Shownotes
Dustin from Derya joins John and Kaylee on State of the Second to explain how a firearms brand can stand up its own name and start making guns in the United States in record time. He came to the gun industry through an accounting background. He is a CPA who worked big four public accounting at PwC after college at the University of Nevada, then joined Arms Corp / Rock Island through his longtime friend Martin Twassen during the company's hyper growth in the 2013 Obama era. He spent close to 12 years there before helping start Derya, which incorporated on March 28, 2024 and was manufacturing guns in the United States within a year.
Most of the conversation is a practical look at how Derya runs. Dustin walks through why they chose Jacksonville, Florida for the US factory: it is close to the Savannah port where shipments from Turkey land, Florida is gun friendly and manufacturer friendly, and the labor pool already had manufacturing experience. He explains the company's pricing strategy of starting low to entice buyers, backed by efficient production across over 140 CNC machines in Turkey plus US machines. The DY9 is the flagship and most popular gun, and the team moved 95% of its production from Turkey to the United States. He previews a heavy 2026 lineup: the DY9Z at a $299 MSRP with a 15 round magazine and ten colors, releasing on Black Friday, the TM22 rimfire at $249 on January 1, and a new shotgun at the end of Q1, plus several more projects.
Kaylee pushes the discussion toward women buyers, sharing her own struggle to find a concealable carry gun that fits a small hand and her advice that companies wanting to know what colors women want should look at Pinterest wedding palettes. Dustin says women are a big market for Derya and that the brand is leaning into tutorial content and a woman's perspective to make the buying experience less intimidating for first time owners. In the Soapbox segment he gives measured takes on the Glock conversation in the industry and on US manufacturing, arguing tariffs make US investment more attractive but manufacturing here is not easy, and that the United States is the deciding factor for nearly every gun design. He closes by plugging the nonprofit Walk the Talk America, which works to bridge the gap between the firearms and mental health worlds.
Questions this episode answers
How did Dustin go from a big four accounting career at PwC to the firearms industry?
Dustin is a CPA who worked big four public accounting at PwC after attending the University of Nevada. His longtime friend Martin Twassen brought him into the gun industry at Arms Corp / Rock Island, where he stayed close to 12 years before helping start Derya.
When did Derya incorporate, and how fast did it start manufacturing guns in the United States?
Derya incorporated on March 28, 2024, and was manufacturing guns in the United States within a year of starting.
Why did Derya choose Jacksonville, Florida for its US factory?
Jacksonville is close to the Savannah port where shipments from Turkey land, Florida is gun friendly and manufacturer friendly, and the local labor pool already had manufacturing experience.
What is Derya's pricing strategy, and how does it keep prices low without cutting quality?
Derya starts prices low to entice buyers, backed by efficient production across more than 140 CNC machines in Turkey plus US machines. Dustin says they use premium material and accept making less money than competitors rather than cutting the product.
Which Derya gun is the flagship, and how much of its production moved from Turkey to the US?
The DY9 is Derya's flagship and most popular gun, and the team moved 95% of its production from Turkey to the United States.
What new products is Derya releasing in 2026, and at what price points?
Derya is launching the DY9Z at a $299 MSRP with a 15 round magazine and ten colors on Black Friday, the TM22 rimfire at $249 on January 1, and a new shotgun at the end of Q1, with several more projects to follow.
How does Derya think about women as customers and first time gun buyers?
Dustin says women are a big market for Derya, so the brand leans into tutorial content and a woman's perspective to make buying a gun less intimidating for first time owners. Co-host Kaylee adds that brands wanting to know which colors women want should study Pinterest wedding palettes.
What are Dustin's takes on the Glock conversation and on US versus overseas manufacturing?
In the Soapbox segment Dustin gives measured takes on the industry's Glock conversation, and argues tariffs make US investment more attractive while warning that manufacturing here is not easy. He says the United States is the deciding factor for nearly every gun design.
Chapters
- 00:29 — Rapid fire questions
- 03:18 — Dustin's path from accounting to guns
- 05:05 — Starting Derya and US manufacturing
- 06:28 — Building a brand on its own name
- 07:57 — The DY9 and proving the price point
- 10:53 — Why Jacksonville for the factory
- 13:11 — The 2026 product pipeline
- 17:40 — Colored guns and the market for them
- 18:42 — What women want in a carry gun
- 22:06 — Making the brand less intimidating
- 24:24 — A women's survivors range day
- 27:24 — Soapbox: the Glock conversation
- 30:00 — Tariffs and US manufacturing
- 34:34 — How the US and Turkey teams design together
- 40:05 — Walk the Talk America and wrap up
About the guest
Dustin works on the operations side of Derya, the firearms brand featured in this episode. He is a CPA who worked big four public accounting at PwC after attending the University of Nevada, and he was born and raised in Las Vegas. He entered the gun industry through his longtime friend Martin Twassen, joining Arms Corp / Rock Island during its growth period and staying close to 12 years before helping start Derya, which incorporated on March 28, 2024. He pitched Jacksonville, Florida as the site for the company's US factory. He is also involved with the nonprofit Walk the Talk America, where he handles the money. His last name is not stated in the episode.
Key quotes
"we started, incorporated, we started manufacturing guns in the United States within a year later." — Dustin
"Any volatility, any challenges creates opportunity." — Dustin
"we're using premium material and you're getting a good value product for a good price and we just don't make as much money as other people." — Dustin
"if there's a market for it, you know, we're going to make it work." — Dustin
"Manufacturing United States is not easy." — Dustin
"my advice has always been go to Pinterest, it's free." — Kaylee
Transcripts
Welcome to Gun Owners of America State of the second podcast.
Speaker A:I'm Kayleigh.
