How a Gold-Plated Desert Eagle Opened the Door to Hollywood

About this video

Colion interviews Monkey, founder of a custom firearms finishing company specializing in goldplating, engraving, and high-end coatings. Monkey shares his unconventional journey from nonprofit work in Mexico to Meta employee to opening a Seattle-area gun shop and custom shop during COVID, despite Washington State’s restrictive gun laws. He describes his philosophy of storytelling through custom firearms, his technical processes (mirror finishing, DLC coating, laser engraving), and his belief that beautiful guns serve as ‘gateway advocacy’ by attracting people who wouldn’t otherwise be interested in firearms.

Key takeaways

• Colion argues that custom aesthetic firearms can lower barriers to gun ownership for people intimidated by traditional ‘black rifle’ imagery, serving as gateway advocacy into the Second Amendment community
• Monkey explains his business strategy of blending aerospace-grade techniques (like diamond-like carbon coating over mirror-polished and engraved surfaces) to create heirloom-quality pieces that are both beautiful and fully functional for defensive use
• Colion and Monkey discuss how storytelling and intentional design—rather than pure commercialization—differentiate meaningful custom work from cash grabs, and how this approach has helped Monkey’s brand grow rapidly despite operating in one of the most restrictive gun-law environments in the country

Episode details: published April 10, 2025 · 40:28 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Colion Noir’s legal commentary reflects his positions and teaching, attributed to him — it is not legal advice. His defensive-incident breakdowns are his analysis of reported incidents, attributed to him.

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