Iraq Vet and Working Mom Changes the Way People Train

PORT WASHINGTON, NY / AGILITYPR.NEWS / November 08, 2019 / If you saw her pushing a stroller through the park, you’d think think Sarah Apgar was just another young mother of two adorable little girls. But there is nothing average about this Iraq Veteran and volunteer firefighter/EMT from Port Washington, New York. Sarah is the CEO and founder of FitFighter, a company that makes weight-training equipment from old firehose and recycled steel shot, and delivers their own workouts via iOS app. 

“The idea first came to me when I joined the fire department after leaving the military. The firefighters just didn’t have the right equipment to train for the jobs they needed to do; pulling hose, lifting ladders, pulling down ceilings. So, I cut a 30-inch piece of firehose, filled it with steel shot and sewed up both ends.” The Steelhose, as it is called, mimics the feel and weight of a firehose charged with water. So much so that FitFighter’s first big sale was to the FDNY Training Academy who ordered a Steelhose for every new recruit.

“It was a fabulous endorsement of my idea, but it meant I had to make hundreds of Steelhoses in just a few weeks. I bought a used sewing machine and set up shop in my garage. At the time I had a full-time dream job at Warby Parker, so all the sewing had to happen in the wee hours of the night. I got it done and delivered them to the Training Academy in the back of my pick-up truck.”

M O R E

Orders from other fire departments and training academies from New York to California soon followed. But Apgar, an All-American Collegiate athlete and Half Ironman competitor, didn’t stop there. She now also markets the Steelhose System to trainers, coaches, elite athletes, gyms, and physical therapists.

But it’s not just Steelhoses that are being made at Sarah’s Port Washington production facility. She’s also developed a complete training curriculum for fireground-based strength training. She and her partners, celebrity and pro-athlete trainers Jason Walsh and Devin Wiggins, produce instructional workout videos that support the FitFighter iOS app. She delivers workouts to Fire Training Centers in person and is fresh from a performance at the 2019 ESPN Women + Sports Summit in Newport Beach, CA.

In part, because of her military background and commitment to the fire service, Sarah created a sponsorship agreement with the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Tower Foundation which supports first responders and military veterans. Product sales support wounded warriors, fallen firefighters, and their families.

Sarah Apgar lives in Port Washington with her husband and two daughters.

Appeal: veteran, female, firefighter, working mother, entrepreneur, all-American athlete,

and Tunnel to Towers Foundation

Prior Media / Features: ABC News, Today Show, ESPN Women + Sports Summit

           STORY VIDEO TRAILER