Co-Hosts Matt Iseman, Zuri Hall & Akbar Gbajabiamila talk to The Inside Reel about training, unqiue competitors, use of senses and legac in regards to the 16th season of the NBC competition series: "American Ninja Warrior".
Category
đź“ş
TVTranscript
00:00Any dream can come true if you truly want it.
00:14I want to be the first mom to beat stage one.
00:17This is a professional sport.
00:19This is American Ninja Warrior.
00:21Only one ninja can be that million dollar winner.
00:24Nobody that's won American Ninja Warrior has come back and done it again.
00:27I have a spark, a fire in my belly.
00:29I want to be crowned champion.
00:30Your mama gonna want to see it.
00:32Your daddy gonna want to see it.
00:33Your uncle, your auntie, everybody's gonna want to see this.
00:37We were there and I still want to see it.
00:39Fasten your seatbelts, America.
00:40Oh my goodness, oh my goodness.
00:44That's a Hollywood Indian right there.
00:46Oh!
00:49You know, personalities change, mentalities change,
00:53but what is consistent about the competitors
00:57in American Ninja Warrior that you've seen both,
01:01you know, off the course and on the course
01:04from all of your perspectives?
01:06Wow, I would say community.
01:08I think that's the one thing that's consistent,
01:10that these ninjas, they have this community
01:12that support each other.
01:13They have also the ninja mentality,
01:15which is just to persevere.
01:17These ninjas continue to persevere
01:19year after year after year.
01:20There's so much pressure put on these ninjas
01:22when they get one shot
01:24and they only get that shot once a year.
01:27And so these ninjas have to come back,
01:28they have to be prepared.
01:30They have all this pressure on them
01:31to compete at the highest level
01:33in front of millions and millions of people.
01:35And this season, the competition only gets harder.
01:38The thing I really noticed is that
01:40these are people who embrace that maxim
01:42that falling isn't failing.
01:43Because in Ninja Warrior, everybody falls.
01:46And we have a great example this year.
01:48Kyle Schulze, the deaf ninja,
01:50he's coming back for his eighth season.
01:52In previous seven seasons,
01:53he's had one goal to hit a buzzer.
01:55He's come so close.
01:57He's suffered through injuries.
01:58He's persevered.
01:59And this year, I don't want to spoil it,
02:02but let's just say perseverance really pays off.
02:04I mean, I would agree.
02:27Piggybacking on what Akbar said about community,
02:30I think that that really is the most incredible part for me
02:34is witnessing that up close and personal,
02:36being on the sidelines, talking to the ninjas,
02:38helping them share their stories,
02:39whether it's a hug they need, a tissue,
02:41or a touchdown dance,
02:43because they just crushed it on the course.
02:45Like, I'm always there for that.
02:47And I think what's so cool about this community
02:50is Ninja has been around long enough now
02:52that not only is this a legitimate sport,
02:55but we're seeing, Akbar was talking about
02:57their shoe deals that we're seeing,
02:58which is absolutely incredible.
02:59These athletes are getting their own shoes at this point.
03:02We're seeing engagements.
03:03There are ninja babies.
03:05There are people who have only ever known a world
03:07with a ninja in it.
03:09And so it really just speaks to how incredibly long-lasting
03:12and sort of secure the foundation of the community is.
03:15It's a polite way of saying I'm getting old.
03:18Matt's getting old.
03:34There's a great thing to say, though,
03:35about expectation versus reality.
03:38You know, as we were talking about, you know,
03:40the training that goes into and what people can accomplish.
03:44But what Matt was saying, too, the aspect of the senses,
03:48you know, obviously there's a competitor who is deaf,
03:50but it's all about the senses.
03:52It's about tact turns.
03:53It's about the ability to make decisions.
03:56It's about the ability to make decisions.
03:58It's about the ability to make decisions.
04:00It's about the ability to make decisions.
04:02It's about tact turn.
04:03It's about listening.
04:04It's about seeing.
04:06Could you guys talk about how you see the senses
04:09and how people accelerate their senses
04:11influences how they compete?
04:14Well, that's interesting because we've actually had,
04:16Akita Kitayama, I think was his name,
04:18who was a teacher who was legally blind.
04:21And we had another athlete out of Texas A&M
04:24who had nystagmus.
04:25And so what they would do is have to localize the obstacle,
04:29try to visualize it as well as they could,
04:31and then essentially compete from memory,
04:33kind of like Daredevil, the superhero.
