VOTG Outfitters did not begin with a business plan or a desire to start an apparel company. It began with a lifelong curiosity about learning, building, and becoming more capable.
For years, I found myself drawn to activities that rewarded self-reliance — camping, fishing, shooting, woodworking, eventually home improvement. Each taught the same lesson: I've found deep satisfaction in learning how to do things for myself. I wasn't exceptional at any of them, but that never mattered. The goal was never mastery. It was growth.
Along the way, I developed an appreciation for well-made tools and equipment, and for the people who built products that simply worked. I learned that price alone meant very little — some expensive products disappointed me, some inexpensive ones exceeded every expectation. The difference was almost always the same: craftsmanship.
When I lost my job during the COVID shutdowns, I started a handyman business with little more than a willingness to work hard and keep learning. It became one of the most influential chapters of my life. The greatest reward wasn't the business itself. It was the freedom that comes from becoming someone who can solve problems, build, repair, and care for the people around them — without depending on someone else to do it first.
Around that same time, a joke about Florida being "The Gunshine State" led me to wonder what Arizona's version might be. Living in the Valley of the Sun, Valley of the Gun came to mind as the idea for a simple T-shirt.
The shirt was easy. The brand was not.
The more I explored the idea, the less interested I became in adding to a pile of clever, disposable T-shirts. So what started as a simple idea stayed just that — an idea — for years. Every time I came close to launching it, something held me back. It never felt finished — not because the designs weren't good enough, but because I hadn't yet discovered what the brand was really meant to be. Somewhere along the way, the name stopped being the idea. It became the standard.
The four points of our Diamond Heritage Mark gave that standard its shape: capability, character, craftsmanship, and legacy. Together, they would guide how we built the company, the makers we worked with, and the goods we chose to offer.
If VOTG Outfitters was going to exist, every product we made and every product we chose to carry had to earn its place. It had to be something I could genuinely stand behind. That standard has guided every decision since.
Four Principles. One Standard. Build What Matters.
Shaun Carty
Founder
VOTG Outfitters