Alex from Caliber Row joins hosts Kaylee and John to talk about what she calls one of the coolest jobs in the firearms industry: photographing and filming brands. Alex runs Caliber Row, where she specializes in photography, videography, and brand marketing for firearms companies. Her path started in Chicago, where she grew up on the Southside and shot in the fashion industry with agencies like Wilhelmina, Factor, and Ford. She applied on a whim to a job at apparel company GrunStyle, got hired despite limited firearms experience, ran its photography department, and stayed with the company for six years, moving with it from Chicago to Texas and later to Arizona.
Much of the conversation is about women coming into a male-dominated industry. Alex says women are entering the space more than ever, and most of them are genuinely excited, educated, and skilled shooters. She also pushes back on a mindset she sees in some women who want to dominate or exclude men, arguing the industry should be a respected, equal space and that men built it. Kaylee, who is five feet tall and wears a child-size large glove, talks about how few options existed for someone her size when she bought her first gun, and how the influx of new gun owners has driven innovation and better ergonomics, pointing to firearms like the EAA tip-up and the Smith and Wesson EZ that work for people with limited mobility. Both hosts and Alex agree the community is growing stronger, not weaker, and that the Second Amendment community is made of many different subgroups that should row in the same direction.
Alex describes the impact photography has in reaching people who are gun curious or hesitant, using her own story of moving from anti-gun Chicago to pro-gun Texas, where people showed her the ropes. She talks about acting as a fly on the wall on shoots, keeping the focus on the brand and the people rather than herself, and about how shoots bring veterans and groups together. She shares her favorite and wildest shoots, including photographing skydivers in a circle from the air and being on a C-130 and a Sherman tank, and she walks through her growing collection from the Glock 43X to a SIG P320 Spectre Comp Blackout, an MP5, and a POF Rogue she shoots in accurate AR matches. The episode closes with a spicy segment on flying with firearms, where John and Kaylee hammer the lack of standard TSA rules airport to airport, a TSA website policy change that conflicts with the law requiring the owner to be present, theft of gear in transit, and the need for federal protections when a flight gets rerouted into an anti-gun state.
Questions this episode answers
What is Caliber Row and what does Alex do in the firearms industry?
Caliber Row is Alex's company, where she specializes in photography, videography, and brand marketing for firearms companies. She tells brands' stories visually, capturing the brand and its people rather than putting herself in the frame.
How did Alex go from shooting fashion in Chicago to firearms photography?
Alex shot fashion in Chicago with agencies like Wilhelmina, Factor, and Ford. She applied on a whim to apparel company GrunStyle, was hired despite limited firearms experience, ran its photography department, and stayed six years as it moved from Chicago to Texas to Arizona.
What is it like to be a woman entering a male-dominated firearms industry?
Alex says women are entering the space more than ever and most are genuinely excited, educated, and skilled shooters. She argues the industry should be a respected, equal space and pushes back on the mindset that women should dominate or exclude men.
How has the growth of new gun owners changed firearm design and ergonomics?
The influx of new gun owners has driven innovation and better ergonomics for people who were underserved before. Hosts point to firearms like the EAA tip-up and the Smith and Wesson EZ that work well for shooters with smaller hands or limited mobility.
How can photography and storytelling reach people who are hesitant or gun curious?
Alex believes photography and videography make the space relatable and remind people they share common ground. She draws on her own move from anti-gun Chicago to pro-gun Texas, where people showed her the ropes, to connect with those who are hesitant or curious.
What were the wildest and coolest shoots Alex has ever captured?
Alex's most memorable shoots include photographing skydivers in a circle from the air and working on a C-130 and a Sherman tank. She describes acting as a fly on the wall, keeping the focus on the brand and the people in front of her.
What firearms are in Alex's personal collection, starting with her first gun?
Alex's first firearm was a Glock 43X, and her collection has grown to include a SIG P320 Spectre Comp Blackout, an MP5, and a POF Rogue she shoots in accurate AR matches.
What problems do gun owners face when flying with firearms through TSA?
The hosts hammer the lack of standard TSA rules from airport to airport, a TSA website policy change that conflicts with the law requiring the owner to be present, and theft of gear in transit. They call for federal protections when a flight gets rerouted into an anti-gun state.
Chapters
00:00 — Welcome and meet Alex from Caliber Row
00:28 — What Caliber Row is and what Alex shoots
01:12 — From Chicago fashion to GrunStyle and firearms
03:13 — Being a woman entering the firearms industry
05:30 — Wildest shoots: skydivers, C-130, Sherman tank
07:38 — Equality, not dominance, for women in the space
11:01 — A growing, more diverse industry and innovation
17:06 — Cliques and gatekeeping in the community
18:58 — The Second Amendment community is not monolithic
24:24 — How photography reaches the gun curious
27:18 — Alex's character arc from anti-gun to pro-gun
30:11 — Alex's collection from Glock 43X to MP5 and POF
32:42 — Spicy segment: flying with firearms and TSA
43:57 — Where to find Alex and GOALS Convention
About the guest
Alex is the founder of Caliber Row, where she specializes in photography, videography, and brand marketing within the firearms industry. Born and raised on the Southside of Chicago, she started out in the fashion industry, shooting for agencies including Wilhelmina, Factor, and Ford. She joined apparel company GrunStyle, ran its photography department, and stayed with the company for six years, moving with it from Chicago to Texas and later to Arizona. She grew up in a military family and has been doing firearms photography for over ten years. Her first firearm was a Glock 43X, and her collection now includes a SIG P320 Spectre Comp Blackout, an MP5, and a POF Rogue she shoots in accurate AR matches.
Key quotes
"So I am here to tell all y' all stories visually and creatively to represent your brands." — Alex
"I had to prove that I knew what I was talking about and what I was shooting and the quality of things" — Alex
"The day you stop learning is I think the day you become complacent." — Alex
"we're seeing more of a community built between the relationship of the company and the end consumer" — Kaylee
"photography and videography can be a huge source of visualization to just be relatable to people and to remind people that we all share the same space" — Alex
"once you want to learn, I think it's not, it's not as scary as people think it is" — Alex
