Will Dean

Chief Executive Officer

Our fearless leader and one half of the founding fathers of Tough Mudder. Will spends his day talking loudly to journalists on the phone, pouring over giant spreadsheets, and worrying what mayhem the rest of us have caused. He is always coming up with wacky new business ideas and cunning marketing plans supposedly designed to ensure Tough Mudder has completely taken over the world within 5 years.

An Englishman, Will spent 5 years in the Middle East and South Asia chasing terrorists for the British Government before getting it into his head that an American MBA would be a good thing to do. Finding himself with a lot of time on his hands at the Harvard Business School, he decided to do a marathon and then a triathlon. On reflection, both seemed a little pointless, boring, and antisocial and mainly a test of how much time he had to spend training. Other events out there were either crazy expensive, hard to get to, took a long time, or just plain lame. When not searching the globe for crazy new ideas for Tough Mudder, Will likes riding his bike around Brooklyn and watching classic British sitcoms at home with a beer.

Guy Livingstone

Chief Operating Officer

Tough Mudder’s other founding father, Guy Livingstone, serves as Chief Operating Officer with responsibility for Tough Mudder’s legal, finance, and event operations (site search, obstacle construction & innovation, and event production) divisions. From building systems to tracking operations costs to building relationships with TM’s new venue partners, it is Guy’s job to make sure the business is firing on all cylinders with nothing falling through the cracks (unless falling through cracks is the point of an obstacle that the OCI team is designing).

Hailing from sunny England, Guy somehow found time to train as an attorney with leading global law firm Allen & Overy LLP while juggling month-long journeys to every corner of the world. Prior to joining Will in the creation of Tough Mudder, Guy was camped out in the Middle East learning Arabic and taming camels. Outside of TMHQ, Guy is most happy trekking in the mountains (which explains his annoyingly cheerful attitude when hiking up black diamond ski trails during ‘field testing’ of Tough Mudder’s mountain events).

Alex Patterson

Alex jumps like a frog from overseeing Tough Mudder’s marketing strategy to managing the company’s legal issues (wearing his second hat as In-House Counsel). Come event day, he throws the computer out the window and picks up the microphone, sending off Mudders to their doom as TM’s start line announcer and then overseeing the afternoon debauchery as the Dos Equis Post-Party emcee.

Born and raised in downtown Brooklyn, Alex studied political science and economics at Harvard College, pursued a law degree at the University of Virginia, and then spent two years exploring the intricacies of the federal tax code as an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP in midtown Manhattan. A fraternal twin, long-distance swimmer, and triathlete, Tough Mudder’s Chief Creative Officer & In-House Counsel plans to test out each and every course to make sure that each is Tough Enough to withstand any false advertising claims! When not at work, Alex can be found training in the pool, making rap beats on his computer, or on his way to the airport for one of his globe trotting surfing adventures.

Ashley Ellefson

From the initial planning meeting months before event day to reassigning a rogue volunteer moments before the first start wave goes off, wherever there is a Tough Mudder, Ashley will be there, making it happen. Wherever there is a band who thinks they are good enough to rock the Dos Equis Post-Party, Ashley will be there. Wherever there is a financial review meeting to chair, Ashley will be there. And whenever there is TMHQ karaoke, Ashley will be there.

Upon graduating from UCLA in 2007 Ashley quickly hopped on a plane heading for the tiny country of New Zealand with the intent of bartending, befriending some Kiwis, and doing some bungy jumping. Though she may not have set foot behind a bar – at least not as an official bartender – she did accomplish goals number 2 and 3. So enthralled by the country, Ashley extended her stay from 6 months to 18 months, working in event planning and learning to drive on the wrong side of the road along the way. A victim of her own wanderlust, Ashley spent the last few years traveling the world in search of the perfect adrenaline rush. And there is not a lot she hasn’t tried: from bungy jumping the 3rd highest jump in the world to rafting down a 7 meter waterfall to mustering sheep on horseback to playing with tigers to climbing glaciers to surfing to sailing.

Realizing that her passion for adventure activities like skydiving and scuba diving don’t come cheap and require one to have an income, Ashley decided to chase down another one of her crazy dreams and moved to New York City last fall in search of that elusive “job.” Tough Mudder, with its insane obstacles and reputation for pushing boundaries seemed like just the right fit. When she’s not organizing Tough Mudder volunteers and making sure that event day runs as smoothly (and as muddy) as possible, Ashley spends her time doing yoga and perfecting her latte art skills. And she challenges any Tough Mudder who thinks yoga isn’t tough enough to try and beat her Kapotasana. Google it Mudders, Google it.

Nolan Kombol

Like wandering bison searching for the choicest watering hole, Nolan and the mighty Tough Mudder truck roam far and wide to find the best spots for Tough Mudder and then mark the course out like a pro. He calls the office daily to report on his findings and whether or not he has been to Dairy Queen that day.

