My name is James Callahan, born and raised in Ashland, Wisconsin, where hunting wasn’t just a pastime, it was our way of life. My father, Steve, was the kind of hunter everyone in town looked up to.To anyone who knew him, Steve wasn’t just a hunter, he was the hunter. Decades of seasons in the woods had sharpened his skills, and even at 75 years old, the fire for the hunt still burned strong in him.
But there was one thing that never sat right. Every trip into the field, Sut in the field, My father often felt his sling working against him, like slipping off his shoulder, forcing him to readjust, and slowly wearing down his focus and energy. For a man who had given his whole life to the hunt, this felt like a burden he shouldn’t have to carry.
Me and my brother Frank saw our father’s frustration. We knew how much freedom meant to him out in the wild. So, in our garage, we began sketching, stitching, and testing until they created something different, a sling that could carry like no other. A sling that freed both hands, stayed secure on the back, and gave instant access the moment it was needed. We called it the Stalker Sling.
The first time our father wore it into the woods, everything changed. No more adjusting. No more sore shoulders. He moved like he did in his younger years, free, confident, and fully focused on the hunt. He knew right away this wasn’t just a sling, it was a solution hunters everywhere had been waiting for.
From that day, the Stalker Sling became more than a family invention, it became a promise. A promise that hunters could move through the field with ease, carry their gear with confidence, and enjoy the hunt the way it was meant to be.
And that’s how Hellomaterials was born. From a family’s love for the outdoors, a father’s determination to keep hunting, and the bond between hunters who know that the right gear can make all the difference.