhere.
Darryl travelled to the Smart Parts headquarters in early December 2004 for a series of important meetings. When he came back, I shared with him my personal dilemma and how I felt about the industry such as it was. He counseled me to hang in there and encouraged me to be patient for a few more months, assuring me that everything was about to change drastically and in a very very good way. Well, I took his word for it and boy was he right on the money, the paintball world was turned on its ear. In February 2005, the first of the Smart Parts Ion started to ship…
End Part One
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Submitted by Sean Scott
Well there you have it another veteran of the game getting the opportunity to continue on doing what he loves to do day in and day out, classic! Thanks for stopping by The Catshack Sean and we can hardly wait to hear the rest of the story when you have more time to give us.
Hey, have any of you bothered to tell all your friends to stop by The Catshack and say hello to Tomcat yet?….well what are you waiting for?…GO!..GO NOW!
Tomcat out
