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The rideshare industry has just been shaken up by a new Black-owned company that is rapidly expanding to major cities around the country including Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, Nashville, Phoenix, and many other locations.

BlackWolf, like Uber and Lyft, is a rideshare app that will take you anywhere you need to go. The kicker is this service has drivers who are armed with guns. But they aren’t just the typical Joes with firearms, the company claims that they only hire law enforcement officers, veterans, and others who have worked in the private security sector for at least four years, according to the company’s website.

As for how they screen potential drivers, the founder, Kerry KingBrown, told USA Today that they perform a detailed background check, reviewing documentation from the law enforcement or military agency that the potential employee previously worked at.

Founded by KingBrown in May 2023, he was inspired to start the company during a unique encounter with a female client who alleged that she had previously been a victim of sex trafficking.

This happened while he was working as a private investigator. He shared in an interview with Houston Public Radio, “She was trafficked for three years and [during] the last couple of months that I had with this particular client, she told me to create a transportation system for herself and her daughter.”

Initially, KingBrown only transported women and children who were victims of domestic violence or trafficking. Now, he’s made his special rideshare service to anyone who wants that extra sense of security while driving.

Currently, the app has more than 300,000 users nationwide and will be expanding to some of the biggest cities in Texas such as Austin, Houston, and Dallas by the end of 2025 according to KingBrown.

But how have they been able to get so many users after only a year? KingBrown gives all the credit to social media, specifically TikTok, telling Houston Public Radio, “TikTok has given us a boost of a lifetime. When we started in May [2023] we probably had a thousand followers. By the time we got to December, we were well over 200,000. … The biggest thing is the concept we’ve created. It’s the realness in every video we put out. We think like how the people think because we’re a people-driven business.”