I met Mekkos in a YouTube mastermind group hosted by Will Workman (RSWC #185). His YouTube channel is called Memphis Beech. So I asked the obvious question: Are you in Memphis? I was scheduling a short southern tour and reached out to Mekkos. I was very lucky to have Mekkos on the show. He’s a great guy, very knowledgeable, and a good tour guide! I’m glad we were able to connect and become friends. We met up at Top Gun in Memphis and headed down towards Beale Street, and ended the show in Arkansas.
Mekkos grew up in a military family, including his mother, with relatives in the Marines, Army, and Navy. He joined the Marines, but he didn’t grow up shooting; he started his training in the military. He was a helicopter electrician, and when he got out, there weren’t a lot of jobs in aviation. So he found a career in IT doing cybersecurity for most of the time. He got into competitive shooting, mostly IDPA. He started as an RSO at Top Gun and offers classes there.
The classes he offers are just the continuing training that people need. He teaches IDPA classes, but he’s also got classes like Mastering the Pistol and Beyond the Permit. He also has private one-on-one coaching sessions. He’s got quite the credentials, too, being certified by Massad Ayoob Group, Tom Givens’ Rangemaster, Active Self Protection, Last Resort Firearms Training, as well as the NRA, USCCA, and NAAGA. You can see he’s a smart man.
We spent some time talking about Tennessee. It is a permitless carry state, but there are still lots of restrictions. They have what they call an “enhanced permit,” which allows a permit holder to carry in more places than someone without one. I think he’s got a great take on “Constitutional carry,” saying “the state establishes the Second Amendment as their carry permit.” Therefore, the state cannot control where you can and cannot go while you’re carrying. His definition of permitless carry is as long as you can legally buy a gun then you can carry it, but there are rules you have to follow.
The issue for permitless carry states is that you, as the citizen, still have to know what their laws are about where you can carry and even use force. This is why it is good to take some additional training. After studying defensive gun uses, he discovered that many of the skills used in the DGUs are not skills that people are getting at the permitting courses. Again, it is why those who carry should seek out additional training, take more classes, and read books about self-defense. This is why when a state goes to permitless carry, training increases. When the government says you have to take a course and that’s all you need to know, that is often where people stop taking training.
When he started his YouTube channel, it was to focus on the competition side of things. He was going to show viewers how to go through various stages and help with their competitive shooting issues. But there was a holster review that took off and got tens of thousands of views.
Some of the other topics include working with students who have a fear of firearms. Sometimes, the instructor doesn’t know the student had a situation where they were affected by someone else using a firearm, or if a woman is a DV survivor. I bring up a course I’d like to make, and he helps guide me through what it should include.
One of the reasons I wanted to start a show is to expand my circle of friends. My circle went to Will Workman, which led to his mastermind, which led to Mekkos. I’m honored he was able to make time to do the show, that we became friends, and that he shared his wisdom with us.
Favorite quotes:
- “In Constitutional Carry, the state establishes the Second Amendment as their carry permit.”
- “It takes a little bit of emotional intelligence to keep people on track to remember the information from the first six hours.”
- “I have a huge passion for shooting. I have a huge passion for the pistol sports. I want to share that passion with others.”
- “I think of IDPA as a game. I think of USPSA as a sport.”
About Riding Shotgun With Charlie
Riding Shotgun With Charlie isn’t about firearms. It is about having an intimate conversation with 2 people talking. You’re the fly on the rearview mirror. Many of the passengers are involved in the firearm community.
This is a more intimate conversation than a phone, radio, or Skype interview. You get to see the passengers. And you’ll see where the road and the conversation take you!
