Latest / Arroe Collins Like It's Live / Winner Of American Ninja Warrior Josiah Peppel The Fight For Flight
Transcript
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- 0:31Speaker 1: your exploration. Happy birthday to you.
- 0:37Speaker 2: Thank you.
- 0:37Speaker 1: You bet, man. Did you celebrate that day in a huge,
- 0:40Speaker 1: huge way, dude?
- 0:42Speaker 2: Uh, yeah, it was, it was fun.
- 0:44Speaker 3: Obviously being a American Ninja Warrior champion on your birthday
- 0:48Speaker 3: is a celebration enough, but, um, After such a taxing
- 0:52Speaker 3: season and a taxing night, I did prioritize my sleep.
- 0:56Speaker 3: But yeah, after that, it was really fun. Me and
- 0:58Speaker 3: a couple of friends, we went to Croatia.
- 1:02Speaker 2: And celebrated.
- 1:02Speaker 3: There was a comp there that we did, but it
- 1:04Speaker 3: was a really fun time just to spend time with
- 1:06Speaker 3: friends and family and enjoy it.
- 1:08Speaker 1: Well, the one thing that I've always learned about you
- 1:10Speaker 1: is that this is an everyday thing for you in
- 1:12Speaker 1: the way of studying the art of the Ninja Warrior
- 1:15Speaker 1: and everything that you walk forward with. Because you've got
- 1:18Speaker 1: leadership qualities that just blow me away.
- 1:22Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I try to set an example in
- 1:25Speaker 3: everything that I do. I mean, being on such a
- 1:28Speaker 3: public stage, there's a lot of people who I know
- 1:31Speaker 3: are looking at me and looking up to me, and
- 1:34Speaker 3: especially the kids I'm coaching on the day-to-day are always
- 1:37Speaker 3: kind of looking up at me and looking to me
- 1:40Speaker 3: for advice. And so trying to set that example and
- 1:44Speaker 3: be an inspiration to the next generation of the sport,
- 1:48Speaker 3: but also to anybody who's trying to try something new
- 1:52Speaker 3: because ninja is not a traditional sport. So being that
- 1:54Speaker 3: inspiration to convince people, Hey, you know, it's okay to,
- 1:57Speaker 3: it's okay to fail. It's okay to fall as long
- 1:59Speaker 3: as you get back up again. And it's, it's sometimes
- 2:01Speaker 3: good to get out there and try something that maybe
- 2:03Speaker 3: not everyone is doing. Try something new and don't be
- 2:05Speaker 3: afraid to chase what you love because it can lead
- 2:07Speaker 3: to crazy opportunities.
- 2:09Speaker 1: You know, just the other day, Mike Iceman told me
- 2:11Speaker 1: that it's going to be at the Olympics in Los Angeles.
- 2:13Speaker 1: And I said, is the cold water going to be there?
- 2:15Speaker 1: And he said, it better be there because that's part
- 2:18Speaker 1: of it.
- 2:19Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, it's really cool to see how far
- 2:21Speaker 3: the sport has come in the past 13 years that
- 2:24Speaker 3: I've been doing it. When I started, people had no
- 2:26Speaker 3: idea what ninja was. They asked if it was like karate.
- 2:29Speaker 3: And so to now be in the Olympics and actually
- 2:35Speaker 3: be an official sport that is recognized around the world
- 2:39Speaker 3: is really cool because I've seen it from where it was,
- 2:43Speaker 3: and I've watched it grow and been a part of
- 2:44Speaker 3: that for the entire journey.
- 2:46Speaker 2: And it's really cool to now be.
- 2:48Speaker 3: Such a big part in it and be– an American
- 2:50Speaker 3: Ninja Warrior champion after so many years of trying.
- 2:55Speaker 1: Let me ask you a very personal question, and because
- 2:57Speaker 1: of your quest with 13 years, and I'm also a
- 3:00Speaker 1: third-degree black belt in martial arts, and it's at that
- 3:03Speaker 1: point where I can't compete anymore, but the thing about
- 3:05Speaker 1: it is, though, is that for the younger people, my
- 3:07Speaker 1: name is still on the wall. Have you jumped to
- 3:10Speaker 1: that yet, or is that still ahead, where you're going
- 3:12Speaker 1: to have to say, okay, you may not see me
- 3:14Speaker 1: as the Ninja Warrior now, but if you look at
- 3:17Speaker 1: that wall, you'll see that I dedicated my soul to
- 3:20Speaker 1: that journey.
- 3:22Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I'm not quite there yet.
