‘Ninja Warrior’ champ isn’t satisfied: ‘I want to win two times, back to back’

Spoiler alert: This story reveals the winner of “American Ninja Warrior” Season 11.

If you’ve ever watched an episode of “American Ninja Warrior,” you know that even making it past a single obstacle – even one as basic as the “Floating Steps” that this reporter quickly fell on – requires immense strength and skill. 

So how do you describe someone who completes every challenge fast enough to win new Speed and Safety passes in head-to-head battles, scales an  18 ½-foot “Mega Wall,” becomes the first person in four years to survive the impossible Stage 3 course and climbs a 75-foot-rope in under 30 seconds to earn the $1 million grand prize, while wearing jeans or cargo pants?

You characterize him as insanely disciplined. You consider that guy superhuman. You crown him the first to achieve “total victory” on “American Ninja Warrior” since 2015.

There were 21 men who qualified for Stage 3: Tyler Smith, Dave Cavanagh, Mathis "Kid" Owhadi, Karson Voiles, Dan Polizzi, Daniel Gil, Ben Wales, Ryan Stratis, Adam Rayl, R.J. Roman, Grant McCartney, Ethan Swanson, Lorin Ball, Alex Blick, Chris DiGangi, Michael Torres, Seth Rogers, Nate Burkhalter, Karsten Williams, Flip Rodriguez, Josh Salinas, Lucas Reale, Kevin Carbone, Drew Drechsel, Casey Suchocki, Hunter Guerard, Tyler Gillett and Joe Moravsky. (Photo: David Becker/NBC)

The winner is …

You call him Drew Drechsel.

But you definitely don’t say that he’s perfect, at least not to his face. 

“That word ‘perfect’ is something that I will forever strive for and never achieve,” says the 30-year-old Drechsel, who became only the second winner in the 11-season run of NBC’s version of the grueling obstacle-course contest, which originated in Japan. “There’s always a way to be faster, more fluid, more efficient.”

Drew Drechsel hits one of the many buzzers he's seen throughout his "Ninja" career in the Season 11 Las Vegas finals. (Photo: David Becker/NBC)

A near-perfect season

To the untrained eye – or even ninja-trained one – Drechsel’s movements appear flawlessly smooth. He somehow makes it look easy to hang from his fingertips, propel himself through the air and land with his hands on a tiny hold 6 feet away and at a 180-degree angle (in the “Ultimate Cliffhanger” obstacle in Stage 3). When he calmly executes midair splits to get his muscular 5-foot-9-inchframe past the “Pipe Dream” challenge, he has the precision and grace of someone who dreams beyond just winning American Ninja Warrior.

“Winning has always been a stepping stone, because someone’s already won,” says Drechsel, referring to Isaac Caldiero’s history-making turn in 2015. As in that season’s finale, Monday’s ended with two men, Drechsel and 26-year-old Daniel Gil, completing Stage 3 and attempting Stage 4’s rope climb. Drechsel, like Caldiero, was the faster climber and won the prize.

Drechsel still wants to win … again

There's Drew Drechsel, in jeans and a headband, hanging loose. (Photo: David Becker/NBC)

Now, Drechsel has a new goal: “I’d like to be the first one to win two times back to back.”

“Ninja” fans won’t be surprised to hear him say this. After all, we’re talking about the man who visited other cities’ qualifying courses to study new obstacles and build replicas at home to practice. This is the guy who already started his training for next season, less than three months after winning it all. (The finale was taped earlier this summer.)He’s the competitor who’s been a staple on the show since Season 3 and goes by the nickname the “Real Life Ninja” – something his friends started calling him when Dreschel did parkour as a teenager.  

#1 strongest dad

Drechsel makes this obstacle look easy. (Photo: NBC, David Becker/NBC)

Drechsel was first described on air as a “used car salesman,” then a “gym owner” (like many seasoned contestants, he trains aspiring ninjas) and finally, this year, “expectant dad.” 

There’s a ninja-in-training on the way.

“Every year, Drew gets stronger, and the courses get harder and stronger, too. It was just a matter of time before they met up on the right level and this year happened to be that year,” says Drew’s girlfriend and another fixture on the course, April Beckner, who’s due Dec. 1. 

Will the prize money provide a nice nest egg for their growing family?

Well, $400,000 “has to be set aside for taxes because it’s technically a game show,” Drechsel says.  But with what’s left, “I do have family that I want to take care of, I have a baby boy on the way and want to make sure that he’s going to be set, and I am looking to move back down to Florida (from Connecticut) to be closer to my family.” 

He’s also planning to open more ninja gyms and to fulfill a specific promise he made to April.

Getting that ‘bunny money’

“We made a deal that if I won, she would finally get a bunny,” Drechsel laughs. “That’s big for me, because I’m not a big bunny person. I had a traumatic experience with a rabbit when I was little. It’s still a thing.”

But yes, he will fulfill that promise and purchase that new pet with, as he calls it, his “bunny money.”

A ninja inspiration

Drew Drechsel competes on NBC's "American Ninja Warrior" finale. (Photo: David Becker/NBC)

Before I let Drechsel go, I remind him that he once gave me pointers on a ninja course, and I let him down by falling 12 seconds into my run.

“No, not at all, you never let anyone down,” Drechsel counters, easily shifting into ninja coaching mode. “In my nine years of doing ‘Ninja,’ I’ve never heard a single person say they are disappointed with someone else because of how they did. You can’t have that mentality of letting people down, because that’s just going to hold you back.”

If his sure-to-go-viral Stage 3 run didn’t inspire fans, that sentiment should.

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