The Vision
THE ENTRANCE
The gateway to Lanista Ridge — a commanding arrival sequence framed by stone, steel, and ridge-line views.
THE CLUBHOUSE
The social heart of the property, where members gather, unwind, and connect after time on the range.
THE OASIS
An outdoor spa pool terrace designed for recovery, relaxation, and open-sky immersion in the landscape.
THE THERMAE
Roman-inspired thermal baths offering contrast therapy — hot pools, cold plunges, and steam chambers.
THE THERAPY STUDIO
A private treatment suite for massage, bodywork, and restorative care within the wellness complex.
THE OFFICINA
A precision workspace purpose-built for human performance, capability, and longevity.
THE REFORMATORY
A full Pilates and functional movement studio, designed for elite conditioning and postural restoration.
THE SANCTUARY
A strength and performance training floor, outfitted for the most serious practitioners.
THE DOJO
A dedicated martial arts and combat sports floor, purpose-built for stand-up training and grappling.
THE ARENA
An expansive multi-use training hall for sparring, group sessions, and competitive-level preparation.
THE RESIDENCE
The primary dwelling at Lanista Ridge — a private architectural retreat integrated into the terrain.
THE PRIMARY SUITE
A master suite conceived for deep rest and total privacy, with direct access to landscape and light.
THE BALNEUM
A private bathing and spa suite within the residence — stone, steam, and stillness on demand.
THE RESTAURANT
A member dining room serving elevated cuisine — locally sourced, chef-driven, and designed for lingering.
THE KITCHEN
A professional-grade culinary space supporting private events, guest chefs, and bespoke dining experiences.
THE CELLAR
A curated wine and spirits vault housing rare collections for personal storage and guided tastings.
THE BALLISTARIUM
An expansive long-range shooting facility engineered for precision marksmanship across multiple disciplines.
THE CQB HOUSE
A close-quarters battle training structure built for tactical scenarios, force-on-force drills, and professional instruction.
THE WALL
An extensive firearm display and armory wall — a trophy room for the serious collector.
THE SITUATION ROOM
A tactical briefing and planning suite equipped for mission planning, instruction, and debrief.
THE WORKSHOP
A gunsmithing and maintenance workshop for cleaning, customization, and hands-on armorer-level work.
THE HERITAGE CAMPUS
A raw, elegant outpost of 10 canvas pavilions and an open-hearth communal kitchen, honoring the traditions and culture of the American West.
THE HEARTH
An outdoor gathering space centered on fire — designed for evening rituals, storytelling, and community.
THE CONESTOGA
A historic-inspired covered wagon lounge and overnight accommodation celebrating frontier heritage.
THE LAVATRINA
A beautifully appointed outdoor washroom facility serving the Heritage Campus with rustic refined design.
PERSPECTIVES ON GROWTH
Where peak human performance meets absolute self-preservation — a strategic view of how the sanctuary is built, defended, and grown.
Category leaders are built on three focus areas
The brands that own a category — Aman, The Ranch at Rock Creek, Soho House — did not win on real estate. They won on scarcity, programming, and word of mouth. Lanista Ridge will be built the same way.
I
SELL SCARCITY, NOT ROOMS
The product is access, not a bed. Full-property buyouts, invitation-only stays, and a managed waitlist make exclusivity the revenue model — and the marketing.
Aman and The Ranch at Rock Creek both monetize whole-property buyouts; Soho House turned membership itself into the product. Scarcity is engineered, not accidental.
II
PROGRAMMING IS THE PRODUCT
Guests pay for what only you can deliver: world-class instructors, longevity physicians, and culinary talent — relationships that take years to build and cannot be bought.
The land and the buildings are table stakes. The operation is the moat. Capital can copy a structure in a year; it cannot copy a roster or a reputation.
III
CONTENT COMPOUNDS THE WAITLIST
The first cohorts manufacture demand for the next. Among high-net-worth guests, word of mouth is the most powerful force in luxury — and it is unbuyable.
Cinema-grade documentation turns every stay into brand fuel, feeding an introduction-only waitlist that becomes the most valuable asset on the balance sheet.
