Shotgun Sports USA
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Shotgun Sports USA
Derrick Mein: 2x Olympian in Men's Trap
In our latest episode, we’re joined by a two-time Olympian and world champion who takes us through his incredible journey to the Olympics for a second time. He shares insights into the rigorous qualification process and reflects on his victory at the 2022 World Championships in Croatia. Tune in for an insider's perspective on earning a coveted spot on the USA Shooting Team, as well as a discussion about the Paris Olympics and all that comes with it.
You are now listening to the Shotgun Sports USA podcast with your host, justin Barker. We talk to shotgun shooters from all disciplines, world-class instructors, gun clubs, target setters, vendors and industry-leading companies that fuel the sport. Make sure you subscribe to our podcast, leave us a review and connect with us on social media. You can also catch our episodes on ShotgunSportsUSAcom. Shotgun Sports is brought to you by Winchester Ammunition, alamo Sporting Arms, clay Target Vision, esp, rick Hemingway's Promatic Trap Sales, briley and Castellani USA.
Speaker 3:My guest today is a two-time Olympian in trap, a multi-time world champion and a two-time sporting clays national champion, just to name a few. His achievements have made him a household name in the sport. Please welcome to the show. Hey, glad to be here. Yeah, man, I'm glad to have you on. I was watching you on TV it seemed like just about a week ago and I think you did a pretty good job over there in Paris. Yeah, you know, I can't complain a whole lot.
Speaker 4:Um, I, uh. I went on a pretty big run just to get in that final and you know, when you make a big run like that it uses up a lot of fuel. I didn't have anything left there towards the end.
Speaker 3:What, so tell me how all this worked. Okay, you first off. Let's talk about how you got there. We've talked about this before, but there's people listening that probably didn't listen to the other episode. How did you get to the Olympics?
Speaker 4:Um. The first step was we had to win a country quota slot. Um, and I did that at the 22 world championships in Croatia. Um, and I did that at the 22 world championships in Croatia, Um. When I finished in the top four there, that got us a spot for our country to be represented at the Olympic game.
Speaker 4:Okay, and then from there I had to become eligible for the Olympic games, which meant I had to start in two world ranking points qualifying events, so a World Cup or World Championships, continental Championships, anything that's basically ran by the ISS. I had to have two starts and at one of those I had to earn some ranking points, which I did that as well when I won the world championships, Um, so that that made me eligible for the Olympic games. And then after that, I had to win our Olympic trial, which was 500 targets split over two matches that were like eight months apart, 10 months apart.
Speaker 3:Hmm, that's way more complicated than sporting clays. I mean, so you went to Croatia, won this championship that earned the U S a spot, but didn't earn you a spot and earn somebody a spot if you didn't make it.
Speaker 4:Yes, yep.
Speaker 3:Wouldn't that make you mad, if you didn't go?
Speaker 4:Yeah, well, you know, on the other side of it, in 2020 for Tokyo, I took someone else's quota that they had won. Ah, so it kind of it. It works both ways. Yeah, so if, if we just let you keep the quota that you earn, then I would not have gone to Tokyo.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's true. Well, that's just, that's crazy how that works and how it all, how much you have to shoot and trap just to get, just to win something. You know, we we talked about this the grand American. I mean, how, how how many targets do you have to straight to win the grand?
Speaker 4:Um, if you're talking about the clay target championships, which is the 16 yard single championship, um, it's gone as many as like 900 and some targets straight. It's crazy. So it's totally different game than olympic track, for sure, yeah, but um, you still still got to shoot a lot yeah, so you get over to paris.
Speaker 3:And have you been to paris before? Yeah, okay. So I guess you kind of knew what to expect as far as paris is concerned. But what about the olympics hat? When you got there, what did they have like a welcoming committee standing by the airplane?
Speaker 4:when you got off, um, kind of they had. Uh, when we got off the plane we had a uh, our own route that we followed. That walked us to where we got our credentials certified and, uh, that credential was our access to anything involved with the Olympic team.
Speaker 3:I guess that's. That's kind of a welcoming committee, I mean you get you know.
