- July 22, 2026
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Kyle McCreight's experience with "American Ninja Warrior" started with a recommendation from his mother.
After he tried watching the show, he started looking for gyms to train at.
Now, the 38-year-old has wrapped his fourth season as a contestant on the sports entertainment reality TV show, which centers on "ninjas" attempting to cross obstacle courses.
A muscle "flash pump" eliminated him from the season 18 competition during the Eastern Regional Finals in Las Vegas, which aired on July 13, but he said he's not done yet.
The occupational therapist of 10 years, who works at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, hopes to use his platform on the show to inspire others, including his patients.
McCreight also participated in seasons 14, 16 and 17. Each year, he made it to the semifinals, and said he has been "on the brink" of the national finals two years in a row.
He still wants to make it happen, with the goal of “proving to the kids that I work with and everybody, that it doesn't matter how old you are or anything like that."
"As long as you don't give up, you can still keep fighting to achieve your goals," he said.
McCreight said when he was first shown ninja obstacles, he felt "intoxicated" trying the salmon ladder and the warped wall, and the fact there were always further challenges to master.
“You can make it harder,” he said. “You can challenge yourself in so many different ways, and that was kind of what appealed to me most about the obstacles and Ninja Warrior itself, and just seeing how the sport has evolved.”
The show has come a long way over the nine years he has been involved, he said.
He said he sees many "super, super" talented kids who are interested in "American Ninja Warrior," noting two 19-year-olds, Emma Pereyra and Evan White, whom he had the chance to work with in the past and later compete with on the show.
Working with kids is one of his passions.
For about five years, he said, he has worked with limb-different children through the Never Say Never Foundation, which hosts the annual Pirate Camp in Clearwater, to raise funds for prosthetics and equipment.
But his ticket into those opportunities, he said, has been his dog Tre.
McCreight was in search of a dog after going through a divorce when he came across Tre’s picture. Tre had his leg amputated as a puppy shortly before McCreight adopted him from the Lakewood Ranch shelter Nate's Honor Animal Rescue.
Somehow, McCreight gravitated towards the black Labrador retriever, feeling Tre needed someone with knowledge of how to help him. McCreight, meanwhile, was looking for someone to give him purpose.
He calls their companionship a “perfect match.” Although McCreight is somewhat of a local celebrity in the area, he said Tre is recognized more often than him.
McCreight used his therapy background to help Tre learn to walk and balance on his three legs, even leading him to become certified as a therapy dog during COVID-19.
He said "American Ninja Warrior" also helped open up opportunities for the pair. They support other organizations in the community, working with Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Sarasota and visiting some local churches.
McCreight said he sees a lot of himself in the kids that he works with, who are very high-energy.
His work with kids who have sensory processing disorders, including ADHD and Autism, inspired him to incorporate his background into the therapy in 2019 by taking kids to a ninja gym and setting up courses.
The program, Sunshine Ninja Therapy, is no longer active due to his other obligations, although he hopes to open such a gym in the Sarasota area.
“I've kind of always had this dream that one day maybe I can bring an actual ninja warrior gym to Sarasota and restart that Sunshine Ninja Therapy program, so that we have a local gym around here for these kids, because right now there really isn’t,” he said. “We have some trampoline parks and things like that, but we really don't have like a ninja warrior facility locally, and I think it'd be so cool and beneficial to the community to have one around here.”
He says these skills teach kids sensory integration, problem solving, and how to overcome obstacles and work as a team, while also providing health for joints, strength and coordination.
McCreight plans to start focusing on the next generation soon. He said that, as he gets older, training isn't as easy as it used to be.
“That's the part that's kind of tough to deal with, like we never want to admit we're getting older, but the body will tell you that you are,” he said.
He focuses on making sure he has the basics down and on keeping his cardio performance in top shape.
“Some of these kids train every day,” he said. “I cannot do that. It’s too hard on my body, so, if I train, I have to rest for the next couple of days. Just a lot more cardio… so I can keep up with these young guys, and less of the big diabolical moves that these dudes are trying.”
He said in his first performance this year in the Eastern Regional Qualifiers before the finals, he felt "really great."
When he reached the Eastern Regional Finals, his goal was avoid going too fast, as he knew he wouldn't be the fastest performer no matter how fast he tried to go.
“I felt like I was going at a good pace, and just the final move is the one that knocked me out,” he said. “It was a tough move. It's a move I've never really had to do.”
The obstacle was the "kaleidoscope," a series of vertical spinning components with handles, which he had to grab and twist 180 degrees in alternating directions in order to move on.
“I got through about three fourths of the obstacle, I felt fine, and then all of a sudden, I could feel my forearms starting to pump out on me,” he said. “We call that a flash pump when it just kind of comes all of a sudden. Your fingers and your hands just lock up on you.”
His left hand peeled off the kaleidoscope, and he made a backflip into the pool below.
“I was to the final move of the final obstacle before the buzzer, so it was disappointing, because I was so close to getting two more buzzers, like moving on to the next round,” he said. “But at the same time, basically, I went as far as my body would let me go at that time, so that's what gives me that fuel to do it again, because I know I was so close, and I just, I don't want to go out like that.”
He said while he won't be applying for next season due to other goals he is working towards, he "fully intends" to apply for season 20 and hopefully to be accepted again.
“You asked me 10 years ago, I never would have believed you that this is what I'm doing with my life now, but it's been a really cool journey," he said. "So, thanks to Ninja Warrior and also having Tre by my side, I've been able to do a lot of these really exciting things.”