Hailing from the great Pacific Northwest, Nolan made his way into the world in the shadows of Mt. Rainier and quickly took to any and all outdoor activities. As an avid outdoorsman, he found the transition from lush mountains to sand dunes challenging when he took off for Arizona State University to become a Sun Devil. After spending 4 years studying History, Nolan decided it was time to see it for real and went to the old continent, in Ireland, where he acquired useful experience in mud matter before moving to the big city. There he worked for Skram Media in ad sales and production, occasionally assisting Tough Mudder with computer and printer issues. One could say it was love at first print, and the Mudder, like a siren on a distant shore, slowly lured Nolan away.

Nolan enjoys long drives through the mountains, big trucks, gun shopping at Fred Meyer, and eating ham and butter sandwiches with a tall frosty glass of whole milk.

Hunter Manchak

Hunter leads the Obstacle Construction and Innovation group, which spends its time designing and building awesome new obstacles to roll out at each event. In addition, Hunter stays busy planning World’s Toughest Mudder, researching questions like how far a man can free-fall without breaking his legs, at what degrees Celsius human blood freezes solid, and when the permafrost melts off the tundra (hint: never). When not doing the above, he pines for Nolan and the outdoors, which is redundant.

Hunter’s love for athletics and the outdoors were born out of the mean streets of Denver, Colorado, where it was not uncommon for neighborhood games of stickball to stretch well past 7pm. Participating mostly in team sports throughout young adulthood, Hunter transitioned to individually-minded athletics upon moving to New York City. While working for the NYC Triathlon, Hunter competed in various road races and triathlons before growing weary of the regimentation of the necessary training.

Enter Tough Mudder, which combines the fellowship of team sports with the personal achievement of a triathlon. Perfect world. Hunter spends his days in the office straddling between event planning and new business opportunities, and is the only staff member to have successfully completed all past Tough Mudders.

Off the clock, Hunter can be found playing intramural dodgeball, poring over the NY Times crossword, attending local Indie Rock shows, or in the kitchen attempting to pack more spice into various ginger-based beverages: ask about the Van Veen or the Sweet Sassy Molassey!

Antonia Clark

After graduating from Williams College with a useful major in English, Antonia moved back home to NYC and entered the real world ready to think about things and also to talk about them. Unable to be a professional sweet laxer, she decided that exploring her options and blogging about her feelings might be the way to go.

Unfortunately, l-i-v-i-n was not really a j-o-b, so Antonia joined Operation Sail, where she worked with the Navy, planning an international sailing event. While Antonia has always been a sailor, she missed the fun of team sports. She signed up for Tough Mudder Tri-State, kicked ass (or had her ass kicked), and a week later signed on to the Tough Mudder Team.

During her time off, Antonia enjoys reading intellectual books in public spaces, going to the first half of concerts, and walking her dogs.

Megan Ryan

On event day, you can find Megan making sure registration runs smoothly. At TMHQ, she’s part of the events crew, where, among other things, she helps wrangle volunteers and whip them into a crack team of Tough Mudder staff. As office manager, she makes sure the bills (and the staff) get paid. Then she tops the day off some customer service emails over a cool glass of cherry limeade.

Straight out of Maryland, Megan went to college at Middle Tennessee State University, where she was active in the southern sorority scene [**Editor's Note: she was president of her sorority but didn't write it because she's new here and hasn't become comfortable with office bragging.] She also completely changed the local public’s perception of people named Meg Ryan. After graduating in 2008 with a degree in Recording Industry Management, she returned to the south to achieve Master status- not just in life, but also in Sport and Entertainment Management at the University of South Carolina. After graduating, Megan moved to NYC for good to pursue a career in events at Tough Mudder.

In her free time, Megan enjoys frequenting flea markets, spending time outdoors, seeing live music, and exploring everything New York has to offer.

Nicole Puhl

Hailing from the Land of Oz, Nicole originally came to New York to pursue a sparkling career in finance. Upon graduating from Saint Louis University she began working for Lehman Brothers where she effectively triggered a global recession in 2008. After Lehman’s demise, Nicole spent time at other firms trading around Exchange Traded Funds markets and using as many acronyms as economically possible. Ultimately she decided that she wanted to combine love of complex Excel formulas with the great outdoors.

Here at Tough Mudder, Nicole is our Head of Customer Programs, and she also helps with new business ventures and general web stalking. At events you can find Nicole milling around the Registration tent and sporting a Hard Rock London fanny pack full of zip-ties and duct tape.

When she’s not cruising around the country or crunching numbers for Tough Mudder, you can find Nicole running the East River path with Antonia while sporting Tough Mudder headbands (seriously, 6:15 a.m. on weekdays—join ‘em!), practicing some yoga, and cheering obnoxiously for the Kansas Jayhawks (“Mario Chalmers for the threeeeee!”).

