From the age of 12, Matt Massie knew what he was destined to do.

The owner of Ironton’s Custom-BuiltPCs.com played countless computer games as a young boy, and the moment he tried to create one of his own, a lifetime in the computer industry got its start.

After years of working as a system administrator for WOWK-TV, Massie decided to go into business for himself three years ago, selling custom-made computers and knocking out viruses and other tech problems. Last year, he opened up the brick-and-mortar version of his business at 2319 S. Eighth St.

As his flow of customers increased, Massie soon found his customers wanting more.

“What I found was that when people came to get their computers, we’re pretty service oriented, in other words, somebody can buy their computer locally, it’s built locally and we support it locally,” Massie said. “So people started to say ‘Gee, we’d like Internet as well.’”

So Massie has now seen his business expand to providing Internet access to locals as well as businesses, and it’s that same adaptability to which he credits his success.

“I think that’s how I’m able to survive,” Massie said. “I’ve learned that you’re not going to sell a bunch of computers every month. There’s a balance there, when one thing slows down, another picks up.”

Despite a variety of services, his heart is still in designing PCs for his customers, especially the high-end gaming rigs he would have had such fun with as a young man.

He said that although he may have started out designing games, surprisingly, he said what he’s doing now is a lot more fun.

“Actually, it’s pretty dull to sit there and program zeros and ones in,” Massie said with a laugh. “It’s a lot of fun to build, I just don’t build the regular computer.”

Gamers with an itchy mouse finger — or those who just want to play some online Euchre — can reach Massie at www.custom-builtpcs.com or at (740) 532-5471.