Miguel Caballero shot his wife for the second time in their marriage, but it’s not as bad as it sounds. He is the designer of a line of bulletproof clothing that is a hit in Colombia and Mexico called MC Armor, he was proving his product works by testing it on his wife.
The clothing is now being marketed in the United States, the line is based in Colombia and it’s stylish but also strong enough to stop .38-caliber, .22-caliber and 9-millimeter bullets.
He’s shot over 230 volunteers, including magician David Blaine, journalists, his lawyer, many of his employees, potential clients and even his own wife, according to the Herald. Caballero hopes his stunt will someday get him into the Guinness Book of World Records.
Three months ago, the 25-year-old company set up a distribution center in Miami to provide its bulletproof sports coats, safari jackets, and T-shirts to the United States. And heading that project is Carolina Ballesteros, Caballero’s wife (and shooting target).
In a promotional video produced by the company, Caballero feigns a count to three but shoots the mother of his children on two. “I swore to myself I would never do that again,” he says. “But she’s trying to open up the American market, and I’m helping her in every way I can.”
After the smoke had cleared, Caballero dug the bullet out from vest’s multiple layers. As always, it had mushroomed into a harmless lead curio. Caballero’s clothing line is being sold in gun shops, ten in Florida and others in Texas and California.
The company’s flagship product is a patented lightweight and flexible bulletproof tank top that can be worn discreetly under regular clothes. The shirt comes with different levels of protection, but the most basic model weighs about 2.4 pounds and is rated to stop .38-calibre, .22-calibre and 9mm bullets, with a starting price of $495 dollars.
Once the vest stops a bullet it loses its warranty, but Caballero provides a replacement free of charge and installs customers into his “survivors club.”
Carolina Ballesteros said she’s been impressed at the reception the product has gotten in the United States: “We’ve been selling at gun stores, to Uber drivers, to doctors, lawyers, professors, people have been very interested in the product.”
When Caballero started the enterprise in the 1990s, Colombia was one of the most murderous countries in the hemisphere, so almost everyone seemed to be a potential target.
But as Colombia has grown safer, Caballero has been begun to look abroad. With sales of $25 million last year, about 76 percent of his merchandise is exported. Now, Mexico and Central America are his top markets, but he also has distributors in Africa and the Middle East. The company recently opened two stores in Iraq.
Watch Miguel Caballero shoot his wife below!