Michelle Viscusi garnered a lot of attention when she made her appearance in “Top Shot” as a season four contestant. Apart from being admired for her performance on the show and her subsequent modeling job for Maxim Magazine, Michelle has a lot of depth and has worked hard to build a remarkable career. Michelle comes from a military background, where she first learned how to shoot a rifle and honed her skills, but it wasn’t until her performance in “Top Shot” that she decided to focus her energies entirely on competitive shooting. Viscusi is brimming with personality, with an array of tattoos, active modeling work, and owning a gun shop.
Early life and family
Michelle Viscusi was born on March 23, 1990 in Arizona, USA. While she has not shared any information about her mother or siblings, if she has any, she has revealed that her father was a police officer. Michelle was heavily involved in gymnastics throughout her childhood and became very proficient in the sport. It wasn’t until her father took the family to a shooting range and taught them all the basics of using guns that she realized she wanted to follow his path.
Education
As soon as Michelle enrolled in high school, she dropped out of gymnastics and enlisted in the United States Army.
Michelle wanted to be a police officer and eventually a federal agent, and thought the best way to get there was to join the Army National Guard, which she did at age 19.
Career
Military background
Viscusi served as one army police officer as part of border control from 2009 to 2011. During her military training, Michelle Viscusi discovered her aptitude with a gun and began to enjoy the rigor of practice and gun care. She told Guns and Ammo that “I also wanted to improve myself as a person and I knew that would happen if I did so many months of basic training. After more than five months of basic and AIT training, Michelle was able to join the Joint Counter Narcotics Task Force.
As a member of the border control, her job was more focuseded on observation and reporting, but it was while on active duty that she had the opportunity to appear on “Top Shot”. She even remembers the struggle she went through trying to make an audition video, while stationed at the border.
History channel
“Top shot‘ was a gun competition show that aired on the History Channel from June 6, 2010 to August 28, 2013, for a total of five seasons. The show pitted up to 18 experienced and professional shooters against each other, knocking them out one by one until one winner remained. The group is divided into two teams before the start of the match and is instructed to rate their skill with a wide variety of weapons.
The teams are first introduced to the weapon that is the focus of the challenge – which can range from a pistol to an axe – and are given brief access to a professional and time to train. The two teams then compete against each other and the losing team selects two individuals to send to elimination. The elimination round works in much the same way, with a training period and then a match, after which the loser is sent home directly.
Michelle Viscusi appeared on the show’s fourth season in 2014, but was eliminated in the third episode after her team lost a “Double Tap” challenge. Michelle then failed the elimination round, which required her and the other contestant to roll three wheels down a 10.7 m (35 ft) track by propelling them with shots and finally slugs.
Even though she was eliminated so early in the competition, this gave Michelle a first glimpse of what she wanted to do with her career.
Modeling
Michelle Viscusi started her modeling career right after her appearance on Top Shot. Her first job was a shoot for MAXIM, which she is very proud of. She also won the chance to be the spokesperson for Red Star Weapons, a path she still follows today. Michelle explained to Guns and Ammo why she is so passionate about her ability to combine modeling and guns, saying: “Modeling is great too! It’s nice to dress in different outfits and still be around guns during the photo shoots I do.”
Glok
In 2013 Michelle was able to join the Glock Team and finally started to find her way in her competitive shooting career. Since then she has won more than ten remarkable titles. She started in 2013 when she won USPSA Area Production 7 Division High Lady, USPSA Area Production 8 Division High Lady and Florida Open Production Division High Lady. She recently won the 2019 IPSC Nationals Standard High Lady. Her teammates are Ashley Rheuark, winner of the 2019 Back Up Guns National Champion and 17 other titles, and Shane Coley, also an ex-serviceman.
Defense Depot
Michelle Viscusi opened Defense Depot on June 1, 2015 and partnered with some of the top names in the industry to build a stable online business.
The company’s logo mimics the tattoo Michelle has on her side of two pistols arranged to form the letter ‘M’. The store carries everything from ammunition and gun oil to training and signing posters and brands such as Tartan Tactical, FireClean, and Atlanta Arms. Michelle continues to perform and give advice to women to make a name for themselves in the industry.
Private life
Family
Michelle gave birth to her daughter in 2014 and married her husband, Mac, whom she refers to as “the love of my life” a year later. They have since had another child, but choose to keep their family life far from the public eye.
tattoos
In a 2012 interview with MAXIM, Michelle revealed that her tattoos held a lot of meaning to her. While she only had six tattoos at the time, it’s very likely she’s gotten more since then. Of the tattoos she had at the time, the rose and gladiolus on her shoulder were meant to represent her parents, while the “Assist. To protect. Defend.” on her forearm represents her desire to be involved in law enforcement and use her skills to make the world a better place. The pair of weapons on her side in the shape of the letter “M”, on which is the Defense Depot logo based, she got it when she was 18.
Appearance
Michelle Viscusi has dark brown eyes and dark hair that she wears slightly longer than shoulder length.
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She has tanned skin and a toned and fit body – so it’s no surprise that she caught the attention of magazines like Maxim, who captioned her photo shoot: “Military cop Michelle Viscusi made the History channel sexier when she appeared on the show”Top shot.”
Net worth and salary
Michelle earns a remarkable salary for her activities as part of the Glock Team, describing her trips to shooting competitions to My Gun Culture as “There’s usually a pile of cash waiting in my seat, along with champagne.” She also runs a successful online weapons supplier, Defense Depot, and has a steady career as a model. Michelle has an estimated net worth of almost $1 million, as of mid 2020.
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