TRAVIS HALEY, FOUNDER
In many circles, Travis Haley needs no introduction. From the handycam recording that relayed the vivid and harsh realities of combat to the American people while delivering a new meaning to turkey shoot one round of 5.56 at a time, to championing tactical training and practical shooting skills for the responsibly armed citizen, there is no doubt that Travis Haley has made his mark on the firearms community.
Travis rose from humble beginnings. He spent most of his childhood swimming in rivers, shooting guns, hunting wild boar, riding four wheelers, and building obstacle courses with his brother on the family farm. His first job as a kid was catching diamondback rattlesnakes for boot and belt makers in the swamps of north Florida. While in highschool, Travis played football and ran track ultimately turning down an opportunity to play football at a large university in order to join the United States Marine Corps at the age of 17.
While in the Marine Corps, Travis served in Special Operations as a Force Reconnaissance Marine. His service included multiple combat tours in the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia.
After leaving active duty, Travis stayed in the Marine Reserves, as well as served as a Private Military Contractor for the US Navy Center for Anti-Terrorism and then various government agencies operating primarily in Iraq and Afghanistan. His military service and private sector careers equate to an astounding 29 years of dedicated real-world and defense industry experience with service activity in over 45 countries.
It was during his time in the US Marine Reserves that Travis started his first company, Simply Dynamics Inc., a law enforcement and military contracting company specializing in weapons manipulation, tactics, mobile operations, and product development. Simply Dynamics was later joined with Magpul Industries to form Magpul Dynamics, where Travis created a new paradigm for weapons manipulation training and media, marking the first time that Special Operations tactics and training became widely accessible to the responsible armed citizen. Travis also championed “theory-based” product lines while at Magpul and was elevated to CEO of the parent company, Magpul Industries, before leaving to focus on his family and building what would become Haley Strategic Partners.
In addition to his work in the defense industry and private sector, Travis has served as a commissioned and reserve Law Enforcement Officer. Travis served as a tactics instructor and Critical Response Specialist supporting high-risk law enforcement operations and providing weapons and tactics instruction for SWAT, ESU, fugitive recovery, and patrol officers. Travis also serves as a mind architecture and self-improvement coach helping others find post traumatic growth and shares not just how to be a survivor to life, but a beneficiary to it.
Travis is also a 7th generation gunfighter of the Haley family, husband to a super woman, father of seven children, founder of seven successful companies, an adventurist and an extreme athlete.
"You have to have a lot of love for what you do in life because whatever your endeavor to accomplish, it's not going to be easy, it's going to be extremely hard. When I was a kid my love was the excitement of imagining what it would be like to jump from the heavens or emerge up from the dark depths of the ocean as a combat diver engaged in wiping evil from the planet. Years later, when I found myself on that journey, I learned to love the pain and misery of becoming that image. I noticed the people around me who didn't love it and quit, something I had no sympathy for at the time as perseverance was my life mission. When I found myself at war fighting disgusting, savage, tyrannical, and evil psychopaths I learned to love it so much that I became addicted to it. I learned to love being “away sick” versus “homesick”. I needed it so badly, not giving a second thought to leaving my wife, my kids, and my family behind. What I didn't know then and do now… I loved to leave everything behind. I learned to love the notion that the loss of my brothers and sisters in battle was noble, morally and ethically justified even as I looked across the sad faces of their families at funeral processions. When the fighting was done I forced myself to love the idea of sacrifice even though I hated it inside, I learned to love the new darkness in my life because I realized it would never stop.
Until one day I saw a light. To this day I grapple with how and why that light chose to shine on me, but for the first time in many years I saw a new passion, a new love. It was the joy of sharing. Sharing with the people I care about, sharing the excitement of education, sharing the joy of motivation, sharing the love of delivering inspiration, and sharing empowerment for people to become better humans. To simply leave the world a little bit better place than when we came into it."
Stay Sharp, Be Safe, and Die Free - Travis Haley