Teen's business blasts off

John Paul Gray has taken his passion for Nerf Blasters and turned it into a business. Since April, the Findlay High School sophomore has been hired to run blaster parties under his business name, NWO (Northwest Ohio) Blaster Battles. "I love playing with Nerf Blasters," he said. "So during the pandemic, I thought it would be fun to make a business where I could do Nerf parties." John Paul said he was about five when he got his first Nerf blaster, a toy gun that shoots foam darts. Now 15, he'd already been thinking about the idea when he was assigned to create a business for a class his freshman year. The project — which involved having a physical location for battles — earned John Paul an "A." "My teacher liked it a lot, and she actually booked a party for her neighborhood kids," he said. When he started the business, the Findlay teen opted to make the game portable so he could bring the fun to others. This isn't the first time John Paul has used his entrepreneurial skills. When he was younger, he made and sold pins using scenes from comic books. He and his mom also planted succulents in recycled tea cups and sold them at craft fairs in Cincinnati where they lived until he was in the fifth grade. His parents are Mike and Kailin Gray, and he has four younger brothers and sisters. He runs cross country and track, and volunteers at the City Mission and with Gliding Stars. John Paul said the business involves using blasters for games like capture the flag and humans vs. zombies, which allows him to take part in the action. "I start out as a zombie, and I try to tap them. But then they can shoot me with their blaster. And if they shoot me, I have to freeze for five seconds," he explained. "The goal is to be the last human to be tagged by the zombie." Battles can be set up at a park, a person's house or a rec center, as long as there is an open space about the size of a tennis court, he said. The battle field includes four inflatable bunkers and five 4-foot by 4-foot blue camouflage barriers. John Paul said he invested about $300 for all the materials needed to make the bunkers, extra blasters and lots of foam darts. "I have a ton of blasters, like 50 Nerf Blasters I bring and a ton of darts because the darts get lost," he said. "And then the kids or whoever is doing it, they can choose their blaster." Each game lasts approximately 10 minutes, with parties taking about an hour. Kids as young as four or five can play, he said, but anyone younger than that will have a hard time operating the toy gun. "So far my parties have been for kids, but usually the adults like to join in, too," he said. "People love it. The kids, they just have so much fun and they're smiling. And all the adults, they think it's just so much fun because it gets them active and moving." Summer is definitely the time for outside battles, he added. But during other seasons of the year, battles can be played inside. John Paul said he would eventually like to find a physical location for the business. The cost is $75 for an hour of blaster fun for 10 people. An additional five people costs another $25. John Paul said he has a good time, too. "I tell my friends, 'It's fun getting to play with Nerf Blasters as a job,'" he laughed. Call 419-957-8009 or email jpmgray@icloud.com for more information.