Daniella Sloane

Daniella comes from Philadelphia (talk about Tough!) and graduated from Dartmouth College. She quickly grew embarrassed about graduating with a degree in Geography and not knowing most state and national capitals, so Daniella spent a few months actually traveling back and forth across the maps that everyone thinks she likes to make. These days, she’s turning into a proud Brooklynite, making things happen with Tough Mudder and changing the world one mud-covered maniac at a time.

When she’s not doing that, Daniella likes dancing, rollerskating with her little sister, and trying to make peace between two black-and-white cats.

Dan Weinberg

Dan is to sports business what Michael Jordan is to sports (OK, fine, maybe a Freshman-year-UNC version of Jordan). At Tough Mudder, he prospects leading companies interested in partnering with Probably the Toughest Event on the Planet.

Dan got his first taste of sports business in college, as an intern at NASCAR. After graduating from West Virginia University, he entered the trainee program at Velocity Sports and Entertainment, where he learned the ins and outs of sponsorship under some of the best in the business. On a leap of faith, in 2007 he joined Beach Tennis USA where he headed up their Marketing/Sales growing the companies number of tour events/sponsors. Bored of getting tan on America’s best beaches, in early 2010 he moved to the Big Apple as Director of Business Development at Elite Marketing Group, where he worked with top notch clients such as Twinlab, Party City, Black & Decker, etc… on their event activation.

During events he can be found assisting with event operations and schmoozing with event sponsors (with a Dos Equis in hand, of course). In the office, he’s basically on the phone non-stop. Weekends you can catch him (or at least try) driving the lane playing pick-up basketball or bombing mountains on his snowboard.

Jesse Bull

Jesse recently joined Tough Mudder’s team to help bring Probably the Toughest Event on the Planet to the farthest corners of the earth.

Jesse grew up in Nashville and graduated from Brown University with a degree in English Literature. Finding himself in New York City, he bussed tables until landing a job working the graveyard shift as an assistant editor on a TV show about high school basketball and ice fishing. After the show was completed, he jetted off to Beijing for six months to eat dumplings and improve his karaoke skills. Back in New York with a vague plan to “work in business,” Jesse landed a gig in the Leveraged Finance group at Barclays Capital where he spent 2 years in a small cubicle mastering Excel shortcuts. For the past year, he’s been scraping by as a part-time financial consultant and video “preditor,” waiting for the perfect opportunity to combine the right and left sides of his brain — enter Tough Mudder.

In his free time, Jesse can be found drumming in his Brooklyn-based country band, honing his chicken-frying skills, singing Elton John at the karaoke bar or producing his weekly web series The Drinking Game Show.

Susan Zheng

Coming from the capital of country music, Susan attended New York University in the city of bright lights and dreams. She bore witness to the financial meltdown while working as a municipal bond strategy analyst at BarcLehs. Following a great two years, she realized what she was really passionate about was entrepreneurship. After working on her own startup and gaining invaluable experience, she decided to join the crazy and extraordinary team known as Tough Mudder.

She’s an avid techie, B-horror movie enthusiast, loves cats and cat memes and Reddit. Hi Reddit. Challenge her to Settlers of Catan at your own risk.

Nick Harris

Nick recently joined the Tough Mudder team to help bring ‘Probably the Toughest Event on the Planet’ to the UK and Australia. Having cut his teeth in the harshest of environments, the African Savanna where you have to get tough quick just to survive, Nick travels far and wide, across rugged and treacherous terrain seeking only the finest spots for Tough Mudder.

Born in Northern California and raised in the UK, outside of Tough Mudder Nick is most likely to be caught as a blur of lycra cycling through the rolling hills of Sussex.

Peter Rice

Pete grew up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland where he passed his time roaming the woods and sailing and skiing on the Chesapeake Bay. After high school he wasn’t sure the college scene was ready for him so he decided to take a little break. He moved to Vail where he worked for the winter and then backpacked Europe. He finally ended up at Gettysburg College where he played rugby, joined a fraternity, and ended up with a degree in Environmental Studies. Hoping to pioneer the oyster industry Pete headed to Fishers Island, NY after graduation and worked on an oyster farm to learn the business. Although oysters are very interesting, they arenʼt very lively, so Pete decided he needed a change of pace and packed his bags and moved to the Big Apple. And there he found Tough Mudder.

When not Tough Muddin Pete likes to hunt back home, visit the local watering holes of NYC, and peruse the local real estate market for apartments.

Kelley Kantarian

Kelley may have been born into a large family – one of five kids, and one of three triplet girls – but she’s one of a kind. She’s an Aries, so it’s in her blood to be adventurous, energetic, impulsive, and enthusiastic. Furthermore, Kelley suffers from “FOMO” (Fear of Missing Out) so you’ll be hard-pressed to find an opportunity or a challenge she’ll turn down. She recently joined Tough Mudder not wanting to miss out on Probably the Toughest Event on the Planet.

