THE boss of a Scots body armour firm has been shot, stabbed and slashed in one of his own bulletproof vests.
In order to put his product to the ultimate test, Sam Sarkar was shot from just three meters by a 9mm round.
The 35-year-old former Royal Navy sailor walked away smiling after being shot square in the chest then attacked by a burly man with a machete.
The founder and CEO of Glasgow-based Sarkar Defence Solutions said afterwards: “I don’t even have a bruise – it felt like getting punched.”
He travelled to Texas in order to test out his range of protective clothing, which is sold to military and police forces around the world as well as exclusive clients like the Saudi Royal family.
He even videoed himself getting shot with the Glock pistol to prove how safe the vest, which is designed for police use, was.
In the video, filmed last week, he starts by announcing “Today seems like a good day to get shot.”
He explains the firm wants to test how energy from a shot dissipates when the vest stops it, what trauma this causes the wearer and the reaction time a wearer would have to draw their own weapon.
He says: “Obviously we’re pretty confident it will stop the bullet.”
He then puts on his firm’s Tactical Vest, and straps another around his waist to protect himself below the waist, explaining he still wants to have children.
Sarkar Defence’s American VP Dean Kinder, a SWAT team veteran with 30 years experience policing Texas’ volatile border region, then takes aim with the pistol, as Sam stands a short distance away in the Texas desert.
He fires a single shot at Sam, before launching a vicious attack with a machete and a knife.
Sam stays upright the whole time and barely flinches, and is even able to demonstrate he hasn’t been hurt by producing a pistol from his holster.
He and Dean share a hug before Sam says “It was like a punch – I’m pleased with this test.”
The CEO goes on to say he will put the vest up on his mantlepiece, and shows where the bullet became lodged in the Kevlar layers.
As the video ends he cheers “Sarkar defence!”
Now back in Scotland, Sam said: “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. It’s like having a restaurant, you have to be able to eat your own food.
“I wanted to put my money and my life where my mouth is.
“I don’t even have a bruise – it felt like getting a stab with a spear.”
He admits a larger bullet, such as one fired from a rifle, would not be stopped by the vest.
He said: “I wouldn’t recommend anyone to do it. This was a personal choice – I knew it worked but I wanted to feel what it did.
“You can test it all your life but you won’t know what if feels like.”
Sam set up Sarkar Defence Solutions after becoming upset about what he saw as the shoddy quality of body armour being given to soldiers and law enforcement officers.
He left the Royal Navy in 2006 after being diagnosed with a heart condition, after serving in anti drug-smuggling operations in the Caribbean.
His Glasgow factory produces a range of items including full body de-mining suits designed to protect the wearer from landmine blasts right at their feet.
