Making Health Happen

Jake Wiskerchen is a Marriage and Family Therapist, National Certified Counselor. He owns and operates Zephyr Wellness, an outpatient counseling agency in northern Nevada, and wears many hats across the community in which he is deeply involved. He joined the WTTA team in 2019 when he hosted its founder, Mike Sodini, on the Noggin Notes podcast. He soon realized that someone needed to advocate for firearms owners to get their mental health cared for because of the vast misunderstanding and suspicion about mental health treatment throughout the gun community. This suspicion leads to hesitation to get help, which in turn leads to suicides, often by firearm.

Michael Sodini is a 3rd generation firearm industry professional, and known by many as the “most un-gun, gun guy.” After graduating from ASU in 1998 with a degree in communication, Michael spent a few years working as a fashion model, traveling the world, and garnering respect from some of the leading names within the niche. He left the fashion industry in 2001, and went into real estate marketing for five years, before he went on to work for the family business, Eagle Imports Inc., in 2006. After a series of unforeseen tragedies from 2006 – 2009, Michael eventually became President of Eagle. Over the last 9 years, he has successfully cultivated and evolved the Bersa, Metro Arms, and Grand Power firearm brands. The latest brand to be added to the Eagle family, Avidity Arms, is a partner-project with Rob Pincus, and is currently in the early stages of development before production. In 2018, Michael formed the Walk the Talk America initiative, a non-profit organization dedicated to making positive change in relationship to mental health, and firearm awareness. Through organizing a profound team of experts from different fields, and all walks of life, unbiased by politics, media, or personal prejudice – WTTA seeks to input opportunities to enhance communication, compassion, calls to action, and education. Michael is a visionary thinker, known for his loyalty, and unique sense of humor to his industry colleagues (and friends). More than anything, he is dedicated to creating conversations that will help pave the way for a brighter future, allowing synergy through new ideas, and action through the power of awareness.