Christopher Soukas was born in a village called Orinon in the state of Ioannina, Greece. He spent his first thirteen years in the country that was the birthplace of the Olympics.

Moving to the United States in 1932 when he was thirteen years old, he began his wrestling career that would span over 35 years. Those 35 years gave birth to local and national wrestling champion and a wrestling dynasty.

As a teenager he joined the Greek/American Hermes Club and from 1934 to 1966, Chris wrestled the best the world had to offer, winning an inordinate number of championships. Among them were th 145 lb. National Freestyle Championship and New York State 155 lb. Championship. He won the Senior Metropolitan Championship several years in a row, The National YMCA Championship twice. These are just a few of the titles that he captured in his career. As a national champion, he was among the very best in the United States. The champions in the same national meet included such greats as Joe McDaniels. Three-time National Champion and Syracuse University coach, Lehigh’s great coach Jerry Lehman, a national runner-up. Also competing, was Henry Wittenberg, the multiple time National AAU Champion and America’s greatest Olympian for the first half of 20th Century.

Christopher’s story is the journey of a young man coming to America and becoming a champion on and off the mat. He was able to compete, coach, and lead in the great American tradition. He was even able to correspond with one of his great nemesis on the mat, Donald Rumsfeld!