Shownotes
Arrowhead Tactical founder Alexander joins State of the Second hosts Kailey and John to tell the story of a brand that started with a real problem he could not solve as a customer. Living in Atlanta and going to the gym at odd hours, he wanted to carry his firearm before, during, and after a workout, but elastic waistbands and drawstrings are not built to hold a gun. The belly bands and free-floating belts he tried did not perform. He saw athletic apparel for concealed carry, built for men, as a blue ocean, and launched in April 2020 with the Carrier Joggers, three colors and a first run of fewer than 500 units. Five years later the brand has expanded into shorts, pants, sweatpants, hoodies, and a women's line it is currently retooling, all built around its twice-patented waistband.
Alexander breaks down the engineering and the philosophy behind it. The design takes a retention belt, turns it inside out, ties it to the apparel, and runs it all the way around the body so the load distributes and nothing shifts. He demonstrates the concept in his own content by carrying two Desert Eagles, roughly 11 pounds loaded. He also explains why his hoodies use pass-through pockets so a carrier can pre-stage a draw and speed up a first shot. His through line is that one of a brand's biggest competitors is inaction. If carrying is a hassle, the gun gets left at home, and a gun at home is no good.
The conversation widens into hot takes and advocacy. Alexander argues that men carrying in crossbody bags may as well open carry because the look gives them away. Kailey counters that there is still nothing maternity-friendly in the gun space, calling it a million-dollar opening. The episode closes on GOA's mission. With Tennessee's Gold Day happening that day, Kailey makes the case that voting once is not enough. Show up for primaries and midterms, call your representatives, and keep the momentum going. She notes it takes about 30 seconds to send a message to your congressman through GOA's website. Alexander points listeners to arrowheadtacticalapparel.com.
Links
Questions this episode answers
What problem led Alexander to start Arrowhead Tactical?
Training at odd hours in Atlanta, Alexander wanted to carry during workouts, but elastic waistbands and drawstrings could not hold a gun and the belly bands and belts he tried did not perform. He saw concealed-carry athletic apparel for men as an open market and launched Arrowhead Tactical in April 2020.
How does Arrowhead's twice-patented waistband hold a firearm without sagging?
The design takes a retention belt, turns it inside out, ties it to the apparel, and runs it all the way around the body so the load is distributed and nothing shifts. Alexander demonstrates the concept by carrying two Desert Eagles, roughly 11 pounds loaded.
What was Arrowhead's first product and how small was the first production run?
Arrowhead launched with the Carrier Joggers in April 2020, offered in three colors. The first production run was fewer than 500 units.
Why does Alexander say men who carry in crossbody bags may as well open carry?
He argues the crossbody bag is a giveaway, so the look telegraphs that the person is carrying. In his view that defeats the point of concealment, making it no different from open carry.
What gap still exists for women in the concealed-carry apparel market?
Host Kailey points out there is still nothing maternity-friendly in the gun space, calling it a million-dollar opening. Arrowhead has a women's line that it is currently retooling.
How do the pass-through pockets on Arrowhead hoodies help with a draw?
The pass-through pockets let a carrier pre-stage the draw with the hand already on the firearm. That setup speeds up the first shot.
What was Alexander's path into firearms and what were his first guns?
Alexander's first gun was a Colt LE6920 AR-15 that his mother bought in 2009. His everyday carry today is a Glock 19.
Why is voting in the presidential election alone not enough for gun owners?
Host Kailey argues that casting a ballot once and checking out is not enough; gun owners should show up for primaries and midterms and call their representatives. She notes it takes about 30 seconds to message your congressman through Gun Owners of America's website.
Chapters
- 00:12 — Rapid fire questions
- 01:51 — Sponsor: Ammo Squared
- 02:46 — Getting mentioned on Joe Rogan
- 04:58 — The problem behind the brand
- 07:14 — Moving the business to Nashville
- 09:02 — From joggers to a full product line
- 11:38 — Engineering the waistband for weight
- 14:15 — Inaction is the real competitor
- 15:49 — Knowing the demographic
- 18:00 — Hot take: crossbody carry
- 24:53 — Gun owners as hoarders
- 27:43 — Where the women's market stands
- 31:38 — Alexander's gun journey
- 37:12 — Tennessee, the NFA, and advocacy
- 45:01 — Where to find Arrowhead
About the guest
Alexander is the founder of Arrowhead Tactical, which makes athletic apparel for safe and secure concealed carry of firearms. He grew up in Memphis, attended Vanderbilt where he met his wife, and lived in Atlanta for about four years before moving to Nashville. He launched Arrowhead in April 2020 with the Carrier Joggers, a first run of fewer than 500 units in three colors, and the brand is approaching five years. Arrowhead is built around a twice-patented waistband and was mentioned on the Joe Rogan show. Alexander's first gun was a Colt LE6920 AR-15 his mother bought in 2009, and his everyday carry is a Glock 19.
Key quotes
"Arrowhead makes predominantly athletic apparel for safe and secure concealed carry of firearms." — Alexander
"I saw it as a blue ocean." — Alexander
"the gun sitting at home is a gun that's no good." — John
"We took the tried and true concept of a retention belt, turned it inside out, moved it to the inside of the waistband, and maintained that connection between belt and apparel." — Alexander
"You don't have to mold your lifestyle around concealed carry." — Alexander
"There is absolutely nothing that is maternity friendly in the gun space right now." — Kailey
"it's not enough to just go cast, go cast your ballot and then check out." — Kailey
Transcripts
Welcome to Gun Owners of America State of the second podcast.
Speaker A:I'm Kailey.
Speaker B:And I'm John.
Speaker B:And today we're joined by Alexander from Arrowhead Tactical.
Speaker B:How are you, my friend?
Speaker C:Doing well.
Speaker C:Thank you guys for letting me come on.
Speaker B:Thank you for being on.
Speaker B:We're going to go right into our rapid fire questions.
Speaker B:That's our first segment.
Speaker B:We're going to ask you five questions.
Speaker B:You answer them as quickly or as slowly as you like.
Speaker B:The first question we have for you is how do you take your coffee black?
Speaker A:What content creator are you currently binge watching?
Speaker C:Oh, this is kind of a continuous thing, but I watch everything that Forgotten Weapons puts out.
