Sockwa Helps US Soldiers in Iraq Stay Fit

It’s always great to read a story with a good ending.  Here’s one such story.  A few weeks ago we received the following email:

Hello,

My name is CPT Matt Krakowski and I am a Soldier currently deployed to Iraq. We live on a very small outpost near Kirkuk in Northern Iraq. Many of our Soldiers here are very interested in CrossFit and conduct these types of workouts everyday. The only problem we have here is a lack equipment and personal gear. We lack a lot of the resources to conduct the workouts properly or access the personal equipment that can help improve our form, techniques and abilities. I am sure you can imagine that these types of workouts are crucial to our fitness, which in turn is crucial to our survival in this harsh environment. I was wondering if you would be willing to donate anything to support our Soldiers who fight daily to defend our country and are away from their families and friends during the holiday season. I am not requesting anything specific, but I was made aware of your company due to the popularity of your barefoot style running products with the CrossFit community. Either way, I appreciate your time.

Thank You

CPT Matt Krakowski

As much as we wanted we would have loved to send these soldiers some shoes (or something), unfortunately we couldn’t since the shoes and products we show here on the site are other stores that sell them.  However, we didn’t want to leave them hanging dry so we did the next best thing.  We put the good Captain in contact with some of our contacts to see what they could do to help them out.

Before I get any further with my story,  just wanted to point out a few things that might not be that clear from his email.

First off, in case you don’t know where Kirkuk is, below is a map.

Second, you might not be familiar with CrossFit.  Here’s the Wikipedia definition:

CrossFit is a strength and conditioning brand. CrossFit combines weightlifting, sprinting, and gymnastics.[1] CrossFit says that proficiency is required in each of ten fitness domains: cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, agility, balance, coordination, and accuracy.

Here’s a video to better visualize what CrossFit entails:

Anyway, like I had mentioned we put them in contact with different barefoot running shoe vendors and brands.  Luckily Sockwa answered the call to help them out.  Sockwa’s Director of Marketing, Danielle Lourie, was kind of enough to donate 18 pairs of Amphibians (be sure to check out our Amphibian First Impressions) to CPT Matt Krakowski and his unit in Kirkuk.  Kudos to Sockwa for helping out the solidiers out there in Iraq!

We wish the best to the soldiers over there and hope they stay healthy and safe.