Some people are born with talent, others with desire — a rare few both. John Ralston isn’t a well known name, yet. However, when the world gets a look and feel of his custom made holsters, he won’t have a moment of free time.

Both John and I have been fortunate to have great mentors to mold and fuel our passions. John made his first holster 20 years ago in his parent’s basement and hasn’t stopped yet. He really knew he was heading in the right direction when his hand-stitched holsters started to sell. After purchasing a leather stitching machine, he had the bug for good.

Looking for guidance, John contacted Lou Alessi and a friendship was born. John credits Lou’s mentorship and support for his success today. “I would be 10 years behind where I am today if it were not for Lou.”

Lou introduced John to some of his friends in the industry, Josh Bulman, Matt Del Fatti, Mark Gerrity and Tony Kenaly. I have to say, only in this industry have I seen master craftsmen — who could look at newcomers as potential loss of revenue — take the time to help a new guy.

This year at SHOT, the Louder Than Words crew (definitely some of the cream of the custom pistolsmithing craft) cleared a spot in their display case for a few of John’s holsters. Their board met while at SHOT and voted John in to LTW as an associate member. If there was any question before, it’s answered now — John has arrived.