Speaker C:I'm obsessed with Ian.
Speaker B:So am I.
Speaker B:If you could go back in time and change history, would you?
Speaker C:Absolutely.
Speaker C:But it would be like a Biff from Back to the Future kind of thing.
Speaker C:And I would go back and buy Bitcoin when you could buy it for like 10 cents.
Speaker C:And that would.
Speaker C:That would.
Speaker C:That'd be all she wrote.
Speaker A:Last impulse purchase.
Speaker C:Last impulse purchase.
Speaker C:Honestly, I got a bottle.
Speaker C:So I'm in Nashville and I got a bottle of Peg Leg Porker branded whiskey from my local liquor store because I love their barbecue.
Speaker C:And I was like, let me give it a shot.
Speaker C:And turns out it's pretty daggone good.
Speaker B:Perfect.
Speaker B:And then the last question we got is, what is your go to, Ed?
Speaker B:Why is it a 50 Desert Eagle?
Speaker C:It's not a Desert Eagle, although I do have that one up there.
Speaker C:My go to is going to be a Glock 19.
Speaker C:And I just.
Speaker C:This was the first handgun that I ever had.
Speaker C:I've modified it just a little bit, just enough to be functional.
Speaker C:But for me, a guy of my stature and what I want to get out of a handgun, I find that the Glock 19 is just the perfect balance of everything.
Speaker B:Kaylee, like most Americans, you have a savings account, right?
Speaker A:I do.
Speaker B:Do you have an ammo savings account?
Speaker A:I also do.
Speaker B:And is that through Ammo Squared?
Speaker A:It is, and I've had it for over two years.
Speaker B:Ammo Squared is the only website where you can purchase ammo a little bit at a time and then get it shipped directly to your door.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:I have a little bit of money that goes in every month and then I can divide what percentage of that money is used for, what calibers of ammo, and then all of a sudden hit a thousand rounds and get shipped to my door.
Speaker B:Well, what if I don't want one of the 70 calibers they have available?
Speaker A:You get to pick and choose and you can even adjust the mounts so that you can hit your target goals faster.
Speaker B:Well, what if I don't want that ammo anymore?
Speaker B:Can I switch it?
Speaker B:Can I get my money back?
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:It's really easy.
Speaker A:And I always like to see the graph fill up at the end of every month.
Speaker B:So where do I go to get such an awesome service?
Speaker A:Go to ammo squared.com.
Speaker B:Get it now.
Speaker B:Start your ammo savings account@ Ammo squared.com.
Speaker B:You guys kind of exploded on the scene not too long ago with your EDC apparel.
Speaker B:You know, what was it like to be.
Speaker B:First off, you guys were mentioned on Joe Rogan.
Speaker B:You got all this hype.
Speaker B:What was that like?
Speaker B:What was that experience?
Speaker C:Man, it was.
Speaker C:It was really satisfying, and it was also really humbling.
Speaker C:And I'll explain what I mean by that.
Speaker C: oing Arrowhead since April of: Speaker C:We're actually coming up on five years of doing this, but for the first three years or so.
Speaker C:Well, one, we launched our business right in the throes of COVID which was an interesting time to start a business.
Speaker C:None of us really knew what we were doing.
Speaker C:We just had identified a problem and worked hard to create a solution.
Speaker C:And it was a side of the desk kind of thing.
Speaker C:But we started getting traction and finding ways to put more time into it.
Speaker C:And I was working days, nights, and weekends to keep up with my day job.
Speaker C:And then this brand that we were growing on the side, and it was in kind of early 24 that we really started to see good traction.
Speaker C:We were on the heels of a pretty strong Q4 where the ads have been doing well and people were starting to know us a little bit.
Speaker C:Then the Joe Rogan thing happened, which was huge for brand recognition.
Speaker C:And just as a founder, it's absolutely insane to hear your brand mentioned on.
Speaker C:On a.
Speaker C:On media of that scale.
Speaker C:And Joe had ordered from us before, so I knew he had some of the stuff, but that was just such a.
Speaker C:Such a surreal moment to.
Speaker C:To hear from him.
Speaker C:But then it was also really humbling to recognize, like, we've come a ways, there's still so far left for us to go, so much left for us to create, so many improvements left for us to make.
Speaker C:And that's a big, you know, that's a big part of our brand.
Speaker C:And what I stand for personally and professionally is continuing to get better.
Speaker C:And that was a good moment where it was like, okay, let's enjoy this for a minute, and then let's get back to work.
Speaker B:I love that mentality.
Speaker B:So we kind of jumped over who you guys were because I.
Speaker B:That was my initial question because I saw you guys on Rogan after Colleen talked about you guys, what made you guys get into the brand.
Speaker B:You said you found this, this niche in the industry that you were looking for a problem to solve.
Speaker B:You know, what was the driving factor.
Speaker B:And also talk about a little bit about what you do too, so people who may not know can get a kind of insight of what you guys do.
Speaker C:Absolutely.
Speaker C:So Arrowhead makes predominantly athletic apparel for safe and secure concealed carry of firearms.
Speaker C:That is our mantra, and our goal is to help as many Americans be comfortably prepared to live their active lifestyles as possible.
Speaker C: It all really started back in: Speaker C:I was fairly fresh out of college, living down in Atlanta with my wife.
Speaker C:We were both working fairly demanding jobs and also trying to stay committed to fitness.
Speaker C:And so we were going to the gym at odd hours, you know, early in the morning, work, and then often running errands before or after those.
Speaker C:Those workouts.
Speaker C:And living in Atlanta, I, of course, wanted to keep my firearm with me so that I could protect myself in the event that anything were to transpire that that could threaten my.
Speaker C:My bodily security or that of my loved one.
Speaker C:And I was struggling because all of the athletic clothes that I had did not allow me to safely and securely carry a firearm.
Speaker C:You know, elastic waistbands, drawstrings, they're not designed to be load bearing.
Speaker C:And the second you start moving more than a slow walk, immediately your firearms all over the place, and it's just not safe.
Speaker C:And I had frankly tried to solve this problem for myself as a consumer.
Speaker C:I tried a bunch of the things on the market.
