In Gunfighter Cast episode GC-115, I interview Tatiana Whitlock who is a top-level firearms trainer in every sense of the phrase but also excels in reaching the fastest growing demographic in ...
In Gunfighter Cast episode GC-115, I interview Tatiana Whitlock who is a top-level firearms trainer in every sense of the phrase but also excels in reaching the fastest growing demographic in firearms training —Women. Tatiana breaks out of the typical schools of thought and practice and finds ways to truly reach ladies and get them excited about training.
Listen in as Tatiana and I discuss women's-only training classes, how the attitude toward women is changing in the firearm industry, caliber choices for training, and how instructors can meet the needs of their students.
Host: Daniel Shaw
Co-Host: Tatiana Whitlock
Introduction/Timeline: Stephanie Kimmell
1:14 Who is Tatiana Whitlock and what does she do?
A highly regarded individual in the firearms world, Tatiana Whitlock is involved in product design and development consultation in the industry — especially in the women's market. As most of you already know, women are one of the fastest-growing demographics in the firearms industry. She spent a year as the Director of Training at Ann Arbor Arms Academy in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Recently, she took over a range that's closer to home: Howell's Gun Shop in Maine. There, she's putting together a training program and academy. She also offers women's and open-enrollment classes at ranges across the country. And as if that's not enough, she also just joined GAT marketing as COO.
Still active as an NRA Spokesperson and part of the NRA Women's Network, Tatiana recently traveled to Texas to film a series of videos for NRA TV, which can be found on Apple TV.
3:25 How does women's-only instruction fit in the firearms training world?
As an example, Daniel mentions the founder of Fit to Fight, Ryan Hoover. He says Ryan's training assistant is his right-hand woman who will "kick your head off." She's strong, technical, and a hard trainer. Sometimes people ask, "What do you think about women in training and women's programs?" They say, "I don't teach women how to fight using 'woman style' or how to use a gun 'woman style'. We teach humans how to fight other humans. There's not a certain gun made for women. You don't have a car that's made for women. You are completely capable, 100%, of all these things."
Daniel says that though he's not a big fan of women's-only classes, he likes how they give women an opportunity to get their foot in the door to get comfortable. But beyond that, he wants to quickly get them into open-enrollment classes because they're not unique snowflakes or delicate flowers. He says they can throw down better than the rest of anybody else and he doesn't want to coddle anybody.
5:20 What does Tatianna think about womens-only classes?
Womens-only programs are like pink guns. Anybody who's been training for any amount of time tends to outgrow the color, fast, but it's a necessary evil because it's a big-selling color. With the growing women's market, catering specifically to women is a facet of the industry that can't be denied. So, those classes bring people in.
Tatiana asserts that there is a place for womens-only programs because they're a safe place for an entry-level person to get started. Those individuals may have a lot of hesitation. They're nervous, have a lot of anxiety, and they have big emotions surrounding interfacing with a firearm. The reason that a womens-only experience is a safe place to get started because even though the gun is super unfamiliar, a womens-only environment is familiar and not threatening.
In fact, Tatiana's first firearms class was womens-only. She signed up for an NRA Women On Target clinic. To attend the class, she didn't have to have a gun, ear or eye protection, or ammo — they provided everything. The class helped her quickly realize that a gun is a gender-neutral object and that the range isn't a good-ole-boys club, it's just a big chunk of trees and berms and grass and stuff. She learned that the range isn't scary or weird.
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