Speaker 4:And then once once I got through that and did the passport check and all that good stuff um then S Olympic Committee, they had a guy there to help us find all our bags and help us with any lost bags or anything like that. So we did have a team there to help us through with all that stuff. And then from there we went to the Welcome Center for Team USA and that's where we did the welcome experience, where we got to try on all the outfits and stuff that we were given by Nike and Ralph Lauren for opening ceremonies, medal ceremonies, all that kind of stuff, which was really cool. We didn't get to do that in Tokyo because of COVID, yeah, so that was a really, really cool experience. And they had they had mirrors with holographic images in it that said had your name and welcome to welcome to the team.
Speaker 3:And I saw that online. I didn't know what that was. That a mirror?
Speaker 4:Yeah, it was just a mirror that had little LEDs lights in it.
Speaker 3:That's cool.
Speaker 4:Now I know what it is.
Speaker 3:I don't know about the clothing being too cool, but I mean, that's what you expect when you go to the Olympics.
Speaker 4:You know a lot of it. This go-around was pretty good and it's stuff that I'll wear and use for quite a while, but there is some of it that's pretty hideous.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, I saw it. I was like, oh, I don't know if I'd have fit in any of that stuff, but anyway, so you get over there and you go to the welcoming committee. What do you do then? Do you have to like, do you go to your room and stay there for a while, or you practice, or what do you do?
Speaker 4:Yeah, so we got on a bus or a van and took a four hour road trip to um, the town of shadow roof, where our the range was at, in our satellite village, and uh, so then after that, then the next day, we, uh, we were able to go out and start practicing and all that fun stuff.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I bet that's. That's fun. I mean, do you you get to talk to all the people that's in there? Well, if they speak English, I'm assuming all the people competing with you. I mean it's okay.
Speaker 4:Oh yeah, yeah, for the most part, um, everybody can communicate a little bit through English. Yeah, so it's. It's, but for the most part, everybody that's competing in the current I don't know what you want to call it contingency of shooters, they're all genuinely pretty good guys, kind of like Ford and Clay's here in the US. It's a good group of guys and everybody's cordial and gets along and everybody's cordial and gets along, and for the most part they're not really afraid to talk about shooting or how they approach things and it's kind of a nice environment.
Speaker 3:Do you all hang out together over there?
Speaker 4:Not a lot. We will a little bit with the Aussies or the Brits, but not a too terrible amount.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so last, what was it in 2020 when you went? Is that right?
Speaker 4:Yeah, it ended up being 21 because of the one-year delay from COVID.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so you finished where in 2021?
Speaker 4:24.
Speaker 3:And now you're fifth. You finished fifth.
Speaker 4:Yeah, let's go around.
Speaker 3:So let me ask you this Is there plans going forward to do it again?
Speaker 4:You know I was already kind of planning to do it another four years, because in 28 it's in LA. So that was kind of the end goal initially anyway, was to try and and compete it at three Olympics, the last one being at LA. Um, but as close as I got this go around, it wouldn't have mattered where where the games were at I was, I I'd be out there trying it again.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah. Well, it sounds like you're making some progress, for sure. What did you learn, uh, this time, versus what you did last time? What was a difference? Were you more comfortable or did you figure something out? What was the difference?
Speaker 4:I was definitely more confident. I had built a lot of confidence over the last two or three years in my ability to compete at the world level and I think that was the biggest difference for me was having that experience of winning at the world level. It was like knowing that, hey, I can go do this. So that was the biggest part for me. And then having my family there, that was really awesome and it kind of gave me that extra little boost that you need sometimes to compete at your best. Um it just knowing that they were back there watching you kind of don't want to, you know, you don't want to miss because you don't want to let them down, kind of thing, you know, even though they're just happy to be there watching, um, it was definitely a little extra motivation.
Speaker 3:Yeah, did you do anything else while you were there other than shoot? Did you go see anything else?
Speaker 4:We walked through the Louvre and around kind of the main Olympic Village area a little bit went to the Team USA house um the day before we left and that was kind of cool.
Speaker 3:What is that?