Speaker C:I got some like, free floating belts and belly band type things, and nothing satisfied me to the degree that I wanted something to perform and that I wanted something to be safe.
Speaker C:And sort of recognizing that no one had actually done something like this before.
Speaker C:Athletic apparel for concealed carry, specifically for men.
Speaker C:I saw it as a blue ocean.
Speaker C:Started getting a little bit of a team together.
Speaker C: , and we launched in April of: Speaker C:And we pretty quickly sold through those, realized we were onto something, and have been committed to making our offerings better and better ever since.
Speaker A:That's awesome.
Speaker A:So you said you're in Nashville now.
Speaker A:What was the move like from Atlanta to Nashville?
Speaker A:Moving such a young business?
Speaker A:I assume at that time, sure.
Speaker C:So That's a great question.
Speaker C:So a little bit of extra context.
Speaker C:So I grew up in Memphis.
Speaker C:Shout out to the 901.
Speaker C:And then I went to school here at Vanderbilt where I met my wife.
Speaker C:And so we had done the whole Nashville thing together for.
Speaker C:For a little while.
Speaker C:After college, I had a job opportunity in Atlanta and that's why we moved down there.
Speaker C:We lived there for about four years and then, you know, ultimately in the time following Covid, we were living in a pretty nice area of Nashville, or sorry, of Atlanta, and it just started to get unsafe.
Speaker C:We had break ins in our building, people's cars getting stolen, police lights up and down our street every night.
Speaker C:And just wasn't.
Speaker C:It wasn't an environment where we saw ourselves staying for a long time or where we wanted to raise a family, or where we wanted to keep paying state and local income tax.
Speaker C:So getting back to Nashville is kind of a no brainer for us.
Speaker C:One of the beautiful things about Arrowhead and one of the things that's allowed us to succeed in sort of the modern era is that we are predominantly an e commerce business.
Speaker C:And so my whole team, none of us live in the same city.
Speaker C:We're actually distributed across, across the nation.
Speaker C:We really only see each other all at the same time for shot show, which is.
Speaker C:Makes that event extra fun.
Speaker C:But so moving the business was fairly straightforward because I just had to move myself.
Speaker C:The one of the warehouses that we use is still in Atlanta and I go down to visit that periodically.
Speaker C:I've got a teammate in Atlanta who's down there as well.
Speaker C:But we have done a pretty decent job, if I may say so, of building a very decentralized business that allows us to stay lean and therefore allows us to also not charge customers exorbitantly because we don't have a bunch of fixed costs or anything that are tying us down.
Speaker B:So you guys started off with the.
Speaker B:The joggers.
Speaker B:How.
Speaker B:What was the natural progression after that?
Speaker C:Well, that's a great question.
Speaker C:So at the time, I had absolutely no idea what it really meant to design a product, much less a clothing product.
Speaker C:That was certainly my first crack at it, and I'm a little bit better at it now, but I didn't really understand all of the things that go into lead time, sampling time, production, all of the externalities.
Speaker C:You know, when you're doing it for the first time, you kind of learn as you go.
Speaker C:And so we launched the joggers in April and then pretty quickly it was past jogger season.
Speaker C:And so as soon as we Saw the initial traction with that, we pivoted very quickly to a shorts design and ultimately it all comes back to our core competency, which is our twice patented waistband that allows you to carry the, you know, the gun that you want or the accessories that you want in the inside the waistband, holster that you want in the place that you want.
Speaker C:And you take that same concept of the waistband and you apply it across all of the different styles you can think of of athletic wear.
Speaker C:So we basically just started branching out into different versions of shorts, different versions of pants, we added sweatpants.
Speaker C:We had a women's line, which we're currently retooling.
Speaker C:But we took that core competency and just took it in different directions so that people can hopefully find the style and cut that they're looking for.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And then did you, you guys also did a hoodie as well, correct?
Speaker C:Yeah, we did.
Speaker C:So we have a few hoodie designs that.
Speaker C:What makes our hoodie a little bit different, aside from being really good for concealment, we always think about that first and foremost is we obviously incorporate the pass through pockets on all of our hoodies, which are resealable kangaroo pockets or, you know, hand pockets in the case of our tactical jacket that allow you to reach through and access your holstered handgun at appendix position.
Speaker C:That give you a bit of an advantage if you're able to pre stage your draw.
Speaker C:If you were to see a situation developing, maybe you're out pumping gas or you're sitting at a restaurant, restaurant or whatever it might be, and you see something happening that's not yet an immediate threat to life, but perhaps is on your radar.
Speaker C:As you know, your, your spidey sense is going off, lets you pre stage your draw and can significantly speed up your first shot in the event you do have to defend yourself.
Speaker B:Yeah, and there was a lot of, after you guys kind of came out, the, the whole shorts, comfort wear, jog, athletic wear kind of market kind of took off.
Speaker B:What makes your products stand out over them?
Speaker B:And why are there always copycats in business?
Speaker B:But why does your product stand out so much compared to the other ones on the market?
Speaker C:Those are great questions.
Speaker C:There is value to being the first mover because we have the most, we have the most data on what works and what doesn't work.
Speaker C:And so we are on version two, or in some cases version three of basically every product that we have in our lineup.
Speaker C:We have iterated against not the big things, but the small things, the little quality of life things, the, the placement and direction of zippered pockets.
Speaker C:How do you relieve yourself when you're carrying with something at your waist, you had a zipper fly.
Speaker C:And we just continue to out innovate and out quality everyone else who keeps popping up in this space.
Speaker C:And that's not to say that there aren't other good options.
Speaker C:I have a lot of respect for some of the other brands that are in the space that have gone after it in a different way.
Speaker C:But when it comes to clothing, we're just, we're just the best quality with the most thoughtful design.
Speaker B:Other thing I wanted to ask you is, you know, when it comes to athletic wear and things like that, and for those of who may not use your product and used other products or even just regular basketball shorts, when it comes to weight of the firearm, you know, how did you go past that and compensate for that extra weight being in the front of clothing that tends to want to be pulled down pretty easily.
Speaker C:Great question.
Speaker C:So there's a saying, you know, physics remains undefeated there.
Speaker C:There is no getting around the laws of physics.
Speaker C:And so when you set out to design something, you have to do it within the parameters of reality.