04:35So we see people, we've seen amputees out on the course,
04:38we've seen differently-abled people getting out there.
04:41So what's great is this is a show where,
04:44and we've said this, Zach Gowen,
04:46who came out with an above-the-knee amputation,
04:48took off his leg and took on the course on one leg.
04:51And this is what we said that time was,
04:52what's your excuse?
04:53Because we've seen ninjas overcome
04:55just about everything you could imagine
04:57that you think would keep them
04:59from tackling an obstacle course,
05:00but they find a way to do it.
05:25From there, I mean, who has inspired you guys the most?
05:29You've seen so many things from last season,
05:31but going into this season, what gets you now?
05:35Because you guys have seen it all.
05:37You've seen people try so many different things.
05:39What inspires you?
05:40Are there any stories that jump out at you at this point
05:43in, say, the past year and a half of the show?
05:47I would say the young athletes coming in
05:49to the professional ranks, so to speak.
05:52We've got the 15-year-olds, the 16-year-olds
05:55who are competing against some of their icons,
05:57their favorite ninjas that they've seen.
05:59And to me, it's inspirational.
06:00As a father of four, I've got a 15-year-old at home.
06:04I've got twins that are 12 years old.
06:06And so you understand the mentality of those young kids,
06:09where I'm far removed from that age,
06:11but I can live through them and see that.
06:13And to see that same type of courageous kid
06:16stepping on in front of the big lights
06:18and stepping up in front of some of these veteran ninjas
06:21and competing, like, wow, how are you not moved by that?
06:25And then to hear their story and to see their story,
06:27you know, we've had the opportunity
06:29to see some of these ninjas on Ninja Junior,
06:31and so we remember them when they were young.
06:34And now we see them, you know, in their teenage phase,
06:37and it's quite remarkable.
06:55Well, the story, one of the stories I really love
06:58is Vance Walker, because when he was born,
07:00he had cerebral palsy.
07:01He was in braces.
07:03He was told, his parents were told,
07:05that he would struggle to walk his entire life
07:07and would never run.
07:09Here it is last season when he does the unimaginable,
07:12and he actually wins a million dollars
07:14on the most physical challenge you could see.
07:16So it's one of those things that I really love.
07:19It's one of those things that, you know,
07:20when you're a kid, you don't know what you're gonna do.
07:23So it's one of those things where so many of us,
07:25I live with rheumatoid arthritis,
07:27you get told things, you get told what are limitations,
07:30but don't accept what someone else says is a limitation,
07:33because it is amazing when you stop focusing
07:35on what you can do and focus on what you can do.
07:37It's incredible what you could accomplish.
07:39That's why we're excited to have Vance Walker
07:41come back, a million dollars under his belt,
07:43but just reminding people, never take no for an answer.
07:52♪
08:05♪
08:11Looking at this season, how this season is shaping up,
08:14you know, obviously the psychology changes
08:16because people think they know what to expect.
08:19People think they know what they can do,
08:21but the mind has a weird way of affecting the body
08:24in many ways.
08:26Can you guys talk about that
08:28and how that's sort of accelerating into this season,
08:31that aspect of the mind versus the body
08:33with these kinds of contestants?
08:35Well, the psychology is the ninja mentality.
08:38I think that's what these ninjas do best.
08:40We've heard of the late Kobe Bryant's mamba mentality.
08:43These ninjas have the ninja mentality,
08:46and that's to look up, stand up, and don't ever give up.
08:49And that's what these ninjas show year after year,
08:52episode after episode.
08:53You see these ninjas just persevering.
08:55And I think that's how we should all attack life, right?
08:58Because we know we're gonna get things thrown our ways,
09:01that we're gonna go through these different obstacles
09:03in our life.
09:03And so I look to these ninjas,
09:05I get inspired by these ninjas,
09:07by the way they persevere every single year.
09:10Amen.
09:10More people have walked on the moon
09:13than have won American Ninja Warrior.
09:15Vance Walker wins a million dollars.
09:18The mountain went down last season.
09:21Now, the question is, can it be done two years in a row?
09:24This is when the ninja season gets real.
09:27We crowned a champion last year, so let's do it again.
09:30I don't think there's a single person here
09:32that wants that million dollars more than me.
09:34We know that it's possible.
09:36It's inspiration.
09:38So many moments that were heartbreaking,
09:40and so many that those athletes will remember
09:43for the rest of their lives.
09:44You're not gonna wanna miss a second.
09:48You're not gonna wanna miss a second.