- 3:24Speaker 3: I still have more to give to this sport and
- 3:26Speaker 3: more time to compete. But that is my goal eventually
- 3:29Speaker 3: is to be an inspiration and be a coach and
- 3:32Speaker 3: kind of further the sport outside of competing. I know
- 3:35Speaker 3: I can't compete at the highest level forever. So I'm
- 3:37Speaker 3: going to compete to the fullest until then. And then
- 3:40Speaker 3: after that transition to moving the sport forward from the
- 3:43Speaker 3: other side of the curtain.
- 3:44Speaker 1: Dude, when the body doesn't want to do it anymore,
- 3:47Speaker 1: I'm going to tell you right now, it really upsets
- 3:49Speaker 1: you deeply on the inside of your core because your
- 3:52Speaker 1: mind says, why can't I do this? And your body saying,
- 3:55Speaker 1: I I've been trying, I've been trying. So, I mean,
- 3:57Speaker 1: that's one of the things that I want to know
- 3:59Speaker 1: more about these ninja warriors and How do you deal
- 4:02Speaker 1: with that when the body says, no, no, I'm not
- 4:05Speaker 1: going to show up today?
- 4:06Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, it is tough, obviously, starting when I
- 4:09Speaker 3: was seven and had limitless energy now to at 20,
- 4:12Speaker 3: slowing down a little bit. I just have to change
- 4:16Speaker 3: the way I train and change the way I do things.
- 4:19Speaker 2: Obviously, I still am in peak condition.
- 4:23Speaker 3: I'm in the best shape I've ever been in, but
- 4:25Speaker 3: I need to focus more on warming up, stretching, making
- 4:28Speaker 3: sure I'm keeping my body in good shape because at
- 4:30Speaker 3: the end of the day, that's what's going to lead
- 4:32Speaker 3: to being in the sport for a long time. I
- 4:35Speaker 3: can't abuse my body too much too early or I
- 4:38Speaker 3: won't be able to do this for a long time.
- 4:41Speaker 2: However long I want to.
- 4:42Speaker 1: You've always been that guy that has mastered the whole
- 4:45Speaker 1: entire flight pattern. I mean, you know how to fly
- 4:49Speaker 1: through the air, but now I've got to ask you
- 4:50Speaker 1: that leadership question. They always say fight or flight while
- 4:54Speaker 1: you're in flight. Are you also in fight? In other words,
- 4:57Speaker 1: are you fighting to get to the edge or are
- 4:59Speaker 1: you using the energy of that flight to get you
- 5:02Speaker 1: to the top of that championship?
- 5:05Speaker 3: Yeah.
- 5:05Speaker 2: I mean, I think it's a little bit of both.
- 5:07Speaker 3: Um, As much as I try to stay flowy on
- 5:09Speaker 3: the course and stay calm and collected, in my head,
- 5:12Speaker 3: I know that I can push. And as soon as
- 5:14Speaker 3: I'm locked in, I'm ready to go. There's not much
- 5:18Speaker 3: that can stop me. I'm just going, and I'm going
- 5:21Speaker 3: to push.
- 5:21Speaker 2: All the way to the end.
- 5:22Speaker 1: So do you find yourself already in action to go
- 5:25Speaker 1: for the championship a second year in a row? Because,
- 5:28Speaker 1: I mean, that's one thing. When I said that it's
- 5:30Speaker 1: every day, a lot of people don't understand that. Those
- 5:32Speaker 1: of us that are in matches like this, it never,
- 5:35Speaker 1: never goes away.
- 5:38Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, we're training and competing all year round.
- 5:41Speaker 3: And so I'm now prepping for season 19 of Ninja
- 5:45Speaker 3: warrior and yeah, I'm ready to be the defending champion
- 5:48Speaker 3: and I'm going for a second year running.
- 5:51Speaker 1: How do you deal with motion sickness? Because that's the
- 5:53Speaker 1: one thing that caught me off guard. I didn't, I mean,
- 5:55Speaker 1: it's like, if your eyes are not where your body is, Oh,
- 5:59Speaker 1: you're going to crash.
- 6:01Speaker 2: Yeah.
- 6:02Speaker 3: I mean, we work so hard at just body and
- 6:04Speaker 3: spatial awareness. Um, there's so many times where in training,
- 6:08Speaker 3: I'll take like a slow-mo video of myself to like
- 6:11Speaker 3: show the kids how the body has to move and
- 6:13Speaker 3: how to get into certain positions. And you see all
- 6:16Speaker 3: the little things working together and how my hands can
- 6:18Speaker 3: be over here doing one thing and my legs and
- 6:20Speaker 3: feet are doing another. And just, it's all working together
- 6:23Speaker 3: to transition my momentum to go the right way. So
- 6:25Speaker 3: I think that's something that a lot of people don't
- 6:27Speaker 3: understand is like, I can be in very detailed control
- 6:31Speaker 3: of where exactly every part of my body is. Um,
- 6:35Speaker 3: And that's just something that over the years I've worked.
