Chris Costa is a pretty big deal here in the US but he’s never had a reception like the one he received during his recent visit to Japan. Here, Costa struts his stuff in front of eager fans at his welcome party held by host Peace Combat Fes 2015.
Tags: Chris Costa
I just threw up in my mouth a little bit!
Its good work if you can get it.
I’m with you.
Just turn the comments off for this one before you crash the site.
Jumped the shark comes to mind! Wtf
Absolutely without question one of the most horriffic videos I have ever seen. Can someone explain to me why the Japanese have gone nuts for a Coastie who has probably never even seen an armed man in a bad mood has even clout to get a Tactical Fashion Show? Its no wonder the industry doesn’t take him seriously anymore.
if this is horrific to you I hope you weren’t watching the news about Paris recently….
He’s doing his thing, plus it’s all in good fun.
Well, the music is fitting
Needs more Zoolander.
That was his Blue Steel
Tactical Zoolander. :-/
^ LMAO!!
Maybe he can actually turn left tactically
Costa.
So hot right now.
Costa.
What is this? A shoot house for ants? How can we be expected to teach children to learn how to shoot… if they can’t even fit inside the building?
same thing happens to washed up sports athletes
I first realized how batshit crazy the Japanese can get about things learning about golf equipment and their market. It’s absurd. I’m not at all surprised by this. Fanboy doesn’t begin to describe it. And I think, honestly, it could be anyone, Costa just happens to be it.
And suddenly the Japanese tourist seen from Crocodile Dundee pops into my head…
“Clint Eastwood!”
Dude, their cartoons are so fucked up..
“Im a model, and II do my little dance on the catwalk”….
Does this look campy? Hell ya. Is Costa makin a livin? Hell ya. He is marketing his brand and it will most likely allow him to retire nicely.
Here’s the deal, if he can’t get his brand to work stateside, then try elsewhere. Japan is a nice place to do so.
HOREE SHEET!!!
the “oooooooooooo’s” when he goes prone are priceless.
You need to see the Q&A session video, where they all chant “Cos-Ta Cos-Ta Cos-Ta!”
To understand the Japanese fascination with firearms and all things tactical, one needs only to go to SHOT show. I think Tactical falls right behind Girls on the Subway in School Uniforms as the Japanese male’s favorite things.
?????!!
Ha! GAY!!!
good for Chris – haters will hate but he is a brand, just like any other professional shooter (Haley, Vickers, etc).
Great marketing tactics.
Coast Guard haters LOL.
In Japan firearms are strictly forbidden to the public and the Japanese only know of them from TV and video games. To see a man, in real life, holding and pretending to shoot an AR, particularly in “tacticool” mode is quite an amazing experience.
Sigh.
They are also huge Airsoft enthusiasts. Don’t rule that out, the market there is huge for all things MILSIM.
Jon, OPT
Yup, Japan is where plastic death was born. They’re the OG’s (original gearwhores)!
That market is huge in this country as well… The milsim airsoft/paintball crowd here is a big part of what drives the “tacticool” industry.
Preaching to the choir; that crowd keeps the industry afloat in more ways than many people would like to acknowledge, and their dollars are well appreciated.
Jon, OPT
exactly
Hear, hear. I can’t say I’m a fan of some of the delusional attitudes in the “airsoft community” and they seem to incite violent fury in warfighters when they are shopping in the same space, but the goobs spend a lot of money and come up with innovative solutions to problems a lot of guys just deal with because they think it’s the manly thing to do. Something hurts the warfighter, you’ll just as likely see them ignore it or say that it’s part of the job. Something hurts an airsofter they will put their collective minds together over the internet and come up with a solution. Keeping the industry afloat is an understatement.
When OpsCore helmets weren’t approved by anyone for anything we had two customers buying them: legit cool-guy operators who didn’t have to have approval… and 15-year-olds playing woodsball.
It’s a classic squint vs grunt quandry in many cases. In others it’s age/experience versus the dreamers. In any case they spend a lot of money and help drive innovation. You can’t ignore that, regardless of your feelings about what they represent.
Most warfighters have never had to buy their own shit…so by some measure it isn’t their market to begin with. The airsoft kid (adult or otherwise) that shops the advertising on this site contributes to the industry as much or more than I ever will.
Besides cell phone and ipad pouches (which also owe their development to programs like Nett Warrior) what solutions to real world problems have come from the airsoft world?
How many 15 year olds are sporting helmets that are more than half a grand?
I don’t disagree that airsoft dollars keep the gear side afloat but crediting airsoft for finding real world solutions is a bit much.
Give yourself a few minutes on Google. I was shocked at the number of otherwise normal adults that buy quality gear (Ops Core helmets- at least).
Not knocking them at all by the way.
I don’t think the implication was that they drive solutions in a vacuum but that they serve as (ready?) Force multipliers with their $.
Not to mention keeping eBay in business.
Costa is holding an airsoft replica in the vid……..
“You’re big in Japan! You’re big in Ja-pan! You’re big in Ja-Paaaaaaaaaaaan!!!!” Musical flashback
Only thing better would be if Pincus ran out and leapfrogged the beard to kick off an epic model battle.
I am sure the love for Costa has to do with Airsoft being HUGE over there. Plus he’s probably the only “big name” from the US to have gone over there for a song and dance show.
i own 12 rifles and wat is this
MILSIM + Costa + Airsoft = yes, and you can keep him, your welcome!
