Pirate Ninja, Celina Record

Celina man again sets sights on winning ‘Warrior’ title Lisa Ferguson, lferguson@starlocalmedia.com Feb 18, 2016 An evening spent channel surfing proved to be life altering for John Jones. About a year and a half ago, Jones was a single dad watching TV with his daughter when the pair stumbled across an episode of the popular reality series “American Ninja Warrior.” Contestants on the show, which airs on NBC and reruns on cable’s Esquire network, rely on physical strength and agility to power through a series of increasingly challenging obstacle courses in an attempt to win a $1 million prize and the coveted American Ninja Warrior title. “We were joking around and I told her, ‘I could do that,’ and she said, ‘No, you can’t … you’re too old,’” recalled Jones, who moved to Celina from McKinney last summer. Something about the show, or his daughter’s doubts – or maybe both – convinced him it was time to make a change in his life. Two weeks later, he said, he put down his cigarettes, picked up a gym membership and hasn’t looked back. “I made it a goal to do everything I could to get on the show knowing how hard it would probably be,” Jones said. The 38-year-old is waiting to hear from the producers of “American Ninja Warrior” about whether he has been selected to participate in the series’ upcoming eighth season, which will be filmed later this year. Jones goes by the nickname “The Pirate Ninja” as an homage to his love of sailing aboard cruise ships. He said he feels confident about his chances of securing a spot on the show, but is trying not to get his hopes up. “It’s a little nerve-wracking.” After all, he traveled down the same road last year after submitting his first application and audition video in hopes of snagging a spot to compete on season seven. Jones said he participated in a telephone interview with producers last February, but ultimately did not receive the nod. “It was real depressing,” he recalled, “because you try so hard for something and you don’t get to do it.” That disappointment wasn’t enough to deter him from giving it another shot this year. Jones said he intends to prove to his daughter “more than anything that it doesn’t matter how old you are or what shape you’re in, if you really want to do something, do it. Just don’t give up. Anything can happen, you’ve just got to put your mind to it.” Jones, who works as a superintendent for a construction company, wasn’t always so motivated. As a teenager in Austin, he raced BMX bikes. Eventually, though, “I quit that and I just didn’t care,” he said. For years afterward, “I smoked. I drank. I had nothing to do with fitness whatsoever.” Then came “American Ninja Warrior.” When he watched the episode with his daughter, “At that point in my life there was really a lot of stress going on and I didn’t have a way to get away from it all,” he said. Exercise provided a much-needed outlet. “When I started (exercising), mentally I was just ecstatic,” he recalled. “It was just so much better because I was not just going home (from work) and jumping on the couch and stuffing Doritos down my throat. It wasn’t hard and I actually felt really good about what I was doing.” Jones spends a couple of hours each night up to six nights per week working out at The Cell, at 133 Dylan Dr. in Prosper. “He pretty much lives here,” said owner Marcellus Rainey. “John is very determined, and I definitely have an appreciation for that. He has set his mind on this goal, and he has gone out there, and he is trying to achieve it every way that he feasibly can physically with his body.” Rainey said it’s not unusual for small crowds to gather and watch Jones tackle his “insane” workout routines. “The workout that you’ve got to do for that show… I know you have to pretty much be ready for a lot of different physical challenges,” he said. Twice monthly, Jones visits the Obstacle Warriors facility in Farmers Branch, where he trains on obstacle courses and apparatus similar to those featured on “American Ninja Warrior.” It’s also where he said he developed friendships with former “American Ninja Warrior” contestants who train at the facility, including Karsten Williams, a veteran of seasons five and six, and Trevor Parks, who last year appeared in a special military installment of the series. Jones said most “American Ninja Warrior” contestants aren’t motivated by the show’s cash prize. “They’re doing it because they enjoy doing it,” he said. “You’re competing against yourself; you’re competing against the clock. … It’s your average, everyday people who work day jobs who enjoy the challenge, and I’m just as guilty of it.” Jones has competed in several obstacle-course challenges throughout the state and in Oklahoma. He said he receives encouragement from his wife, Amanda, who “pushed me a little bit along the way” while he trained for and produced his second “American Ninja Warrior” audition video. “It stays in the back of my mind that all of [the obstacles] are hard,” he said. “All of them are challenging, but they can be done, and if I can’t do it, then I’ve made it a point to go in there and focus on that one in particular until I do have it down.” He still occasionally struggles with some of the obstacles made famous on the show, including one called “Cannonball Alley,” which requires contestants to swing across a series of different-sized balls that hang in mid-air. He built a homemade version of the obstacle using lacrosse balls strung from eyebolts that he practiced on at the gym. Nevertheless, at a competition earlier this month, he fell and ended his run. “It doesn’t matter how good you are, anybody can fall, anybody can slip, anybody can lose their grip,” he said. “Whenever I watch the show now, I have a different perspective on it. I don’t just watch [contestants] run the course; I watch how they do it. Whenever it’s an upper body-grip obstacle, how are they swinging their legs? How are they moving through it?” Jones said he is trying to think positively while waiting to learn whether he’ll appear on the show. “I don’t want to put myself in a position like I was last year where you’re expecting it and you think it’s going to happen … and then you’re let down,” he said. “If it doesn’t happen this year, I’ll just keep trying.”