hickok45

Derrick is a regular guest on the podcast and is a U.S. Army veteran that served during both Iraq wars as well as Somalia during the conflict known by most as Black Hawk Down. 

22Plinkster is a firearms YouTuber that is known for his trick shots and 22lr centric videos. 

Cody Woods is a nationally touring comedian that you may have seen on Comedy Centrals Heart Of The City. 

Larry Goodwell is a comedian based out of Houston, TX. 

Hickok45 is my Dad and co-creator of the Hickok45 YouTube channel. 

Michael Myers is a comedian based out of Chicago. 

Paul Miller is a Chicago based comedian and local sports fan. 

Derrick is a veteran of Somalia, Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and this podcast. 

Jessie Gregory is a former Cav Scout in the U.S. Millitary. 

My Dad or as you probably know him, Hickok45 is back on for the first time since the old Gun Culure Radio Podcast days. 

Jessie Gregory is a U.S. Cav Scout and guitar technician. 

Geoffrey Asmus is one of the funniest young comedians working today and has a new special set to release early this year on YouTube called "The Only Funny White Man". 

Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#120
John Hickok
YouTube Creator, Comedian

I reached out to John Hickok to double check the social media links for RSWC #101 with Hickok45. After he replied, I said I’d like to have John on the show sometime and he said he’d be up for it. I was heading to Nashville for a personal trip. I message John, giving him an idea when I would be done and he said he’d enjoy being on the show. I love my gig!

We all know that John is Hickok45’s son. John grew up with the Hickok range in the backyard. He was shooting at 3 and shooting an Uzi (full auto) at 4.  Yes, it was only a few rounds left in the magazine, but it was STILL full auto!

John is the one behind the scenes for the channel. When YouTube was young, John noticed that there weren’t many gun channels on site. While in college, he watched YouTube and realized that he missed shooting. There were only a few gun channels at the time and the ones that were on the site weren't very exciting. So John suggested that Hickok45 start making some gun videos, because they could do something way better than what was out there. John helped Hickok45 make a video about single action revolvers and some cowboy guns for Hickok45’s class.  And that’s when it started. 

They were both surprised and shocked at the growth of the channel. There were certainly milestones along the way: 1,000 subscribers, 10,000 subscribers. Currently, the channel has 6,000,000+ subscribers and 1,700,000,000+ views!!! Holy schnikes!

About 5 years ago, John decided to get out from behind the camera and in front of the camera. He did a video or two a month on the channel. No matter how much video time he was getting some people still wondered who he was.   He turned to music and playing the guitar and doing stand up comedy as an outlet. He did some podcasting and started his own YouTube channel as well. He was really trying to find his own voice and personality on video. 

I picked up John in the West End section of Nashville. We drove downtown and it was packed!  When I filmed the episode with Hickok45, there was a snowstorm and Nashville was a ghost town.  It was quite the opposite on the warm August day. The lower Broadway section of town was very busy and packed with people. One of the fun sights is the tractors transporting trailers with people doing some day drinking on them. 

After we talk about the Hickok45 channel, we get into John doing stand up comedy. I was doing stand up occasionally over the last couple years. We talk about how it isn’t as easy as some people may think.  It takes time to think of material, then work out how to say and phrase everything, and to get timing down.  Every comedian needs some stage time and John has been doing stand up nightly for a while, even hosting some open mics around Nashville.  We talk about writing comedy, dealing with hecklers, and John’s Mount Rushmore of Comedy, too! We’ve got a lot of comedians that we love in common. 

One of the things I really love about my gig is that I get to talk with folks and really find out what’s going on with them. We all love firearms and shooting, but we’ve got other things in our lives and well.  John is just as passionate about comedy as he is about the Hickok45 channel.  And I think you’ll get that from this episode. 

Favorite quotes:

“You can do something way better than this.”

“If I hadn’t basically been lazy…  the YouTube thing may not have happened.”

“I really enjoy coming up with something in my head, creating it, putting it out on YouTube, and seeing what people think about it.”

“It is a luxury to be a professional entertainer.”

“All that is BS. There’s no such thing as writer’s block...There is no writer’s block; there’s only laziness.”

Hickok45 YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/user/hickok45

Hickok45 & John Hickok Instagram: 

@johnhickok45 

@therealhickok45 

Hickok45 Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100044290096493

You need to join the Second Amendment Foundation

http://saf.org/

Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

https://www.ccrkba.org/

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https://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.creator-spring.com/

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http://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.com/rswc-shop/

Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters. 