Speaker 4:It's a, a building that the U S Olympic committee rented, um using sponsors to uh to have just a house dedicated to team USA, um, that people could buy tickets to go visit and they had their own floor and it had a store with Team USA gear, and then there was an upper story that was for athletes and their guests that they brought in and they had food and drinks. You know, it was just a cool experience, yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it sounds like it, and you're going to get to do it again, or try to do it again at least. So, is competing at a Olympic level. Is there how much? I don't know if you can describe it or not, but how much more pressure is it on, say like world fee task? Is there a big difference in the pressure?
Speaker 4:I think there is Um and I think it stems from you know it's a once every four year possibility at best, um, to get that opportunity to win Olympic medals. So it's such a small number of opportunities that you might have in a career, Like if you do it for a long time you might. You might get six opportunities. Yeah, um, you know there's a few people that have done done more than that, but um, it's just such a limited amount of times you get to go that it's. It adds a whole nother level of pressure yeah, um, we were talking about this also.
Speaker 3:Uh, trap, like you go shoot trap at a gun club somewhere, how much different what you're shooting is versus ata trap. Kind of describe the differences real quick on what?
Speaker 4:you're shooting in ata. So ata is just a single trap that oscillates side to side. It's always the same height and always the same speed, roughly 40-42 miles an hour. In Olympic trap. The machines are set at different heights and you have angles as wide as 45 degrees to the left and 45 degrees to the right, and then your straightaway target is plus or minus 15 degrees depending on the setting, and the target base has to go 76 meters at the height that it's set at, and that could be anywhere from 60 to 65 66 miles an hour, depending on where in the world you're at.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you got me when you said I didn't know that they changed elevations yeah, yeah, they're not all the same height, oh well, yeah, I'd have been out first target, I'd have been out. Uh, the guy on tv was saying that you know, some of these guys figure out the pattern. Maybe am I saying that right of the targets um, yes and no.
Speaker 4:Um, you know, over the course of a round you're going to get two less two rights and one straight away off each post. Now you shoot a target and rotate, so it's kind of hard. You can't really just sit there and remember the due process of elimination unless you try and keep track of the whole round, which can get to be a lot. Um, and you should, in theory, know your last five a lot of times. If you really keep in track, you'll know like seven of your last 10.
Speaker 3:Hmm, I don't know how you would know that, especially over there.
Speaker 4:Yeah, you know, it's just you like. For me, if one post has a really really hard wide angle target, um, I can usually keep track of that. No, when I either got that left or that target is gone and so that gives by process of elimination, I'll I'll kind of know what some of my last pass the targets are, but I don't I don't fret too hard about trying to keep track other than the really hard ones the, the last day that I watched you shoot.
Speaker 3:Uh, what did you miss? What target did you miss?
Speaker 4:um, that was, uh, it was like a 20 degree left, um, so not a very wide angle. The very last target um, that was my 30th target in the final um put me in a tie with the guy from guatemala and I lost the tiebreaker to move on yeah well, hey, you got fifth and there's not a lot of people say they did, they can't even go the olympics.
Speaker 3:So I mean you know that's the Olympics. So I mean you know that's.
Speaker 4:I think it's a great job. So you know, one cool thing is, I was the first American to make the final at the Olympic game since 2004,. Uh, when Lance Bade did it Um.
Speaker 3:I want to say they said that.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so he. So Lance is the last American to make a final until I did in men's trap.
Speaker 3:I didn't realize that that was the case.
Speaker 4:Yeah, we've had more or less 20 years of kind of sucking hind tit, I guess.
Speaker 3:Who is there? A dominating country in trap Is there a dominating country in trap.
Speaker 4:You know, um, for a long time the Italians were pretty good, but pretty much everybody in Europe, um, is pretty, pretty hard to beat. Yeah, um, it everybody's got one or two guys that, at any given time, can pop you a big score. Yeah, can get hot in the final. Um, yeah, which is really what it takes. Um, you gotta gotta get lightning in a bottle If you, uh, if you really want to want to win the final, I mean, everything has to fall, just perfect for you.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So, the guy that won uh, I didn't know this, but everyone that shoots sporting clays probably knows who his relative is yeah, what so the guy that won? What's his name? Uh nathan hale and he's related to john woolley yeah, he is john woolley's nephew how about that that's crazy. He was on it too. Let me tell you.
