Escondido resident and five-time returning competitor Alex Nye is set to appear once again in the semifinals of sports reality show “
American Ninja Warrior
,” now in its 17th season.
Nye has reached the semifinals in every season in which he’s competed – seasons 10, 12, 14 and 16 – and advanced to the national finals in last year’s competition.
This season, he’s aiming to make another strong run to the finals.
“I’m very proud to represent San Diego as one of our few professional ninjas,” Nye said. “ This year, I want to take my time and get as far as I possibly can.”
Nye spent most of his childhood outdoors – climbing trees, jumping on trampolines and skateboarding on the ramps his father built for him and his brother in their own backyard.
After tuning in to an episode of the show at home, he became interested in the ninja sport. Yet with no professional “ninja gym” nearby – the kind equipped with the same obstacles used on the show – Nye had no way of trying it out for himself.
He instead learned to practice through rock-climbing, parkour, gymnastics and other ninja-adjacent sports.
The turning point in his ninja career came after he moved to San Diego County with his wife.
After buying their first home in Escondido, he used the construction knowledge he picked up from his father to build a backyard training course of his own.
Nicknamed “the jungle” for the thick canopy of trees overhead, the course quickly became a go-to training spot for San Diego ninjas.
“There’s no professional level gym in San Diego for someone like me to train at, so it was born out of necessity,” Nye said.
“The community has definitely recognized the effort I’ve put into it, and it’s become a lot of people’s favorite place in the world.”
Nye added that the course also allowed him to focus on training to address his particular areas of weakness.
After failing on the Salmon Ladder and Flying Bar in past seasons of the show, he rebuilt the obstacles as accurately as possible, and trained with them as part of his course.
He said he now feels comfortable enough with both obstacles to face either in future competitions.
According to Nye, the courses featured in semifinal rounds typically test endurance, and many new competitors may be tempted to speed through the obstacles.
Get neighborhood news in your inbox. It’s free and enlightening.
Join the 20,000+ people who get Times of San Diego in their inbox at 8 a.m. every day – plus breaking news alerts.
We’ve also added weekly updates from San Diego neighborhoods! By clicking sign up, you agree to the
terms
. Select below.
While having done so in the past, Nye said that this year he plans to take his time and make it through the entire course, which is especially important this season, when so many younger competitors will be participating alongside him.
Although Nye is only 34, he noted that the sport seems to be moving toward a younger audience, especially after the show lowered the minimum entry age to 15 in season 15.
However, he added that the younger competition has only motivated him to “put up a fight.”
“
It’s really easy to get discouraged and say, ‘I’m past my prime, I can’t keep up anymore,’ but my main goal with ‘Ninja’ is to improve, putting everything else aside,” Nye said.
“I just always want to be getting better, even if I’m getting older.”
Viewers can tune in to “American Ninja Warrior” to watch Nye compete in the semifinals at 8 p.m. Monday on KNSD.
