Then & Now: Wayne Woolsey retools gun case while he revamps his career

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following story appeared in the May 1 issue of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal. “Then & Now” is a profile of a past member of the Business Journal’s  Forty Under 40 class.

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Wayne Woolsey, a hunting enthusiast, wanted the ability to rest or stabilize a hunting rifle while out in the field, and he looked to the gun case — often laid aside while a firearm is in use — for a solution.

From there, he invented the transportable shooting platform, a gun case that doubles as a shooting platform and work bench, with pop-out legs and three places to attach a gun to the top.

Woolsey, a member of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 class in 2008, also has created several patented items, including the Rifle Reel, a product designed to get rid of the slack on a gun strap and lock it in place.

The reel also can be used to lift a gun into a tree stand, removing risks associated with carrying a firearm while going up and down a ladder, Woolsey said.

Another safety-related product is the Barrel Bumper, a protective bumper that clips to a gun barrel and provides added visibility by glowing in the dark after it’s been activated by light.

When Woolsey started the business Wayne’s Wicked Enterprises in 2007, he envisioned building a company that could compete with larger brands, but he has since found that, regardless of how innovative and unique a product is, smaller companies face tough odds competing against the conglomerations that dominate the outdoor sports industry.

Disenchanted by that and also his opinion that the industry tends to favor protection from legal liability over striving for user safety, Woolsey decided to pull back from the products industry and now licenses his innovations to manufacturers, rather than handling every stage of the process himself.

He’s been working on the patent-pending, transportable gun platform for about four years, and he believes the product is still about a year out from launching.

Meanwhile, Woolsey is working to get an appraisal license and will soon take a position under Robert Brown, owner of 1st Choice Real Estate Appraisals, as a residential appraiser, until Woolsey strikes out on his own.

And he doesn’t intend to stop inventing things. “You’re not a failure until you quit,” he said. “If I’ve learned anything from this experience, it’s just to stick with it.”

Woolsey came up with his first major innovation at age 20, while working as a pilot at his brother’s private jet company in Texas, where transport needs were diverse, from medical, to freight, to executive flights, the realm in which the Woolseys worked.

The two brothers developed a way to serve multiple sectors with one plane by removing the seats and creating a space in the jet that could quickly transform in order to meet each need, Woolsey said. The modifications, approved with a supplemental type certificate from the manufacturer, Learjet, meant more business for the brothers.

For years, Woolsey made a living flying jets. In the 1990s, his passengers included Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks, the Gatlin Brothers, Whitesnake and Bon Jovi.

Toward the end of his flying career, Woolsey exclusively flew professional fishermen, and he enjoyed the opportunity to take on a broad range of his own fishing experiences around the world as a result.

In 2009, however, he retired. “I love aviation, but it takes me away from my family,” Woolsey said.

He has three sons, ages 17, 14 and 10, and the change has allowed him to engage more with them.

Woolsey also has immersed himself in the Fayetteville Youth Baseball program, fundraising for the organization, coaching and serving on the board. And his work in baseball is prompting innovation, including his latest idea for “knee savers,” he said.

Woolsey solves problems. That’s just how his brain works, he said. “It’s like a circuit breaker in an airplane.”

His skills have been tapped by companies like Think Freight, which last year hired him as a consultant on an issue, and his ingenuity also comes in handy at home, where Woolsey has created “so many little things,” throughout the years.

For example, years ago he invented hand weights with pepper spray inside, as a way to help ensure his wife’s safety when she jogged alone in the city, while the couple lived in Texas.

He has been married for 25 years to Blake Woolsey, executive vice president of Fayetteville PR firm Mitchell, and he considers his marriage and the life they’ve built together his proudest achievement.