I love watching American Ninja Warrior and so do the kids. I followed some of the 'ninjas' on Facebook and Joe Moravsky mentioned he was going to be at an event in Rockford, Michigan. I didn't realize that there was an organization so close to me (about 30 minutes) that ran a ninja program. The kids and I went out to the event (it was free to attend) and got the signatures of all the ninjas that were there. I didn't get pictures of all of them (I forgot to take them after the kids played on the inflatables!) Now we root for the "Rockford Ninjas" even more when they run!
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| Michelle Warnky |
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| Kevin Bull |
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| Joe Moravsky |
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| Drew Drechsel |
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| I loved how he took time to comment on the spider Will had caught |
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| Jamie Rahn |
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| Paul Kasemir |
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| Andrew Karsen |
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| James McGrath |
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| Our friend Karen |
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| Lela Noone |
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| Elet Hall |
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| Joe Moravsky ran the course |
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| Trevor Parks |
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| Mia Lazarewicz |
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| Karsten Williams |
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| Ryan Stratis |
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| Daniel Gil |
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| Elet Hall |
The event was put on by Rockford Ninja Warrior and the following is what they had on their site about each of the participating ninjas:
Joe Moravsky
Joe Moravsky is a 26 year old Meteorologist from Sherman, CT. When Joe finished college, he was applying for American Ninja Warrior (ANW) and he was also applying for TV positions. It just so happens ANW called first and he’s been hooked ever since!
In Season 5 (2013) of American Ninja Warrior, Joe made it all the way to Stage 3 of the Vegas Finals before falling on the floating boards, going 2nd furthest in the country, only behind Brian Arnold. In Season 6 (2014), Joe got 1st place in the St. Louis Regional Qualifiers and in the Regional Finals. In Las Vegas, he was only 1 of 2 people to beat Stage 2 and make it back to Stage 3, before falling on the Hang Climb. In regular season competition, only 3 people in the history of ANW have made it to the Hang Climb. Due to his outstanding performance, he was selected for Team USA and competed against some of the best ninjas in the world!
Joe “The Weatherman” Moravsky will be back for Season 7.
Michelle Warnky
Michelle Warnky is a 31 year old personal trainer, public speaker, and Ninja events coordinator from Columbus, Ohio. Soon she will be opening up a Movement Lab gym in Columbus, in partnership with Chris and Brian Wilczewski, also competitors from the show. She graduated from University of the Cumberlands in 2006 where she ran both cross country and track. After college, she served overseas in Kazakhstan with a Christian Organization teaching English for 5 years. About a year after returning home she heard about the show American Ninja Warrior, and visited Chris Wilczewski’s gym in New Jersey to try out the obstacles. After getting the salmon ladder on her first try and the warped wall the first day, she was hooked! She started building obstacles in Columbus and started hosting events shortly after!
In season 5 of American Ninja Warrior, Michelle made it to the 5th obstacle in Baltimore. She fell short of one of her goals, which was hitting the buzzer, but reached another one when she was invited to compete in Vegas as a wildcard. Season 6 she got to hit the buzzer, completing the first night and being one of three women to do so. The next night she made a silly mistake, falling just short of her favorite obstacle-the salmon ladder. She was again invited as a wildcard to Vegas and trained hard for the jumping spider, but fell victim to the curtain slider which was right before.
Michelle is excited and hopeful for another chance at the course in season 7!
Paul Kasemir
I’ve been on every season of American Ninja Warrior starting at ANW2 and every year I have made it to the finals and to the top handful of ninjas competing. I was also selected the for Team USA 2 years in a row as one of the top 5 American ninjas. I’m a software engineer working 40 hours a week programming cell phone technologies at Qualcomm Inc. After work I enjoy various ways to have fun and work out, including climbing, parkour, mountain biking, hiking, and snow shoeing. I’m also an avid Argentine tango dancer.
Karsten Williams
Karsten Williams has competed on NBC’s American Ninja Warrior Season 5 and Season 6 where he advanced to the Finals in Las Vegas. He was also 1 of 7 competitors to complete both the Qualifying and Final round on Season 6 in Dallas. Karsten placed in the top 10 of 85 competitors at Sam Sann’s Iron Ninja Challenge in 2014. He has competed and trained with some of the top competitors such as Tremayne Dortch, Abel Gonzalez, Brian Arnold, Brent Steffensen, Kacy Catanzaro, Joe Moravsky, and many others.
Karsten has a background in track and field and uses an unorthodox approach to training. He is a full time Certified Personal Trainer and Performance Enhancement Specialist with over 3 years of experience.
