Kent "Krokus" Kroeker
Kent "Krokus" Kroeker, leader, entrepreneur and adventure seeker is the son of a 40-year veteran of the LAPD, his life is testament to his extreme upbringing. As a youth in California, he played football and pushed the limits of extreme sports from big wave surfing to motocross and vertical ice climbing. Some of his noteworthy achievements in the 1980s were multiple ascents of the 3,200-foot vertical rock face called, "El Capitan" in Yosemite and a cameo motocross appearance on the reality TV show – "That's Incredible".
In 1991 he graduated with honors from the University of Southern California with degrees in International Relations and French Literature. He went on to spend several years doing postgraduate work studying philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris. Upon his return, Krokus joined the US Marine Corps, was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in 1993, and attended flight school in Pensacola, FL. Chosen Naval Aviator in 1995, Krokus graduated first in his class and went on to fly KC-130s with VMGR-352. When the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi was bombed in 1998, Krokus flew missions throughout Africa to include Kenya, Egypt and Djibouti. As an Aircraft Commander, he lead several combat missions over Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan, landing the first USMC KC-130 at Manas Airbase in Kyrgyzstan during Operation Enduring Freedom.
In 1999, Captain Kent "Krokus" Kroeker, was designated a USMC "Forward Air Controller" after graduating 1st from Expeditionary Warfare Group Pacific’s Tactical Air Control school. Immediately following, he was attached to 3rd Battalion 7th Marines and soon deployed worldwide operating in the Pacific from Okinawa to Saipan to Peleliu.
As a true adventure seeker, Krokus continued to challenge his ability by climbing mountains and racing motorcycles while on active duty. In 2002, he accomplished a class win of the Baja 1000, riding with the US ISDE team. Krokus also found time to achieve extraordinary goals putting up several first ascents of rock walls in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, attempting difficult mountains in the Peruvian Andes, and climbed "The Jewel of the Himalayas", a 22,500' mountain named "Ama Dablam", in Nepal.
Using his racing and off road engineering expertise, in 2003 Krokus started "KORE Inc." which sells ultra high performance, award-winning suspension components worldwide. Currently, Kent owns six patents for his designs along with an internationally recognized, 50-man Baja race team. He is the primary driver of the team race truck - an 800 horsepower Dodge Ram that does 130 mph in the Mexican deserts
Today Krokus is a Reserve Officer in the Marine Corps as well as a Consultant for Check 6, Inc. His dynamic personality, along with his diverse military, corporate and personal experiences have made him a sought after trainer/presenter for Check 6.