For four years, Kelley channeled her energy to playing Varsity Field Hockey at Cornell University and pursuing a degree in hospitality. She held several internship positions in the sports and/or events business including working at the NFL Super Bowl Events, an internship at Nike Global Brand Marketing, and Marriott Sales and Special Events.

When not at Tough Mudder, Kelley enjoys traveling the world meeting new and different people. When someone can succeed in getting Kelley to sit down, she can be found eating avocado, zucchini, or pickles in any form, drinking red wine or a cold beer, and cheers-ing to anyone who will cheers back.

Tina Fekula

Born in Connecticut, and schooled at Boston College, she’s now in Brooklyn by way of Ghana. After graduating from BC with a degree in History, she worked for a year in Boston, and then returned to Ghana for a year where she had previously been abroad. There, she was the computer teacher for 300 students using only 1 computer, won a legendary Christmas day swimming competition, tasted the tenderness of rat, learned how to properly kill and dress a chicken, and just learned a whole lot about the world.

When not keeping everything in order around the Tough Mudder offices, she enjoys random trivia, swimming, losing to people better than her in chess, learning from people who know something she doesn’t. Oh, and music too, give her some sweet tunes and she’ll be happy, even on a rainy day.

Dave Policelli

David grew up in a log cabin in PA where four-wheeling, rock climbing, hunting, fishing, and camping were daily activities. After high school he shed his “Gun control means hitting your target” t-shirt and headed to Penn State to pursue a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Raised in a family of contractors and engineers, David spent several years as a Project Manager in commercial construction. During his time off he traveled as much as possible and realized it was time to manage construction projects around the world. Working with Tough Mudder on a few events was all it took; it wasn’t long before David was determined to join the team.

When not in the office David can be found checking out uncharted territory around NYC, sitting by a camp fire; or making dirt, snow, rubber, or water fly on one of his toys (And there’s a good chance he’s flying too).

Catherine Lecesse

Self-diagnosed with chronic wanderlust, Katie has lived in the Eastern Caribbean, Southern Africa, and New England, only to find herself now tackling life in New York City. She joined the Tough Mudder team in July 2011 to work with the accounting team, and splits her time between Tough Mudding by day and a graduate school by night.

While earning her B.B.A. in Finance and Economics at The University of Massachusetts, Amherst, as well as afterward, Katie worked at the National Collegiate Inventors & Innovators Alliance, a grant-making non-profit organization that fosters innovation and entrepreneurship at institutions of higher education. At the NCIIA, Katie took on the role of Grants Coordinator, where she fell in love with entrepreneurship and start-ups, especially in the context of creating economic opportunity in development.

Although she loved her work at the NCIIA and the people she worked with, eventually Katie decided to leave the desk behind and gain first-hand experience at business development. She joined the Peace Corps and worked for 2 1/2 years in a rural village in Botswana, where the Kalahari Desert meets the Okavango Delta, as an HIV/AIDS volunteer working in small business development. It was here that Katie was renamed “Duduetsang” (a Setswana word meaning “celebratory ululation”), learned a very confusing language, learned to make baskets from delta grass, bathed with two cups of water a day (who knew the desert would be so dry?), and had amazing (and a few too-close-for-comfort) encounters with awe-inspiring wildlife.

When not gallivanting around the desert and delta, she started up an HIV testing and counseling center and developed it into a multi-program fully-staffed organization servicing the entire Okavango region. After returning home, she decided she wasn’t quite ready for the American pace of life and took off to teach fiscal accountability to community-based organizations in the Eastern Caribbean. Eventually she returned to the US, which led her to New York, the best city in the country for a girl who loves international flavor, and into the loving arms of Tough Mudder.

Rachel Kaplan

Rachel was born and raised in Hollywood, Florida (yes, it’s a real place). She received a degree in Economics from the Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida (Go Gators!) where her extra-curricular activities included: tailgating before football games, attending football games and recovering from attending football games.

Rachel traded the Swamp for New York City when she matriculated Columbia Law School. Forgoing the usual route of working for a law firm, Rachel took a grittier job as Head of Site Search here at Tough Mudder.

Reed Raskin

Having survived 18 years of urban life in NYC, Reed jumped at the opportunity to head to the PacNorthwest to pursue any school which shared his name. Once at Reed College, he pursued a degree in Economics and a majority of the girls on campus. But mostly, he was in hot pursuit of his pit bull ‘Dutchess’ who refused to come when called.

After graduation, Reed put off his return to NYC to begin work on his bucket list. Items included, but were not limited to, living in New Orleans, overcoming his fear of water while working as a whitewater raft guide, traveling across Nicaragua with his pet rooster ‘Ortega’, and most importantly emulating the Disney character ‘Johnny Tsunami’ on the slopes of Aspen.

