What Moves Us
What Moves Us is about the challenge. It's about proving to yourself and to the world that your mind and body can do things that were labeled as impossible. Whether that be beating the clock to that new PR, pushing miles more than you ever had before, hiking higher than where the clouds do, scoring that next touchdown, powering through the next 20 snatches, an impromptu game of warehouse tape basketball, giving that killer presentation to the CEO, or winning the annual plank competition during Swiftwick Time, we live to LIVE. Swiftwick is fortunate enough to have a family that shares a single focus, building the best sock on the planet and sharing that magic with the world. You keep pushing and we will keep innovating... It's What Moves Us.
Eric
Growing up in an active family in Ames, Iowa, my childhood was filled with running. Well, it was up until my sophomore year of high school, at which point I hung up my track and cross country spikes, in order to pursue a career as a ballet dancer. After ten years of prancing around stage as a spandex clad fork-lift, I took some time away from performing and exercise in general, in order to pad my resume and waistline. Many pounds later, a return to some sort of exercise regimen seemed a necessity. An old cross-country teammate reminded me that I had sworn in high school to never run another step, but I had to swallow my pride when I realized I would much rather run than spend another second on the elliptical machine! In my first year back on the roads, I shed nearly eighty pounds and in 2009, limped with blister covered feet, to my first marathon finish at the Marine Corps Marathon. When a friend recommended I switch to Swiftwicks, the blisters became a thing of the past. Since then, Aspires have cradled my feet to the finish line of countless 5 and 10Ks, 6 half-marathons, 5 more marathons, and 4 trail 50Ks.
Today, I spend more time chasing my beautiful wife and kids than PRs, but I still have plenty of demons to exercise on the trails. What moves me? My family, a good cup of coffee and a great, muddy trail run in my Swiftwicks!""
Ashley
I am a mother of two girls who was born and raised in Nashville, TN. Does not mean I can sing or play an instrument. However, I did write a song in the 4th grade for a contest that won. I had to sing this song at the Country Music Hall of Fame where it was put on display. I am big on family, love spending time with my family here in Nashville, North Carolina and Massachusetts. My girls are absolutely awesome! I have an artsy daughter and a princess daughter who both take after me. I have been with Swiftwick now for two years and titled Queen by Fergie. I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. I love my job here at the Wick!!""
Chris
Some of Chris' first memories involve bikes. His racing career started in mountain bike downhill, then Chris turned to road racing and crits. In the last few years, Chris has turned his attention to short distance triathlon, which means he is only willing to suffer for short periods of time, unlike the true masochists in the office. Don't let the short sleeves fool you however Chris can still handle a bike, as was proven in our first annual Conference Room Time Trial. Not only did Curb's win handily, he did so without taking any paint of the walls. "What moves me is being married to my best friend, spending time outdoors, and seeing 198 on my heart rate monitor.""
Jessica
Jessica was born with the bluegrass of Kentucky in her blood but learned her survival skills under the shadow of the Maple Leaf winters. These are the skills that have honed her competitiveness whether it’s on the bike, in the water, pounding the pavement, or doing all three, Jess always gives her all. As confused as she might have been as a Canatuckian, her conviction about Swiftwick is unchanging. Jess goes on to say, "Y'all, these socks are great, eh?"
Don't feel sorry for her but Jess suffers from Athletic ADD. She has completed a Half Ironman, several half marathons, countless sprint and Olympic tris, centuries, trail running events, and now is hooked on Crossfit. So no matter what sport you participate in, you're bound to run into this bundle of Swiftwick joy.
Lindsey
Growing up Lindsey played baseball, softball, soccer, and basketball. Even after high school sports and many college intramural teams later, she is still a sucker for any sort of competitive activity. Though tall at 5’11, running is one of those activities that she has always hated participating in; however, Lindsey admits that it makes a world of difference and much more bearable when wearing her favorite Vibe, Sustain, and Pursuit Swiftwick socks. “After having foot surgery in high school, my Wicks provided the amazing comfort I needed to help prevent extreme pain and swelling. Believe it or not, I only wash them like once a week, and still they never stink! Or so Lindsey says, the people that sit next to her might object.
What moves her is anything outdoors, playing piano, reading, and football. An alumni from UT- Knoxville, Lindsey is pumped about the future of Swiftwick as well as life after college. Her favorite quote to abide by is from the famous Ferris Bueller, “Life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look around every once in a while, you could miss it.”
Jay
The father of three active children and married to a bike and outdoor “junkie”, Jay’s mantra might hold true to teach the following: If there is no path, make one; if there is a mountain, climb it; a bridge, narrow, creaky, slick, or swinging, cross it; an obstacle, find the quickest, most efficient way to maneuver and conquer it without fear or hesitation. Jay enjoys adventure, culture and the great outdoors: trekking and climbing adventures are what moves him and his Swiftwicks right to the top of Machu Picchu in Peru, Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa, Canadian Rockies, US Rockies, Bryce Canyon, glacier ice climbing in Alaska, and any ridge or bump in the road in between. Fresh air, pounding heart, clear thinking, and most of the time, his hiking buddies, two Weimaraners, Crosby and Mia.
John
John is the lucky husband of Sarah and father of Larson and Austin. Since about age three, John’s nickname was “Crash.” He was always outside playing with a ball, bike or whatever he could find to keep from going inside...and he always find a way to get hurt.
While attending Baylor University in his home state of Texas, John fully lived up to his nickname when he was involved in a car crash that killed one of his friends and left his right foot crushed beyond repair. After a dozen surgeries to try and save his foot, John decided to have it amputated so that he could move beyond the pain and regain his life back.