Ryan Stratis
Ryan Stratis has competed in every season of American Ninja Warrior and loves what the show is about. Most notably he has made it to Stage 3 in Japan during ANW 3 where he fell on the cliffhanger and almost made a return to stage three in ANW 6 but fell on the metal spin on Stage 2. He served in the Georgia Army National Guard for 12 years before moving on to pursuing stunt work in TV and film around Atlanta. Ryan Stratis loves to attend conventions and training seminars to help spread the story about Ninja Warrior.
Andrew Lowes
Andrew Lowes is a long time fan, turned contestant of American Ninja Warrior. Making his debut in season 4, Andrew has seen continued success with each coming year, qualifying for the Vegas Finals in every season [4, 5, and 6] Tragically, we may recall in Season 5 when Andrew completed stage 1, but came up 3/tenths of a second late getting to the buzzer. Then in Season 6, vowing to come back and finish what he started, Lowes redeemed himself on Stage 1 with a comfortable 13 seconds left on the clock. Being one of eighteen to attempt Stage 2, Lowes was one of 7 to reach the metal spin. Securely squeezing the rope he failed to stop his momentum on the landing platform and was forced to let his hopes of stage 3 slip away into the murky waters surrounding Stage 2.
Lowes grew up in Winthrop Harbor, IL. A fan of many sports, Andrew took special liking to Gymnastics, but was held back from competing as a youth. As a teenager, he found himself back in the gym, but this time as a coach. “Gymnastics will always be a mainstay in my life,” says Andrew. With regard to Ninja Warrior, Lowes says Gymnastics is “the most complete sport I’ve ever been a part of.” He claims that gymnastics is what prepared him to take on the grueling demands of the worlds toughest obstacle course.
Now in his fourth season, of what Andrew jokes as being his “senior year,” he intends to leave his mark on the famed obstacle course once and for all; as a true Elite. He aims to be selected amongst the five best who will represent the USA in Season 7.
Presently, Andrew is in Houston, TX training alongside ninja veteran Sam Sann at Iron Sports Gym. Outside of Ninja training, Andrew enjoys recording music with The Final Round, Producing videos for his youtube channel and spending time with his Girlfriend Amanda.
Leila Noone
Leila is a versatile lover of movement who trains in everything from parkour to contortion. She was a two time Vegas finalist on American Ninja Warrior, a level 10 gymnast, a USA Yoga champion and nationals finalist, and is currently dancing with Crash Alchemy in Austin and STREB Extreme Action Dance Company in Brooklyn, NY. In conjunction with BAM Academy, Yogabatics, and Austin Oddities and Entertainment, she performs as an acrobat and hand balancer, coaches gymnastics and hand balancing, and directs an acrobatic performance troupe in Austin, TX. She loves exploring different movement disciplines, training outside in nature, improvisational work and combining acrobatics with dance.
Kevin Bull
Kevin Bull is a 30 year old Stock Trader from California. His initial application to the American Ninja Warrior 6 season was declined, but not one to take no for an answer he joined the walk on line for the competition in Venice, CA. After clearing the semi-finals course Kevin made a name for himself by using a trapeze-style cherry drop technique to become the first to clear cannonball alley in the finals after the first 15 competitors attempting the obstacle were eliminated.
Kevin has a condition called Alopecia that causes him to be totally hairless. He values originality and making your own path in life, and he uses that message of embracing individuality to support others with the condition and add to his style on the show. Kevin will be competing again in the 7th season of American Ninja Warrior.
Elet Hall
Elet Hall has competed on seasons 4, 5, and 6 of American Ninja Warrior. The other 360 days of the year he’s exploring whatever patch of wilderness he finds himself in. An avid long distance motorcyclist, backpacker, and snowboarder Elet is always on the move. He is a Parkour Coach with the Movement Creative, a Certified Personal Trainer, Mover, Terrain Park Digger at his local ski resort, and Porch Swing Philosopher. He also teaches at the North American Bushcraft School.
He has over a decade of experience training parkour. His background is expanded with soccer, rock climbing, trail running, cliffdiving, and self- defense.
Jamie Rahn
Jamie Rahn, is a 27 year old 4 time American Ninja Warrior Competitor, and a fan for over a decade. Growing up in Southern New Jersey, he tried his hand at many sports including football, soccer, handball, racquetball, skateboarding, weight lifting, and of course Jackie Chan movies led him into bodyweight exercises and parkour. An incredibly shy child until high school, Jamie was consistently plagued with migraines due to a brain cyst at birth. Always the active kid he plaid in the woods and skateboarded with most of his time, building obstacles as he went.