- 6:37Speaker 2: On and trained.
- 6:38Speaker 1: Do you believe that the body does communicate? Because my
- 6:40Speaker 1: trainer was endlessly telling me your toes are talking to
- 6:43Speaker 1: your ankles, which are talking to your calves, talking to
- 6:46Speaker 1: your knees, right up into your abs. Do you believe
- 6:48Speaker 1: in that conversation and how do you tap into it?
- 6:51Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, everything is connected.
- 6:53Speaker 3: And that's one of the biggest things in ninja is
- 6:56Speaker 3: to have your entire body in the right position.
- 6:58Speaker 2: Sometimes you need to catch everything. balance.
- 7:00Speaker 3: As soon as you're hanging on something, you need your
- 7:03Speaker 3: weight and momentum going the right way so you can
- 7:05Speaker 3: stay holding on to it. So having everything connected and
- 7:08Speaker 3: being very in tune with where every little part of
- 7:10Speaker 3: your body is and what it's doing is very important.
- 7:13Speaker 1: How much does writing play in this? Because it is
- 7:16Speaker 1: the foot fist way and that way is the way
- 7:19Speaker 1: we think. How do you keep your mind intact as well?
- 7:23Speaker 3: Yeah, I think one of the biggest things that led
- 7:25Speaker 3: to my success this season just was my mental game
- 7:27Speaker 3: and how I I was focused, especially coming off of
- 7:30Speaker 3: Season 17 with kind of my worst season. I was
- 7:34Speaker 3: really just focused on being back in the competition for
- 7:36Speaker 3: so long. I had ridden off my early success and
- 7:39Speaker 3: was just like, all right, I've done well enough. I
- 7:40Speaker 3: don't have to keep trying as hard. And so going
- 7:43Speaker 3: into Season 18, I was like, no, I need to
- 7:45Speaker 3: try again. I need to really push, and I can
- 7:48Speaker 3: win this if I really dedicate myself to it.
- 7:51Speaker 2: So I think that's the biggest.
- 7:53Speaker 3: Thing in our sport because we're all– The high level
- 7:55Speaker 3: athletes were all capable of doing the obstacles, but it's
- 7:57Speaker 3: the mental challenge and the consistency over so many runs,
- 8:00Speaker 3: so many nights, so many. hours competing, that really is
- 8:04Speaker 3: the difference maker at the end of the day.
- 8:05Speaker 1: You brought up a very interesting point there about last
- 8:08Speaker 1: season wasn't one of the best. It was a challenging season.
- 8:11Speaker 1: And yet just a few minutes ago, I was on
- 8:12Speaker 1: there on a conversation with Daniel from Shark Tank. And
- 8:15Speaker 1: we talked about those moments where we feel those losses.
- 8:18Speaker 1: But in reality, they are victories. So what did you
- 8:22Speaker 1: learn from that season that made you the crown king
- 8:25Speaker 1: or the champion this season?
- 8:28Speaker 3: Yeah, the biggest thing I've been telling people for the
- 8:30Speaker 3: past few years is that failure is not a bad
- 8:33Speaker 3: thing it's an opportunity to learn it's an opportunity to
- 8:37Speaker 3: learn lessons that you wouldn't have learned by just succeeding
- 8:39Speaker 3: immediately and so coming off of season 17 I really
- 8:43Speaker 3: learned that like I can't take success for granted I
- 8:47Speaker 3: can't just ride off of one success forever I need
- 8:50Speaker 3: to stay in it stay consistent and really try my
- 8:53Speaker 3: best because if I'm if I'm not trying that I
- 8:56Speaker 3: can't succeed and so I need to make sure my
- 8:59Speaker 3: mind is in it and make sure I'm actually giving
- 9:02Speaker 3: my all.
- 9:03Speaker 1: So outside of the circle of the American Ninja Warrior,
- 9:06Speaker 1: this is where a lot of people kind of point
- 9:07Speaker 1: at me and they make fun of me, but they
- 9:09Speaker 1: don't understand that you and I have got to sit
- 9:11Speaker 1: there and work on the strength of our grip at
- 9:13Speaker 1: all times. Those exercises look so freaky weird. How do
- 9:17Speaker 1: you deal with those moments where you're in public and
- 9:20Speaker 1: people are watching you work out?