Speaker 4:Yeah, you know. So he. He also holds the world record in the final Um. Last year in Italy he broke 49 out of 50. Um, to set the world record for a final. And then what do you have? 48 out of 50. It's at the Olympic record. Yeah, it's crazy. I think the pre the previous Olympic record was 43.
Speaker 3:Wow, when was that set? Do you have any idea?
Speaker 4:Tokyo.
Speaker 3:Okay, that's a big difference too, man you think about it. Yeah, it's a huge difference, especially in trap. Well, you know, by the time you were doing all this, I kept seeing ads pop up on Facebook of a signature edition shooting glasses. I guess you work with Ari Ranger on what's, what's all that about. Tell me how that came about and what it is about.
Speaker 4:You know when, when I started talking with him about about using their product, um, the one thing that I told him that I really liked to have is a couple of different colors, different colors that were not in their normal lineup, and so they came up with the idea. They said, hey, why don't we just make a Derek mine signature series and you develop the, the new colors, with our engineers? And so we came out with the, with the dark amber and the light amber, and they're uh, they're a brown with kind of a red base, whereas the other brown lenses that ranger had were more of an orange base okay, so you can, can you?
Speaker 3:how do you get these lenses in these? So if you buy like a just a standard set of rangers, you're going to get their standard lenses, but you have to buy buy your edition to get the different colors.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I think at this time you have to buy my signature kit. Okay, they were going to use that as kind of a test run to see how they went in the market. So far I think it's been a home run. Everybody I've talked to that's tried them has absolutely loved them, so I would assume that moving forward it will become a part of their normal lineup. But yeah, at this moment in time they're available in the Falcon Pro, and so it also comes with a blue case and then a custom lens cloth that has a Derek mine logo as well as my signature on it.
Speaker 3:Is it your real signature, Derek? I saw that.
Speaker 4:It is.
Speaker 3:Does it come with blinders, cause I noticed you were wearing those too.
Speaker 4:No, it doesn't come with blinders.
Speaker 3:Does that help you out that much?
Speaker 4:Um, for me I have, uh, if I get light shining in backlighting my right eye, um it, for whatever reason, it causes my left eye to take over. So that's that's why I wear the blinder when I'm shooting trap, just to eliminate that from happening.
Speaker 3:Ah, my son asked me. He says why do they have those things on their glasses? I said he don't want to see the person next to him. I didn't know.
Speaker 4:Most of the guys are wearing them because at Crapfield, all we faced was north. What it does is it allows you to wear a lighter lens and keep it dark enough around your eyes so you're not squinting, which will allow you a more clear picture of what the target is doing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, um, so that that's why most of them will wear blinders I don't know man, 66 miles an hour going away from me, I don't know that I can. I guess you have to have all the advantages you can when you look into something like that my gosh yep. So not only did you have this Ranger deal come out, you also have something with elite shotguns going on now. That's pretty cool.
Speaker 4:Yeah. So, um, we, we kind of worked out a deal where, um, I'm working as a consultant for the Vero beach uh play shooting sports, uh club as well as elite shotguns, just uh, helping use my knowledge that I've gained over my years in the sport shooting sports club, as well as elite shotguns, just helping use my knowledge that I've gained over my years in the sport to help them better serve their customers. And we're really looking forward to to working at the club Some helping out with like the Caribbean classic. So that's that's kind of where that gig is going to be is helping them get everything up and running better and make things better, especially for our big signature Keep the Caribbean class down there.
Speaker 3:You going to do any coaching down there, or are you still coaching?
