Praise for Richard Fierro came swiftly in the days after Nov. 19, 2022, when he disarmed and subdued the shooter who killed five people inside queer nightclub Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The town’s mayor described Fierro’s actions as heroic and credited him with preventing many more deaths and injuries. President Joe Biden called him to thank him for his “courageous actions.” To such leaders and the American public, Fierro had lived up to the highest ideals of service and patriotism.
But the craft beer world embraced Fierro, the co-owner of Atrevida Beer Co., with its own particular fervor. To them, he represented beer at its best: community-oriented, brave, and active in service of justice. When Fierro spoke to the media in the aftermath of the tragedy, he did so confidently, his voice unwavering: “I needed to save my family. And that family was, at that time, everybody in that room.”
It later emerged that Fierro is a combat veteran who was attending a drag show for the first time, and that his brewery’s tagline is “Diversity is on tap!” Facing flashbulbs and news cameras, he wore a black hoodie with the name of his brewery emblazoned across the chest like craft beer’s own Superman. Yet Fierro takes little pleasure in the role, reminding media outlets that five people, including his daughter’s boyfriend, Raymond Green Vance, are dead.
Fierro didn’t ask for the circumstances that made him a hero to many; no doubt, he’d undo them if he could. He certainly didn’t ask to be venerated as a paragon of craft-brewery ownership and civic service. But the grace and forbearance with which he is bearing the role are notable. As he recently told NBC News: “I’m not a hero. I’m just some dude.”
Words,Kate Bernot