Speaker B:And I'm John.
Speaker B:And today we're joined by Dustin from Daria Arms.
Speaker B:How are you, my friend?
Speaker C:I'm doing good, thanks for having me.
Speaker B:I said that right correct.
Speaker C:Daria.
Speaker C:Deria.
Speaker C:There's a lot of pronunciations, so I mean, it's different in Turkish, but.
Speaker C:And most people call it Daria.
Speaker C:Like Idairia is the.
Speaker C:Probably what a lot of people say on Reddit and all the forums and everything like that.
Speaker C:So that's what we go with.
Speaker B:I love that.
Speaker B:Let's go ahead and dive into this.
Speaker B:So the first, we've got our rapid fire questions.
Speaker B:We're going to ask you five questions.
Speaker B:You answer them how you please.
Speaker B:So let's start off with what was your last impulse buy?
Speaker C:I'd say, I mean actual impulse buy, I mean, was probably years ago and it was just when I saw.
Speaker C:I don't even know the name of it.
Speaker C:It was from Battle Arms Development.
Speaker C:It's like a lightweight AR.
Speaker C:I think it's like 3.9 pounds.
Speaker C:And yeah, it was, I saw it.
Speaker C:George Huang, he's the owner there, talking to him.
Speaker C:And then, yeah, me and Martin Twass bought, bought one each.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So we were like, we, yeah, we saw it.
Speaker C:We were like, we gotta have this.
Speaker C:And still one of my favorite guns.
Speaker A:That's awesome.
Speaker A:What do you think is the most underrated firearm the Dario DY9.
Speaker B:Agreed.
Speaker B:If you could import anything from Turkey to, for the, for your company, what would it be?
Speaker B:If you could import any gun, I.
Speaker C:Probably say, I was like, just make it here.
Speaker C:If we can and can't import it in.
Speaker C:So I don't, I don't really have one.
Speaker C:Everything that you know, we could import and we do, and everything that we can't, we can make in the United States.
Speaker A:What is one firearm accessory that you can't live without?
Speaker C:I don't know.
Speaker C:This is kind of, I mean, this.
Speaker C:The.
Speaker C:I don't know what optic, I guess.
Speaker C:I don't know.
Speaker C:That's about it.
Speaker C:So, I mean, red dot, I don't know.
Speaker C:Holster, I guess.
Speaker C:I don't know.
Speaker C:I don't know.
Speaker C:I mean, you need all of them.
Speaker C:When you actually get one cool thing about guns.
Speaker B:What would be your top suggestion for a home defense gun?
Speaker C:And it's changes for everybody, but for me personally, it's just something that I'm comfortable with.
Speaker C:I like the full size for my home defense carrying, I like a little bit smaller, but it's just Everybody's personal use their space and what they have access to.
Speaker C:So yeah, that's mine.
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Speaker B:Well, that wraps up our rapid fire questions.
Speaker B:Let's go ahead and dive into this.
Speaker B:Tell us a little bit about yourself, how you join the company.
Speaker B:The kind of a, they're not a newcomer but they're, they're also a newcomer at the same time.
Speaker B:So kind of explain, you know, the, the history of the company and, and how you got involved in everything.
Speaker C:So I'd probably go back from the start.
Speaker C:My background, I'm a cpa.
Speaker C:I'm accountant.
Speaker C:I worked big four public accounting out of college.
Speaker C:I went to college at University of Nevada.
Speaker C:I was born and raised in Las Vegas and when I went to college, yeah, I just did accounting and I got into the gun industry because I know Martin Twassen from Arms Corps.
Speaker C:I know him since I was, I think before 18 actually, so over half my life now.
Speaker C:So he was looking for the arms corps.
Speaker C:Rock island at that time had a hyper growth period during the Obama years.
Speaker C: Everybody knows it was: Speaker C:I don't know if they want me to say that or not, you know, but yeah, PwC, but.
Speaker C:And I was looking to do something else.
Speaker C:I didn't want to be accountant for my whole life and but of course once you go to accounting it's the longer you're in it, the more you're going to be an accountant.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:And Martin kept on calling me.
Speaker C:They're, we're going growing, we're trying to be more professional and you know, they were growing rapidly and I'm like I don't really want to work for a family company that I know, you know, but it was a good opportunity and so I joined up with them and that's how I got involved in the gun industry.
Speaker C:So I did there, I was there for close to 12 years I think.
Speaker C:And yeah, so Darius started, I started with Daria.
Speaker C: ,: Speaker C:They were selling to different other countries and everything like that.
Speaker C:And I was the one that was involved in the process.
Speaker C:And they just got to a point where they got, you know, actually really big, a lot bigger than I think a lot of people think.
Speaker C:And they just wanted their own brand for production scheduling United States.
Speaker C:And they really wanted to start us factory.
Speaker C:So it was that time in my career where, hey, they started talking to me and I said, hey, it seems like a something that I'm passionate about, really fulfilling in life and that's what I'm all about.
Speaker C:Like they'll, you know, once you start doing it and counting.
Speaker C:And so I started doing operations and everything like that.
Speaker C: ,: Speaker C:We're going to import guns in.
Speaker C:And so we started, incorporated, we started manufacturing guns in the United States within a year later.
Speaker C:So I think I don't know anybody who else has done that.
Speaker C:And it's a lot of teamwork.
Speaker C:Wasn't definitely just wasn't me.
Speaker C:It was a lot of teamwork and we got really into it.
Speaker C:And that's really how Dari, like, I know I missed some certain things, but that's really from me, from Collins to get into the gun industry.
Speaker B:So you mentioned Rock island was bringing the guns in originally.
Speaker B:What is it like building a brand that has been around, but now it's on its own kind of namesake instead of being under somebody else's.
