About Us

The Reasons to Choose Us

Meet The Owners of Valhalla Paintball

Valhalla Paintball is owned and operated by Troy and Bronwyn Charlesworth, a husband and wife team with over 40 years of combined experience in the paintball industry. Prior to their meeting, both Troy and Bronwyn honed their customer service skills in the hospitality industry. Their business philosphy is simple, treat people the way they would want to be treated!

Troy's paintball journey began in 1996 when a friend suggested he try the sport. Unlike most first-timers, he didn't come as part of a social group, he came alone. Upon arrival, he was asked to jump in with the amateur team Cockatoo Creed for their training session, however as their roster was full and he wasn't asked to join the team. Unable to find a team in Victoria that was willing to take on a rookie, Troy nevertheless acquired his paintball marker license and playing gear. This led to a friendship with Mike Whybrew, the owner of Paintball Shop in Sydney, a friendship that has lasted until present day.

Mike introduced Troy to Bad Company, a Sydney based team, who due to having lost a few of their players, welcomed him onto their team. With Bad Company, Troy won the Australian Paintball Players League amateur division in 1997. Through a conversation had at a NSW tournement with a player from Apparition, a team based in Ballan, Victoria, that involved why a Victorian was playing with a New South Wales team, Troy ended up joining Apparition in 1998, as well as refereeing there, having previously gained experience refereeing at Cockatoo. Apparition went on to win the amateur division that same year.

After speaking with Andrew Hookem, who through a similar conversation asked why someone from South Eastern suburbs of Melbourne was travelling 90 minutes to train West of Melbourne, Troy jumped ship and joined Rat Pak, a team based in Carrum Downs, only 30 minutes from where he lived at the time. Rat Pak went on to achieve multiple podium finishes, and ended up winning the Australian Paitball Players League Pro division in 1999, 2000, and 2001. No other Victorian paintball team has ever come close to achieving the success that Rat Pak had. Due to several factors, Troy subsequently took a break from paintball, both competitive play and related work, for several years.

There is a saying about you can take the person out of paintball, but you cannot take paintball out of person, well in 2008, Troy re-entered the paintball scene. He became the Field Manager at Carrum Downs, his former home field, and also founded Melbourne Reign with his close friend Ben Parry-Fielder who he had met during a big scenario paintball game during his earlier playing years. Melbourne Reign experienced early success, winning the Hookem Cup in 2010, a tournament named in honor of Andrew Hookem, a former Rat Pak teammate. While Reign went on to win several tournaments, they never secured a series win, finishing as runners-up in their division for three consecutive years.

Around the same time, Troy and Bronwyn began their relationship. It is still debateable whether her affection is for Troy himself or stems from his involvement in paintball.

Due to age and other personal reasons Troy's final retirement from playing paintball came in 2013, he focused on managing the field at Carrum Downs for several years. In 2019, Troy and Bronwyn were presented with the opportunity to take over the ownership of a paintball field located just west of Ipswich in Queensland. They relocated with their family and have grown to love the surrounding area.

Since moving up to Queensland, Bronwyn has had the oppurtunity to compete in a few tournaments, playing with the Roughnecks she has placed second in the Hookem Cup, as well as placing second in the Brisbane Paintball League 5v5 Open.