Kelly “Thor” Crigger began his career as an enlisted Infantryman in 1986 and went downhill from there. After sixteen years as a tactical Chemo in prestigious units like the 3rd Infantry Division and the 1st SF Group, Crigger was forced to pay his dues and manage R&D projects in DC. It’s an incredibly dynamic (read: boring) job that can be summed up in an old 3M commercial-“we don’t make the cup, we make the cup stronger.” Snappy. It’s a cushy assignment that’s taken its toll on his physique, which more resembles an Oompa Loompa than a tabbed former paratrooper. Crigger has an advanced degree in International Relations, so he’s edumacated (read: got diploma online from Jamaica), and when you combine that with all the free time he has sitting behind a desk, it results in a lot of extramural writing. He has a penchant for cool words used correctly in a sentence, so if you ever meet him and sneak nefarious, endogenous, or arriviste into the conversation you’ll make a friend for life.

In 2006 he channeled his powerful lexicon into his passion for MMA and became a writer for Real Fighter magazine. Since then he’s written for a plethora of MMA outlets and is now a regular contributor to Fight! Magazine, Fightline.com, and MMAJunkie.com (name dropper!).  Crigger met the RU crew in passing (read: saw them handing out shirts) at the 2007 Army Combatives tournament, but developed a relationship when RU graciously agreed to carry his book, Title Shot, on their website and donate proceeds to the Wounded Warrior Project. Crigger is easily the most experienced (read: oldest) of the RU crew, so he has a lot of stories to tell and sage wisdom to hand out. He aspires to make the jump from sports writing to screenplays someday, but is currently between representatives (read: agent dumped him), so that dream is in a “wait” status.