Built to do better.

Nick wrote his bio, which means I have to write mine.

Spent most of my childhood convinced I was going to be a firefighter or join the Army. Did the volunteer firefighter thing at 16 to 19 because running toward problems other people ran away from sounded fun. Then I tried college for medicine, decided that wasn't it, switched to computer science, decided that also wasn't it, and joined the Army instead. Tried to be an 11B but they realized I could count past 10 without taking my boots off and made me an 11C indirect fire infantryman (Mortars). The MOS where the math is hard, ears ring constantly, and the boots are always muddy.

Reported to Fort Hood and was on a plane to Afghanistan before I had time to figure out where the chow hall was. Came back, transferred to Fort Campbell with the 101st Airborne, and on day one met Nick. We became friends almost immediately, which Nick will deny in writing but the photo evidence is overwhelming...

Made Sergeant in 2018. Made Staff Sergeant on April Fools Day in 21, (which felt fitting). Three rotations through JRTC in the Louisiana swamps. Spent time in Ukraine in 2019 with Joint Multinational Training Group Ukraine, training their soldiers back when most Americans couldn't find the country on a map.

After the Army I tried being a controls engineer. Learned in roughly a year that I would rather be waterboarded with gasoline than work for any corporate company ever again. Pivoted to executive protection, currently doing that (It is pretty neat). Started chipping away at an engineering degree through ASU one class at a time while working, then this past January switched lanes and started gunsmithing through Sonoran Desert Institute.

Built STAG with Nick because most of this industry takes itself way too seriously and we figured we could do better.

Mikale let me write my own bio. So, now I feel it is my duty to make him regret that deeply.

I was born on September 11th, 1991. Then I was a baby for a while. During my childhood I lived the dangerous suburban life you'd imagine from a pudgy white boy. You know, like school, girls, great birthday parties EVERY YEAR, friends, and other things like that. Then, after 20 years of that bullshit, I decided I would join the Army. I started out as an indirect fire infantryman. After a few years of doing that, I decided I wanted to grow facial hair and put my hands in my pockets. So, the obvious move was to attain that coveted Green Beret. After over 2 years of training to be qualified to wear a hat, which sounds questionable in hindsight, but I guess that's just how life is sometimes, I spent the remainder of my service in 5th Special Forces Group. I served 11 years and 10 months, deployed 4 times, trained over 1,000 soldiers U.S. and others. I've learned to solve complex problems, remain calm under pressure, and carry an unreasonable amount of equipment over long distances.

Eventually, after I single handedly saved America time and time again, Uncle Sam presented Nick with a sock. I had my sweet freedom, but as Rambo said, "you can't just turn it off!" The planning, attention to detail, and tendency to overcommit to an objective still bleeds through to what I do to this day. This mindset is what led to Mikale and I blazing the trail with the creation of Stag. Not because anyone needs another "tactical brand" but because most of this industry takes itself too seriously. We aim to build something grounded in actual experience, practical capability, and the understanding that competence and personality are not mutually exclusive. To put it bluntly, you don't have to be a huge douche to know how to stay alive. So, take a knee, drink water, and make every day a show of force.