Speaker 4:I do a little bit of coaching, not a lot, my schedule doesn't really allow it a whole lot. Yeah, um, once the once I kind of get settled in. Um, I might, might try and plan a day or two to teach down there at Vero when I travel down there. But um, at this point in time I haven't made any plans to do that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, good, what is what has it been like since you've been back from Paris? I mean, have you had a lot of people want to talk to you? You had a lot of phone calls, what's interviews, yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I've done. Uh, this is actually my second interview today. Um, I did one with uh, actually with with Zach's cousin. Um, rick Carrera. He was a baseball guy, baseball analyst or something. He's got a show on Affinity Radio that's going to air sometime this weekend.
Speaker 3:Are you talking about Zach Keenbaum?
Speaker 4:Yeah, I met him maybe 8-, 10 years ago, um, but uh, he he's a really, really nice guy. Um, did uh, done uh, three or four other ones. Kind of slowed down a little bit now, but I've had a lot of people calling me how, how proud they were to know me and tell me I did a good job.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, I'm sure. Um, we were talking about this before we started recording this episode. What about Vince Hancock?
Speaker 4:Uh, I mean, he's an animal, he's a machine.
Speaker 4:I mean you. You can't coach what he has. Um, you know he's so dedicated to his craft that nothing's going to get in his way If he sets his mind on it. He's going to do whatever he has to to do it to get the job done. And I, you almost can't beat a guy like that because he's not whatever he has to to do it to get the job done. You almost can't beat a guy like that because he's not nervous or anything like that when he starts doing it. He's worked so hard at it that you can't screw it up.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean if somebody wanted to get into international skeet and head for the Olympics, I mean he's been there, he's done it, he's won it. I mean I just like you said, how do you beat somebody like that? You?
Speaker 4:know, I mean you. I don't know that you can, but if we're going to learn that game, you about got to go to him. His student I mean his students won two medals over there.
Speaker 3:I mean his students won two medals over there. Yeah, what about if somebody wants to get into what you do? What is the route they have to take?
Speaker 4:You know, the best thing to do is just go on USA Shooting's website and find where there's a club close to you and find some shoots to go to. That's really the best way. Usa Shooting will have two selection matches every year that are always posted on the website when they're scheduled. There's really not much other opportunity other than that, really.
Speaker 3:Well, what you got going on next here. Now that you're back and settled in, what do you? What are you going on here?
Speaker 4:um, I'm gonna go shoot the coonpecker open. Um, you know that's, that's become one of my favorite events of the year as it's got to be.
Speaker 3:You know, gary's asked me to come up there a hundred times and he's just tired. He's tired of asking me because I never go and he's like you need to come.
Speaker 4:It's just a really good time. You know it's a neat competition because you shoot a little bit of everything. But just the environment is very laid back, kind of retro to what we had in the 90s in the game of sporting plays before we blew up and started having all these 1,000 people shoots and 2,000 people nationals. It's just kind of a laid-back small group that has a really good time.
Speaker 3:Oh, I'm sure You're going with Gary. Yeah, you've got to have a good time. I don't know how you couldn't. Y'all are really good friends too, aren't you?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I thought I don't know how you couldn't.
Speaker 3:Y'all are really good friends too, aren't you? Yeah, yeah, he's kind of like a brother.
Speaker 4:Yeah, what's after that? Um, I'll go to nationals.
Speaker 3:You're not doing the regionals.
Speaker 4:No, I've got other things scheduled. Um uh, I guess the Hopkins is this weekend, isn't it this week? Yes, it's coming up.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so I this weekend, isn't it. This week, yes, it's coming up. Yeah, I wasn't ready to start traveling again, just wanting some time at home, yeah, and then I've got some other stuff here going on here around home during the regional down at Travis's place, and then the week after that we've got our bunker national championships up in Michigan. So I'll go shoot that and then the got our bunker national championships up in Michigan. I'll go shoot that, then the Coonpecker and then national.
Speaker 3:Yeah, the next I guess, four years, until this comes around again in LA, are you going to be hitting sporting clays pretty hard. Are you going to ease off, or what are you going to do?
