Today we’d like to introduce you to Dustin Wright.
Hi Dustin, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I grew up and graduated high school in a small coal mining town in Eastern Kentucky. In early September 2001, I was a college student pursuing a Criminal Justice degree. After the attacks on our country, I joined the United States Army as an Infantryman with the intent to deploy to Afghanistan, that never happened. I was assigned to a unit that deployed to Iraq for the initial invasion and over the course of my career spent over 41 months in support of the War on Terror in various locations and assignments. Unfortunately, I was forced to medically retire from service in 2014 due to injuries received during my time in service. Upon completion of my service, I completed my bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice with a Specialty in Homeland Security and began my Master’s Degree in Homeland Security and Emergency Management. While going to school and working as a youth football coach, I was approached by the owners of Texas Tactical Training Institute to be an instructor for the company. After several years of working as an instructor for TTTI I was asked to come onboard as one of the owners of the company. Currently, my business partner Tim Enlow and I run the company training law enforcement, military and civilians alike. In my day job, I work as an Executive Protection Agent for a private security company in Austin, Texas.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
As in anything, there are always obstacles. I have failed more times than I can count in business. I believe we will always learn more from failure than we will success. The firearms and training industry is a special kind of obstacle. Many individuals/businesses do not understand firearms and therefore want nothing to do with companies such as ours due to lack of knowledge or misinformation. For example, some financial institutions will not handle your money or process credit card transactions simply because we are a firearm-related business although we only conduct training.
As you know, we’re big fans of Texas Tactical Training Institute. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Our company, Texas Tactical Training Institute or TTTI as we call it, really took off around 2016. We sought to combine decades of military, law enforcement, and high threat protection experience to offer training for civilian, military, and law enforcement personnel. Our real focus is the military and law enforcement side. Coming from those backgrounds, we understand those guys don’t get the training they so desperately need and deserve. I believe what sets us apart is that not only do our instructors continue their own education many of us continue to work in these fields staying up to date with current threats.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
First and foremost, my grandfather Paul Baker. His example of work ethic and what a businessman should be will forever be remembered. Someone that deserves all the credit for our success in training is my business partner Tim Enlow. Without him, I would not be a part of the company today and his guidance, leadership, and cool head have molded me into not only a better instructor but businessman as well. Someone else that we owe a tremendous debt is Mr. Paul Howe of Combat Shooting and Tactics in Nacogdoches, Texas. Without his expert instruction and mentorship, the business itself may have never made it off the ground.
Contact Info:
- Email: dustin@texastacticaltraininginstitute.com
- Website: www.t3institute.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/texastacticaltraininginstitute/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/texastacticaltraininginstitute
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/texas-tactical-training-institute-austin-3
