About us

Hello to all, My name is Dustin Friday, and I am the proud owner and founder of 1St Class Defense, formerly known as Chubby Fella’s Firearm Academy. I am a proud NRA certified Range Safety Officer, Basic Pistol, CCW, & Shotgun instructor. I am a steadfast believer that a well-armed society is a polite society and that it is the responsibility of all Americans to understand the tools directly linked with the amendment securing our right to own these equalizers. 

I grew up in rural Illinois, receiving my first BB gun when I was five. This was when my father started to teach me about gun safety. I would not understand up until my mid-twenties how exceptional of a foundation my father had given me. At six I had been gifted my first .22LR and on my tenth birthday, my parents bought me my first shotgun. Guns have always been a very large part of my life, and there was a time when I was naïve enough to think everyone knew how to handle these tools. 

The Marine Corps is where I first started to understand that there are people from different walks of life that may have never seen a gun in person, let alone shot one. Years later, after I had left the service, there started to be opportunities that would pop up to help folks out. Weather it was to help decide what kind of gun is right, to being there with them through range sessions; I started to see an opportunity to put my money where my mouth is when it comes to promoting education and safety and doing what I can to ensure the continuance and growth of our freedoms.

I started this academy back in 2020 to help those people that may feel uncomfortable or have had little to no experience with firearms. Over a number of recient years, there been over 5 million first-time gun buyers, yearly. I absolutely love to see so many Americans exercising their rights, and I want to provide a source to those that are looking for proper training. My wife and I chose to move to Iowa to be a part of a community that is there for each other. I want to offer up my experience and background to help my fellow community members to be safe, legal, and well-informed firearm owners.