Every weekend, hundreds of soldiers strap on their gear, load up their rifles and take to former Marana pasture land to do battle. Brother turns against brother, and husband against wife. Cutthroat skirmishes end with hails of projectile fire and massive carnage.
Good thing the weapons of choice are paintball guns.
Disruptive Paintball is the ringleader of the war games, which peak in popularity during cooler months.
The business operates a store at 1015 W. Prince Road and a 19-acre field at 10218 W. Tangerine Road, with plans to move to a new facility on 45 acres west of the Marana exit on Interstate 10, near Marana Middle School, this year.
Ben Lovato, who owns the business with his family, bought the business in 2007, changing its name from Sudden Impact.
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Players, who wear face masks for protection, use colored liquid-filled gelatin capsules capable of being shot 300 feet per second. Guns are powered by compressed air or carbon dioxide.
Fees for a session start at $25 for those who need to rent equipment, Lovato said, and are less for those who have their own gear.
As many as 500 people compete on the field in one of four sessions every weekend, Lovato said. Disruptive also schedules private sessions, which he says span the gamut from birthday to bachelor parties, church groups and corporate events.
He’s also hosted the University of Arizona football team, which used the field to bond and blow off some steam.
Lovato said that before he and his family took over, it was common for 30 or 40 people to play each weekend. He attributes Disruptive’s success to creating a fair, family-friendly atmosphere.
“What makes us very, very successful is we divide up the groups by skill level,” Lovato said. “We put the beginners with the beginners, the intermediates with the intermediates and the advanced with the advanced. We don’t let the newcomers get all torn up by the advanced players. We’re basically about family fun. We have people everywhere from 7 years old to 80.”
The Toot family, including Anita and her husband, Scott — both 50 years old — and their son, 19-year-old T.J., , who regularly compete at Disruptive, show that the family that sprays together stays together. The Toots live near Amphitheater High School.
“It’s the best therapy in the world,” Anita said. “I wish you could write it off as a medical expense. You get to shoot somebody in the face on the field, walk off, give them a high give, say ‘good shot’ and wait till the next game.”
Scott, chuckling, said it’s not uncommon for Anita to take out a domestic grudge against him on the field.
“It happens all the time,” he said. “That’s the whole fun of it. My son will come out and I’ll go against him, too. Everybody is out here in groups, and it’s like a big family.”
Anita said paintball is great exercise, and not particularly hazardous, despite the high-speed projectiles.
“You absolutely feel it the next day,” she said. “In your thigh muscles, your arms, and other places, depending on where you get hit and how many times.”
Scott said playing paintball makes him feel younger.
“It’s kind of an all-around athletic sport,” he said. “You have to have some kind of ability to move around, and it keeps you in shape. There’s cardio with running, stopping and running again. It’s really joyful, stress-free exercise in a great environment.”
