PRIDE-FOWLER, INC.

John Pride Biography

John was born in Los Angeles in 1948. He has resided in Southern California (except for military service) for his entire life. His father had volunteered for WWII (Normandy, Red Ball Express, five Bronze Stars), and his grandfather had volunteered for WWI (combat in France). Following in their footsteps, after high school John volunteered for the Army and was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. There, he volunteered as a Combat Medic. He did a tour of duty in Viet Nam as a Combat Medic. During his service he received the Combat Medical Badge and the Bronze Star.

In 1970, after the completion of 3 years of service in the Army, he joined the Los Angeles Police Department. He served as a patrol officer for four years, then was assigned to the Police Academy as a firearms instructor, where he served for ten years. Thereafter, he went to the Scientific Investigation Division, Firearms and Explosive Unit, serving another nine years. He retired in 1993 after twenty three years of service with the rank of Detective plus three.

John has competed in firearm competitions of all types for thirty years, but specializes in practical pistol. He is among the top pistol shooters in the world. Among his honors are:

  • Four times NRA USA individual practical pistol police champion
  • Four times NRA USA team practical pistol police champion
  • Over forty Gold medals in the Police Olympics and International Police Olympics
  • Nine Gold medals in the California Summer Police Olympics
  • Four time Winner, International NRA Bianchi Cup World Action Shooting Championship
  • He has set 14 World Records in NRA recognized competitions. Four of them still stand, and can never be beaten, only tied, as they were perfect scores

He not only is an extraordinarily gifted shooter, he can teach how he does it. In recognition of those teaching skills, he has conducted formal shooting courses for police forces all over the world. Among them are:

  • Australian State Police Forces in:
    1. South Australia
    2. Queensland
    3. New South Wales
    4. West Australia
    5. Victoria
  • Singapore Police Department
  • Singapore Special Forces
  • Taiwan National Police
  • Indonesian National Police
  • Belgian National Police
  • Netherlands National Police
  • German State Police
  • USA Georgia State Police
  • Orange County SWAT forces
  • California Range Masters

He has also produced videos, including: “Basics to Bullseyes, the 9mm Pistol,” “Pistol Instructor,” “Action Shooting,” “Winning PPC” and has written a published book: “The Pride Method, Mind Over Matter”. He has been a contributor to many shooting magazines, and has a regular column (“Pride’s Corner”) in Gun Games magazine [STILL?]

He is the co-founder of the Beverly Hills Gun Club. He has received a resolution of commendation from the Los Angeles City Council for his instruction in the safe using and handling of firearms to the citizens of Los Angeles. He developed the P.O.S.T. Auto Pistol Transitional and Instructor certification courses.

He has testified as a ballistics, firearms and explosives expert witness in over 450 cases in Federal and State courts. Almost all of that expert testimony was given after he left the LAPD.

Currently, he is the CEO of Pride Fowler Industries, which designs and manufactures optical sights for rifles, pistols, and shotguns. In addition to acting as an expert witness, he also acts as a consultant and traveling instructor for Zeiss Optical, A.G., and Safariland Industries (shooting accessories).