Speaker C:And ultimately our design is very simple.
Speaker C:We took the tried and true concept of a retention belt, turned it inside out, moved it to the inside of the waistband, and maintained that connection between belt and apparel.
Speaker C:In doing so, it gives a couple of advantages.
Speaker C:One, it actually helps with conceal.
Speaker C:It helps keep everything nice and flush to your body.
Speaker C:Two, because there's the connection between the apparel and the belt, you don't have things moving around, shifting that are apt to, you know, change places.
Speaker C:And you also don't have to connect through a third party, anything like a leg leash or something like that.
Speaker C:What that allows you to do is it allows you to, to thread a very slim and even stretchy gun belt that works with your body and flexes with you as you move around while still having that degree of support.
Speaker C:So there are videos that I put out that are mostly just for fun where I'll have, you know, two Desert Eagles that I'm carrying and the, the fact that our belt does, and inside the waistband does run all the way around your body, it helps to distribute that load.
Speaker C:And it's got the support, it's got the connection, so it's not moving around even when you pack.
Speaker C:By the time those guns are loaded, you're talking about 11 pounds, give or take, that you're packing into your waistband.
Speaker C:And I'm jumping up around, jumping up and down with.
Speaker C:And obviously I'm, I'm too short to meaningfully carry the 10 inch Desert Eagle, but I'd love to get my buddy Evan Singleton to carry that for a day and see how it does for him.
Speaker B:No, I, I love it.
Speaker B:I love your content.
Speaker B:You guys play light at it.
Speaker B:You put also are educational.
Speaker B:You bring in that a product that a lot of people will overlook because when it comes to concealed carry, you, you've got two options.
Speaker B:Either you're uncomfortable or you're comfortable or you don't carry.
Speaker B:And the big thing that I always like to say is the gun sitting at home is a gun that's no good.
Speaker B:So being able to wear athletic, wear out like myself, who is constantly in basketball shorts because I do not like wearing pants.
Speaker B:Kelly makes fun of me because I like wearing shorts.
Speaker B:But as somebody who likes doing that on a constant basis, having the ability to have a set of joggers or shorts or anything like that that can really hold that gun tight is a great advantage to not make making sure that gun doesn't get left at home.
Speaker C:Absolutely.
Speaker C:I agree with you 100%.
Speaker C:And that was a big thing when we were designing and in development is to recognize that one of your primary competitors is actually in action.
Speaker C:If something is not easy to do, if it's not seamless, if it doesn't work into your routine, you're not likely to do that.
Speaker C:If it's a big ordeal to get it set up and taken down and just the friction of life is going to lead to it being left behind.
Speaker C:So we wanted to make sure that it was something that you could get set up in less than a minute.
Speaker C:Every time that it worked with the holsters that you already have, that it worked with the carry position that you prefer.
Speaker C:Trying to fit as much of that muscle memory and as much of that human ease into the equation as we can to make sure that when people are walking out their front door in the morning or getting in their car, that they've got what they need.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:One of the things that I love about your advertising and your product is you really know who your demographic is.
Speaker A:And we can tell that because you have solved a problem that you are facing and, and that people in, in our generation primarily seem to be facing.
Speaker A:You know, there's a ton of people.
Speaker A:My, my Family's full of CrossFit coaches and I'm not one of them.
Speaker A:But it's one of those things where, you know, gym culture is a huge part of our lives and everyone shoots, but there was never a solution.
Speaker A:And so I've seen your stuff pop up around our gym a lot.
Speaker A:And I think that, I think that really speaks to, you know, your lane and you speak to the people who are very Pro2A, but also are very outdoorsy and very, very athletic.
Speaker C:Well, we try.
Speaker C:And I would say that the athletic component is.
Speaker C:The athletic component is what I originally envisioned.
Speaker C:I. I am a fairly active person.
Speaker C:I try to stay exercising.
Speaker C:I ran a half marathon back in December, which was probably the first and last time that I will do that.
Speaker C:But it was fun.
Speaker C:And when I was creating this stuff, I wanted it to be something that would allow me to carry before, during, and after a workout, and that that was the way that I had envisioned it.
Speaker C:But as we've gotten to selling and like I, as I mentioned before, we've got five years of data on this stuff.
Speaker C:We've seen that especially following Covid as our society has gotten a little bit more casual, for better or for worse.
Speaker C:We also have a very big demographic of people who just want to be comfortable.
Speaker C:They're sick of wearing jeans.
Speaker C: don't want to wear the Five': Speaker C:And there's a, there's a time and a place for those pants.
Speaker C:This is no shade against five' 11, but if you're wearing those to go pick up your, you know, daughter's medication from Walgreens, you're probably bringing more attention to yourself than.
Speaker C:Than you need, and it's just not necessary.
Speaker C:And so we found that a lot of people really embrace our stuff who may not even be working out.
Speaker C:They may not be going for the run, they may not be heading to the gym.
Speaker C:They just want to wear athletic clothes they like.
Speaker C:They like.
Speaker C:Something that fits into their lifestyle is that maybe they work from home.
Speaker C:They've increasingly adopted that more relaxed lifestyle, but they don't then want to have to leave their gun at home, as you said.
Speaker A:So it is that time of the show where we get to go to the little spicier side from our segment for our segment from the Soapbox.
Speaker A:So do you have any hot takes for us?
Speaker C:I do have a hot take, and this one.
Speaker C:Now, I am coming from a little bit of a place of bias, but I say this with the best intentions.
Speaker C:Specifically for men who carry in crossbody bags, you may as well just open carry because that's become sufficiently popular that everybody who's even remotely in this space, when I see someone walk in any place and they have one of those crossbody bags on, I.
Speaker C:It immediately sets off my spidey sense.
Speaker C:And I know that person is carrying Even if I don't recognize the exact brand of bag, I, I would say nine times out of 10, that person is probably carrying.
Speaker C:And that, to me, slightly defeats the purpose of concealed carry.
Speaker C:That's the hottest take that.
Speaker B:I'm feeling called out today.
Speaker B:As somebody who constantly uses a fanny pack as a carry method, I feel called out.
Speaker B:But I get it.
Speaker B:I understand.
