S.W.A.T. Magazine TV premieres on Outdoor Channel

S.W.A.T. Magazine TV is really going to surprise a lot of viewers when it premiers on Outdoor Channel December 30, 2009 at 3:00PM EST!  Of course, we’ve got all the action, firearms, gear and personalities that one would expect from the title… especially, if they are familiar with our namesake’s monthly publication.

S.W.A.T. Magazine is the most trusted name in training and preparation related firearms and tactics information in the industry and we’re bringing that legacy into motion with S.W.A.T. Magazine TV. But, the TV show will also have an insightful aspect that viewers are going to love, even if they’re not ready for it.

Each episode of S.W.A.T. Magazine TV will feature at least one outstanding instructor and we took the time to get them away from their students, sit them in front of the camera and give us some idea what lead them to teaching, what keeps them teaching and what the driving principles behind their teaching are. Everyone knows, for example, that Louis Awerbuck is going to provide great firearms training… but do you know what he studied in college or who is favorite philosopher is? You will after watching our premier episode!

Another thing we did during the taping of the first season was to take the opportunity to ask many of our guests for their thoughts on what could be considered controversial questions. The training industry is full of strong personalities and opinions…. Because of their stature in the community, I’d bet that a lot of our viewers would quickly assign opinions on training topics to many of our better known guests.

Unfortunately, I think a lot of those perceptions get boiled down to cliché’s and over simplifications. When it comes to important training concepts, safety issues and core principles, “dumbing down” positions on complex issues does everyone, especially the student, a disservice.

We asked our guests for their honest opinion and the explanation for it in regard to things like “How important is shooting a high number of rounds during firearms training?” or “Is it okay to have instructors or other students ‘down range’ during live fire training?” Because we had each instructor in a comfortable setting and asked these questions in the middle of our profiles, I think we got some really raw and powerful answers.

After taping was done, we took each instructor’s thoughts and edited them together by topic… so the viewer is going to get thoughts from at least four or five renowned experts in the field back to back. And they didn’t always agree! This segment appears throughout the season, beginning in Episode 2 on January 6th.

The first season’s taping took place throughout 2009, in a variety of locations from mountains of Colorado to the shores of the Atlantic. We worked with teams and instructors from the military, law enforcement and private security sectors and always found important lessons for the viewer interested in personal or home defense. In addition to Louis, our guest list includes Wes Doss, Kevin Davis, Tony Blauer, Josh Jackson, James Yeager and representatives from companies such as Magpul, Taser and DPMS/ Panther Arms.

One of the best things about working on the show was getting to bring the team from the Magazine out into another venue. Rich Lucibella, the publisher of S.W.A.T. Magazine, even served as a guest host for one episode, while I took on the role of guest instructor. We also took one of S.W.A.T.’s most popular columns, “Street Smarts”, written by Brent Wheat, and turned it into a segment. Every episode, Brent will be on air sharing his thoughts on another training topic.

Hatch Television is responsible for the look and feel of the show, which I would describe as “driving” and “dynamic”. Hatch has a vast experience in the outdoor adventure and sporting world. They know how to share action oriented topics without making the viewer dizzy or missing important details and they’ve proven their ability to bring their expertise to the firearms world with outstanding work on shows like Shooting Gallery. When people see the K9 training segment, they’ll know what I am talking about!  It was great to have such professionals as partners on this show, which is my first project as a producer.

S.W.A.T. Magazine TV is taking a proven formula, world class guest instructors, educated commentary and dynamic training scenes, and adding the integrity of the magazine’s twenty five year track record and the innovation of cutting edge television production and editing. I can’t wait to hear the feedback!