Brooklyn Fosters Virtual Community for Charity with FGB6

Former Marine Matt Ufford is a freelance writer and has called Park Slope home for the past five years. Ufford is also a member of Brooklyn's notoriously gruelling CrossFit culture—the sport that combines weightlifting, gymnastics, sprinting, plyometrics, medicine ball, kettle ball training, and power lifting.

CrossFit South Brooklyn is one of the borough's local CrossFit training centers participating in Fight Gone Bad 6, (FGB6), an annual charity event that brings athletes together to raise money.

“We're hoping to raise $3 million this year,” said Greta Rose Zagarino, Vice President of Operations at the west coast-based Sportsgrants Foundation. Entrepreneur and Sportsgrants Executive Director Scott Zagarino has been successfully raising money for cancer patients and veterans for decades, including FGB's sixth year running. Monday's tally for FGB6 funds is already at $1,201,597.44.

“This was a fitness community that bloomed in the internet age. As a blogger, I first found out about CrossFit from a fellow blogger in Atlanta. Being involved has been a way to feel like a part of a community," Ufford said. "I run into people on the street from CrossFit now around the neighborhood."

Ufford is a successful blogger—his creation Kissing Suzy Kolber (KSK) focuses on humor-laden NFL commentary.

“It's a football blog. It's mean spirited, I use profane language,” the athlete admits.

Ufford has made it his policy to spend one week each year taking some time off sports commentary to raise money for charity.

Last year, he discovered the social media-based cause of FGB, a project run by the Sportsgrants Foundation. This time marks the sixth year of the event, in which over 11,000 CrossFit athletes from fourteen countries will come together to raise money to benefit the children of the 30 American soldiers who died when Al Qaeda shot down a helicopter in Afghanistan on August 6, 2011. The incident is the deadliest attack against US Forces in the war in Afghanistan thus far.  

Out of the 30 Americans killed, 26 men were part of the Navy SEALs Team 6 and left behind 31 children. The Sportsgrants Foundation is collaborating with the Special Operations Warriors Foundation to provide full four-year college scholarships for each of the 31 children who lost their fathers in the attack.

“What crystallizes it for me, was that two events happened close to each other,” said Ufford of his own motivation to raise money for the cause. “In two separate events, SEALs captured Osama Bin Laden. Then last month, the SEALs died in the helicopter crash."

He continued: “It is a privilege, an opportunity to give back, and to say 'thank you' in a very direct way."

On September 17th, athletes across the country will participate in the FGB6 event. The athletes will be arranged in teams, participating in CrossFit gyms, or "boxes" as they are referred to in CrossFit-tongue, across the nation.

As a veteran himself, Ufford, who left the Marines after being awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for actions near the Baghdad borders in Iraq, is always willing to raise awareness about the significance of veterans' role in society, and to draw attention to their issues.

“Anything that calls attention to the issues that veterans face, and to the importance of their role, is really important to me, and to the veteran community as a whole,” said Ufford.

Last year, Ufford was the top fund raiser in the nation, placing Brooklyn on the map.

Putting his blogging skills to use, the athlete set aside four days last week to devote his time to blog solely about FGB6, encouraging people to donate to his FGB6 fund, and pledging to reward donations with a variety of humorous antics.

“I'm trying to give back in different ways– I'm not just asking my readers for money, I'm trying to give them something, too,” Ufford said of the exchange.

“For me, it's a really hard work-out. In a fitness community known for gruelling work-outs, this is one of the worst,” Ufford said of the the exercise program that earned its name from professional Mixed Martial Arts fighter BJ Penn, who used the words “fight gone bad” to describe how he felt after completing the routine.

The level of extreme difficulty seems to encourage the 11,000-odd athletes raising money on September 17th. “It's part of the fun,” admits Ufford.

For those who wish to join Brooklyn's CrossFit community and raise money for the children of Special Ops, it's not too late:  sign up by Sept. 14th to donate or for a place in the box, and start training.