Speaker C:It has its challenges, right.
Speaker C:But it creates opportunity.
Speaker C:Any volatility, any challenges creates opportunity.
Speaker C:So you have a fresh canvas.
Speaker C:United States just in general is very brand oriented.
Speaker A:You.
Speaker C:There's multiple brands in the United States that don't make anything that's imported from 10 different factories.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:So, Daria, we really, you know, we are making guns in the United States and we import from our factories in Turkey.
Speaker C:We're not importing them from multiple different other factories.
Speaker C:So it's definitely like getting the brand.
Speaker C:Like, who are you?
Speaker C:Like, do you actually make guns?
Speaker C:And people are used to kind of brands have been around for a while and they shoot up, they maybe get their stuff, they have management changes, I don't know what.
Speaker C:Then they start getting popular.
Speaker C:Like, we just came out, you know, 20. Who the heck are you?
Speaker C:You know, I never heard of, oh, you can.
Speaker C:It's this price.
Speaker C:It can't be good.
Speaker C:Well, they don't know our production.
Speaker C:They don't know what we make, they don't know what we're doing.
Speaker C:They're like, oh.
Speaker C:Then they say, oh, it's Turkey, it's not good.
Speaker C:Or you know, I don't think many people have that impression, but there's still a decent amount of people.
Speaker C:Well, no, this gun's actually made in the United States.
Speaker C:We switched all our DY9 production from Turkey to the United States.
Speaker C:I think 95 of them.
Speaker C:Now, not all of them, but there are certain ones with the Cerakote slides that we still don't do in the US but every single other gun for the DY9, the one that you originally did, then reviewed, was made in Turkey.
Speaker C:Now if you bought that same gun, it would be made in the United States.
Speaker C:So we actually switched our whole production for the DY9 within a year.
Speaker C:Not whole, sorry, 95 of them.
Speaker B:Yes, I will say I was pleasantly surprised by the Neo i9.
Speaker B:I got it on a really good sale and I reviewed it and yes, buy one because he's here and I have to say nice things to him.
Speaker B:But in general, you know, you guys came out with, you have a pistol at a price point.
Speaker B:What is it like to have a first of your manufacturing first, you're now manufacturing the US And Jacksonville.
Speaker B:What's it like to have a gun at a price point and people come up to you and it's like, is this actually good?
Speaker B:You know, what's it like?
Speaker B:When are you getting a lot of like firsthand reviews or comments from customers who are buying these guns and going, wow, these are actually really good, well made guns.
Speaker C:Yeah, that's exactly what it is.
Speaker C:You know, content creators like yourself that just buy the gun randomly because it's a good price.
Speaker C:That's, that's actually our strategy is that we call it going into business sales.
Speaker C:We did that with a lot of our guns.
Speaker C:A lot of people like, okay, like, well, no, we want to entice people to buy it from the beginning.
Speaker C:We, we start low and go higher.
Speaker C:If we do go higher.
Speaker C:But it's all about production plan.
Speaker C:We have a lot of machines.
Speaker C:We have over 140 CNC machines in Turkey.
Speaker C:We have CNC machines in the United States.
Speaker C:And we have to maximize them to make it go like it's, it's still at the end of the day, it's a business.
Speaker C:We still want to provide a great value to the, to the customer, but we have to make certain things to maximize it, keep everybody employed, to keep a consistent production flow.
Speaker C:And that's really why the DY9 size, good price.
Speaker C:But yes, that's when we see those reviews and we've had a good following because people have tried, you know, the gun, the DY9 specifically, that's our most popular one in the United States right now.
Speaker C:They get it, they love it and then they, they.
Speaker C:That's what really keeps the team going.
Speaker C:That you know, when you have a US factory in Turkey also is they see the reviews, they see people talking about in the comments and they see them, you know, and the more good things and that it's feel.
Speaker C:It feels good to be part of that process, everything like that.
Speaker C:So we're lucky that you know we are really efficient with our production.
Speaker C:I have some stuff on just on our Daria Support YouTube channel.
Speaker C:You can see just the factories, a little glimpse of them and we can run really efficiently.
Speaker C:We do a lot of things.
Speaker C:We make a lot of things ourselves.
Speaker C:So make our prices really good.
Speaker C:So people think we're slacking in quality material.
Speaker C:I can tell you that we're not like we're using premium material and you're getting a good value product for a good price and we just don't make as much money as other people.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker A:So do have a question on, you know, you, you've kind of been from the beginning of it being on the US side when you guys were looking at where do you want the factory?
Speaker A:Like walk us through the decision to choose Jacksonville.
Speaker C:We were just looking around and Jacksonville is really close to Savannah.
Speaker C:So there's a port.
Speaker C:A lot of shipments go from Turkey to Savannah, Georgia and from Savannah, Georgia to Jacksonville.
Speaker C:It's one truck drive.
Speaker C:So your shipping is a little bit less, it's faster.
Speaker C:And Florida is just very gun friendly.
Speaker C:Manufacturer friendly and gun friendly.
Speaker C:They're both so having that labor.
Speaker C:Of course people, they're more accessible in Jacksonville.
Speaker C:More people had trouble training and manufacturing already so it's easier to come and do it.
Speaker C:So doing all those different aspects.
Speaker C:And also I had a buddy, I won't say his name and stuff like that.
Speaker C:That's there too.
Speaker C:He's in the gun industry and yeah, so it all worked out.
Speaker C:Timing phrase.
Speaker C:So I pitched it Jacksonville to them and they like Jacksonville and I think they're really happy with the.
Speaker C:Jacksonville's been awesome for us.
Speaker C:Couldn't say enough good things about us.
