Jared Powell is passionate about paintball.
He started Insane Paintball/Airsoft when he was a high school student. It was his way of supporting the sporting game he enjoyed playing.
What started as a retail store in Fort Oglethorpe and later a downtown Chattanooga location, will be celebrating its 26th year in business at its current location off McFarland Road in Rossville, Ga.
Powell said they leased the Chattanooga property for roughly 17 years and in 2020, amid the COVID pandemic, they learned the property was being sold.
“We had been looking for land anyway to try and expand our operations and have a bigger facility,” he said. “I guess it’s like they say be careful what you wish for because when we heard the property was being sold, we kicked it into high gear looking for land and found this property.”
They only had about six months to get their new location ready for business. Insane Paintball/Airsoft sits on 24 acres of land and features nine playing fields, or maps as Powell calls them.
“Some people call them maps like video game maps,” he said. “Some people call them paintball fields or airsoft fields, and battlefields. Whatever terminology you want to use. We’ve got several different ones. They each have their own theme. Some are larger than others. Some are good for larger groups, and some are great for smaller groups. We've got competitive fields, which are the inflatable ones for competition use. They're on turf grounds so you can play and not get muddy.”
In addition to a variety of fields there are different levels of play. This year they are introducing beginner’s play.
“We’ll have beginner’s play, then there is recreation play and advanced play,” he said. Beginner’s play is for rental players only. You won’t be playing against anyone who has their own equipment. So, it insulates those players to make sure that they're getting a really good first experience. We recommend beginner’s play for ages 8 and up.”
Powell said beginner’s play utilizes low impact paintball which are 50 caliber paintballs instead of the typical 68 caliber.
“So, when you get hit it stings less,” he said.
In recreation play, recommended for ages 13 and up, players are paired with those renting equipment and those who have their own equipment. Advanced play is for competitive players and tournaments.
Powell said he is often asked if getting hit by a paintball hurts.
“There are a lot of horror stories out there,” he said. “One way we address that is by using the low impact paintball for beginner’s play. Also, in a regulated field like ours, we make sure all customers' guns are shooting under the legal velocity limits so that nobody's shooting too hard. We also require paintballs to be purchased from us. The big reason for that is to ensure that quality paintballs are being used. There are cheap paintballs out there. They might be inexpensive; however, they put fillers and ingredients in those to make them cheaper. It makes the shell harder, so people don't realize that and they get shot with a ball that feels like they're getting hit with a rock which creates a lot of misconceptions. Quality paintballs make it feel like getting popped with a rubber band and player’s adrenaline rush makes it much less noticeable”.
He said his team educates their customers so they can regulate their equipment to reduce the impact and they make sure all their guests are wearing proper safety equipment. He encourages people to wear proper clothing, not shorts, T-shirts or flip-flops. The better covered you are the less the impact.
Powell has a full retail store on-site to rent or purchase equipment and safety gear.
Gel Ball, for ages 6 and up and the Nerf field, for ages 5 and up are two other ways of having fun while minimizing impact, especially for younger children and new players.
“We have a dedicated field for those two activities. Nerf shoots out little Nerf darts. Gel ball shoots out water soluble water gellys, as we call them.”
Another popular game is Airsoft. Powell said it became popular because the ammunition used cost less than paintballs.
“It's like a BB gun battle,” he said. “They’re shooting a biodegradable BB that doesn't hurt like a real one would.”
He said people also like how realistic the guns used in Airsoft are. A few are even licensed by actual gun makers like Glock.
“So, for the folks that like video games, like Call of Duty and Battlefield video games, it's that in real life,” he said. “It’s like a live action video game. Those guns can shoot fully automatic. You just hold the trigger down, and they just keep shooting, which is really cool.”
Walk-in recreational play and beginner play are from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday. Airsoft play is Saturdays only from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. Private groups of 10 or more can be booked seven days a week.
“We’ll bring in staff during the week and run groups,” he said. “We do a lot of birthday parties, corporate outings and even host church groups. When you play on a regulated field following the proper safety rules, it's amazing how much fun it is. It's really fun. It's neat just watching, whether it's kids for the first time playing or even adults, like with a corporate group, you see them turn into kids again.”
Insane Paintball/Airsoft
- 1833 McFarland Ave., Rossville, GA 30741
- (423) 624-2121
- www.playinsane.com