Under the assumption that he had gotten his Ya-Ya’s out, Reed returned home to be closer to family and friends. Little did he know he would cross another item off the list; completing a Tough Mudder. After coming to the realization that he was on a constant quest to find life’s greatest venues, in 2011 Reed joined TMHQ to put those site-searching abilities to best use. When not on the road looking for new and exciting places to get you dirty, Reed can be found doing crosswords, riding his bike, playing euchre, shooting late-night pool, or organizing his annual barn dance. Look for him at the next event…

Matt Johnson

Originally from Vail, Colorado, Matt’s no stranger to mud season and grew up getting his hands dirty working on the mountain as a photographer. Looking to escape the mud (temporarily), he moved out east to study entrepreneurship and marketing at Georgetown before making his way to NYC to join the growing startup community in the big apple. An early employee at seamless.com, he experienced the wild ride of growing a business from 10 employees to 200 before leaving the company to backpack around the world for a year. After a life-affirming year on the road, the idea of going back to sitting behind a desk at a software startup had lost its appeal, so Matt joined up with Tough Mudder to build the best adventure sports brand on the planet.

Outside TMHQ, Matt is probably at Bowery Ballroom (live music), Pier 40 (pickup soccer), shaking his thing on the dancefloor at PS1 and Mr. Sunday, or on a plane back home to hit the slopes.

Gina Kang

On paper, Gina Kang’s credentials seem nothing out of the ordinary. Born and raised in Queens, she attended NYU, and proceeded to enter the world of corporate accounting at Ernst and Young for four and a half years…an all too familiar route. However, if you looked (or listened) a bit more closely, you’d hear her wreaking havoc around Tisch Hall & Washington Square Park or having 1 (or 5) drinks too many during busy season at your nearest bar. In the midst of all this, Gina decided to take a leap of faith; armed with just her pocket protector and suspenders, shedecided that starting an events planning company was the best way to combine her love for social outings and anintense obsession with Excel.

She spent the next year convincing people that jumping out of planes and rolling down mountains was in no way an indication of insanity. Gina then met the Tough Mudder gang and realized that it was a match made in heaven. Today, you can probably find her fist pumping and crunching TM financial numbers in the newly decorated TM accounting department (can we say multi-tasking?).

During her time off, Gina enjoys a not so peaceful round of golf (screaming “fore!” after hitting 90% of her shots), smack talking in her fantasy football league, or planning the next greatest night out on the town.

Jane Di Leo

When she is not losing years off her life watching the Missouri Tigers attempt to win a football game, you’ll find Jane working on her argument skills by trying to convince her TMHQ co-workers that being in your late 20′s really isn’t that old.

After growing up in the “inner-cit-ay” (Nordeast Minneapolis), where she tried—though often failed—to stay warm during the winters (it gets really, really cold there), Jane took off to the “Show-Me State” for a little warmth and a kick-ass journalism education at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, where she received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

Jane pursued her dream of being a magazine editor, working at local and national publications, but after sitting at a desk for four years, her sense of adventure soon went into overdrive and had her buying a one-way ticket to Cuernavaca, Mexico, where she volunteered for a year-and-a-half at Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos, a home for orphaned and abandoned children.

Knowing her Irish skin couldn’t handle the sun much longer, Jane wound up back in NYC to start her next adventure as the Public Relations Manager at Tough Mudder. Though she is a kind, down-to-earth Midwesterner at heart, try not to cross the line by using bad grammar or the “R” word (Tough Mudder is not a race), or Jane will go all New York Italian on you.

Katie Kaps

Originally from Ohio, Katie grew up playing sports such as lacrosse, field hockey, and tennis. After realizing that Pro Tennis was not a viable career option for her, she headed off to Georgetown University majoring in International Economics in the School of Foreign Service. Before graduation, she spent a year attending the London School of Economics expanding her knowledge of finance and economics.

After graduation, she moved to New York to work in Investment Banking and started running long-distances for a stress-release. Following the Global Financial Crisis, Katie exited the financial sector and embarked on a new career that combined her passion for running with her business acumen: the Director of Strategy and Business Development for The San Francisco Marathon.

After two years of growing SF’s namesake Marathon, Katie missed the East Coast and returned to NYC to look for a job that involved spreading health & wellness into the world. Tough Mudder was the perfect fit. Now she spends her time at the TMHQ working on New Business expansion and other strategic initiatives. In her spare time, Katie loves engaging in all types of fitness and outdoor activities.

Miller Casale

Miller Casale comes from the land of fast horses and fast cars (Louisville and Indy). After graduating from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, she worked on Music Row for Big Loud Shirt Industries… despite being completely tone-deaf. Realizing that she would never be a country music star, she left Nashville to work in Human Resources for BJC HealthCare in St. Louis. Feeling out of place as a girl named Miller in the land of Bud, she decided to move to NYC in 2010. She was working for Ernst & Young before joining the Tough Mudder team on Halloween day.