Speaker C:We're planning on expanding.
Speaker C:We are expanding but actually expanding buildings and we're definitely going to be doing it in Jacksonville.
Speaker C:There's other places and certain other states were.
Speaker C:I won't Mention them were really nice, but it was just out of the question.
Speaker C:And it's also logistically it's, it's just faster to get.
Speaker C:Jacksonville is a little bit still a regional airport, but there is a lot of access to flights to get there and get out of there.
Speaker C:And Orlando is really close by.
Speaker C:So if you want a direct flight to, you know, many places, you can get there from there and everything like that.
Speaker C:So that's how we ended up in Jacksonville and we.
Speaker C:I don't think we could have made a better choice.
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Speaker B:So you guys did the DY9 was flagship.
Speaker B:You have the TM22s coming out the DY12.
Speaker B:You also announced something at goal which is the DY9Z.
Speaker B:What is your thought process with all these new product lines and then introducing those product lines to the masses, especially with some of the cooler stuff you're doing like the DY12 as well as the DY9 island.
Speaker C:So when we come out with any product, it's all, you know, we have so many products in the pipeline.
Speaker C:I couldn't even like I'd get stressed thinking about it.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C: lot of products coming out in: Speaker C:So realistically starting our own brand out, figuring out the machines and our US factory.
Speaker C:So the DY9Z is exclusively made in Turkey.
Speaker C:And the reason being is we have a lot of open machines there.
Speaker C:We have a lot of open capacity.
Speaker C:So we're coming out with a really high price.
Speaker C:It takes magazines for the 43, 15 rounds.
Speaker C:We actually have two 15 round magazines from two different kind, one from us and then one from Italy coming out with that without with the DY9Z.
Speaker C:So those are coming out.
Speaker C:It's actually releasing in three weeks.
Speaker C:So we already have the media and everything like that.
Speaker C:There's going to be a really cool Black Friday deal on it.
Speaker C:We're actually launching it not on purpose just to happen like that.
Speaker C:We're actually hopefully we're planning on launching a month and a half ago, sorry, releasing it.
Speaker C:We launch it at Goals, but we're planning on releasing a month half ago just didn't line up.
Speaker C:So now we're releasing it on one of the biggest selling days in of the year on Black Friday with a retailer that everybody will see and everything like that.
Speaker C:So it's really exciting on that and I think they're going to sell out and do really well with it.
Speaker C:We have 10 different colors.
Speaker C:We do all the injection in house and that's another reason we do all the injection in the house.
Speaker C:So we worked four or five months.
Speaker C:That's another reason for the delayed release.
Speaker C:We do every single black, cherry pink, champagne pearl purple, robin Naics blue, flat, dark earth, midnight bronze, burnt bronze, Barrett brown.
Speaker C:We have 10 ODG, 10 different colors coming out frames.
Speaker C:Just because we're trying to capitalize on that market also just because, you know, not everybody wants a colored gun, but some people do.
Speaker C:So that's what we're really looking at for it.
Speaker C:So we have the that coming out.
Speaker C:We're coming out with volume and MSRP on that is.
Speaker C:I can say it on all channels but it's going to be a 299.
Speaker C:So it's actually a really good price with a 15 round magazine.
Speaker C:So that's the only thing that is that and the sight cuts are not proprietary.
Speaker C:Everything else is proprietary.
Speaker C:So it's not a 1:1 to 1 clone or type like the DY9 is.
Speaker C:So but that's one of the projects we have coming out.
Speaker C:We have the TM22 January 1st, we coming out with that and that msrp on that is 249 and you'll people will see that when it comes out January 1st.
Speaker C:So the TM22, a lot of people don't know is the second most popular platform rifled in the world.
Speaker C:United States.
Speaker C:We're trying to increase sales on it next year.
Speaker C:It's really fun gun.
Speaker C:We make different variations.
Speaker C:We're coming out with another three models next year.
Speaker C:The TM22 we have a 15 round, 25 round magazine and we sell I think that platform to 40 different countries.
Speaker C:So it's very popular.
Speaker C: It's not as popular as a: Speaker C:But people just don't know because people don't know our brand name.
Speaker C:And a lot of people have it.
Speaker C:People, some people really love it.
Speaker C:I think most people really love it actually.
Speaker C:But it's really fun.
Speaker C:So we actually have that.
Speaker C:We have another shotgun coming out, Q1 actually the end of Q1 made in the United States and that's really, really nice.
Speaker C:It's really, it's.
Speaker C:I was shooting in Turkey.
Speaker C:That's where we actually designed it.
Speaker C:We're actually going to make in the United States and then also in Turkey because it's unavoidable.
Speaker C:But it's a really fun.
Speaker C:It's a really.
Speaker C:That, that one's a. I'd probably say besides AR parts, everything that's either AR compatible, the triggers, AR compatible and it actually breaks down like an ar.
Speaker C:That's why you can import it in.
Speaker C:But everything else is proprietary, the magazines, everything.
Speaker C:So we spent three years on that project in Turkey and invested a good amount of money and we're bringing that to make that United states in a Q1.
Speaker C:So we have a.
Speaker C:And we also have another, I, I don't know, five or ten projects next year that are coming out.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker B:You guys sound busy.
Speaker B:Do you have a comment on any of the colors?
Speaker B:I know you love.
Speaker B:I know you love colored guns.
Speaker A:I have a love hate relationship with.
Speaker B:I know you do.
Speaker C:You know, it's funny because, you know, I was never a fan of colored guns, right.
Speaker C:And I did big box sales.
Speaker C:I still do.
Speaker C:And a lot of the retailers say, well, they sell, which they do, you know.
Speaker C:But you know, the weird, the funny thing about it is that if you actually bring usually women into a shop, they're going to choose a black gun.
