We are excited to welcome our newest team member, Eric Myers, to Guardian 8’s Scottsdale, Ariz. headquarters. A former law enforcement officer who transitioned into the creative sector, he joins Guardian 8 as the new in-house training expert – or “Training Headmaster.” He came to us from Automatik, where he led a creative cadre that specializes in automotive events and training.
Q: Tell us about yourself.
A: I have a family history of military and security work, so I feel that I was always bent that way. I got some officer training experience in the army, then went into law enforcement with the goal of going into the private protection industry. Following a serious injury on the job, though, I felt that I needed to focus elsewhere. I had been doing some training work in the police department through Arizona Law Enforcement Academy (ALEA), so I felt that training could be a good fit. I moved to Automatik, where I grew from a writer to an executive leading the charge on multi-million dollar training initiatives.
After feeling like I’d done everything I could do there, I saw Guardian 8 and thought that would be a good way to blend skills and experience from my past life with expertise I’d formed at Automatik. As my brother said when I was considering this job, “It all makes sense.”
Q: What interested you about Guardian 8?
A: Partly the device itself – I had not seen anything like it in terms of an intermediate response. I was only familiar with OC, batons, and Tasers from the law enforcement side. When I found out some of the folks at Guardian 8 were affiliated with Taser, I thought these guys must really know what they’re doing.
Q: What does your position entail?
A: I love facilitating and doing the training, but this job involves a higher level of thinking in terms of planning, logistics, future pacing, content design, and enhancing something that already exists in a very functional format. Adding not just creative touch, but an instructional designer’s touch to make things flow, make things make sense, and to provide the most engaging training you can so that people get it. I love seeing light bulbs go on.
Q: What would you like to achieve as Training Headmaster?
A: My end goal would be for Guardian 8 training to be something that people talk about, that they want to attend – not to be just a box to check. That training becomes an experience, not a begrudging commitment. That would be a great thing to achieve for me.
Q: What else would you like people to know?
A: On paper, if you were to look at where I came from and the position that I held, making the move to this place – especially to a startup in nature – might look crazy. Having said that, I see enormous potential here and I really believe in what this place is doing.
You can reach Eric Myers at [email protected]. Learn more about Training.