Pre-Action Report: Greg Nichols: The Man Behind the Obscenities

[Eric Tull]

Sorry, guys--this post might sound pretty odd, and it’s probably not what Greg is expecting me to write about our conversation. But I think it needs to be posted. I’ve been on WT a few years now, and I’ve had a particular impression of the guy from talking with him on the forums. But after meeting him in-person, my thoughts changed dramatically. Now don’t get me wrong: I didn’t have a negative perception of Greg. It was just sorely incomplete. I wrote this to get it figured out in my head. So if you’ll indulge me, here’s what I‘ve got:

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While I was waiting at a rooftop bar in Des Moines to meet Greg Nichols, I knew I was going to post something on Warrior Talk about it. In fact, I didn’t see how I couldn’t post about it. Whenever someone meets up with Greg, there seems to be an unwritten rule to write about it. As I sipped on my drink, I went over in my head what I expected him to be like: a sex-crazed, hilariously obscene guy with huge arms. And in fact, these things were completely true. I could spend this post recounting hot women at the bar flirting with him, stories of his numerous past gunfights, the necrophilia jokes he cracked, and how much he can curl (145 lbs for reps, if I recall). These things are part of Greg’s personality, and we see that every day on WT. But I think they overshadow important parts of his character, aspects that clue me in that he’s probably a damn good gunfighting instructor. I can sum these up in two concepts: attitude and thinking. Those words came up a lot in our conversation that evening.

While we talked, Greg explained that thinking and having the right attitude are vital in a gunfight. When someone is trying to harm you or a loved one, you must have the desire to “completely destroy your adversary, to bite his ears off, to shoot him until you’re out of ammo and then put a hole in his face with the barrel of your empty gun.” But it became clear from talking to the man that he doesn’t just apply this attitude to gunfighting; it’s how he lives his life. At his day job (which he isn’t currently a fan of), he has by far the highest numbers in his department. I don’t think he has it in him to do otherwise. Exercise is the same: He doesn’t put in 20 minutes on an elliptical. He does two-a-days lifting damn-heavy weights. He really does follow the saying, “The maximum is the minimum.”

He has just as much a conviction about the importance of thinking. Greg took flak from some people on WT about his comments and video response to a certain former Delta guy who’s now very obese. Greg told me that the guy’s video really pissed him off because it was propaganda. For Christ's sake, they wove in shots of helicopters and rifles around footage of this guy explaining why it’s not his fault that he’s fat. Greg knew that the video was a lie that exploited people’s respect for those in the military, and he called the guy on it. Greg didn’t want people to blindly accept that there was nothing that guy could do to lose weight. He wanted them to get past the flashy video and actually think about what the guy was saying, stuff that anyone who knows anything about fitness and weight loss knows was bullshit. This is the key to why Greg’s so blunt. He’ll probably kick my ass for saying this, but he’s blunt on WT and to others because he cares about them. He knows that telling someone a lie or sugarcoating the truth won’t help them think through their problem. If you’re doing something wrong, he’s going to tell you, because otherwise you’ll keep doing it incorrectly. He wants to lead you to think. And if that means he pisses some people off, so be it.

Those two qualities were tip-offs. They’re why it’s a safe bet that he’s a great firearms instructor. Yes, he’s a sex-crazed, obscene guy with huge arms, and he’s really fun to hang out with in a bar. A lot of people like that aspect of him (personally, I think he’s hilarious), but that might not appeal to some WT members. But when it comes down to it, the aspect that matters most is his emphasis on attitude and thinking. Admittedly, I haven’t taken a class with him yet, and we only spent about six hours talking--but if there’s something I’m good at, it’s reading people. This is a guy who truly cares about the tribe, even though he’s never met 99% of them. He’s driven to teach people how to win a gunfight, to teach lessons he had to literally learn under fire. He wants to lead students to have the right attitude, so when a sociopath comes to do them or their loved ones harm, they can think clearly and utterly destroy him.

As I was leaving the bar and heading to my car, I thought about the last 6 hours. It occurred to me that it’s nothing new to hear instructors talk about these concepts, but finding somebody who lives it-–who embodies it--that’s unique. And that’s why I can’t wait to take his CQB and his Terrorist / Active Shooter Interdiction courses.

[Gabriel Suarez]

And that’s why ......

Greg is a valued member of the crew.

[Jon Payne]

Why yes, yes he is.

[Dorkface]

Greg is a cool dude. Having spent 3 days straight with him on the range and at Mervo's place I can honestly say I look forward to meeting him again and shaking his hand. Same goes for the other guys like Brent and of course Gabe.

[Jess Karren]

Great write up! Thank you for sharing.

[Brent Yamamoto]

Nice write up!

Greg is a hell of a fighter and an excellent instructor. He's one of those guys I'd want with me in a fight, and one I'd want to have a beer with after. And his classes are damn fun!

But you DID shower quickly after leaving his presence, right?? No lapses in memory that night, or painful areas the morning after?

I'm sure you're fine...

[Greg Nichols]

honestly gang this is damn humbling. I shared some time with a tribe member, off the clock, not being an instructor. Just sharing some of my time with someone in my AO. Nothing special other than company with an eager mind and willing spirit. I'm blessed that others think this much of me and my companionship. I'm just a man striving to be a standard others can look to (as long as you're single). I do my absolute best every day that I'm blessed enough to wake and take it on. Thanks for the kind words, I'm not the only man that takes standards to heart and I do make my best effort to be a standard for those that seek one.

[Eric Tull]

But you DID shower quickly after leaving his presence, right?? No lapses in memory that night, or painful areas the morning after?

I'm sure you're fine...

I get the VD test results on Monday