Speaker C:But the most people buying colors are for gift giving or anything like that.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:And I'm saying women do still buy color guns, but it is a very.
Speaker C:But you be in shock how many blues or pinks purples sell.
Speaker C:So, you know, our philosophy is if there's a market for it, you know, we're going to make it work.
Speaker C:We're, you know, we're a manufacturer.
Speaker C:If there's a market for and we think that it can be made, then that's what we do.
Speaker C:And we're trying to get our name out there.
Speaker B:I know you have a piece of advice.
Speaker A:You gotta say it's.
Speaker A:I mean, the people who listen to this podcast are probably over it.
Speaker A:But as somebody who has seen women's confidence be shaken by purchasing a concealed carry gun that was visible from outer space, my advice has always been go to Pinterest, it's free.
Speaker A:Type in wedding colors and whatever year you plan on launching it, look at it.
Speaker A:Those are your colors.
Speaker A:Like we're men.
Speaker A:Make women out to be more complicated than we are.
Speaker A:We have all of it.
Speaker A:All of the tools are searchable for anybody who's interested.
Speaker C:That's why we make every Single one, you just pick what it is.
Speaker C:You got options, you know, so see which one it is.
Speaker C:But yeah, it's most, you know, the most popular color is black and we're always taking the opinions and stuff like that.
Speaker C:If you, I'd like to know this before we invested a lot of money into it, but thank you.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So next time you have something, please shoot over my email.
Speaker C:I'll take any free advice.
Speaker A:Women are just, we're, we, we don't, we don't hide the ball.
Speaker A:I think that's what confuses men, is like we really don't.
Speaker A:And I'm, I'm a big proponent of just basic black, but that' that's my personal preference.
Speaker A:It doesn't have to be yours, but it is true.
Speaker A:You can't tell me I'm wrong.
Speaker A:Like every, every woman.
Speaker A:Okay, the reason, okay, I'm going to call out my own side here.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:The reason that like one person gets a Stanley cup and then for the next two to three years it's dominated where every woman has the same Stanley cup is because we, we just, we follow what Pinterest tells us we need to follow.
Speaker A:And it, it's, it's searchable.
Speaker A:It's a searchable database.
Speaker A:If you want to know what is, is in women's minds, go to Pinterest.
Speaker A:It's, we spend way too much time there.
Speaker A:It's, it's a problem.
Speaker C:So question for you, since we have, I have you right here, but like on the podcast and everything like that.
Speaker C:What do you, what do you think women are looking for in guns?
Speaker A:Looking for something conceal, actually concealable, especially in, you know, athletic wear because it is very difficult to find a gun that fits.
Speaker A:I have a child sized aunt.
Speaker A:Like, that's not a joke.
Speaker A:I cannot buy women's gloves.
Speaker A:I have to buy kids gloves.
Speaker A:So yes, often I have like Disney characters on like winter gloves because even an extra small is not small enough for me.
Speaker A:So it's very hard for me to find anything to fit my hand.
Speaker A:And it's also like I like to go running.
Speaker A:Finding something that's comfortable when you're outside and alone, running so that you're protected.
Speaker A:And it's just thinking about the applications.
Speaker A:What do women want to protect more than themselves?
Speaker A:It's our kids.
Speaker A:And so having the tools necessary to do that in a, in a, in a way that makes us want to train.
Speaker A:Like, I think we're, I think we're on the whole, simpler than, than most people give us credit for.
Speaker C:That's good.
Speaker C:That's good, good.
Speaker C:Good to know as, you know, big market for us is actually women.
Speaker C:I don't.
Speaker C:But never were like, wait, why did you pick the area of product?
Speaker C:I don't know.
Speaker C:But we actually have a decent amount that Dy9 and the Dy9Z is even smaller and stu that.
Speaker C:So we're trying to, you know, go into educational stuff because I think it's for anybody.
Speaker C:I think if you're, if you're not a gun owner before, if you're buying your first time gun.
Speaker C:The gun industry can sometimes be intimidating for people because especially for guys, you know, you want to know what, you know the market.
Speaker C:Like, hey, it's like, I don't know this.
Speaker C:You're used to like, you know, wanting to know it, right?
Speaker C:Yeah, it's kind of intimidating.
Speaker C:I think for women it's really the same thing too.
Speaker C:It's an intimidating market.
Speaker C:So we're really trying to get it to the point where, hey, how can we be less intimidating?
Speaker C:How can you buy a dairy product and actually, you know, feel good about it?
Speaker C:Get, you know, tutorials where, you know, you can watch them.
Speaker C:YouTube's a great thing now at Rumble or any of those.
Speaker C:So we put all those tutorial videos on it for men, women and everything just to kind of get a little bit more comfortable.
Speaker C:If you're not, if, I mean, if you own multiple guns and were raised around guns and everything like that, it's a pretty, you know, you're a lot more confident.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:Because it's just what it is.
Speaker C:But realistically, there's so many more gun owners getting introduced.
Speaker C:A lot of people, you know, I think are joining the gun market now because of YouTube and rumble and all those different, you know, websites.
Speaker C:It's the barrier of entry is you're comfortable, like getting comfortable with it and everybody has their favorite content creator.
Speaker C:So I always like to ask, you know, women especially, hey, hey, why did you buy that gun?
Speaker C:Why did you buy your first gun?
Speaker C:What made you choose that?
Speaker C:And you just try to make different.
Speaker C:We try to make different guns a Dario where we can actually, you know, cater to, you know, certain markets just like you said.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:But Pinterest, I guess we can go on that, that.
Speaker C:So let's do that.
Speaker C:No, I'll tell everybody that.
