It's April of 2014 and I just returned to Boston after 9 months of traveling around Europe and ultimately hashing out a plan for Pedestal. After getting together with my family for my cousins birthday, they mentioned that I check out this organization called Inner City Weightlifting (ICW). 

Just a year prior, they were featured on ESPN in the below video:

On the very next day after watching the video, I connected with Jon and he scheduled my first training session with Angel. Angel had served over 6 years in prison and 3 months in solitary confinement. As you can imagine, I had so many questions for him and I became addicted to the feeling of getting to know his world. Although we came from such different backgrounds, we connected on many levels. We discussed various topics on family, sports, and exercise. 

A few days later, I was checking out their website and I noticed one of the guys in the back of their banner photo. Can you tell who it is?

It was Brendan, whom I knew from my previous job. We exchanged a couple messages back and forth about ICW, which ultimately led to us meeting up for breakfast. 

Brendan asked me what I was up to and I mentioned the idea of Pedestal to him and the rest is history. We have been back many times since and we want to help them on an ongoing basis. With your support, we can continue to make a positive impact on the lives of our youth and help reduce gun violence.   

Going forward, we will be donating 15% of retail sales to ICW and we would love your support on this mission. 

Much Love,

Mike