In college He studied Architecture, and the Arts, graduating with a Bachelors in Fine Arts Painting/Drawing, however his main focus was installations. His work attempted to challenge people to confront and push past social and phycological fears. Always building things, he began to transform his house into a ninja gym. It was around this time that he competed in American Ninja Warrior 2. Flying out to Venice to compete, he fell back off the landing platform of the very first obstacle! A heart breaking start for a life goal. He was accepted to ANW3, however had to decline to have wrist surgery, already scheduled for the same day as tryouts. Continually being accepted for ANW on seasons 4, 5, and 6, he has improved almost every year, making it to the Vegas Finals 2 years in a row by completing both the Regional Qualifiers and Regional Finals! Jamie co-owns and operates the Pinnacle Parkour Academy in New Jersey since 2013 helping aspiring ninjas train to reach their goals!
Jamie competes each year as his superhero alter ego, Captain NBC. The costume has evolved from body paint to a fully custom and hand made sewn costume complete with cape and incredibly vibrant green hair! Jamie travels as much as possible to help others train, and challenge hims own limitations. A hopeful for ANW7, Jamie loves to train and loves to create and compete. He has fallen every year due to small laps in judgement, but feels competent his abilities will take his to Total Victory!
Drew Drechsel
Drew Drechsel, 26 years old, currently residing in Fairfield, Connecticut. Drechsels’ history with ninja warrior beginning season 3 where he competed in boot camp in was among the top 10 to make it to Sasuke Japan, where he had an unfortunate knee injury. Drechsel making a comeback in season 4 had the second fastest time in Miami qualifiers and regionals, moving on to Vegas he completed stage 1 but had a failed dismount on the unstable bridge in stage 2. Season five special held fastest time in both qualifying and regionals but failed once again on stage 2. Season 6 Drechsel continued his fast pace making it up the warped wall in 44 seconds, but fell short in regionals. in 2014 Drechsel internationally contended in Sasuke Malaysia with an overall victory taking first in all four stages and helping the American team win gold. In 2014 Drechsel also competed at Sasuke 30 in Japan where he was the only American granted to run the course reached it to stage 3.
Drechsel’s goal is to be the first to win both Sasuke and American Ninja Warrior.
Evan Dollard
Evan Dollard is a nationally-recognized host and personality who got his start on television by climbing and jousting his way to a championship title on NBC’s American Gladiators. He leveraged his fame as “The Rocket” to become a four-time fan favorite of NBC’s American Ninja Warrior competing at Sasuke in Japan and twice at the Vegas Finals. Evan is Esquire Network’s Well Trained Warrior and currently hosts and self-produces the competitive web series Ninja Quickie. Every episode features a head-to-head obstacle course throwdown with top Ninja Warrior competitors, pro freerunners, and world-class bar athletes.
Mia Lazarewicz
Mia is a 31 year old personal trainer from Boston, Massachusetts. She competed in seasons 5 and 6 of American Ninja Warrior, and was a Las Vegas finalist in season 5. She trains with many of the top ninjas on the show and has grown to love the wonderful community that surrounds Ninja Warrior. Since competing on the show she has traveled around the country, coaching at and participating in ANW events. She loves to promote fitness to children, and to encourage kids (and adults!) to find self-esteem through exercise.
Outside of ANW, Mia is a lifelong gymnast who still competes for fun in an adult league. When not in the gym, she can be found reading, writing, and playing with her pets.
Andrew Karsen
Andrew Karsen is a 34 year old Michigan native born in Grand Rapids, and graduate of Michigan State University. He was a cheerleader from high school all the way though college and even 5 seasons with the Detroit Pistons. He has also competed on the first 6 seasons of American Ninja Warrior with a great deal of success. The show has changed over the 6 years he has been on the show but he qualified for the new Vegas finals two times out of the past three seasons they have had that on the show. His training includes anything that he can do with his family, from crossfit to triathlons, and a lot of play time on his home training area with his 6 year old son. He currently lives out near Detroit and works for an automotive company as an Environmental Test Tech. where he does product validation testing on safety equipment before it gets approved to be put into cars.
Trevor Parks
Trevor is a 44 year old Network Security specialist from Texas where Trevor also teaches martial arts, occasionally races motocross and is known as the Ninja Biohacker! A Biohacker is all about performing cool feats of physical performance without destroying my body. Live life at your fullest, and stay healthy on the outside and the inside.
Trevor teaches adult and kids Ninja Warrior classes at Obstacle Warriors in Dallas, Texas, where he also trains with his Legion Of Zoom Ninja Warrior teammates Tyson Faifer and Karsten Williams.
Trevor has been trained as a Superhuman Health Coach by one of the world’s leading fitness and wellness experts, Ben Greenfield. Trevor applies his biohacking training to his ninja training, training smarter not harder. Trevor’s approaches American Ninja Warrior as more of a journey than a destination. Trevor believes in having fun, enjoying life and always keep improving yourself.
