It was do or die on American Ninja Warrioras Josiah Pippel became the Season 18 champion. Adding to the milestone was the fact the win came on his 20th birthday. During the August 31 finale of the NBC competition series, Pippel overcame Matt D’Amico, Enzo DeFerrari Wilson, and Nacssa Garemore to move into the last round. The final showdown saw Pippel upset last year’s champ Kai Beckstrand in a shocking turn of events. Beckstand fell on Cane Lane, making it the first time the number one seed hit the water on an obstacle in three years.
Along with the title and trophy, Pippel took home $250,000. The road to the win wasn’t easy with the comeback kid advancing through Qualifiers, Regionals, and National Finals in Las Vegas, outperforming more than 200 of the country’s best ninja. The season also introduced the Tripleheader, an all-new supersized head-to-head-to-head racecourse. Viewers have watched Pippel grow up through the show starting on American Ninja Warrior Junior and then on the flagship at age 15. He has gone on to compete in six consecutive seasons without ever missing the National Finals.
Here Pippel opens up about his redemption story and future.
AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR — “Finals” Episode 1813 — Pictured: (l-r) Kai Beckstrand, Josiah Pippel — (Photo by: Scott Everett White/NBC)
Not a bad birthday present for you to win American Ninja Warrior on your 20th birthday. What did that moment mean to you?
Josiah Pippel: It’s something I’ve worked for 13 years since I started the sport and six seasons since I started the show. So yeah, it means a lot. That final winning moment when I dismounted and realized I had won, but also had more of the course to do was really cool. Just having all of my friends and my dad there to celebrate with was an awesome moment.
What was going through your head when you saw Kai fall?
Well, I didn’t even see him fall. I just heard the crowd gasp, and then I didn’t see him ahead of me. So I was like, “He either got hung up, or he fell. And then I also kind of got hung up, so I was like, “I just need to lock this dismount in.”
It was almost like a series of unfortunate events with the competitors that you were facing. What was your strategy going in?
My strategy has always been just running my own race and being confident in my own abilities. So if someone is waiting for me, I’m just going to go and do what I know I can do. I’m not thinking about the fact that he’s waiting or thinking about the fact that I can’t fall like, either way, I can’t bank on him falling, so I need to focus on clearing myself, so if he’s behind or ahead, I just need to go for it.
Did you feel like this was your redemption story, given what happened the season prior?
Yes, I think coming out of Season 17, I really was at a low point in terms of my competitive stats. So going into Season 18, I was like, “I need to return back to what I know I can do.”
What are your plans for the money? I know you’re a big car guy. Will it go in that direction?
Right now, my plan is to put a decent bit into my business, TNA (Team Ninja Association), and then obviously some savings. But, yes, I plan on probably buying a car, maybe two, but responsibly, of course.
What are your thoughts on Mount Midoriyama for Season 19? How did you feel about the head-to-head format?
I enjoyed the racing format, but I think it’s going to be really fun going back to the Midoriyama format. It will give me a redemption chance at that as well in Season 14, getting to the rope, but losing, and then that kind of chance to have redemption being taken away with the racing format. It will be fun to have it back. Then I have another final challenge, which is winning that.
What are your thoughts on the evolution of the sport and seeing Ninja Warrior-style obstacle racing coming up during the Summer Olympics in 2028?
The evolution of ninja has been crazy. I’ve been in this sport for 13 years. When I first started, the only ninja obstacles in my gym were a warp wall and a salmon ladder. Coming from that to now, where it is kind of a full-fledged sport and going into the Olympics in 2028. It’s really cool to see. The progression, given that I’ve been around it for so long, and then also with Team Ninja Association, it’s been really cool to help push those boundaries forward and expand the sport on my own as well.
Is there anything that you haven’t seen from the sport?
The whole sport is always progressing so fast that we’re always getting new concepts and new ideas. I think the biggest thing we haven’t seen from the sport is that kind of professional aspect. It has always been a reality TV show or a hobby, so kind of getting it into more official capacities and kind of getting Ninja as a sport really grounded is going to be something I want to see, and I am seeing the progress.
What else have you been up to since winning?
A lot of what I’ve been up to is just kind of the same as before, just to new levels. Obviously, we’re taking the business to a higher level. I’m training for Season 19, trying to defend my title. But yeah, it’s been a lot of the same, just trying to keep myself in shape and in position to defend the championship.
AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR — “Finals” Episode 1813 — Pictured: (l-r) Matt D’Amico, Josiah Pippel — (Photo by: Scott Everett White/NBC)
Ninja has such a big platform. What has it been like being more well-known thanks to the sport?
It’s really cool to use my image to inspire people, especially the kids in this sport. I love seeing kids around the world just try new things and get up after failures, especially with Ninja being that way. We fail all the time and have to get right back up and get back into a competitive mindset. So kind of trying to spread that message of the fact that failure is not really a bad thing. It’s kind of an opportunity and part of the process of success to achieve a goal.
What have you taken from Season 18 in terms of training?
Coming off of Season 18, I have a lot more knowledge than I had before. Just about the later stages of the competition, mentally, I think that’s where most of my training has come in. Physically, I’ve been able to compete at the top for the past six seasons, I have since the beginning, but the biggest change this year was kind of my mental game and my mindset going into it. Knowing what I know from last year and kind of how I approached the season. It’s definitely changing how I approach this season as well.
AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR — “Finals” Episode 1813 — Pictured: (l-r) Kai Beckstrand, Josiah Pippel — (Photo by: Scott Everett White/NBC)
How important was it to have the support of your family?
It has been really incredible to have them by my side throughout my entire journey, and they’ve always been really willing to support me. Whether that be late nights at the gym where they’re picking me up sometimes at 1 a.m. to traveling across the country and across the world.to take me to competitions. It’s been really fun to have those experiences with them and have them support me throughout the entire journey.
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What did you walk away with from this experience this year?
Uh, $250,000! No, I’d say the athletes that you work with, the community, maybe things that we don’t see on camera because we only see the guys doing the run. There’s so much that goes into it. Yeah. I think the biggest takeaways from this season were just the enjoyment of the moments. Me and some of the other athletes, we bought cornhole boards and we’re playing cornhole while we were waiting and just enjoying our time on set and off course. That was just a really fun memory from the trip. I was really enjoying the time with the other athletes, and kind of being friends, not just competitors.
What do you want to say to those looking to enter the sport?
I think it is an amazing community and it’s open to everyone. I mean, we have Ninja all the way from literally, I coach two-year-olds to 40-year-olds. So there’s a spot in the sport for anyone, and I encourage everyone out there to just. go and try it. Even if you don’t end up liking it, it is one of those things where you can try it once, just experience it because it’s not one of those traditional sports that everyone pushes toward. So it does take that extra step to kind of step out of your comfort zone and try something new.
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