Club Q Survivor Rich Fierro's Brewery Is Trending Following His Heroics
If it weren't for Rich Fierro, the fatal shooting that took place at a Colorado LGBTQ+ nightclub on November 19 could have yielded even more casualties. The Army veteran, who served for 15 years in Iraq and Afghanistan, told The New York Times that he "went into combat mode" to protect his family and fellow patrons.
After the gunman opened fire and killed five people — injuring at least 25 others, including Fierro and his wife and daughter — Fierro tackled him and detained his weapon. "I have never encountered a person who engaged in such heroic actions and was so humble about it," Colorado Mayor John Suthers told the Times.
Club Q expressed gratitude for "the quick reactions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack" in a Facebook statement on November 20. While Fierro wasn't the only patron who helped detain the gunman, he's rightfully getting a lot of attention for his heroics. And by extension, his Colorado-based brewery is also getting some time in the limelight.
Fierro co-owns Atrevida Beer Company
In addition to his newly minted status as a local hero, Rich Fierro's primary designation is co-owner of Atrevida Beer Company in Colorado Springs. Founded by his wife, Jess (a one-time winner of Viceland's national home-brewing competition "Beerland"), the brewery is dedicated to "demonstrating diversity in everything it does" and "challenging the standard definition of craft beer," per its website. Its rotating tap list highlights a variety of "cerveza artisenal," or Mexican craft beer.
The brewery, which has more than 45,000 followers on Instagram, was already popular before Fierro's name started appearing in national headlines. "Latino breweries are so far and few between," said David Favela, who's collaborated with the Fierro family on Mexican craft brews, per The San Diego Union-Tribune. Favela told the paper that he wasn't surprised by Fierro's heroic actions, and that he's a "a solid family man" who is "very humble and hardworking."