SPRINGDALE -- Nicholas Perales is one Wounded Warrior who refuses to be defined by a disability.
Perales, a retired Marine Cpl., suffered serious injuries and lost his right leg while in Afghanistan in February 2011. Faced with a uphill battle of rehabilitation, he needed a proper avenue to help in his recovery.
Heroes WOD
When: Saturday, June 7
What: Two-person team Crossfit competition
Where: Arvest Ballpark
Notable: Hosted by Sheep Dog Impact Assistance. … Approximately 80 teams from more than 20 Cross Fit gyms in the region. … Retired Marine Cpl. Nicholas Perales served as guest of honor.
In a perfect twist, Sheep Dog Impact Assistance and Crossfit exercise was there to help.
"Guys like Nick, we met early on," Sheep Dog Impact Assistance vice president and co-founder Drew Gilchrist said. "We were doing Spartan runs and Crossfit competitions, and it was a team-building activity for our members, something we could do in between the disasters. Our founder, Lance (Nutt) was stationed in San Antonio and was going to the Wounded Warrior regimen and meeting those guys with prosthetics who were still in that phase in life wondering what's next in life.
"Nick was just coming out of the service, he was 40 pounds heavier and we said we're going to take you through an adventure race. And he was all for it. It turned out to be a 13-mile adventure race and it challenged all of us, but it showed Nick that life's not over and he could still do anything. And you look at him today, he's an amazing athlete, he does all the CrossFit and now he helps us through the course."
Sheep Dogs, founded following Hurricane Katrina and headquartered in Rogers, provides assistance to military, police, fire, and other emergency personnel and their families in times of need and also provides assistance to neighbors in times of natural or human-inflicted disasters. For Perales, Sheep Dog provided the moral support necessary to show his disability wasn't too much to overcome.
Crossfit did its part as well.
"I've been in Crossfit since my injury, for about a year and a half," said Perales, who is originally from Bandera, Texas, and now lives in Houston. "As soon as I was able to walk and get a prosthetic and get comfortable I got right back into it. So it's going on almost two years now.
"I actually got introduced to Crossfit when I was in the military, when I was in sniper school. So I knew what it was about, I knew the functionality of it and how it helped with performance."
Sheep Dog Impact Assistance and Crossfit have been an ideal pair for years, holding friendly competitions and fundraisers since the Sheep Dog inception. Saturday, the two came together again as Sheep Dog Impact Assistance hosted the Heroes WOD (Workout of the Day) at Arvest Ballpark to honor Sheep Dogs.
Perales was the guest of honor at the two-person team Crossfit competition.
"Honestly the biggest part of my recovery was with Crossfit," Perales said. "I got further along with Crossfit than with my rehab at the hospital. It's helped me mentally and physically beyond what any physical therapists could do. "It's taken everything to the next level, because Crossfit is based off functional movement in everyday life and that's what I need."
Perales has already won individual Crossfit competitions and even summited Mount Kilimanjaro in February.
"We planned on doing it (Kilimanjaro) a year prior to actually doing it, just to set a monumental goal. Just to say, 'hey, we can overcome anything,' and these limitations and people with these so-called disabilities, we wanted to show that if you set a goal then you can achieve it."
Sheep Dog Impact Assistance attracted approximately 80 teams to the Heroes WOD on Saturday from more than 20 Crossfit gyms across the region. The funds raised will help support future Sheep Dog programs and disaster relief efforts.
There's also hope that one day, Sheep Dogs can help Perales even more.
"We've taken Nick on, and his goal is open his own Crossfit box down in Houston and we've taken that challenge on to help him fund that box and supply the equipment," Gilchrist said. "So we're going to do fundraisers by corporate sponsors that will help him overcome the challenge of opening a small business of your own. "He's going to be our first test of us being able to provide disabled veterans with their own business.
"His story is so inspirational, with what he's overcome. Hopefully the next phase is we can help to put him in business with his own Crossfit box."
Sports on 06/13/2014