Outside of work, she can be found volunteering and planning events as a member of the Young Professionals Board of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Since she was almost born in the University of Kentucky’s Commonwealth Stadium, Miller has been traveling around the country cheering on the Wildcats.

Garth Wilson

Garth was born and raised on the Eastern Shore of Maryland with fellow TMHQ member Peter Rice. Deciding 18 years hadn’t been long enough, he remained in his home town to attend Washington College. During his 4 year tenure he spent time playing club lacrosse, studying abroad in Ireland, and writing a thesis on Archimedean Spirals before parting with a degree in Mathematics.

After graduation Garth continued to work as the Assistant Manager for The UPS Store before heading to Baltimore, MD to try his hand in the Life Sciences recruitment industry. Tired of bland cubical walls and long conversations with awkward scientists, he packed his things and headed for the excitement of NYC and Tough Mudder.

Outside of work Garth spends his time on the water back in MD, watching ESPN, and attempting to adjust to life in the big city.

Nigel Thomas

Nigel Thomas, Chief Training Officer of Tough Mudder, consults Big Mudder on all things tough – from obstacle designs to our training program. A proud Welshman by birth, Nige is a keen sports enthusiast, motorcycle racer, and the kind of all around badass that all Mudders aspire to become. He’s planning on climbing Everest (the real one) for his 50th birthday next year and is using the Tough Mudder training program to warm up for the adventure.

He’s also CEO of Blue Mountain Group, a high end security, specialist driving and training company, and previously spent 14 years with the British Special Forces as a mountaineering specialist in the SAS. As for the rest of his bio, he says he can’t tell us everything, and frankly we’re afraid to ask.

Lucas Barclay

Lucas hails from the sunny shores of Melbourne, Australia where he grew up rolling around in the mud as a very average Aussie Rules footballer. After spending a couple of years in Beijing learning the correct way to cook jiaozi and make a toast, as well as acquiring some mandarin, he returned to Australia to help deliver the Sydney Olympics. From here, like many before him, he ventured off to London, England. Here he helped start up two events businesses, earned his MBA and was somehow able to fit in three more Olympics, seven Wimbledon Championships and countless cricket matches in what turned out to be a rather extended (ten year) vacation. London proved to be the perfect place to explore the world from and Lucas was able to satiate a great appetite for travel and for new and different cultures which finally culminated in the marriage to his wonderful wife, a fulltime move to New York and joining the greatest events team on the planet – Tough Mudder.

On weekends you might find Lucas playing chess in Union Square, at The Strand rummaging through old spy thrillers, or walking hand in hand on the High Line.

Mark Hussa

Growing up in the mean streets of Burke, VA, Mark acquired a keen toughness from duals with his 6′ 4″ sister. Since age six, Mark was required to keep a running log & was forcefully enlisted in his dad’s “round-the-yard” training program. (A Tough Mudder at heart) Along the way, seeking refuge with his significantly kinder nurse mother.

Never one to miss an opportunity, Mark later followed a pack of local wolves to NYC to attend Columbia University, pursuing a mix of major-hopping and major-hoping in attempt to land the perfect gig. Failed majors include: Psychology—too emotional, then Finance—too emotionless. After graduation, Mark finally found his obvious, happy medium: Tough Mudder.

When he’s not coordinating the toughest event on the planet, Mark’s dabbling in his other two favorite things: 90′s Music and Cheese.

Evan Seely

Evan’s active spirit and love for everything outdoors stems from his being a native Vermonter as well as the many laps he had to run around his house as punishment for misbehaving as a young boy. When not running laps around his house, Evan participated in many team sports like hockey, soccer, and the hallway version of American Gladiator.

Evan ventured onto Williams College to play hockey and learn how to brew beer, along with getting a degree in Sociology. In search for a sign for what to do in post-college life, Evan found himself at Dartmouth College’s masters in public health program. Soon after receiving his degree, Evan realized that he needed a little more action in his life, so he packed up his cat, Lucifer, and said goodbye to New England and his beloved Boston Red Sox to find a place where action and winning teams could be found: New York City. Although NYC doesn’t seem like a place for a guy who is most comfortable in fishing waders and a flannel shirt, Evan was confident that he would find something that would suit his personality.

Enter Tough Mudder, where Evan has joined on with the Events team. At TMHQ Evan has found a place where everything he loves in life: the outdoors, education, teamwork, and strong work ethic – are part of every day life.

When not at TMHQ, Evan can be found planning his next fishing trip, playing cribbage, cooking meals, and dreaming about a future of raising pigs on a Wisconsin farm.