Speaker 4:Yeah, I imagine next year you'll see me at quite a few sporting shoots. I'm going to take it easier from a travel standpoint on the Olympic track, maybe go to a couple World Cups next year, but I'm not going to hit it hard, mainly because there's nothing really next year that helps you get to the next Olympics. It's kind of what they call the off year in the Olympic cycle. So kind of take it easy on that to kind of refresh and regroup and get ready to hit it hard the two years after that to win quota slots and get eligible and get ready to win another Olympic trials.
Speaker 3:Did I see a long time ago that you have a trap field at your house now?
Speaker 4:Yeah, so we, uh, we got one built, um, actually got an operational the day before I left for Croatia in 22. Okay, um, we uh, we've just about got all the concrete poured finally. So it's been a been a slow progress, but it's it's really been a blessing in uh in my development and uh getting me to a spot where I'm competitive day in and day out.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's what I was going to say. I mean, you know, having that, I guess it's in your backyard, or at least right there close to you.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so it's actually down at the farm where I grew up. It's about an hour drive from where I live. It's kind of nice. It keeps me from burning myself out. It's one of those things that Promatic stepped up and really helped me with. It really helped me further my Olympic dream.
Speaker 3:So is there's not one close to you either? Either, is there.
Speaker 4:No, before we got that one built, um, I was having to drive to St Louis or to Fort Worth to practice, which is six hours six hours to St Louis and seven to Fort Worth.
Speaker 3:You really want to shoot some trap? Yes, you do. Yeah, so that could I mean. You know, now that you've got that, there's no telling what I mean. The sky's the limit. Now you know what I mean.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yep.
Speaker 4:So no excuses. Yeah, you can't have an excuse now.
Speaker 3:So but uh, I guess I'll see you at Nationals man. I mean you've been all over and I was going to say, if you're going to be at one of these other shoots, I'd probably see you, but if you're not going to be there, I'm not going to be at Coonpecker. I'm going to go to that one day.
Speaker 4:Yes, you got to. It's a good time. Yeah, just kind of something to think about and look forward to at Nationals is, um. I'm not sure what day we're going to do it yet, but we're going to set up something with Ranger and Elite in the Elite Shotguns building um one one day at Nationals um to showcase my uh, my signature series, as well as be available to uh to meet and greet. Um so that's something that'll be on the horizon there at Nationals.
Speaker 3:You talked about so Ranger and Elite Shotguns and I heard you mention ProMatic. Who else has helped you out in your venture in shooting?
Speaker 4:My family has helped tremendously my wife and daughter as well as my mom and dad. But Federal has been a big, big player as well. They keep me stocked with uh, with him, um, the paper ammunition and uh hard to beat, getting to shoot those all the time. Yeah the smell.
Speaker 3:They smell good and you know I was your wife posted a picture of your daughter. I could not believe how, how big she's gotten Right. I can't believe he's eight years old no, I remember when she was walking in, weathering her like a, like a newborn I mean yeah, well, I mean, she was what?
Speaker 4:four or five weeks old, at the cany creek, at the mud fest us open yeah, eight years ago.
Speaker 3:It's crazy, time flies man. Yes, it does crazy.
Speaker 4:um they, I tell you the uh. The other group that's helped me out a lot is Ultimate Shooting Accessories and Castellani, yes, and then Bill down there at Pure Gold Chokes. He keeps me well-tuned with my choke tubes as well, you were shooting.
Speaker 3:I think I saw those, had them hanging at you.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, yeah. The Champion Series.
Speaker 3:Yep, yeah, yeah the champion series Yep, oh yeah, you shot those for a while too.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I think I've been shooting those for six years now.
Speaker 3:I think you, if I'm right, you helped him develop them.
Speaker 4:Yeah yeah, that was something when I started pursuing the Olympic crap. I needed a shorter choke to make my porting legal, and so we developed the champion series I've been really happy with it Well good.
Speaker 3:Well, derek, I know you have things to do. I just wanted to get you on here real quick, talk to you about your, your you know your trials and and I appreciate you having me the Olympics and everything you've done. I mean, you know we're always proud of you over here, so uh, but I'll uh surely check you out at nationals for sure.
Speaker 4:All right, we'll look forward to seeing. All right, derek We'll see you, buddy. All right, take care. Thank you.
