Whether you grew up in the age of Bruce Lee, or Power Rangers at one point we all tried to do some sweet flips and kicks and dreamed of being a ninja warrior while listening to Eye of the Tiger. This is a dream That Boise’s own James Gomez gets a chance to live.

He’s been chosen to be apart of NBC’s American Ninja Warrior, and I got a chance to talk with him.

James Gomez

Izzy: James, I’m pretty sure most of us are familiar with Ninja Warrior and American Ninja Warrior, but for those that aren’t familiar, describe it for me.

JG: Ninja Warrior is an Americanized version of the Japanese obstacle course show Sasuke. On that show 100 athlete tackle what is described as the worlds hardest obstacle course. Four stages testing speed, strength, endurance, agility, and mental fortitude. Onece the show caught popularity in the US, G4 built a team of the best US competitors to send to Japan to tackle Sasuke. A few years later American Ninja Warrior was born with the same Four Stage layout in Las Vegas but now in order to get to Vegas you need to pass the Regional Qualifiers and Finals.

Izzy: How did you become familiar with Ninja Warrior? When do you have the “ahha” moment and decide you wanted to train for this?:

JG: I was 11 years old watching Ninja Warrior on G4 and I knew I wanted to do it. I was small, athletic, and I loved to monkey around on things. At the time I wrestled so it wasn’t ideal for me to start full time Ninja training but my amazing Dad built me a Salmon ladder to play on and the rest is history.

Izzy: What sort of training regime have you followed to prepare for this?

JG: The physical part is the “easy” part of the training. You want endurance and grip training mainly. Some people love to rock climb, others lift weights, and lots prefer replica obstacles. I dabble in as many different types of training to be a more well rounded athlete.American Ninja Warrior is brutal. You need to believe without a doubt in your mind you can crush the obstacle in front of your and at the same time understand that anything can go wrong at any second.

Here is a clip of James hard at work at the “Ninja Warehouse” in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Izzy: So you get the call that they want you on the show, what’s next?

JG: I am on my way to Minneapolis on the 25th of May. I’ve been training for months now I need to tighten the diet up a bit more, stay on my training, and be ready to rock and roll. I’ve been prepping for years for this exact moment and I just can’t wait. It’s going to be an absolute blast.

Izzy: James thanks for the interview! Any idea when the Treasure Valley might get a chance to see you on TV?

JG: The first episode of American Ninja Warrior airs May 30th at 8pm on NBC. That will be the Los Angeles region. I’m not exactly sure when my run will air but it looks like I’ll be on TV around early July.

For more information about Ninja Warrior or to get local show times, click here.

-Izzy