Man who became millionaire after shooting himself 192 times says people think he's stupid

A guy who voluntarily shot himself almost 200 times admitted that many people think he’s ‘stupid’ because of his actions.

Richard Davis, an ex-marine who features in a new documentary, would happily film himself firing a gun point-blank into his chest - but it was all for a very good reason. You can see a trailer for the documentary here.

In one clip, Davis can be seen casually handing his keys over to another man just in case things didn’t quite go to plan, before turning a .44 Magnum on his chest and announcing: “A lot of people think I’m kind of stupid for doing this.”

He then turns the gun on himself, before saying: “Easy as pie, guys!”

If you’re wondering how Davis was around to make such a statement, it’s because he was the inventor of the modern-day bulletproof vest and, in efforts to check that it worked as well as he’d like, he shot himself a whopping 192 times.

Davis has previously said he was inspired to create the body amour after being involved in a shoot-out with some criminals where he sustained injuries to his head and leg. As good a reason as any, I guess.

Showtime

Davis introduced a new material named Zylon to his body armour and handed 100,000 units to police forces - this later backfired when the vests were branded potentially defective by National Institute of Justice, which urged law enforcement agencies to stop using them and replace them.

However, it didn’t appear to do any harm to the company as just a couple of months later Davis’ company Second Chance was acquired by Amor Holdings Inc for $45 million.

A new documentary - 2nd Chance - lifts the lid on Davis’ incredible life, which also saw him producing a bunch low-budget flicks enjoyed by cops in the US.

Showtime

In an interview with the Guardian, 2nd Chance director and writer Ramin Bahrani said: “The first time I saw the footage of Richard pointing a gun to his chest and just shooting point blank – your eyes pop out when you see that.

“And of course he did it almost 200 times. In addition to that, he was also a film-maker. He made lots of kinds of movies: propaganda, marketing, comedy. The marketing of it was very inventive and intriguing. He had a magazine called Sex and Violence, so he was very clear on what he thought would sell his product.

“It worked: he went from an out-of-work pizzeria owner to running a multimillion dollar company.”

2nd Chance is currently screening in US cinemas - a UK release date is yet to be announced.