Personal protection parties: How one Colorado woman is changing self-defense, one party at a time

LITTLETON, Colo. -- Move over Mary Kay, Tupperware, Pampered Chef and all those parties you reluctantly say yes to -- and make room for a new type of at-home party experience.

Kate Lusk, a Littleton stay-at-home mom with three little kids, says she has come up with a new niche for home parties -- selling self-defense weapons to women.

Lusk, who was looking to make money, said She tried the other type of at-home parties and found self-defense a much easier sell.

“Selling Tupperware doesn’t give my life purpose but making people feel safe and confident, and help their kids feel safe and confident is huge," Lusk told Denver7's Anne Trujillo. 

Lusk’s company is called Simple Savage Self-Defense Systems. She’s also a black belt and decided to use her know-how to help other women and their kids.

She doesn’t just sell the weapons, she teaches how to use them and other self-defense and awareness techniques. 

She knows moms feel the way she does. She’s low on her priority list, but said, “my safety is number one because if something happens to me, what’s going to happen to my kids?"

She counts on her friends and word of mouth to host personal protection parties, selling things like batons, stun guns and pepper spray. She has devices she sells to real estate agents that look like flashlights, but they have sharp barbs along the edges and double as a stun gun.

Lusk has found her message hits home with a lot of women, especially as their kids grow older and talk about getting jobs, or going out with friends. She finds some women also don’t feel comfortable walking into a self-defense store and asking for help. At Lusk's parties, they get to see and touch the merchandise.

I asked the women at Wednesday’s gathering if they planned on buying something at Simple Savage party and the answer was a resounding "yes."