Keyhole Holsters 

Veteran Owned, American Made

http://www.keyholeholsters.com/

Dennis McCurdy

Author, Speaker, Firewalker

http://www.find-away.com/

Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565

Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB

iHeartRadio

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/

Self Defense Radio Network

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OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459

Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#101
Hickok45
YouTube Creator

Wilder things have happened. Snow in Tennessee isn’t something that happens often. Unless I’m driving down. Despite nearly every place being closed and many Tennesseans not having experience driving in the snow, I was able to meet Hickok45 for breakfast before we filmed the show!  Whew!

We’ve all been watching Hickok45 for years and he’s the nicest man around. He’s been a school teacher for years, which we share in common.  We drove by where he used to teach.  He took a break from teaching and he had another career that he can’t talk about, unless he kills you, of course. Then he went back to teaching in the 1990’s. 

He’s been a shooter since he was a young boy.  He used to go shooting with his dad’s old .22 rifle and a pocket full of ammo and that’s when he got the shooting bug. 

He started the YouTube channel back in 2007 when most people posted cat videos. He did a video shooting through his Honda Element’s open doors in the very early days. Then he moved to shooting watermelons and pumpkins. While teaching a lesson on “Shane”, Hickok45 made a video using a Colt Single Action for his students to show them the firearms of the old West.  Hickok’s son, John, decided making shooting videos would be cool and it would give them something to do for fun. 

The Hickok’s bought the land specifically for shooting in the backyard where they have their home range.  When they started the YouTube channel, they had no idea what could become of this side hustle. They just used their guns and made some review videos. People watched them and kept subscribing so they kept making videos. They did learn to edit and work in video but their approach is very natural and not ‘5th Avenue slick’. Right how, his channel has 6 MILLION subscribers! Hickok45 and his son have turned this into a full time gig. 

We drive from the Cracker Barrel in Nashville to Franklin and encounter some snow and some other drivers, even from New York, that can’t drive in the snow very well. We hopped out of the car in downtown Franklin for a selfie at a memorial THe Battle of Franklin.  Hickok also brings up some of the formats of podcasters like Adam Carolla and Joe Rogan. He says you really get a feel for someone in those types of interviews. I was able to share my story and connection to Adam Carolla, as well. 

We also share some stories about when ‘worlds collide’ and there was some crossover between teaching and making YouTube videos. After having sponsors seeking them out, they had to decide which fork in the road to take. On his last day of teaching, he presented awards at school, then headed to Philadelphia with John to give a speech. 

Hickok45 also shares a story about meeting Massad Ayoob. He’s been a reader and followers of Mas for years. And he was a little nervous to meet Mas and say hello to him. But of course, Mas knew who he was. That helps Hickok keep things in perspective when he meets his fans.

Hickok45 doesn’t really do interviews. I’m honored that he took the time to hop in the stagecoach and come Riding Shotgun. We were able to navigate through the snow and get back to where we started. 

Favorite quotes:

“We mainly just brought the camera outside and filmed what we were already doing.”

“Everything is so scripted. You and I, we don’t know what we’re going to talk about.”

“We don’t have a lot of advice really. (for starting a YouTube channel). Do something you like.”

“Mainly, I’m a shooter. I really enjoy firearms.”

YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/user/hickok45

Instagram: 

@johnhickok45 

@therealhickok45 

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100044290096493

Please support the Riding Shotgun With Charlie sponsors and supporters. 

You need to join the Second Amendment Foundation!

http://saf.org/

Buy RSWC & GunGram shirts, hoodies, & mugs at the store!

https://ridingshotgunwithcharlie.creator-spring.com/

Keyhole Holsters 

Veteran Owned, American Made

http://www.keyholeholsters.com/

Dennis McCurdy

Author, Speaker, Firewalker

http://www.find-away.com/

Or listen on:
iTunes/Apple podcasts

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-shotgun-with-charlie/id1275691565

Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/show/4EEPud0XzYz4wo0MYmA9uB

iHeartRadio

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-riding-shotgun-with-charli-30654270/

Self Defense Radio Network

http://sdrn.us/

OpsLens App on iPhone & iPad

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opslens-network/id1498033459