05/02/2024
I am so grateful.
In my business, I have clients of all kinds and races: Young Clients, Older Clients, Black clients, White Clients, Hispanic Clients, African Clients, Asian Clients, Christian Clients, Hindu Clients, Jewish Clients, Muslim Clients, I remember when I couldn't find an advanced fi****ms instructor of any race in Memphis, teaching at the level that I required for the particular circumstance that I faced.
As I traveled all over the country seeking the training that I needed, I remember being the only Black student in nearly every training class that I was in. I remember being turned away from some classes by instructors who wanted to hide the information from people who looked like me. I remember dealing with some bigots. I also dealt with some really great instructors and other students.
I remember talking to people who ran puppy mills for gun permits. And I remember deciding that which I could not find and deciding to become an advanced fi****ms instructor. I remember vowing that I would never run a permit puppy mill.
Today, I began training my 18th immigrant. When I finished today's session, he told me that he was very nervous at the beginning of our session about handling a firearm, but that I made him feel so comfortable. During the session he had many questions about particular scenarios that many people in his community face, and I revealed to him a few glimpses into how to address the issues with continuous and advanced training. He told me that he felt so good about coming to me, because I opened his mind to what the possibilities for protecting himself were.
He ended the session smiling about beginning his training journey. And, it made me feel so grateful. I take what I teach, and how I train my clients extremely seriously. My goal is not give false hope, but to ensure that they have real skills.
I can, in fact, turn a client into John Wick or the Equalizer. I am grateful that I get to do it in a way that does not discriminate, and that makes people of all colors and creeds comfortable with training and trusting me.