For Army reservist and media executive Ronnie Adkins, readiness is not a slogan or a seasonal requirement, but a continuous practice shaped by discipline, self-awareness and hard-earned perspective.
“American Marksman,” in collaboration with Funker530 and the National Association for Gun Rights, is Adkins’ latest venture. Examining “America’s marksmanship history and those still carrying the torch,” the YouTube show reflects both personal history and cultural concern. Adkins, a former high school marksmanship team member, sees the project as a return to a skillset once central to American identity.
“Culturally, we’ve forgotten that marksmanship is America’s pastime,” he said. “It ain’t baseball.”
Designed as a long-term effort, “American Marksman” places Adkins in demanding environments that require constant physical and mental readiness from remote wilderness to extended field work.
“I have to keep myself ready and stay responsible in my training to maintain that ability,” he explained.
‘Inches of progress’
Health and fitness are an underdiscussed leadership quality, according to Adkins. His approach to fitness is rooted in personal experience rather than aesthetics. In his early 20s, he found himself nearly 270 pounds, struggling physically as he prepared for deployment and for impending fatherhood.
“One day I leaned over to tie my shoes and it hurt. I couldn’t reach,” he recalled. “I was a liability to my team, and I was unhealthy for my new family.”
What followed was a years-long transformation built on sustainable change, but never extremes. Losing more than 100 pounds taught Adkins that progress is often incremental.
“Little wins each day, no matter how small, are inches of progress toward whatever better looks like for you,” Adkins said. “A win is a win.”
Today, physical training supports not just his readiness in uniform, but his effectiveness beyond it.
“Foremost, it keeps me mentally clear,” Adkins shared, describing a clarity that comes only through consistency and discipline.
For Adkins, fitness is inseparable from leadership.
“Regardless of if it’s military, civilian, or media, my job is to set an example to someone,” he said. “I can’t hold my troops accountable if I’m not holding myself to the same standards.”
Staying true to yourself
Even when Adkins became more well-known as host of “Military Mysteries” on the History Channel, his sense of accountability did not fundamentally change.
“It’s a job, a profession and not just a hobby,” he said. “I need to be accountable to the things I say and do, just like anyone else.”
Staying grounded despite Hollywood’s visibility, he adds, comes from remembering where he started. “The wiry kid from the trailer park in rural Virginia whispers in my ear every so-often,” Adkins said with a smile.
It’s a reminder that progress can be fragile.
Funker530
Adkins joined Funker530, the internet’s only dedicated combat footage archive, in 2020, stepping into the role of vice president with a focus on developing the platform as a business while preserving its original mission. Founded in 2008, Funker350 was built by a team whose collective experience spans decades of service and boasts millions of followers world-wide.
“I happen to have the pleasure of working with a whole team at Funker530 that have each contributed well over a decade of their time into the growth and development of our historical archive,” Adkins said.
Each contributor brings operational depth to the platform from small-unit tactics and indirect fires to mechanized infantry, airborne operations and law enforcement perspectives. Adkins’ role centers on intelligence and strategy, helping to connect individual clips into a broader global context.
“Our growth has been the result of the world finally seeing the purpose behind Funker530,” he explained. “As an archive of history.”
He pointed to World War II-era footage as a cautionary example.
“We sent Hollywood directors into WWII to capture positive footage for the express purpose of aiding the perception of the war on the home front,” he stated. “But what happened to all of the in-between footage? The reality? It’s lost.”
Funker530 fills that gap, not to advocate for or against war, but to ensure the public understands what modern conflict actually looks like and the impact it has.
Parallels in ops and business
Whether in military operations or within entrepreneurship, Adkins believes that risk is unavoidable, but what matters is how decisively decisions are made.
“Be deliberate,” he said. “In the military, commands must happen. It may be the wrong one, but you measure the risk associated with each outcome and make the best decision you can with the context you have in that moment.”
Preparedness and attempts at balance
Across military service, entrepreneurship and national media roles, Adkins has learned that preparedness is rarely about perfection and never about shortcuts.
“The Army has given me everything that life had set aside as not possible for me,” Adkins shared. “Although I can’t say that maintaining some semblance of readiness has been a driver for success, I’m absolutely certain that the U.S. Army was.”
While he was careful not to romanticize the concept of readiness, he was clear and direct about the institution’s role in his life.
Like many reserve and guard members, Adkins has spent years navigating multiple professional identities at once. He has been a soldier, entrepreneur, media professional and more, but he doesn’t pretend that balance is something easily achieved.
“I don’t,” he said when asked how he balances it all. “Balance is a never-ending effort.”
Rather than offering a polished philosophy, Adkins described a familiar cycle of ambition and equal strain. As goals come within his reach, the temptation is always there to push further. For him, acknowledging that tension (rather than denying it) has been key to sustaining forward momentum without losing his true perspective.
‘Go be great’
As he looks ahead, both personally and professionally, that principle remains central. For guard and reserve members balancing service, career, and long-term health, Adkins offers straightforward advice:
“Be deliberate and go be great,” he said. “You know what you need to do. Make it happen.”
Subscribe to American Marksman on YouTube.
