Episode Details

Ben and Will from Forge Relations, the marketing agency behind the Gundies, join State of the Second hosts John and Kaylee to trace how a fun idea built around The Office's Dundees grew into a black-tie award show in a Las Vegas theater. They walk through the arc: year one was meant to be a simple, fun award show, then COVID forced an evolution into a range day, a drive-tank experience, and an Expo before the event came back to Vegas as the polished ceremony viewers saw last year. Ben describes going from a ten-dollar microphone and a jukebox you'd rent for a child's party on a staircase at Nacho Daddy to a professional sound stage at the Venetian theater that holds 2,000 people, with PSA as the title sponsor.

The conversation covers what makes the Gundies work. The goal is something for the community, by the community, bringing a fractured firearms industry together across genres so people can put down their guard and have fun. The group reflects on the four new categories added this year, Podcast of the Year, King of the Hill, Top 2A Writer, and Emerging Brand of the Year, and on the moment Paul Harrell won an award before his passing and the team made a pointed goal to get him his trophy quickly. Ben and Will explain how the event spotlights smaller creators alongside large ones, since voters browsing a category discover names they never knew existed.

The back half turns to marketing and censorship. Ben and Will argue platform restrictions on gun content are real but more flexible on the organic side than most brands assume, and that brands lose reach by ignoring the in-app features the algorithms reward. Ben's core advice: stop obsessing over the content first, learn the platform, use its native features, read your analytics, and stay consistent. Both push on engaging the comment section, building a real brand instead of assuming the product speaks for itself, and protecting a marketing budget instead of cutting it when things slow down. They point to Palmetto State Armory as a current example of transparent, engaged content, and close with Gundy Awards voting details.

Questions this episode answers

How did the Gundies start, and what inspired the concept?

Ben and Will of Forge Relations built the Gundies as a fun idea modeled on The Office's Dundees, meant to be a simple award show for the firearms community. The goal was something for the community, by the community, bringing a fractured industry together so people could put down their guard and have fun.

How has the Gundies evolved from its first year into the black-tie ceremony at the Venetian theater?

After year one, COVID pushed the event into a range day, a drive-tank experience, and an Expo before it returned to Las Vegas as a polished ceremony. It grew from a ten-dollar mic on a staircase at Nacho Daddy to a sound stage at the Venetian theater seating 2,000, with Palmetto State Armory as title sponsor.

What four new award categories were added this year, and why?

The Gundies added Podcast of the Year, King of the Hill, Top 2A Writer, and Emerging Brand of the Year. The categories help spotlight a wider range of creators and brands across the firearms community.

Why did the team make a point of getting Paul Harrell his trophy quickly?

Paul Harrell won a Gundie before his passing, and Ben and Will made a pointed goal to get him his trophy quickly. Ben described him as the grandfather of the space and of what they do.

How do the Gundies spotlight smaller creators alongside the biggest names in the industry?

The show places smaller creators in the same categories as large ones, so voters browsing a category discover names they never knew existed. That structure gives emerging creators visibility next to the industry's biggest names.

Is gun content really being shadow banned, or is something else going on?

Ben and Will argue platform restrictions on