Since his below-knee amputation, very little has slowed John down. He has competed in triathlons, been skydiving, acted in TV shows and movies in Hollywood (see Superbad...yeah, that’s John running past Jonah Hill on the track), traveled the world and been blessed with his beautiful wife and kids.
Hunter
Hunter is a former Cross Country and Track athlete at Bryan College in Dayton, TN, where he was part of the 2010 cross country squad that finished 7th at the NAIA National Championships in Vancouver, Washington, and before that a member of the 2007 Brentwood High School state championship track team. Nowadays, Hunter is working to replace all of his lifetime PR’s from the mile up before he gets too old to handle high mileage and loses what little speed he has in the first place. He does so trusting that the ASPIRE Twelves will allow him to train at a high level without risking calf cramps and leg soreness. He has recently begun riding his road bike consistently and plans on a triathlon debut in the next year or two.
Michael aka: Fergie
I think what moves me the most are my kids. Then, there is “fear”. I was 35 when my first son was born so as we all get older I want to be out there throwing the ball and wrestling around with them. I keep in decent shape out of fear of not being able to keep up with them. I love being able to compete with them. We got a weight set this Christmas so its Father/son time in the garage.
Music still stirs my soul as well. I've been playing drums professionally since I was 16 years old so I've got tons of experience with all that goes into that. I can still hang with the best of these young guns running around Nashville and I still get calls over younger guys so that makes me still feel relevant.
Swiftwick has been great for me. I came off a tour a few years ago and stumbled onto the job here and haven’t looked back. Now I’m in charge of my department and love the challenges that go with the job. The whole culture of Swiftwick encourages me to stay fit in body and mind, I actually enjoy my work!
Tim
Being a martial artist all my life, where I practiced and taught several different martial arts, mountain biking was just another way to learn to control my inner demon. Thus, about 10 years ago I took up mountain biking, which led to the purchase of a road bike and ultimately a CX bike to do gravel grinders.
My competitive nature is more against myself than towards others. So, doing ultra-distance mountain bike races and ultra-gravel grinders, where there are long hours of pedaling with no interaction with another person, is more of my forte than is shorter distance, more intense races.
My introduction to Swiftwick happened to be at a 12 hour mountain bike race where the owner would give you a free pair of Swiftwick if you would throw your socks into a bonfire. I was hooked from that very first pair and that was six years ago. The performance advantage of a pair of Swiftwick cannot be overstated.
This became even more apparent to me this year when I started running ultra-distance trail races. When you have 20-50 miles of running in one pair of socks, you do not want to have issues with your feet. Swiftwick has yet to fail me, regardless of the challenge, and for future endeavors, I look forward to pushing my body to the limits without having to think about my feet.
Lizz
Lizz, a recent addition to the Swiftwick team, is a 2012 graduate of Brentwood Academy. From a young age, Lizz has always been involved with team sports like soccer and baseball. But the game of basketball became her true passion early on. Her commitment to the game resulted in an MVP award in middle school and a Loyalty Award during her three years of high school varsity basketball. The lessons she learned from team athletics—the joy of competition, the payoff of hard work, understanding your role, and the benefits of working together to achieve the same goal--have served her well as a member of the Swiftwick team.
Being around her perpetually active and ridiculously healthy fellow Swiftwick team members has inspired Lizz to take up trail running. “It’s like dirt bike riding, which I love to do, except quieter and a lot more work!” With some disciplined training, she hopes to one day run like the rest of the Swiftwick team.
What moves Lizz: music, competition, and Swiftwick. Lizz has recently found a love for guitar and songwriting. Besides enjoying the challenge of learning a new hobby, she has discovered playing and writing music has a competitive side: she is always driven to write song that we will one day hear on the radio. Competition is something that will always move Lizz. She may not be a runner (yet), but she will join in any race (that wouldn't completely own her), play any sport, or compete in any game.
Lizz feels extremely fortunate to be part of such a great company like Swiftwick. "Finding this job has been such a blessing for me. I've made great friends, gotten into new activities, learned new things from the Swiftwick ‘culture’, and I get to come everyday to a job that I love!"
Matt
Matt is our resident loud talker (A.K.A Bullhorn) who is a former Captain of University of Louisville Men's Soccer Team, Scratch Golfer, and Ultra Marathoner. Matt enjoys traveling with his beautiful wife Bethany, playing soccer, cycling, golf and trail running with his 6 year old son Greyson, not to mention "Selling the best DAMN SOCK ON THE PLANET."
Matt won't mention this, but he recently knocked over an hour off his previous time in The Stump Jump 50K trail race.
Billy aka: Turbo
Swimmer turned Xterra Triathlete and Mountain Biker known, affectionately, here at Swiftwick as Turbo grew up on the war-torn streets of former Yugoslavia before retreating into the forest where he was adopted by a compassionate-but-dangerous pack of wolves. His new wolf parents honed his competitive nature and wild-man spirit before moving stateside where he went on to excel in, well, everything.
What moves Turbo is his love of his fiancé, family, dog (PEANUT!) competition, laughter, and GOING FAST!""
Grant
Grant is a self proclaimed has been high school grid iron star (although the purported video evidence has disappeared along with the beta format), wrestled in college and loves to relive the old days over a tall beer and a taller tale. He recently claimed the title of fastest down hill runner alive during Team Swiftwick's Championship performance at the 1st Annual Rock and Road Marathon Relay. He credits both Roy and Matt for their mentorship and his mother for the gift of great down hill running genes. Grant claims, "I'm pretty sure my two boys inherited the magic also, so look out in about 18 years!"
Grant spends most of his time aboard 2 wheels on both dirt and road and is a multi year participant of events such as Dirty Kanza and the local crit series. "I just like to get out there and talk a little smack before I take my beat down. Race leader back!"