Charlotte Bender

A native Rhode Islander, (yes – people DO actually live in Rhode Island) Charlotte grew up in a beach town, running around her grandmother’s beachfront property in the summertime and jumping at every opportunity to play sports, get muddy, and prove her toughness among the boys.

Charlotte attended the University of Rhode Island for her Bachelor’s degree. While pursuing her education, she joined her local volunteer fire department, once again fulfilling her hunger for adventure, while also giving back to her community (Note: Playing with fire was also a HUGE appeal). Also feeling the need to see the world, Charlotte participated in a semester abroad program at University of Hawai’i (favorite class: “Waikiki 101″) and interned in computer graphics research in Darmstadt, Germany.

Post-graduation, Charlotte moved to Boston to work as a web designer and take the city by storm. She ran a few half marathons and triathlons, but when she caught wind of Tough Mudder, she was hooked! She participated in the New England 2011 event, and joined the TMHQ staff while building her team for the New England 2012 event.

As an NYC resident, Charlotte still holds true to her New England pride by heckling fans of NY teams, and creating new adventures by exploring the city. Keep your eye out for this wily blonde at Tough Mudder events. She’s likely the one egging on the firefighters at the firewalker or toasting Mudders with a pint of beer at the finish line!

Kacie Duffy

Kacie, a middle child and true Jersey girl, grew up in a small suburb outside of NYC. Turning 18 and in search of something a little different, she attended college in Morgantown, West Virginia. This is where she found her love for football, travel and (surprisingly) country music. While attending WVU, she played club lacrosse, studied abroad in Europe and graduated with a degree in communications. Kacie felt ridiculous with a bachelor’s degree in communications and the inability to speak a single word of spanish, so she set out to Barcelona to learn español.

She spent a year in Catalonia working as an English teacher but spent most of her time eating tapas, swimming in the Mediterranean, and exploring nearby cities. Getting tired of explaining the meanings of English slang and curse words to her students, she returned home to her favorite city in the world, New York. While working on a marketing tour for BMW, she discovered her passion for working in the event industry. This lead her to question… Why not work for the Toughest Event on the planet?

When not in the office, Kacie can be found rooting for her beloved NY Giants, spending time with her family in Jersey, planning her next trip to Europe, or searching for her dream apartment in the city.

John Curran

John’s enthusiastic demeanor means he always gives 110% from his more productive pursuits of scouting out the best bike paths in every city he visits to his more futile efforts of rooting for the Minnesota Vikings and grilling the perfect burger. Hailing from Las Vegas, flashing neon lights run through his blood, but his love of the outdoors grew from the childhood summers he spent fishing, hiking and dirt-biking in Minnesota. Hungry for both knowledge and cheese steaks, John moved to Philadelphia to attend the University of Pennsylvania where he earned a B.A. in Urban Studies and a Masters in City Planning.

After some time wandering around the world, John returned stateside to try his luck at teaching middle school math in Washington, D.C. He soon realized his talents might be better served searching the globe for ideal mud run venues, so he applied to join the Tough Mudder team.

In his free time, John can be found nodding his head to electronic dance music, debating public policy, or planning his next adventure.

Brandon Pape

Brandon was born and raised in Connecticut. A Husky fan from birth, Brandon decided it would only be right to attend the University of Connecticut. Initially planning on becoming a Pharmacist but soon realizing that he enjoyed counting the pills more than studying what was in them, Brandon switched his major to Accounting. After spending two years as an auditor for a Big Four firm and two more years as an accountant Brandon decided it was time for a change.

Looking for new challenges personally and professionally (attempting to find a way to make accounting interesting) Brandon found his home at Tough Mudder. TM provided the perfect blend of challenge, growth, competition and humility (where else would “Ball Shrinker” show up in a financial review?). When not pouring through spreadsheets and financials, you can find Brandon attempting (failing) to learn the guitar, playing pickup basketball or exploring (getting lost in) New York City.

Lee Smallwood

After being brought up in a small town in the north of England, Lee headed off to the bright lights of London to study Mathematics & Economics at the London School of Economics. Successfully graduating near the top of his class ensured he would follow the well-travelled path in to finance, living the stereotypical life of a city trader for almost 5 years.

It was not long, however, before some tell-tale signs emerged that suggested this might not be his perfect career, finding himself as the only employee with long hair, alternative fashion criteria, and a collection of interests outside of work. This, coupled with the enjoyment he found in working on his own ventures made it clear that business and enterprise was the way to go – with Tough Mudder providing the perfect combination of a cutting edge business, a focus on sports and fitness, and the opportunity to relocate to New York City.

Outside of the office, Lee can most likely be found in a karaoke bar not sharing the microphone, on a “soccer” field not passing the ball, or in his apartment not moving until he has finished reading another book about business, self-improvement or the meaning of life.

