The Loadout Blog

What’s Up World?

Hello, everyone. My name is Andrew and I am the Founder of Obsidian Concepts. Welcome to my about me post. I plan on keeping this brief and to the point. I don’t like talking about myself. To be honest I loathe talking about myself. Yet, I feel this is necessary to give readers a glimpse into the man, myth, and legend that is me (Joking on the man, myth, and legend part). A little bit about my history, my goals, and my passions. I will keep it simple stupid. I will give you a quick background about my youth, joining the military, military service, and a look into my passions. That is pretty much about it. So, let’s get this show on the road and join me for a quick tour through my life.

The Story Begins…

With any good story you have to start at the beginning. I was born and raised in Florida. I’m a southern boy through and through. Raised with that southern charm and hospitality. I was raised by single mother in the city of Sarasota, Florida. She worked her ass off and sacrificed so much for my sister and I could have a better life. We had good times and hard times like any single parent home. My mom did an awesome job with us and I had a great extended family support system growing up.

The Wonder Years

Growing up I guess you can call me a jock/nerd. I was definitely a hybrid. I played baseball and ran track in high school. I love learning so growing up I used to read about anything and everything I could get my hands on. I was really into animation and comic books growing up also. While growing up writing was one of my biggest passions and continues to be. I graduated High School in 2004 attended college for a year and half at Florida A&M. I took some time off and ended up not going back (the story of most college kids who decided to take a break). I worked with my sister at an insurance agency from 2006-2008. I was eventually laid off by the insurance company during the 2008 housing market fiasco. About a year later I ended up joining the Marine Corps.

Joining the Military

Joining the military wasn’t my original plan when I was laid off from the insurance agency. I was looking into going to back to school and majoring in film and media. But, the price of that was too expensive. Like to the bell of $25,000 a semester.

I was like, “Goddamn, that’s expensive!” I was going to be up to my eyeballs in debt before I even made it out of college. My uncle gave me the idea of joining the military. His idea gave way to me going to a recruiter and eventually choosing the Marine Corps. He completely did a Leo Dicaprio Inception mind trick on me. Thanks, uncle. Joining the military was one of the best decisions of my life.

Becoming Billy Badass…Kinda…Not Really.

So, now I have taken the leap and joined the military and waiting to attend Boot Camp. In my mind I had this vision of my military service of becoming this ultimate badass. In the vein of Big Boss or Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid Series. Or to be a one man wrecking ball like Sly Stallone in the Rambo movies. To be this deep, complex, flawed, and courageous characters from the video games and movies I enjoyed. Celluloid and reality are completely different…completely. We all experience that reality check when joining the military. As, soon as the first D.I. (Drill Instructor) steps on the bus I know I wasn’t in Kansas anymore people. Becoming a Marine was one of the most transformative experiences I ever had. One that has shaped me into the man I am today and forged my values in the fires of trails and tribulations. I enjoyed my time in the military and I will share more stories about my time in on future posts. So, be on the lookout for those.

Military Service

I will keep it simple with my military service. I will refer to my DD-214 for accuracy and transparency.

• I attended boot camp at MCRD Parris Island from October of 2009 to January of 2010. I attended SOI (School of Infantry)West in January of 2010.
• I suffered a few injuries during my training to complete SOI and I was almost medically discharged. In January of 2011 I was giving orders to 2nd Battalion 4th Marines, 1st MARDIV.
• I was in Golf Company 1st Platoon while in 2/4. I did two deployments during my enlistment.
• First deployment was to Afghan from late August of 2011-March of 2012. My second deployment was on the 31s MEU from May 2013-November of 2013. I did the last workup before their deployment on the 31st MEU again. So, a total of 2 deployments and 3 workups.
• My end of active service date was September 11, 2015. During my time in I was able to earn the rank of Sergeant and highest billet of squad leader.

That is my military service in a vacuum.

My Passions and the Creation of this Blog.

When I think of my passions which lean into my obsessions I always refer to the movie Robocop. I always think of the Bob from OCP asking Robocop his Prime Directives. Robocop responds,“ 1.Serve the Public trust 2. Protect the innocent 3. Uphold the law.”

My passions are 1.Writing 2. Firearms and gear 3. Martial arts and Tactics. I’ve always wanted to travel the world and learn different styles and learn about different cultures along the way. In the vein of Miyamoto Musashi did with the art of swordsmanship and combat.

Writing has been a lifelong passion of mine. I have used writing my whole life as an outlet for my thoughts and ideas. To leave my soul written upon a page…raw and uncut. I have been into firearms and weapons as long as I could remember. I’ve always wanted to be Billy Badass and that meant I had to be proficient in all phases of war.

I love reading about war campaigns and battles. To see the strategy and thought put in by military commanders has always interested me. Also, to study how war has evolved throughout the years to potentially see the next steps of combat and conflict. That is the reason I am creating this page to give people a place where they can get reliable and cohesive knowledge on firearms, gear, and tactics all things I am passionate about.

Thanks for Reading

Thank you for reading. This was a glimpse into my world. I tried to keep it to the point and simple. I will talk more about my experiences through my time working on this blog.

If you like this post hit that subscribe button for future content. What do you think I could do to make it better? What are topics that you would like me to explore and discuss? Let me know in the comments. Be Humble. Be Savage. Have a great day everyone.