Speaker C:And back to the factory.
Speaker C:I'll say, hey, we got to get on Pinterest, guys.
Speaker A:It is, it is true.
Speaker A:I don't, I don't understand it, but I don't know, we all woke up one day and we're just like this is, this is going to be our scrolling platform for what we want in the future.
Speaker A:But beyond that it kind of what you're saying right then of you know wanting to, to understand the why wanting to connect with people and, and especially women with their stories.
Speaker A:I mean that is the, that is the, the momentum behind GEO AIDS program empowered to a and so I, I, I will shamelessly plug us In October we're having our first safe range day and that is a survivors range day for domestic violence because October is domestic violence awareness month and so we're going to have a fully female range day dedicated to the empowerment of survivors.
Speaker A:And you guys are more than welcome to come and show off your product and get real feedback from hundreds of women.
Speaker A:And so that's going to be coming up in St. Louis the, the first weekend in October.
Speaker C:So next October right?
Speaker A:Yes, 26.
Speaker C:We got time then.
Speaker C:Yeah, yes, yes we're well we, we love women events and stuff like that and hearing perspective so that's the thing about DARE is like we really take pride from the top down and to hearing people's opinions.
Speaker C:You know we can't take everybody's opinions in because you know at some point you got to decide and you can't make everybody happy.
Speaker C:But we like to it and create a product and everything like that.
Speaker C:So I think one of the, we're using one of the people from the Goa a girl to a woman to do do the DY9Z tutorial videos and everything like that because we have a lot of guys doing that.
Speaker C:So we're like hey, we need somebody a women's perspective to maybe get a little bit more confidence for other people or anybody and it's just to actually see that, to see that side of it.
Speaker C:Also get some advice you know from, from women to hey I don't like this, I like this and just create a better experience for everybody.
Speaker A:I realize that there are many choices when it comes to who you choose for your cell phone service and there are new ones popping up all of the time.
Speaker A:But here's the truth.
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Speaker A:All right, so it is my favorite time of the show.
Speaker A:Our segment from the Soapbox where we take a spicier take on what's happening within the second amendment community.
Speaker A:And so I will open up the floor to you.
Speaker A:What hot takes do you have for.
Speaker C:The second amendment community?
Speaker A:Yes,.
Speaker C:I probably go on it and stuff like that right now from our side of it.
Speaker C:I don't know, we'll probably look at, we're looking at just the Glock type stuff, right.
Speaker C:That's going on in the United, in the United States.
Speaker C:That's the buzz around that everybody's talking about.
Speaker C:So do I have a take on it?
Speaker C:I mean I have a lot of takes on everything.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:But it's, you know, you just as a small brand for us, we just really right now, small brand getting bigger.
Speaker C:We can create a good size on it.
Speaker C:We, we kind of fly under, under the radar.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:So and we just try to do it, we look for different gaps in the market.
Speaker C:California, we're actually adding another shift right now for California.
Speaker C:I don't know when this podcast is going to air and everything like that but yeah, we're, we're making a lot of guns for California or DY9 because it's on the list that we're at to submit a new one.
Speaker C:So but yeah, the take on and stuff like that.
Speaker C:I don't know how much you want to press it so.
Speaker C:But I always have a take on everything.
Speaker B:Press it hard.
Speaker B:This is, this is the time to do it.
Speaker B:This is why we, we do this segment.
Speaker B:So for you to get spicy.
Speaker C:Yeah, well, I don't, I mean this take on the sec, the Glock thing, it's, it's a mixture of everything.
Speaker C:I think a lot of people are concentrated on the switch and stuff like that.
Speaker C:I think it's, I think it's a different, you know, I think it's two different avenues.
Speaker C:I think it's definitely something that they're looking at and I also think that they're the big boy on the street.
Speaker C:You know, Glock made, still makes a great gun, very reliable.
Speaker C:I don't think anybody would have a problem buying one of their guns.
Speaker C:I think they're great and yeah, they do the switch.
Speaker C:I also think it has to do with a lot of people are making, you know, guns that are like Glocks, right?
Speaker C:And Hassett Ruger just made one that's very popular and everything like that.
Speaker C: d of the day, everybody makes: Speaker C:I think Glocks, you know, they're doing, they're.
Speaker C:They're still the big boy on the street.
Speaker C:And I'm sure there's going to be more to it than just what everybody thinks it is.
Speaker C:That's just my personal opinion on that issue.
Speaker C:But.
Speaker C:And, but yeah, I think that, yeah, I'm interested to see what happens.
Speaker C:It's a little bit of excitement to actually hear about it, especially from my perspective.
Speaker C:It's not my business, right?
Speaker C:So it's like I get to see it from the outside and seeing it just like everybody else would make opinions on it, so.
Speaker B:Well, I do have.
Speaker B:I've got a spicy take for you and I want to get your opinion on this.
Speaker B:I know you guys are making a lot of stuff in the US and you're kind of doing that to get away from the 68 gun control tag or do that.
Speaker B:I know you guys are making stuff in the US and that is to help get around some of the import restrictions from the, the 60, the 68 Gun Control Act.
Speaker B:You know what, as a, as a company like that having to go build it, I know you've got pride in building in the U.S. you know, you also mentioned you couldn't import the specific gun because the way it takes them.
Speaker B:How does that limit you as a company to expand?
Speaker B:I know like, you can keep expanding through building new facilities here, but how does that limit your.
Speaker B:What you can produce overseas and produce in the US as well?
Speaker C:So you're basically saying like, how does actually the import laws like restricted and everything like that, when we actually.
Speaker C:Because there has been wanting to do a factory for a long time in the United States because the ownership there, you know, they, they've made, you know, pretty good money there, you know, like where they probably don't have to work as hard, but it becomes fulfilling and pride.
