Going Ballistic with Ryan Cleckner

In this episode, Ryan sits down with friend Nishan Campbell for a wide-ranging conversation about growing up around firearms, serving as a Marine Corps officer, building businesses, raising children, and learning to carry responsibility well.

Nishan shares how hunting and shooting became part of his life at an early age, beginning with family trips, single-shot shotguns, dove fields, and the lessons his father taught him about firearms. Ryan and Nishan compare their early experiences with guns, hunting, competition, and the different paths that eventually led each of them into the firearms industry.

The conversation then turns to Nishan's entrepreneurial journey and the creation of Gunfighter Canyon. He explains how an unconventional idea became a shooting experience built largely for tourists and first-time shooters, why understanding the customer matters more than simply selling products, and how removing physical, mental, and emotional barriers can completely change someone's experience with firearms.

Ryan and Nishan also discuss the realities of operating a firearms business, building genuine relationships with customers, surviving difficult periods such as the COVID shutdowns, and resisting the temptation to build a business around inventory, ego, or industry stereotypes.

Later in the episode, Nishan reflects on September 11, his decision to pursue military service, his career as a Marine officer, and the lasting influence of military leadership and responsibility. The conversation expands into fatherhood, raising capable children, learning from failure, accepting accountability, and trying to pass meaningful lessons to the next generation.

This episode is about much more than guns. It is a candid conversation about service, entrepreneurship, friendship, family, and what it means to become someone others can rely upon.

• Nishan's upbringing in Arizona
• Learning to shoot and hunt with his family
• Single-shot shotguns and early hunting memories
• Shotgun sports, competition, and firearms culture
• How Ryan and Nishan first met
• The origins of Gunfighter Canyon
• Creating a shooting experience for tourists and first-time shooters
• Understanding exactly who your customer is
• Removing physical, mental, and emotional barriers
• Why customers often make decisions emotionally
• Building trust instead of merely completing transactions
• The difference between a gun store and a genuine community
• Expanding a firearms business without overextending
• Adapting the business during COVID
• The realities of firearms regulation and ATF compliance
• September 11 and Nishan's decision to serve
• Life and leadership in the Marine Corps
• Responsibility, discipline, and personal accountability
• Fatherhood and preparing children for adulthood
• The lessons Ryan and Nishan hope to pass to their children
• Friendship, service, and finding purpose through responsibility

Nishan Campbell is a Marine Corps officer, entrepreneur, and the co-founder and CEO of Gunfighter Canyon, a group of shooting ranges and firearms retail businesses based in northern Arizona. His professional background also includes advertising, medical-device sales, and medical-device distribution.

Website: Gunfighter.com Instagram: @GunfighterCanyon Nishan on Instagram: @Gunfighter_6

Website: RyanCleckner.com Instagram: @RyanCleckner Books: Search "Ryan Cleckner" wherever books are sold.

Subscribe to Going Ballistic for more conversations about firearms, military service, business, leadership, and the lessons learned along the way.

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