WOODFIN, N.C. (WLOS) — Local Woodfin business owner Nathan Master has his sights on reinvigorating a somewhat forgotten sport.
Shooting cans off a fence post with a slingshot was common to many people’s childhoods, and that sense of nostalgia is what SimpleShot is trying to tap into.
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“I saw a smile come to your face, and you might have moved your eyes up and to the left with a bit of reminiscence of what joy and what fun it was,” Nathan said. “When you’re just out in the backyard with a buddy, seeing who can hit the can first, is that sense of camaraderie and competition. It just brings about one word we have for it, it’s joy.”
Tapping into that Joy and wanting to share it was one of the reasons Nathan first started making slingshots.
“In 2012, I formed SimpleShot with the goal to provide everyone in the world with top-quality modern slingshots.” Nathan said.”So you know, slingshots are as simple as they get. They literally grow on trees, a Y fork, and some rubber bands, and you can have a shootable slingshot. What makes our slingshots different is we do take the time to incorporate ergonomics into the handle frame.”
NOV. 7, 2025 – Local Woodfin business owner Nathan Master has his sights on reinvigorating a somewhat forgotten sport. Shooting cans off a fence post with a slingshot was common to many people’s childhoods, and that sense of nostalgia is what Simpleshot is trying to tap into. (Photo: WLOS Staff)
It’s the customization that has helped set SimpleShot slingshots apart, whether it’s bulking out the grip or adding extra weight.
“So what’s important with any shooting sport is repeatability,” Nathan said. “We don’t make slingshots for shooting rocks; these are not toys, they are precision shooting tools. Not everybody grips the same, so we’ve got a wide variety of slingshots for different types and styles of grip, as well as different styles of shooting. So sling slingshots are something that can be a one-size-fits-all, but that’s boring. We want to make slingshots that suit the abilities and the needs of as many customers as we can possibly find.”
But Nathan is not only a slingshot maker, he is also pretty handy with one, to the point that he competes internationally.
“I competed all over the world. I’ve been to China, to England, to Italy.
We have tournaments all over the U.S., and SimpleShot does their best to sponsor all of these tournaments and make sure people know about them and are skilled enough to go and compete in a meaningful way.
NOV. 7, 2025 – Local Woodfin business owner Nathan Master has his sights on reinvigorating a somewhat forgotten sport. Shooting cans off a fence post with a slingshot was common to many people’s childhoods, and that sense of nostalgia is what Simpleshot is trying to tap into. (Photo: WLOS Staff)
And we’re hoping to send our first U.S. team to the World Cup in Spain next October,” Nathan said.
Not only are SimpleShot sponsoring tournaments to help grow the sport, but they have also petitioned the Olympic committee to include slingshooting in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles as a demonstration sport.
But at its essence, it wasn’t the thrill of competition that got Nathan motivated to make slingshots.
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“The primary reason that I started SimpleShot is the joy that I derived personally from shooting a slingshot, from intentionally hitting the mark over and over with something that’s so quiet and so affordable and so innocuous. And every day when we finish our workday, we know the work we have done is going to result in smiles. It’s pure and simple joy.” Nathan said.
To learn more about SimpleShot, visit here.
