SEAL grinder PT - Interviews Kokoro Graduate Joe Butera

SEALgrinderPT checks in with Joe Butera to find out what it took to make it through Kokoro and what he took away from the experience.

Joe aka “Boston Joe” is a tough cookie and has fortified his inner strength by standing tall in the face of big waves at Kokoro. Gather round Mates as Joe tells his story.

SGPT: Tell us a little about yourself and your background coming into Kokoro?

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JB: I’m 20 years old and planning on joining the military later this year with the intention of either going to BUD/S or the SF Q Course. In high school I wrestled,boxed and played lacrosse so I was always trying to stay in shape. I came upon the SEALFIT website when I was searching for ways to prepare myself and thought there would be no better test than the Kokoro camp.

SGPT: What was the hardest part of Kokoro for you?

JB: The toughest part of Kokoro for me was not thinking ahead to the next evolution. Its really easy when something sucks to think ” holy sh** I still have 45 hours of this”. I had to change my mindset to looking at the evolutions as just 1 workout and then breaking it down even further to 1 step at a time. Luckily I learned this early on!

SGPT: How did you prepare for Kokoro and how long?
JB: I first looked at the SEALFIT website in September of 2009 and it recommended at least 6 months of Crossfit before coming to Kokoro, so the next day I went to the nearest Crossfit gym and signed up. I worked out doing crossfit WODs 6 days a week from september 09 right up until August 2010 when I came to Kokoro.

SGPT: What is one tip you would give a candidate for SEALFIT Kokoro?

JB:The best tip I could give would be to break everything down as much as you can, make small individual goals such as just finishing the evolution, just getting to the next meal etc. If you don’t think about the pain thats coming, you wont psych yourself out. Keep telling yourself that “it will end and ill be fine”

SGPT: How does it feel to be done and what have you learned?
JB: It feels great to have done something so difficult. The biggest thing that I learned is that people are capable of so much more than they think. Kokoro taught me that no matter what the challenge is, with the right mindset, a person can overcome anything.

SGPT: Thanks for the interview, Joe and I look forward to seeing you at SEALFit soon.

JB: No problem, I’ll see ya there.