Speaker B:Even I like, when I wear the fanny pack, I know that if I wear it across my body, that it is very noticeable.
Speaker B:So I tuck it in everywhere.
Speaker C:And it's also, it does.
Speaker C:That's a great point.
Speaker C:The way you wear it.
Speaker C:And also even the look on your face when you're wearing it can be a big decider because you can see the person who has it staged there.
Speaker C:Like he's about to do an Instagram draw.
Speaker C:Like, he's got, he's got that shot timer just waiting for him to rip that thing open.
Speaker C:And if it's got, like, the massive pull tab and everything, I don't know.
Speaker C:The general public may be still completely ignorant to this, but in my experience, and I talk to a lot of people who are in this space every single day, people know what's up with that stuff now.
Speaker C:And so nothing against anyone who does that.
Speaker C:I just don't think it's concealing necessarily as much as they.
Speaker B:No, I'm with you on that.
Speaker B:When I switched over to the fanny pack for when I was doing jogs or walks, I switched it over to my, I first originally had it crossbody.
Speaker B:I'm like, well, that's kind of weird.
Speaker B:Like, very, very obvious what's going on here.
Speaker B:So I went to the front and it's, it's a little bit better, but I get it because even I, when I go out, if you're wearing like, the, the big crossbody, like, backpacks and the things like that, that I'm like, yep, they're carrying a gun.
Speaker A:No, I, I, I agree with that.
Speaker A:I, I agree with your hot take approved silver approval.
Speaker A:Where's the gavel?
Speaker B:Yeah, I mean, so I don't know.
Speaker B:I don't have a hot take today for this one.
Speaker B:This one?
Speaker B:No, because he's right.
Speaker B:I can't argue with him.
Speaker B:And I have no hot take back.
Speaker B:I think, I think the big, my big hot take, I guess, is, you know, you gotta carry.
Speaker B:If you got a permit, you got a gun, you got to carry it.
Speaker B:If, if you're gonna do it, do it.
Speaker B:I mean, they're, they, they're uncomfortable.
Speaker B:Be comfortable, get comfortable.
Speaker B:Wear arrowhead tactical Stuff gonna shameless plug him because he's on the show.
Speaker B:But you know, it's.
Speaker B:It's the thing like with the old.
Speaker B:What's the old saying?
Speaker B:The.22 in your pocket's better than the.45 sitting on the nightstand.
Speaker B:Well, what you should be able to carry whatever you want and carry it comfortably and get the proper apparel or holster or thing that makes you feel confident and comfortable carrying those firearms.
Speaker C:And that's a great point you just made also is I think people, especially as they're getting.
Speaker C:They're getting into the space, if we're all really honest with ourselves, the firearms community can be a little snooty at times.
Speaker C:And there also is a lot that you have to learn.
Speaker C:There are a lot of questions that you have to ask and answer in the right order to find a carry setup that's going to serve you well in the long term.
Speaker C:And you know, when you really break it down and you ask why five times, it's going to start with finding a gun that is comfortable for you to shoot and also small enough or, you know, whatever measurement you want to look at that you'd realistically be able to carry it on your body.
Speaker C:And different people have different thresholds for that.
Speaker C:You know, I'm.
Speaker C:I'm super weird.
Speaker C:Like, I will routinely carry an FNX.45 on my person appendix, but I have found ways to do it.
Speaker C:I've got a bigger pec shelf.
Speaker C:It helps me cover things up, and that just works for me.
Speaker C:But there are plenty of people who wouldn't want to make the sacrifice that carrying that gun entails.
Speaker C:And they want to carry something that's a little bit smaller.
Speaker C:That's great.
Speaker C:Start there.
Speaker C:Then you got to find the right holster.
Speaker C:And there are a jillion holster options to choose from.
Speaker C:And to find the right holster, you also have to determine where you want to carry.
Speaker C:Because if you get an appendix inside the waistband holster, but it turns out you want to carry it the small of your back, like that's not going to work so well.
Speaker C:And then you've got a little box of holsters that you've worked your way through and learned your way past.
Speaker C:I think everybody who's.
Speaker C:Who carries has that little box of shame holsters that they've kind of outgrown as they've developed in their carry style.
Speaker C:And so you got to go through that and there's a little trial and error, and then it comes down to outfits.
Speaker C:And I think, I think that the, the female side of the gun community has done so much better of a job of actually demonstrating.
Speaker C:For someone who is newer to it, here are ways that you can fit concealed carry into your lifestyle.
Speaker C:You don't have to mold your lifestyle around concealed carry.
Speaker C:And the male side I think has done a slightly worse job of that in terms of actually demonstrating how.
Speaker C:And like what clothes should you wear?
Speaker C:It doesn't have to be ours.
Speaker C:I mean there are a ton of different good ways that you can carry and conceal.
Speaker C:We like to focus on the athletic wear, but there are tons of other things outside of that space and just making those kinds of resources more available for people who are getting into it and not just expecting, oh, hey, you're a dude, you're going to know how to do this from day one.
Speaker C:Because lord knows I didn't.
Speaker C:It took me years to really fine tune my carry solution.
Speaker C:And then when I come into stuff like this, I've got years of experience, but I think about the person who is buying from us, who maybe they just turned 21 and they got, just got their first handgun and they're trying to figure that out.
Speaker C:We just try to do more good than harm in those spaces by making information like that accessible and not not assuming that everybody's already an expert because that's how mistakes happen.
Speaker B:No, I mean that's well said.
Speaker B:If you don't have a box of holsters sitting at your house, I don't know what, what's wrong with you because we all have a box of holsters sitting at our house.
Speaker B:Trust me.
Speaker B:Because I've gone back and forth between couple dozen holsters here and there.
Speaker A:Yeah, I do want to say, so this might be my, my hot take of, of today.
Speaker A:Gun owners can be and often are undiagnosed hoarders.
Speaker B:Yes,.
Speaker C:Guilty.
Speaker A:It's my hot take.
Speaker C:Only buy, never sell.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Oh, 100%.
Speaker B:I'm an undiagnosed hoarder.
Speaker B:You should see my.
Speaker B:I have a box that hasn't made it from three different houses that is filled with gun parts that I will never use again.
