As some of you may know, but for those of you who do not, SHOT Show 2014 is my first SHOT Show. Around this time of year, I am typically at home watching and reading content from SHOT and wishing I was there. Well, this year I have the privilege of being here in person and experiencing it first hand. Here are some of the highlights of my first day here at Shot Show 2014.
The People
Rounding the corner at entrance of the convention center is where I saw the moving wave of people for the first time. The only word that came to mind when I saw this was, “Whoa.” Even in this massive hallway, I was only witnessing a small fraction of how many people I knew were actually going to be attending SHOT Show and it still looked like waves in an ocean.
Once I made my way through the ocean of people to the SHOT Show press area, I started seeing people that I had only previously seen online in videos or pictures. This list included people such as: Mr. Colion Noir, Tim from the Military Arms Channel, TheHossUSMC, Richard Ryan from RatedRR and Eric with the Moss Pawn crew from Iraqveteran8888. Personally speaking, it was really neat to see these people in person and shake their hands.
The Buzz
“Buzzing” is the only term I can think of to describe the atmosphere here. It is similar to being at a busy restaurant on a Friday night but multiplying the ambient chatter and laughter by about a factor of 100. Working in the press area while constantly overhearing conversations about a hot new item or who should buy what and why, makes me feel as though I’m part of a large press machine. Just about everyone in the press room looks almost robotic while typing away, sporting reflections from their glowing laptop screens. Yes, I’m also in the huge array of media robots because I definitely have a glowing face right now as I type this.
What’s Next?
As far as tomorrow goes, I am just happy that I will have an easier time navigating through the vast acreage that is SHOT Show. I have only experienced a small portion so far but my first day of SHOT Show was about getting my bearings straight, meeting new people and getting ready for what is in store for me during the rest of week. I will continue this SHOT Show 2014 Experience series of articles, among others, throughout the rest of the week. Stay tuned.
