SSW001 celebrityp47.indd 47 20/07/2018 15:43 S S 1 5 : 4 3 SS 15:43 MOVERS & SHAKERS 047 ACCESSALLAREASSLINGSHOTCELEBRITY GAMEKEEPER JOHN: John Webb III, YouTuber, Slingshot Designer, Family Man, Carper! John Webb’s lass had little choice about naming their son. For he is, in all his micro-tweedy cuteness, Master John Webb, the fourth of that name, after his dad’s grandfather. Like so many readers of this magazine, it was the easy to watch and happily engaging videos by John on his YouTube channel “GAMEKEEPER JOHN” that had me re-gripped by modern catapultry. He has an easy relaxed air and genuinely seems to enjoy film-making and educating and passing on his knowledge and tips on everything to do with slingshots. I recall his delight with a new edit package. With just under 26,000 subscribers and six hundred and sixty six videos at time of writing, he is roaring, even with their new arrival being a major focus of life right now. With that level of social media engagement, it can get hard to run your life and you cannot answer 500 messages in a day. So John has been forced to run his world with care to work/life balance. But he still has to take frames with him to sand down on the bank when he goes carp match fishing on Monday from time to time. The website he sells his hand made and individually signed catapults from is https://sites.google.com/ site/gamekeepercatpults/home/ and there is, like a fine fishing rod or knife maker, a lead time of some weeks. John’s Facebook page is here: https://www.facebook.com/ john.g.webb.1/ John’s list of successes at shoots is absurd. With so many major titles that I think he started to feel guilty about taking trophies home. He is the name behind the massively popular PPSG and PPMG, as made and sold by ProShot catapults in cast metals. But for me, being present when he lined up his Pocket Poacher Super Grip or PPSG at a tiny Polo mint and shot it first time, in 1.25 seconds at thirty three feet to take the cash purse was the best. I filmed him at the time, mid-emotion and it made good video for the UKCA Andover shoot. Like it says in the glossary: GKJ - A major player on YouTube & at Shoots. A Catty Hero. In which we get to meet and mither the famous slingshot characters, makers, movers and shakers. Asa Wilson; Catapult Maker, Slingshot Trend Setter, Philosopher. Romany Custom Catapults or RCC is a genuine legend in the catapult makers’ scene. Asa is way more than a massively talented craftsman, with an edge towards pure art. He also runs Team RCC to brand his tournament contest lads up with. And you have to be one hell of a shot to be asked to join. It is seen as a bit elitist and could intimidate a newcomer to a shoot perhaps. But it is just like in my other world of car audio. If someone is a charismatic leader, does cool things and makes cool stuff and you are seen to be worthy of being in their crew, it is a powerful social media status thing to be asked. And Asa has an innate grasp of how to engage with the Facebook malarkey. The clever bit is, he also knows when to just leave it alone and get on with his craft. His catapults never stop evolving and he cares like hell about the quality of finish, to an obsessive level. The materials used and his care to combine good colours tastefully, has everybody agreeing that he is a master of the art of the sling. Asa draws upon tradition, folklore, geographical locations, palaeontology, (dinosaurs) and even lately by commission, superheroes for his frames’ names and colour inspirations. And then, there is the event organiser and doer on the shoot event scene, running the British Catapult Association HFT/Long Range course in Solihull these last four years. He has won a LOT of trophies himself, and went to Italy. Go see the video for more. https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=Fuo3-WA4WSk And finally the slingshot philosopher. Often musing on Facebook about the sport as a whole and sparking huge animated banter and debate. Yep, if you invented Asa Wilson as a fictional character, most would not believe he existed..and he’s a Strawberry Blond, to boot. (Ginger, like the Prince what got wed recent, like….) https://www.facebook.com/bcaevents/ https://www.facebook.com/RomanyCustomCatapults/ SSW001 celebrityp47.indd 47 20/07/2018 15:43