Speaker C:What are you going to do?
Speaker C:You know, and, but they, they still work seven days a week, you know, in and out.
Speaker C:And they wanted to do the factory before the tariffs, before all this.
Speaker C:And oh, you got a Tariff.
Speaker C:And that's the reason.
Speaker C:Yeah, it's nice.
Speaker C:It helps out, right?
Speaker C:You know, tariffs do make investing United States more luxurious.
Speaker C:But I can tell you right now it ain't easy make it.
Speaker C:Manufacturing United States is not easy.
Speaker C:So I, you know, anybody who does it and everything like that, you know, we created in the United States, we created this world of, you know, design and ship it overseas and then, you know, no, don't look about it.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:Even the gun industry is getting like that.
Speaker C:I mean, it's sad, you know, because the Second amendment, we are the.
Speaker C:I don't care what anybody says.
Speaker C:United States is the Mecca of guns.
Speaker C:Like we're the, we do it the best.
Speaker C:The best assemblers for guns are the United States better than every other country.
Speaker C:I firmly believe that.
Speaker C:And they're there at the same time.
Speaker C:They want, you know, whatever company that is, wants to grow, they want to go into Turkey, they also want to go to the United States because they want the best of both worlds.
Speaker C:They want the best of, you know, diversification.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:That's what it is.
Speaker C:Making place things in both places.
Speaker C:But unimportables.
Speaker C:Not, I mean, just the dy9.
Speaker C:We can import that gun in all day.
Speaker C:Most people probably would, but we didn't do that.
Speaker C:We moved 95 of the production of the DY9 in the United States.
Speaker C:Why you do that?
Speaker C:Well, number one is you need a consistent production flow.
Speaker C:And then number two is when you're doing stuff in the United States, you have that synergies of assembling.
Speaker C:Your, your production gets better because you have two different teams working on it from two different cultures.
Speaker C:And you know, Harry Abdullah, he's the president and then Harry is the VP of manufacturing.
Speaker C:They're always going back and forth with, you know, Turkey and they're talking about stuff, oh, did you see this?
Speaker C:And then.
Speaker C:And I'm the DY9 from when you got to now is even better.
Speaker C:It was good then, it's still, it's better now.
Speaker C:A lot to do.
Speaker C:Because you're making stuff in the United States.
Speaker C:Of course you're going to concentrate on affordable stuff.
Speaker C:You're going to concentrate on the stuff that costs more money.
Speaker C:Because at the end of the day, people don't want to pay a lot of money for stuff made in Turkey.
Speaker C:They just don't, you know.
Speaker C:So if you put it in the United States and you have Americans making it, you can actually usually have a more premium product for it.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:And then also then you concentrate it, but it's still a Business and you got to find out what works and doesn't work and stuff like that.
Speaker C:But when it comes on importables like and, and that like open a factory for us really wasn't on that.
Speaker C:Of course when you're starting up, especially the stuff when you want to make a little bit more margin and stuff like that, that's what you're going to concentrate on realistically because you have less competition.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker C:But as we go on, we want to expand both factories in Turkey and the United States and then really see what we can do, you know, so on it like it's, that's our main goal for.
Speaker C:It's just like on, on and stuff like that.
Speaker C:Volatility creates opportunity.
Speaker C:So anytime you throw anything like that, you know, we're, we're a young company.
Speaker C:The president of United States is in his 40s.
Speaker C:The President of Turkey is in his 40s where all the key employees are in their 30s and 40s.
Speaker C:I think we have one, you know, 70 year old, he's one of the owners that's kind of like hey guys, you guys either, you know, balance yourself out a little bit, you know, so, so.
Speaker C:But yeah, this realistic.
Speaker C:We're a young company and you know, some things you just don't do for money and profit.
Speaker C:You just do because the long term, well, it's going to get better.
Speaker B:Here's a burning question I have.
Speaker B:You guys are designing stuff in Turkey.
Speaker B:How much input does the US side have to do on.
Speaker B:Do with the design aspects in Turkey?
Speaker B:You know, the Turkey, the international market and the US Market are two different markets.
Speaker B:Do you, do they listen to what you have to say about like hey, this isn't going to work in the US this is not like something the US market wants.
Speaker B:Or is it like, well, we're designing this for all markets and what is their impact on, on.
Speaker B:Let's just say if there's a trend that you guys are seeing from the, from the industry wide comps.
Speaker B:Great example.
Speaker B:Comps right now are built in comps.
Speaker B:You know, what is their leniency to wanting to do that?
Speaker B:Do you guys have basically have your own say on what happens here in the US with the US Factory or is it back and forth?
Speaker C:Yeah, they're open.
Speaker C:I mean realistically, I mean I've been doing, you know, 12, 13 years now in the gun industry.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:And the accounting aspect to operations, to working with factories and stuff like that and working with them particularly like and going around look like right now is this, now I'm actually talking about Podcasts before I ever really did that.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:So the United States, at the end of the day, is the deciding factor for everybody.
Speaker C:I mean, besides, you know, you go to these countries on a, you know, hey, we're making a country for Europe and they make a gun for the police agency, then they pitch to the United States.
Speaker C:Besides that, you know, especially in the last 10 years, the United States is a deciding factor for every gun.
Speaker C:It's just what it is.
Speaker C:If anybody, like, in any time another country actually just designs and says, oh, we think Americans are gonna like this, it doesn't work.
Speaker C:You know, it just doesn't work because they don't know, you know, and a lot of the people now, like, especially with Turkey, and you're seeing a lot of US Companies that are, you know, concept.
Speaker C:I don't even call it design.
Speaker C:They call it design.
