Local teacher competes on American Ninja Warrior
NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (WISH) – A Fishers High School teacher will be featured in an upcoming episode of American Ninja Warrior.
Andy Smith, 45, of Noblesville, recently traveled to San Pedro, California to compete in a military edition of the action-packed obstacle series.
“It’s an honor for me to go out there to be with all these Purple Heart recipients and all these great guys that we share not only the Ninja Warrior culture but the military background as well,” says Smith.
The show taping happened June 5 and 6 in San Pedro and serves as the seventh and final city where the show is taping regional qualifiers for the season. Smith is one of dozens who competed June 5. The fastest 30 who completed the course moved on to the next round of competition June 6. Smith is not allowed to reveal his results until the episode airs later this summer.
“You’re not really going against anyone else, you’re just going out there to support each other,” says Smith. “It’s a community, it’s a culture and I think that’s part of the draw.”
Smith is an eight-year veteran of the Indiana National Guard. He was honorably discharged in 1998 at the end of his term of service. At that time, Smith went to college and became a teacher. He currently teaches stagecraft and mass media at Fishers High School where he instructs students on how to build scenery for the school’s plays and musical productions.
“That’s how I was able to build this wall behind me because I have that background,” explains Smith, as he points to the obstacle known as a Warped Wall, a 14-foot quarter-pipe competitors climb and hang from in the competition.
“We built a wall, the quintuple steps, an unstable bridge, a cannonball alley – which are baseballs hanging from chains, which you swing from – and a salmon ladder,” explains Smith.
Smith featured his training regimen in the audition video he submitted last year to ANW show producers. At one point during the video, he stands in front of a crowd of Fishers High School students cheering loudly to show their support.
“I have 300 students a year that come through my class and they all, most of them watch Ninja Warrior,” explains Smith. “I have some that are super huge fans and they’re like ‘Don’t go out on the first obstacle, Mr. Smith.’”
At 45 years old, 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 135 pounds, Smith has been preparing for the challenge since last year.
“My strength and conditioning coach has really put me through the ringer and really has gotten me in the best shape of my life,” says Smith.
Smith’s coach is also his neighbor, Dave Steenberg, who is an industrial sales representative for packaging equipment and materials. Steenberg built an obstacle course in his basement for training and the pair used the previous episodes of the ANW show as a template for what to build.
“We really don’t know what’s going to be coming. They’re always changing it up, so we always try to focus on transferrable skills,” says Steenberg. “We want him to be able to go in and no matter what he encounters, [be able to] say ‘hey I’ve done something like that before.’”
Smith’s road to American Ninja Warrior hasn’t been easy. In the last seven years, he had a foot surgery, a knee surgery for a torn meniscus, two heart surgeries, a broken neck and two strokes. He featured his injuries in his audition video, and shortly after, in Sept. 2014, Smith was injured again when a 20-foot garage door malfunctioned, fell on him and fractured his foot in two places.
Smith took eight weeks off and began rehabbing in hopes he would be chosen for ANW. He learned in March 2015 he had been selected for the military edition of the show .
“So I got with Dave Steenberg and said ‘all right dude, you’ve got 10 weeks to kick it in gear,’” says Smith.
Smith describes his frequent setbacks with injuries as a part of life and frequently delivers a message of positivity and perseverance.
“Life hits you and it just keeps hitting you and it puts obstacles in front of you – and that’s what Ninja Warrior does – it puts obstacles in front of you and you overcome those obstacles and that’s kind of how I’m living my life. If something happens I just push through it, I just go.”
“Andy’s got the heart of a lion,” says Steenberg. “He’s a warrior and no matter what I throw at him, no matter how hard the workout, he keeps going at it.”
We won’t know how Smith did in the regional finals until the military episode airs later this summer, but he will be recognizable because of the specially made neon green t-shirt he will wear.
“Because I’m a teacher and I’m going to get an A+ at Ninja Warrior; I’m the A+ Ninja,” says Smith.
If Smith successfully completed the course, he’ll move on to the national finals in Las Vegas June 24 through 28, where they face a stunning four-stage course modeled after the famed Mt. Midoriyama course in Japan.