Congrats to Mike Seeklander AND to fans of The Best Defense!

Michael Bane made the official announcement a few days ago that Mike Seeklander will be stepping into the Firearms Instructor/Host role in the Best Defense Series starting in January 2012, as I step aside to create space for this new perspective as well as create more time for the many of other projects that I am involved in (including some exciting new ones!). Honestly, I cannot think of a better person to step into the role.

Ironically, I first worked with Mike Seeklander several years ago when he was a guest in the early days of The Best Defense! When we first started the show, as usually happens, it was still a work in progress and the format wasn’t really developed. In fact, that type of development is always a constant process. At that time, we were considering following the traditional “gun tv” format of having guest instructors on each episode. We quickly decided that the chopped and stop/start type of presentation that a different perspective every week brings isn’t conducive to presenting a cohesive body of work. It was certainly no reflection on Mike (or Phil Strader, who was also a guest that season) that we chose to go with a more consistent “one voice” approach to presenting the firearms training info on The Best Defense. Well, now that voice is changing.

 

If you hadn’t heard yet, I announced earlier in the week that I was going to be saying “Goodbye & Good Luck!” to The Best Defense series at the end of the year. Now that the new “TBD Gun Guy” is announced, I wanted to let those of you who are familiar with me, but not with Mr. Seeklander, rest assured that I think the show is in great hands!

 

 

 

In fact, since meeting while taping in 2008, Mike and I have spent a fair amount of time together and worked together often.

Last year, Mike attended a Combat Focus® Shooting Course that he also hosted at US Shooting Academy in Tulsa, joined me as a guest instructor in the Personal Firearms Defense DVD Series and we really got to compare notes and understand a bit more about each other’s approach to training. Mike also joined me as a guest on the second season of S.W.A.T. Magazine TV and did a great job. More recently, I’ve brought Mike in as a regular contributor to The Personal Defense Network, where his articles are helping us to maintain our quickly established position as the highest quality source for diverse personal defense & safety information on the Internet.

Mike and I got together a couple of days ago and taped a quick video clip announcing the change, which you can see HERE.

As I said in my “goodbye” letter linked above, I am extraordinarily proud of my work on The Best Defense and The Best Defense: Survival. It is only natural that I would want a professional to step into my role their and he inherits the legacy. It is a privilege to be able to say that the pro stepping in as I step out is a good friend. Thanks to Mike for agreeing to take over the reigns at a project that has been, and will remain, very important to me!

So, I hope that everyone enjoys the look that they are going to get at the guns I would pick for a worst case scenario survival situation on the new season of TBD: Survival that starts in July. I am definitely looking forward to the feedback. I am at least as anxiously looking forward to sitting back and watching The Best Defense in January 2012… you should be too!

-Rob Pincus