Speaker B:I know I will never use them, but they are there in case I ever need it and I will not get rid of them.
Speaker B:There are scopes that are 10 years old that have been sitting in the box.
Speaker B:Maybe one day I'll put that scope on something or this screw that I have for this optic that I don't have anymore that's sitting there in case I need it.
Speaker C:Hey, we said it earlier.
Speaker C:I'll say it again.
Speaker C:It's better to have and not need than need and not have.
Speaker C:Because one man's trash.
Speaker C:I also have my junk box.
Speaker C:Well, I'm not going to call it junk.
Speaker C:It's actually my box of treasures that's sitting right here out of screen.
Speaker C:And every so often I'll be like, where's that screw that I have for my arms?
Speaker C:16A that I have on my 733.
Speaker C:I gotta.
Speaker C:I want to lower that by one notch.
Speaker C:And I go and I dig in my drawer and I dump it on the ground like a kid with a bunch of Legos.
Speaker C:And you sift through it and you find that piece you're looking for.
Speaker C:I'm more organized in business than I am in my own personal hoarding collection.
Speaker C:I can say that I think we're all.
Speaker B:I think we're all in that category.
Speaker B:If my boss who's sitting next to me ever were to come and look at my actual office at home, she would look at me and go, what is happening?
Speaker B:How are you this organized in the office but not at the house?
Speaker B:Is bad.
Speaker A:Listen, we don't work a typical work week.
Speaker A:And so that plus the kids.
Speaker A:Like.
Speaker A:I'm not the kind of person that is, that has my life together.
Speaker A:I'm.
Speaker A:I, I will be the first to admit I also live on a farm.
Speaker A:And so just all of the hobbies and everything is.
Speaker A:I probably could be diagnosed as a hoarder.
Speaker B:I am, I am 100% diagnosed as a hoarder.
Speaker B:If.
Speaker B:If you haven't seen the episode with Slide Fire, there is a.
Speaker B:It is in my home studio.
Speaker B: I may or may not have like: Speaker A:That's not hoarding.
Speaker A:That's a collection.
Speaker B:That's hoarding.
Speaker B:It's a hoarding collection.
Speaker A:I was trying to vindicate.
Speaker A:Absolutely not.
Speaker B:Absolutely not.
Speaker A:But no, that, that was my.
Speaker A:That's my hot take.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:It's a spicy take, but it's.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker B:Well, I want to dive into something he said because we have a female on here.
Speaker B:He said that the, the female side of things are, are really good at it.
Speaker B:What do you.
Speaker B:What is your take on that?
Speaker A:It has gotten tremendously better.
Speaker A:I don't think that we have arrived and here's why.
Speaker A:I will say that two reasons.
Speaker A:I just had a baby.
Speaker A:There is absolutely nothing that is maternity friendly in the gun space right now.
Speaker A:That.
Speaker A:That is basically it in the marketing world of the gun industry.
Speaker A:Nine months that do not exist in anything.
Speaker A:So there's a million dollar idea for you.
Speaker A:You're welcome.
Speaker A:But that section is Pointless to look because you're not going to find anything.
Speaker A:I think that we are so much better than we were.
Speaker A:But I don't know that the body differences in women, the body types, I don't think that we've quite managed to get everything right now.
Speaker A:That being said, when I first got into the industry, when I first was carrying a firearm, the options were here's a belly band, good luck, best wishes.
Speaker A:Like that was.
Speaker A:That was it.
Speaker A:Now it's tremendously better.
Speaker A:It's also gotten a lot easier because women's styles have changed.
Speaker A:So we're no longer wearing low rise jeans.
Speaker A:Thank the Lord.
Speaker A:Hallelujah.
Speaker A:And we've gotten away from those really skinny belts in our fashion.
Speaker A:And both of those things lead to a much easier time conceal carrying so vastly improving.
Speaker A:And then I think where we're at as far as style lies in women's clothing also is playing a part in that.
Speaker B:You got all that but no pockets.
Speaker C:Still no.
Speaker A:I don't think women will ever have pockets.
Speaker A:I'm, I, maybe, maybe we fix it, but I'll probably be dead by then because that's.
Speaker A:They're all fake.
Speaker C:I will say we made a point to have real functional pockets on our women's stuff that we had out.
Speaker C:That was a big, my wife pushed big for that.
Speaker C:Needless to say, I am not an expert in designing women's clothing.
Speaker C:I'm not qualified for that.
Speaker C:So I had to bring in a lot of outside help and that was a big thing that we heard a lot.
Speaker C:And I suppose I can spoil this a little bit.
Speaker C:We are working on a new version, new and improved version of our, of our carrier line for, for women.
Speaker C:So bringing in a lot of variety of expertise, variety of body types.
Speaker C:Try to make sure that we're triangulating because clothing is not an exact science.
Speaker C:It is minor differences between, you know, one person to, to another can make a big, can make a big difference in how something wears and how something feels.
Speaker C:Not to mention that people have preferences.
Speaker C:And so you, you introduce all of these variables and it's pretty, it's pretty tough to get something that's exactly right that'll cover, you know that, that sort of middle 90% but that's what the testing and evaluation is for.
Speaker A:That's awesome.
Speaker A:And like I said, like there is so much improvement since you know where we started to where we are now.
Speaker A:And I think that you're seeing that through companies like yours innovating.
Speaker A:And I think it's encouraging the male side of the market to do the same, which is good because we want more gun ownership.
Speaker A:We want more people conceal carrying and taking that personal responsibility for themselves and their families.
Speaker B:Now we haven't asked you this.
Speaker B:You mentioned wanting to carry because you were going to the gym late at night, odd hours.
Speaker B:What, what was your gun journey like?
Speaker C:Gun journey.
Speaker C:Okay, let's.
Speaker C:Let's start at the very beginning.
Speaker C:So I am.
Speaker C:I came out of nowhere.
Speaker C:No one in my family has ever been interested in firearms as far back as I can tell, either side.
Speaker C: one, not the recent one, the: Speaker C:And I just have always been infatuated with, with mechanical things really.
Speaker C:I mean all of the interest that suck my wallet dry are basically guns, cars and watches in that order.
Speaker C:And the, the concept of firearms have just been always extremely interesting to me.