Lanista Ridge can own the capability–luxury category
Everyone serious about tactical capability runs a rugged, day-use facility. Everyone offering luxury overnight hospitality is built around wellness and leisure. No one delivers a luxury overnight destination organized around capability — that corner sits empty.
The two worlds never overlap.
Serious capability lives in rugged, day-use facilities — Gunsite, Thunder Ranch, Operation Blacksite, Staccato Ranch. You drive in, you train, you leave. None is a luxury place to stay.
Lanista takes the empty corner.
The only luxury overnight destination built around serious capability — and it folds the wellness layer in too. No one else combines luxury, multi-day hospitality, and tactical.
Luxury hospitality is built around wellness.
Every luxury overnight property — Sensei, Canyon Ranch, Amangiri, and the luxury ranches — is organized around recovery and leisure. Their capability tops out at recreational wingshooting.
The luxury equation favors Lanista.
Amangiri ~$4,200/night with experiences extra; Amangani ~$2,200–$2,700 à la carte. At $5,500–$9,500 fully inclusive, the guest pays more and feels they got more — and the first mover owns the category.
Lanista Ridge can deliver on this opportunity in four ways
I PHASED CAPITAL DEPLOYMENT
Prove the brand before the big build. The East Campus — range, four tactical bays, ten pavilions, field kitchen ($2.2M) — earns from Day 1 ($740K net in Year 1) and seeds the waitlist. The $21.5M Lodge and the Legacy Ranch follow only once demand is proven, de-risking the full $23.76M raise.
II A PROGRAMMING & OPERATOR MOAT
The product is the operation, not the buildings. World-class firearms instructors, longevity physicians, and culinary talent are relationships built over years — capital can copy the structure, not the roster. This is the durable, unbuyable moat.
III A CONTENT & WAITLIST ENGINE
Cinema-grade documentation from Day 1 turns every weekend into marketing. Scarcity plus HNW word of mouth compounds into a global, introduction-only waitlist — the asset that makes the property a club rather than a hotel.
IV A MEMBERSHIP & PRODUCT FLYWHEEL
Convert the best guests into founding members with guaranteed annual access — a private-equity-like structure that locks in the most valuable demand. Extend the brand off-property through a curated product line for recurring revenue and asset appreciation.
There are a variety of strength and challenge areas
● STRENGTHS
- Genuinely unserved white space — no direct competitor to benchmark
- Differentiated, ownable brand, aesthetic, and point of view
- Founder with operating scale, Chief-of-Staff rigor, and authentic passion for both worlds
- All-inclusive equation reads as more value than à-la-carte Aman
- Phased model de-risks capital; strong modeled margins (45–69%)
● WEAKNESSES
- Unproven format with no operating history
- Heavy capital requirement ($23.76M, phases 2+3)
- Optimistic occupancy ramp (47%→76%) and ADR need validation
- Operational complexity — four 'industries' under one roof
- Key-person dependency; firearms + medical-grade liability exposure
● OPPORTUNITIES
- Founding-member / club structure for recurring revenue
- Off-property curated product line
- Corporate, family-office, and board-retreat buyouts (peers monetize 75–125-guest buyouts)
- Helipad and private-jet partnerships (Amangani already offers this)
- Multi-site expansion once the playbook is proven
● THREATS
- A capitalized incumbent (Aman, Auberge, an existing ranch) bolts on a tactical program
- Liability, reputational, and regulatory risk around firearms
- Macro sensitivity of ultra-luxury discretionary spend
- Execution risk on a long build with revenue concentrated late
- Permitting / zoning / community resistance to a 1,000-yard range
As founder-operator, I will have four focus areas
The goal: a proven East Campus in Year 1 and a Lodge netting ~$12.9M by Year 3 — built on an operation and a brand no amount of capital can copy.
I TEAM
- Hire the operation that is the moat: lead tactical instructors, a longevity physician, an executive chef, and an experience GM.
- Lead with servant leadership, radical candor, and accountability.
- The operator is the product — recruit and retain the best, then get out of their way.
II EXPERIENCE & PROGRAMMING
- Lock the parallel-track experience: Capability, Vitality, Hearth, Haven.