Speaker C:I call it conceptualization, right?
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:And they conceptualize it and they Turkey designs it or another country designs and they ship it over the United States, right?
Speaker C:That happens all the time.
Speaker C:And for us, you know, we actually have an engineer in Jacksonville.
Speaker C:We design stuff in Jacksonville.
Speaker C:Of course, majority of our design, you know, the chalk and I was just talking about is coming, you know, designed in Turkey, and we're manufacturing United States.
Speaker C:So it's kind of like the opposite.
Speaker C:But realistically, we can submit it, some input on it.
Speaker C:But that's more of a.
Speaker C:You're see, it's like it's actually driven off the AR platform, so it's still pretty Americanized, right?
Speaker C:So, yeah, that's really what it is on it.
Speaker C:We do design stuff.
Speaker C:We do send in.
Speaker C:They're very open to anything.
Speaker C:And I think most people are, because at the end of the day, there are factories and they want to run their, you know, production.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker C:But also, you want to come up with new stuff all the time.
Speaker C:You know, comps, ports.
Speaker C:That's what everybody's into now.
Speaker C:You know, that's been around for 30, 40 years, and people, oh, this has been around for a long time, right?
Speaker C:And, you know, you don't want to hit the end of the wave, right?
Speaker C:You don't want to be too late into it.
Speaker C:So that's what we're always concentrating on, too, is like, hey, is there a gap in the market?
Speaker C:Can you do it for this?
Speaker C:Can we be efficient enough in our process and production process to actually maybe undercut everybody?
Speaker C:That stuff we're looking at, you know, it's just like, let's call it what it is, right?
Speaker C:Sometimes we're looking at, hey, we're going to come out with this thing that no one else has and then can we actually make it make sense and do it like, you know, hey, do you want to make a suppressor?
Speaker C:We have a US factory.
Speaker C:Like 100 companies just launched.
Speaker C:No, you know, if we need espresso, they can buy from 100 companies.
Speaker C:Maybe that's the end of the wave.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker C:Not saying don't make it, but you.
Speaker C:As a business, we need to really, in the United States.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:Realistically, we started a factory, invested a lot of money into it.
Speaker C:We don't really have room for bad mistakes, you know, like, so we really have to think about it, make a project.
Speaker C:And when it comes to Turkey, like they're open to anything.
Speaker C:United States is open to anything.
Speaker C:And our teams are really, really good.
Speaker C:They're the one doing all the, you know, output of the all our firearms.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:So I'm.
Speaker C:Everybody's really happy with them.
Speaker C:And we keep on pushing and, and expanding the United States.
Speaker C:We're hiring another good amount of people in the United States right now because our production's increasing.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:And we're maximizing machines in Turkey.
Speaker C:So once we actually maximize it, have a certain size and we can actually start looking at even different.
Speaker C:More taking a little bit more bigger risk.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker C:Like more and more bigger risks.
Speaker C:The more and more steady flow of, you know, production that you have right now we have, you know, with the shotgun decrease and I was going to history and stuff like that.
Speaker C:It's like dairy was another display.
Speaker C:Like don't mention this, I guess enough.
Speaker C: f the year in shotguns during: Speaker C:They exported more shotguns than anybody in Turkey, probably anybody in the world if you think about it, because Turkey exports a lot of shotguns.
Speaker C:Well, what happened after 20?
Speaker C:What was the first thing in the tank?
Speaker C:Shotguns, right.
Speaker C:So they best a lot of money, have a lot of open machines.
Speaker C:So we're really trying to maximize those machines and then we're really going to start, you know, looking into even more new stuff that's more innovative that hey doesn't take.
Speaker C:Oh, I could get the same 9 millimeter, you know, something that's a little bit different.
Speaker C:So it's more to come.
Speaker B:So appreciate you, Dustin, again for being on As a thank you, we have our gift for our guest.
Speaker B:This is brought to you by AAC Ammo and Palmetto State Army.
Speaker B:So you'll get receiving something after the show is over from them.
Speaker B:Do you have anything you want to plug away at before we go?
Speaker C:We're involved, like I'm involved in a nonprofit, so I never didn't be able to give a shout out to it.
Speaker C:I know G of a is the Goa is nonprofit also, but WTTA.org I definitely check it out.
Speaker C:Mike Sedini, Jake and the team were doing really good down there.
Speaker C:It's, I think Daria is involved in it and I'd definitely check that out.
Speaker C:Of course, Daria, the whole podcast was thanks for having me on and everything like that.
Speaker C:But walk the talk America.
Speaker C:It's, it's bridging the gap between firearms and mental health industry and I think they're doing really good work and you know, more and more people and they've done a really good job of expanding it there.
Speaker C:I just handle the money so I don't have to do anything with operations on it.
Speaker C:But I do definitely want to give a shout out to them and yeah, check them out and all that.
Speaker C:And I appreciate you guys having me on.
Speaker A:Thank you for joining us.
Speaker A:Thank you for joining us again this week as well.
Speaker A:Be sure to like share, subscribe, leave a 5 star review and be sure to secure your tickets for goals the Gun Owners Advocacy and Leadership Summit taking place August 1st and 2nd in Des Moines, Iowa.
Speaker A:Tickets are available now and you can get those tickets by going to gun owners.orggoals and we will see you next week.
Speaker B:See you later.
Speaker C:One last thing you have to hit me with.
Speaker C:The next time you see Pinterest, send it over to me.
Speaker C:I think they're a women's GOA gun right there.
Speaker C:Yeah, exclusive right there, you know, so I like it.
Speaker A:I like.
Speaker A:You heard it here, guys.
Speaker B:All right, guys, thanks for watching.
Speaker B:We'll catch you on the next one.