Cristina DeVito

Cristina originally hails from the sunny shores of New Jersey. She spent her undergraduate years at Dartmouth College, studying mechanical engineering and amassing a significant amount of green clothing. She decided that building bridges must be a lot like building Excel models, so she headed south to Charlotte, NC, where she was an investment banking analyst with Wachovia Securities. Feeling the pull of her Tri-state area roots, she headed back up to NYC to work as a private equity associate at Catterton Partners. Missing autumn in New England, she moved to Boston to attend Harvard Business School and take advantage of having mandatory vacations again. Before packing up and moving to join us here in Brooklyn, she spent over three years at Bain & Company – first in Boston and then in Los Angeles. When not at TMHQ, you can most likely find Cristina exploring the food scene of New York, sneaking away to the mountains, watching football or planning her next adventure with friends.

Candice Bates

Originally from Baton Rouge, Candice ventured to Athens, GA for college where she decided to major in International Business and French. Realizing she didn’t have the desire to crunch numbers abroad, Candice changed her mind three times until she landed in TV & Film production (4th time’s a charm?). Two days after graduating, Candice made the move to the big apple with only a carry-on and several copies of her resume. She quickly landed a job as a receptionist at a boutique staffing firm, and shortly thereafter took an internal HR position. It was then made clear that HR was her passion and she began facilitating and assisting with the implementation of key HR disciplines for over 2,000 employees.

In her free time, Candice can be found schooling opponents in Scrabble, stressing over her weekly NFL picks, cheering on her hometown Saints or embracing anything French, all while enjoying a glass (or 3) of wine. She may not cure cancer, but she’ll hire the person who does. Where you won’t find Candice (due to her obsession with Law and Order: SVU) is running through Central Park at night (no need to learn that lesson firsthand).

Sheetal Aiyer

Sheetal Aiyer is the General Counsel at Tough Mudder. He provides his analysis and guidance to the CEO, COO and key professional staff on matters including but not limited to vendor and venue agreements, sponsorship agreements, leases, litigation, tax, insurance, entertainment and media law issues, risk and compliance, employment and labor law issues, copyright and trademark issues, and expansion of operations.

Sheetal was born and raised in the cotton-growing flatland of Lubbock Texas, which has been referred to by maybe up to two people as “God’s Country.” After attending the University of Texas at Austin, where he could be found playing his bass guitar at random house parties and cheering the Texas Longhorns, Sheetal lived and worked for a time in Strasbourg, France and Belfast, Northern Ireland building his public policy credentials.

After returning from his European adventures, he graduated from Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia in 2004, and then spent six years in and out of court as trial attorney in Texas. He moved to New York in 2010, started his own law firm, and joined Tough Mudder as its General Counsel in February 2012. You can find Sheetal at various sports bars around NYC cheering for those same Longhorns, sampling interesting cuisine throughout the 5 boroughs, or in the departure lounges at LaGuardia or JFK before heading to distant locales he hasn’t yet experienced.

Peter Wylie

Peter manages all advertising inquiries and campaigns for Tough Mudder, generating and analyzing those annoying, flashing ads that remind you that Big Mudder is coming to your home town. He hails from North Carolina, where he developed a love for the beach, Tar Heel basketball, and Eastern NC barbeque.

Peter graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he majored in Journalism and Mass Communication and English. He minored in attending parties at The Library (no affiliation with the place where you study) and playing gigs with his college band.

After graduation, Peter joined an online business journalism company in Washington D.C., where he gained useful skills in email marketing, web analytics, online advertising, and avoiding political discourse. Next, he joined a start-up digital marketing agency where he honed his skills in online advertising and business strategy.

Peter loves watching and playing sports, hanging out with friends, seeing live music, cooking, playing guitar and writing songs. He is a complete nerd about all things digital, and his fellow Mudders don’t hesitate to mock him for it.

Paul Simcox

After a short spell of crass underachievement, Paul dragged his sorry butt through the toughest basic military training in the world to become a Royal Marine Commando. He was later decorated for distinguished service and awarded an MBE for conducting and commanding teams on counter terrorist operations. Alongside Tough Mudder’s very own Chief Training Officer, he also valiantly supported the UK pub trade (but this work went largely unrecognized).

Paul then left the military to counter drugs in Afghanistan and terrorist financiers in the Middle East. During this time he worked with Tough Mudder CEO Will Dean and this was the beginning of a sickening era of mutual respect. When not chasing bad guys, Paul raised funds for charities, including spending 13 hours climbing the height of Everest and back (on a gym stepper machine) and almost as long completing the London marathon as a member of the Daily Telegraph team. He now manages UK operations at TMHQ so fellow Brits can love Tough Mudder as much as he does.

When he’s not enjoying the work of cake-making-domestic-goddess Debs, or training with mini-Tough Mudder Ollie and mini-Tough Madam Mia, Paul enjoys rugby, foreign travel and quality coffee shops.