Today we’d like to introduce you to Nick.
Hi Nick, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Back in 2018, What If Survival (WIS) was born out of a very apparent need in the market for higher-quality first aid kits. As a certified Emergency Medical Technician, I took it upon myself to raise the bar, beginning by crafting superior kits packed with medical-grade, life-saving supplies.
Our mission initially was to provide these superior first aid kits. But as our journey progressed, we realized that high-grade supplies were only half of the story. Even the best tools would fall short without the right knowledge to employ them effectively. This led us to broaden our scope and enrich our mission by focusing on training as well as supplying.
Today, while we still provide our comprehensive kits, we equally emphasize practical, hands-on training for our customers. Among our range of programs, Stop the Bleed® holds significant importance. It’s a course that takes the practicality of emergency preparedness to a new level, imparting essential bleed control techniques to attendees. This is the kind of knowledge that can make a difference in those critical moments before professional help arrives.
So, to put it succinctly, our journey from 2018 to now has seen us transition from being a product-centric organization to one that values the power of education and empowerment in the realm of first aid. We stand firm in our belief that everyone can become a lifesaver, given the right tools and knowledge.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I would be remiss not to mention the challenges we’ve faced. It hasn’t been a walk in the park, not by a long shot.
One of the major hurdles was marketing. I am a certified Emergency Medical Technician, not a marketing specialist. I prefer the background to the spotlight, and I’m not particularly fond of social media. This aversion posed a significant challenge in this digital age, where so much of a business’s growth and visibility relies on effective online marketing and social media presence.
However, despite these struggles, my love for what I do has been the silver lining. My passion for helping others, for teaching them essential skills, and seeing the impact of our work, has continued to fuel my determination and resilience. It has been the driving force behind every step we’ve taken and every challenge we’ve overcome.
At the end of the day, the road has been bumpy, and the journey hasn’t always been easy. But the satisfaction of knowing we’re making a difference in people’s lives? That’s what makes all the struggles worthwhile.
As you know, we’re big fans of What If Survival. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about the brand?
What If Survival (WIS) operates under a simple yet profound guiding principle: helping our customers Plan, Train, and Equip for any disaster life may throw their way. We specialize in providing high-quality first aid and survival items complemented by practical hands-on training.
What sets us apart is our thorough, thoughtful approach to training. Take, for example, our Stop The Bleed® course. Many organizations might devote only 10 to 15 minutes to bleeding control in their first aid courses, often relegating the subject to a few PowerPoint slides. At WIS, we view this as a crucial oversight considering that uncontrolled bleeding is the number one cause of preventable death from injury. To address this, we have dedicated an entire course to Stop The Bleed® principles, providing 3-4 hours of comprehensive training.
The essence of our approach is encapsulated by the words of ancient Greek poet Archilochus: “We don’t rise to the level of our expectations; we fall to the level of our training.” This belief is what drives What If Survival. We are dedicated to providing high-quality training that is designed to prepare individuals and organizations for the moment when they need it most.
In our commitment to make our training as realistic and hands-on as possible, we actually introduce real-world trauma to a bone-in pork shoulder during our skill stations. This is not a simulation; we create real wounds by shooting or stabbing the pork shoulder. This provides an invaluable experience that closely resembles the kind of trauma a person might encounter from being shot with a rifle or pistol or from a stabbing incident.
We believe that this level of realism, actually practicing on a piece of flesh that has a wound inflicted in a way akin to real-world violence, significantly enhances the learning experience. This helps mentally and practically prepare our trainees for a real-life emergency. The experience is intense, but it’s this intensity and realism that could make the difference when faced with a genuine life-threatening situation.
At the end of the day, we want your readers to understand that at What If Survival, our mission goes beyond just equipping our customers. We also invest heavily in ensuring that they are well-trained to handle life’s unforeseen emergencies. Our brand stands for quality, realism, and the unshakeable belief that everyone has the potential to save lives when equipped with the right tools and knowledge.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you, and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
The Covid-19 crisis has been a real eye-opener in many ways. The pandemic has revealed, quite starkly, how unprepared people generally are for disasters. Priorities, it seems, often become skewed in such situations. It was startling to walk into grocery stores to see food and water still on the shelves, but toilet paper completely sold out. If we were to face a more severe crisis, these misplaced priorities could lead to significant problems.
It was also disappointing to see the level of political discord that erupted during the pandemic. Rather than uniting in the face of a common enemy, it seemed like the crisis only deepened existing divisions, with different sides often engaging in full-on brawls. This kind of behavior, in my opinion, is simply unacceptable and does nothing to resolve the issues at hand.
In the grand scheme of things, the Covid-19 crisis has underscored the importance of being properly prepared for emergencies and the need for unity in times of crisis. As we move forward, it’s my hope that we can learn from these experiences and shift our focus to what truly matters when disaster strikes: the well-being and survival of ourselves and our fellow human beings.
Pricing:
- Stop The Bleed Training $75.00
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.whatifsurvival.com
- Instagram: @whatifsurvival