This is Trevor first season on American Ninja Warrior where he was selected to appear on the special Military episode on the Battleship USS Iowa!
Tyson Faifer
Tyson Faifer
Half Man, Half Machine, Half Math Wizard
Tyson Faifer is a stand up comedian but is no joke on an obstacle course. Tyson has competed on two seasons of NBC’s American Ninja Warrior seasons 6 & 7. He also is a founding member of The Legion of Zoom, a Dallas based American Ninja Warrior team. Tyson has also been seen on America’s Got Talent, The Wendy Williams Show, and appeared in a Ford Mustang Speed Dating commercial uttering the famous words… “I’m a Ninja”.
Daniel Gil
Daniel Gil is a 22 year old trainer and staff member at Iron Sports gym in Houston, TX., where he directs the Homeschool classes and assists with the adult Ninja Warrior classes.
Daniel has an Associates Degree in Applied Ministerial Studies from All Nations School of Ministry (ANSM). He is currently a worship leader and works with youth and young adult ministries. He very much enjoys traveling on mission trips and has been to Bulgaria and Honduras.
Additionally, Daniel is a classically trained vocalist and theater performer, where you can often find him rehearsing and performing with Opera Leggera in Kingwood, Tx.
Daniel always dreamed of competing on Ninja Warrior. During his second year at ANSM, searching for his next source of income, a friend told him about an obstacle course gym which might need some help: it turned out to be Sam Sann’s gym….”It was literally a God Thing”!
Too young to compete on Season 6 of American Ninja Warrior, Daniel was a 2014 “Course Tester” at both Dallas Regionals and Las Vegas Finals. Now in 2015, ready for season 7 he is a Rookie walk-on who finally has his shot at the course! In the Houston Qualifiers he got the fastest time of the night, and was selected as the “POM Run Of The Night”! He is excited and blessed to be doing what he loves every day, and ready to prove himself on this season of ANW.
James McGrath
James McGrath is an American, who has competed five times in the American Ninja Warrior tournaments.
On American Ninja Warrior 3, he was a walk on competitor from Seattle, WA who slept in a van to be a walk-on. In that competition he did very well making it to Stage 3. However, he ultimately failed on the Ultimate Cliffhanger.
He also competed on American Ninja Warrior 4 and was one of the favorites to earn total victory. He had the fastest time in the Northwest Regional Finals. He beat Stage 1 making him one of the 24 finalists to advance to Stage 2. However, his downfall came at Stage 2.
In American Ninja Warrior 5, McGrath completed the Venice Beach Finalists with the fastest time and he cleared Stages 1 and 2 in the Las Vegas finals. In Stage 3 he wasn’t able to hang on while transitioning to the second board on the Floating Boards and failed.
In American Ninja Warrior: USA VS Japan, James was a part of team America. He won every match he was placed in and was the only competitor to attempt all three stages.
In American Ninja Warrior 6, he has completed the qualifying round in the second-fastest time. In the Venice Finals, he failed the Body Prop but still finished in the Top 15, qualifying him for the Las Vegas Finals. In Vegas, he fell victim to the Silk Slider in Stage 1.
Dustin Rocho
I have competed with American Ninja Warrior for six seasons. For ANW3 I finished in the top 15 and competed at Boot Camp. ANW4 I ruptured my eardrum on a nasty fall from the Jump Hang during the Venice City Finals. ANW5 I was 2nd place in the Venice Finals completing the course. In Las Vegas I fell on the Jumping Spider during Stage 1. ANW6 I finished 4th at the Venice City Finals but fell short again on Stage 1 in Las Vegas. ANW7 I’m looking for redemption at Stage 1 then moving on to fight the hardest obstacle course in the world!
In 2003 I graduated from Grand Valley State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Movement Science and Minor in Health Education. I did my student teaching at North Rockford Middle School in the PE department. In 2004, I got married to my adventurous wife Hope and then moved to Las Vegas to pursue our dreams and be world changers!
We now have 4 amazing children: Trinity (7 yrs old), Isaiah (5 yrs old), Angel (2 yrs old) and Hope (7 months old).
Brandon Mears (not at the event that we could see)
Brandon is a Full-time Firefighter/Paramedic in the suburbs of Chicago. He is a 3-time veteran of American Ninja Warrior and just qualified for the Kansas City Finals which airs on July 20th. Brandon is also a obstacle builder/trainer for the Chicago Ninja Academy. Brandon is one half of the team, the Towers of Power which is made up of himself and other firefighter Dan Polizzi. They train year round for American Ninja Warrior and are always looking to promote their sport and make a positive impact on people’s lives.