Speaker C:So when I was relatively young, I'd have opportunities to like go shoot with like my friends, dads who had guns and stuff like that.
Speaker C: could show you, was a Colt LE: Speaker C:The 15 inch, sorry, 16 inch with the CAC rails and you know, the big heavy quad rails on it.
Speaker C: ually bought that when it was: Speaker C:My mom had never owned a gun in her life and she was like, the hell a president's going to tell me, I can't buy this.
Speaker C:And so she goes out and buys like the coolest AR15 ever.
Speaker C:And so that was my baptism by fire into that, which I thought was pretty neat.
Speaker C:And then second gun was the Glock 19 that I showed you a minute ago.
Speaker C:It's been with me ever since.
Speaker C:And then I've just steadily kind of been collecting and I add stuff to my, to my repertoire to try to fit different, different catalogs of it.
Speaker C:But I didn't really get to shoot meaningfully until I was pretty much an adult.
Speaker C:Like I didn't grow up with it aside from video games, but I got hooked right away.
Speaker C:I try to make it to the range as much as I can to stay, to stay up on my training because this is not like riding a bike.
Speaker C:It's amazing how quickly you lose those fine motor skills and especially under any kind of duress, I try to work actual like physical training into my gun training because if you ever have to defend yourself, you're not going to be on a flat range with a Calm heart rate.
Speaker C:Your.
Speaker C:Your OODA is going to be going out of the.
Speaker C:You know, dude's gonna be going crazy and you just need to learn how to shoot when your arms are shaky and your heart's beating 130 beats per minute.
Speaker C:So anyway, that was more of an answer than you looked for.
Speaker C:But, yeah, I kind of came out of nowhere and have just been obsessed ever since.
Speaker C:And I am basically out of room in my safe.
Speaker C:So I will either have to make hard decisions relatively soon to start swapping things out or more likely we'll just start buying more safe.
Speaker B:I vote for the buying more safe options because I am also a gun hoarder.
Speaker B:So I guess that is that.
Speaker A:I don't think that that qualifies that.
Speaker B:I'm a gun hoarder.
Speaker B:You've seen my safe.
Speaker A:I've not.
Speaker B:Oh, I have sent you pictures.
Speaker A:Oh, yeah?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Send you pictures of just my pistol safe.
Speaker B:And you were like, my God, what do you do with your money?
Speaker B:I've run out of room in my safe as well.
Speaker B:They are all over my locked office and they're.
Speaker B:It's pretty bad.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:You can tell that you came from the industry and I've always been on the advocacy side because budgets.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Doesn't budget.
Speaker B:Listen, a poor college student who decided it was a better idea to buy guns than booze.
Speaker B:It was that decisions.
Speaker C:That's a pretty good decision as far as you're going down the ATF ladder.
Speaker C:That.
Speaker C:That's a solid decision.
Speaker C:That at least has some.
Speaker B:I got into it real hard, real fast.
Speaker B:No, I.
Speaker B:And so got time for like one or two more questions.
Speaker B:So let's.
Speaker B:Let's get to the.
Speaker B:So you grew up in.
Speaker B:In Memphis, in Tennessee.
Speaker B:That's a really free state.
Speaker B:Kaylee's from Knoxville.
Speaker B:You know, what was it like growing up in such a free state like Tennessee?
Speaker C:Honestly, I've.
Speaker C:I've sort of known no other way.
Speaker C:I couldn't even imagine living in a state where my government either tells me what I am or am not allowed to own within reason.
Speaker C:I mean, obviously we're still infringed in all kinds of crazy ways.
Speaker C:This absolutely should have a pin in it.
Speaker C:And the third selector on the.
Speaker C:On the safety.
Speaker C:It should.
Speaker C:I mean, frankly, it's in common use.
Speaker C:That's what the 2A was here to do.
Speaker C:For now, I'll settle for the fact that that's not available.
Speaker C:But yeah, I just.
Speaker C:I'm way too independent as a person and having known freedom, I couldn't imagine moving to A place that even something like a registry, like, it just gives me the heebie jeebies.
Speaker C:I watched a movie on, on Netflix last night to catch a killer and interesting gunplay.
Speaker C:I mean, sort of unrealistic, but one of the premises is that they, they were talking about in Maryland, they helped track people down based on having, like, guns that were registered.
Speaker C:And they were reading off like, yeah, this Guy owns an AR15.
Speaker C:I'm like, I just don't feel like if you haven't previously committed a crime that the government has any reason to know that.
Speaker C:It's just.
Speaker C:It's ridiculous.
Speaker C:So I loved growing up in Tennessee.
Speaker C:I have never lived outside of a.
Speaker C:What I would consider a free state.
Speaker C:And I'm glad to see states like Tennessee continuing to adopt increased freedom measures, like the fact they've embraced constitutional carry, which was a huge one that I did not have growing up.
Speaker C:But now we.
Speaker C:We do have constitutional and reciprocal carry, which I think is pretty cool.
Speaker A:And today, believe it or not, this is the very first time that I am missing it, but it's okay because we get to spend it with folks like you.
Speaker A:But today in Tennessee is the gold day.
Speaker A:So for those of you that are not members or maybe not be super involved in your state politics, GOA has gold days all across the country, Gun owners lobby days.
Speaker A:And so we have a whole group with our partners in Tennessee, the Tennessee Firearms association, and we put on a big day of advocacy at the state capitol.
Speaker A:And so this is my first time in.
Speaker A:Well, since they started Gold days in Tennessee not being there.
Speaker A:And it's kind of sad because I love the camaraderie of going into the committee hearings and, and letting our voice be known.
Speaker A:And so you're right.
Speaker A:Tennessee has made some incredible strides when it comes to restoring our Second Amendment.
Speaker A:And we got a lot of work to do still.
Speaker A:And we're on the ground and we'll continue to do it.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So I'm going to turn this around and ask you guys one last question just to see.
Speaker C:What do you think our chances are of getting either sbirs or suppressors off of the registry within the next decade?
Speaker A:Well, I think it's a. I think it's a good chance.
Speaker A:You know, the, the biggest thing when it comes to anything dealing with the Second Amendment is you've got to have momentum, and the momentum can't stop just because you, you or you believe that you have won an election.