- Engineer acoustic + visual separation so the range is silent to the spa.
- Define the signature calendar — guest-chef events, longevity protocols, content weekends.
- Protect the 'everything included' promise.
III DEMAND & MEMBERSHIP
- Seed the introduction-only waitlist from Day 1 through content.
- Layer revenue: nightly buyouts → corporate / family-office retreats → founding-member access → off-property product.
- Price for the correct luxury equation — more than Amangiri, fully inclusive.
IV CAPITAL & PHASING
- Run the de-risked sequence: East Campus earns and proves, then commit the $21.5M Lodge, then the Legacy Ranch.
- Gate every tranche on ROI and occupancy hurdles.
- Target 2.8-year CapEx payback and a $55–80M asset.
The first 90 days: secure the site, prove the brand, build the plan
FIRST 30 DAYS
Diligence & site
- Secure / finalize the 350-acre site; confirm topographic and acoustic separation and 1,000-yard range feasibility
- Open permitting, zoning, and environmental diligence; scope firearms liability and insurance
- Build the detailed East Campus capital plan and operating model; pressure-test occupancy and ADR
- Map the competitive set in depth (Rock Creek, Amangani/Amangiri, Sensei, tactical schools) and define the ownable gap
- Begin conversations with anchor instructors, a longevity physician, and an executive chef
NEXT 30 DAYS
Build & seed demand
- Break ground / order the range, four tactical bays, ten pavilions, and field kitchen (~$2.2M)
- Stand up the content operation; lock the documentation partner and brand-film plan
- Launch the introduction-only waitlist; begin HNW outreach and founding-cohort conversations
- Finalize the launch programming calendar (10 weekends in Year 1)
- Hire the launch operating team — instructors, wellness lead, chef, experience GM
NEXT 30 DAYS
Prove & set the build
- Run the first invitation-only weekends at the 75% occupancy target; capture content and testimonials
- Validate unit economics against the model; lock pricing and the all-inclusive equation
- Finalize Phase 2 design — 20 suites, 5,000 sq ft spa, professional kitchen — and the $21.5M build plan
- Set the ROI and occupancy hurdles that gate the Phase 2 capital commitment
- Present the proven brand, waitlist, and Year-2 plan (20 weekends, ~$1.5M+ net) to investors
THE FLEET
A curated collection of vehicles and aircraft providing seamless on-property and regional transportation.
THE FOUNDERS
DANNY CARROLL
Danny has 10 years of cross-functional leadership experience scaling a legal cannabis startup from a single facility into a five-state operation with a $250M valuation. He began with two years as a Production Manager building out the brand's first cultivation and extraction facilities, followed by two years as Marketing Content Manager overseeing all social media and event production.
He spent his last 6 years serving as Chief of Staff directly to the company founders, translating an eye for high-end hospitality and luxury goods into premium brand execution while managing day-to-day operations, logistics, and multi-state business growth.
An avid tactical shooter and outdoor enthusiast, he specializes in operational organization, team leadership, and building elite business systems from the ground up.
He holds a Bachelors in Marketing from the University of California, Boulder (CU Boulder), with minors in Business and Technology, Arts & Media, alongside extensive leadership experience managing large organization dynamics since college.
MIKE O'DOWD
Mike spent over 9 years in Naval Special Warfare with extensive combat operations experience in Iraq and Afghanistan. He served as a JTAC, Intelligence Analyst, Lead Breacher, Communications Specialist and various other qualifications for his team.
He spent his last 3 years in the Navy teaching combat shooting and helping to develop the modern-day Combatives program at the Basic Underwater Demolition School (BUDS). He has trained thousands of military members, government employees, law enforcement, and civilians. Following his service, he transitioned to the private security sector to bring elite-tier training and protection capabilities to the civilian and corporate markets.
As the founder of Defense Strategies Group and Training Center LA, he oversees a collective of Special Operations veterans providing defensive firearms instruction, tactical combat training, residential threat vulnerability assessments, and tailored executive protection worldwide.
He has an MBA from University of California, San Diego and a Bachelors from Boston University and is the founder of Defense Strategies Group.
LANISTA RIDGE