Who are the other guys on stage with him?
Lame
I’d have thought there would have been more cameras…so disappoint…
Say what you will, Costa’s a capable diagnostician and as positive as it’s appropriate for a weapons instructor to be (fundamentals and the basics of weapons handling). I’ve been in smaller groups with more seasoned trainers who missed bigger details than Costa did.
And yeah, all well and good that MilSim sustains an economy of scale that keeps good dealers like OPT in business but it’s still a pisser when those jokers affect pricing, then availability in the retail and auction site streams.
For the amount of money they prob paid him. I’ll look like an ass and jump up and down too lol
Despite his background and what he has/hasn’t done he is a successful businessman – a little tac-catwalking I am sure is not going to change that and if being an ex coastie with no combat experience has got him this far then what’s the big deal? he’s doing something right with no shortage of paying customers. I am just a little disappointed he didn’t end it with a dive into the crowd…
Put that kind of money in front of me and I would probably do a lot worse on stage.
Haters. Dudes laughing all the way to the bank.
YES! Finally! I got my Affliction square on my bingo card!
Japan is fanatical about weird shit like this. But hey, I’d take Costa’s job. Seems like a sweet set up
It’s sexual and violent…I like it.
Soooo Ludus.
“Magic Mike Costa!” When is the Pincus does Costa porno coming out?
You know the thing I’ve always wondered with the Costa Haters… Since when does combat experience automatically qualify anyone to teach? There is a lot of bad mothers out there with a ton of street time that cant teach to save their life. Saying Costa is a POS bc he served in the coast guard and never saw conflict is BS. It’s not like he is bullshitting and ifs a case of stolen valor. Furthermore if you only equate time spent down range with what makes someone a good instructor! you might as well say that Enos and Leatham aren’t worth a shit either. Good on him for making a buck. Stop hating on success.
Exactly. I don’t get all the hate myself. I mean it’s not like Costa is claiming to be something he is not, right?
I mean Haley worked with the guy for a good while so that says something about Costa and his teaching abilities.
Heck I have been to the range and shot with former military and it was scary at how some of them, not all, are clueless about weapons and their safe operation. Scary!
Vic and Dellis
Not that I care, but maybe should. Here are some points.
1. He is not selling himself as a shooting instructor. If he did you wouldn’t know his name as he would have a tough time standing against just about any sponsored shooter, let alone a pro.
2. The military is huge. Some units have guys who can all shoot sub 8 sec El Pres, others have guys who can’t do it in 30 seconds. There is nothing wrong with regular units, they are just resourced and manned differently. Weapon skill is often a reflection of resourcing, trainabilty and command emphasis
3. I have never seen where Costa has stated he is something he is not, but he does create an illusion of secrecy, and alludes things that would cause the layman to believe he is more than he isn’t. Other people I have heard from heard him straight out say he was something he was not.
4. I think he is a great businessman and has a great understanding of the market. However, I was sitting in Vegas last year with some of our nations finest warriors, gunfighters and competitive shooters watching Yeager and Costa get swarmed by their Chogie boys. This included guys who could not only outshoot, out teach, and had the professional resume that had to go back to other rougher work because the high paying stateside tactical training work is overloaded with Costas.
This is an industry board. And if I was a Marketing VP at a firearms company, I would have him on board alongside the Lamb’s, Defoor’s, Panone’s, Miculek’s and Latham’s.
I understand what you’re getting at ninjaben. I have never trained with the guy nor have I the desire to do so. My view is he is most likely a business guy first and foremost, looking to make as much money as he can while he can for a secure future.
He is branding his name and while many may call him a “sell out” I would ask what does he owe the industry or just what is he “selling out”?
Perhaps it is as the old saying goes, ‘It’s not what ya know but who ya know” Eh?
I understand aa man has to make a living. However, Having had Costa as an instructor back in the day when he was with AMTI, it’s hard to take a guy seriously when he’s talking about “whackin tangos” and all sorts of other cliche crap that he’s never done. The look of the SEALS that were also instructing rolling their eyes and sucking their teeth in the back of the room as Costa spoke of exploits that probably never happened reeked of bullshit.
The dude could flat out shoot. CQB? Not so much a skill that he had experience with in the real world.
It is not about being a hater…it is about simply how ridiculous he looks. I was feeling ‘sell-out’ while watching this clip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vziUC1IT0wo
WTF did I just watch…Really??
I can’t stop watching it!! pew pew pew.
Ummmmm……..What the actual F is going on?
Can’t wait to see the James Yeager opening act footage.
Costa is the Justin Bieber of the training world…
This!
This is just Ludacris!
Well played, good sir.
I’ve actually paid for his instruction twice, Haley’s as well, and not cuz I thought they were celebrities. I’ve stood next to people in his classes who carry a gun for a living and watched those students grow as shooters because of what he taught them, speed/accuracy/fluidity. Which I imagine adds to their survival rate. I’m talking about pure mechanics, not just the run’n and gun’n stuff. So regardless of what the haters say he is making a positive contribution. If all the haters know about him they learned online or from watching YouTube I’m not sure that’s a fair or accurate measurement. My favorite instructor? No, Haley is. A great instructor? Absolutely. All I’m saying is don’t completely disregard the good someone has done just because he went prone in front of a camera.