Speaker A:The reality on the ground is we have a chance to really amplify our voices in a way that I Don't know that we would have had even five years ago or six years ago.
Speaker A:And so now is the time where naturally people want to kind of fall back into that, that state of apathy.
Speaker A:But right now is the time that we need to be calling our congressmen, attending town halls, emailing, and really making sure that the mandate that we gave them as gun owners when we voted in this last election has the follow through.
Speaker A:And I know we've mentioned it a couple of times in recent episodes, but it is beyond important that your election day ritual isn't just the presidential election.
Speaker A:And it is even more important that you are participating in the primary process because the pro gun, the pro gun members of Congress, the pro gun senators, it.
Speaker A:Just because you have a certain letter beside of your name does not mean that that is a guarantee that you support or are against the Second Amendment.
Speaker A:And so the primary is when we as gun owners really get to vet our candidates and put us in the best position to win in these battles of, you know, completely dismantling the nfa, seeing a restoration of the Second Amendment.
Speaker A:And so the primaries are incredibly important and the midterms are incredibly important.
Speaker A:But regardless of what election it is, it's not enough to just go cast, go cast your ballot and then check out.
Speaker A:It is vitally important that you are active.
Speaker A:And I say this all the time, and I think people get a little tired of hearing it, but I'll continue to preach this message as long as I can.
Speaker A:It takes about 30 seconds if you go on our website, to click on the issue that matters to you and send a message to your congressman.
Speaker A:I've timed it.
Speaker A:I timed it multiple times.
Speaker A:I understand that I am a slightly faster typer than some people, but it took me 27 seconds, which I feel was kind of providential because there are 27 words in the Second Amendment here, here.
Speaker C:We can confirm that.
Speaker C:Here.
Speaker C:Ready?
Speaker A:Where's my laptop?
Speaker A:But, you know, it's really important to just take a little bit of time and, you know, maybe set an alarm once a month that just says, hey, I'm going to have two minutes of advocacy and just go online and see what issues are your top priority and just send a message because that's.
Speaker A:We have to have the momentum right now.
Speaker A:We have an opportunity to really capitalize.
Speaker A:But it's incumbent upon each individual gun owner to really make that message amplified.
Speaker B:I couldn't have said it any better.
Speaker B:I don't know how to follow it up that.
Speaker B:Just a round of applause.
Speaker B:Great job.
Speaker B:No, I, as a as somebody who comes from the industry, who's worked in the industry, I really hope that the, the Hearing Protection act and the Shush act get passed to the House.
Speaker B:We've got really good momentum on those right now.
Speaker B:I hope that the SBRs come off too.
Speaker B:I don't see where they can't come and try to take them off.
Speaker B:We've seen the attack on pistol braces and other things.
Speaker B:You know, let's just make everything legal.
Speaker B:I want, I want everybody to have full auto machine guns.
Speaker B:Abolish the nfa, abolish the atf.
Speaker B:That's a roundabout way of me, that's my polite way of answering without getting, getting too heated.
Speaker B:But yes, I, I, I'm really hoping and the future is bright and like Kaylee said, now is the time more than ever to be the squeaky wheel.
Speaker B:Get out there and go.
Speaker B:Be polite, be nice, do not go off on them, but be the squeaky wheel so that our pro2A senators and congressmen know this is what we want and we want it now.
Speaker C:Great.
Speaker C:And hopefully we can do as much as possible through the legislature the way that the government's supposed to operate so that in another however many years if, God forbid, we don't reclaim the presidency, that's we that we don't see all of those wins immediately eroded with the stroke of an auto.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:But yeah, absolutely, you know that that's one of the things that we have to really focus in on.
Speaker A:You know, executive orders are fantastic when they are your guy doing it.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And so it's really incumbent upon Congress to reinforce the program measures that are being put in place and you know, hopefully we'll see just more wins and more wins and, but again it's all, it all comes down to what is a gun rights activist and that is someone who takes personal responsibility not only in the use of their firearms, but in the defense of their right to own them.
Speaker A:And, and that's, that's on us as individuals.
Speaker B:Yep, couldn't say it any better.
Speaker B:Well, we are at the wrap up time.
Speaker B:I'm getting the signal from our, our editor.
Speaker B:So Alexander, please go ahead and tell everybody where they can find you.
Speaker B:How do they can get a hold of your product?
Speaker B:All the above.
Speaker C:Sure, absolutely.
Speaker C:So you can find [email protected] on the Internet and at Arrowhead Tactical Apparel on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, X I guess it's called now I'm still as a millennial, I'm still adjusting to that.
Speaker C:But yeah, arrowheadtacticalpail.com we would love to equip you.
Speaker C:It would be our honor to help keep you comfortably prepared.
Speaker C:As we're getting into the warmer months.
Speaker C:We we have some great options that will allow you to sweat less and carry more.
Speaker C:Like this concealed tee that I'm currently wearing our carrier shorts and in early April I don't know when this will air, but in early April we will be launching a new version of our carrier training shorts which are the super lightweight, perfect for running, squatting, whatever active thing you want to do in your life.
Speaker C:And if you want to carry a Desert Eagle while you're doing it, then more power to you.
Speaker B:All the above.
Speaker B:That's the most freedom thing I've ever heard.
Speaker B:Carry Desert Eagle.
Speaker B:Before we go, our sponsor, AAC and Palmetto State Armory has sponsored our gifts for our guests.
Speaker B:So Alex will be reaching out from our team to get you hooked up with the gift from our guests from Palmetto State army and aac.
Speaker B:So they'll give you a nice little package just for thanking you for being on the show.
Speaker B:Guys.
Speaker B:Make sure to go to gunners.orggoals to sign up for Goals Gunners Advocacy leadership summit happening August 9th and 10th in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Speaker B:We will have 120,000 square feet of some of the top companies in the two a space with guns gears all the above.
Speaker B:Make sure to be there.
Speaker B:It is free to all GOA members.
Speaker B:Not only will we have that, but we'll have some of the top two A voices out there speaking and talking on panels and things go to again gun owners.org goals to register today to be at goals and we will see you in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Speaker B:Make sure also to like share and subscribe.
Speaker B:Hit the little bell for notification and we'll catch you on the next one.