- 9:23Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, a lot of it is training in
- 9:25Speaker 3: the ninja gym with people that are like minded. But
- 9:28Speaker 3: whenever I'm going to a gym and I just need
- 9:30Speaker 3: to get a workout in it, there are always strange looks,
- 9:34Speaker 3: especially recently. We've been doing a lot of like weighted
- 9:37Speaker 3: pull ups. And so I have two hundred and ten
- 9:39Speaker 3: pounds of weights hanging off my body while I'm doing
- 9:42Speaker 3: pull ups. And there are strange looks, but I try
- 9:45Speaker 3: to be strong enough that it still looks cool.
- 9:48Speaker 1: The dude just won American Ninja Warrior. We'll be right
- 9:50Speaker 1: back with Josiah Papel. Oh, we got to get back
- 9:55Speaker 1: into that conversation with Josiah Papel, the winner of American
- 9:58Speaker 1: Ninja Warrior. How are you protecting that groin? Because I'll
- 10:01Speaker 1: tell you what, that's a muscle that a lot of
- 10:03Speaker 1: people forget about or the Achilles tendon. And man, when
- 10:06Speaker 1: it says good night, it means it.
- 10:09Speaker 3: Yeah. I mean, a lot of younger athletes, I think,
- 10:12Speaker 3: take for granted the importance of stretching and warmup and
- 10:15Speaker 3: all of that.
- 10:15Speaker 2: And so, As I've aged in.
- 10:17Speaker 3: The sport, I've realized how important it is to keep
- 10:21Speaker 3: my body in check outside of training and outside of
- 10:24Speaker 3: competing and just kind of keeping the upkeep and staying healthy.
- 10:28Speaker 1: Are you tapping into other forms of martial arts such
- 10:31Speaker 1: as Tai Chi or even Taekwondo or some sort of...
- 10:34Speaker 1: Because you've got to get that body to work with
- 10:36Speaker 1: the motions. Where your head is is where your body flows.
- 10:39Speaker 1: But at the same time is that your imagination can
- 10:41Speaker 1: take off and go in any direction. Yeah, I mean.
- 10:46Speaker 2: my whole life has been a ninja warrior.
- 10:48Speaker 3: And so that's kind of where, where I'm getting those lessons,
- 10:52Speaker 3: but it's so important to keep your, your mind focused
- 10:56Speaker 3: on things and keep your body all in line. Because
- 10:59Speaker 3: I tell my kids so many times that like, if
- 11:02Speaker 3: you're on an obstacle and you look down, you're going
- 11:03Speaker 3: to fall like where your mind is and where your
- 11:06Speaker 3: head's looking. That's where you're going to go. If you
- 11:08Speaker 3: want to get something, look at it. And that's where
- 11:10Speaker 3: your body's going to take it. That's the easiest way to,
- 11:12Speaker 3: To get where you want to go. And so I
- 11:14Speaker 3: think over the years, I've just learned how important it
- 11:16Speaker 3: is to be confident and also just like look towards
- 11:19Speaker 3: what you want to achieve and you will achieve it.
- 11:22Speaker 1: OK, so now I know what it's like to be
- 11:23Speaker 1: in a competition. A lot of listeners don't. But there
- 11:26Speaker 1: are things that we were able to do. And I
- 11:28Speaker 1: don't know what they do with you guys. But do
- 11:29Speaker 1: you get to go talk to the one you're about
- 11:31Speaker 1: ready to race against? Because we were given that opportunity.
- 11:34Speaker 1: And the very second that I would see them, I'm
- 11:36Speaker 1: watching their breathing pattern. I'm watching to see if their
- 11:39Speaker 1: muscles are twinging. I'm looking to see if their legs
- 11:42Speaker 1: are bending. Are you studying them before you go up
- 11:45Speaker 1: to that championship beginning?
- 11:47Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, of course, we're always studying the athletes
- 11:49Speaker 3: around us. We're all in a holding tent together. And importantly,
- 11:53Speaker 3: we're all friends. So it is a very interesting environment.
- 11:56Speaker 3: It's all people that I've known for years and we've
- 11:58Speaker 3: spent a lot of time together.
- 12:00Speaker 2: But yeah, before race, even.
- 12:02Speaker 3: Though we are friends, you're still studying them, still looking
- 12:04Speaker 3: at them, still trying to size up the competition.
- 12:08Speaker 1: What are you doing for breathing exercises? Because my God,
- 12:11Speaker 1: that is so important because if you're breathing wrong, it'll
- 12:14Speaker 1: screw up your flight.
- 12:17Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, it's a lot of just breath work,
- 12:19Speaker 3: deep breaths, box breathing just to calm the nerves. But
- 12:22Speaker 3: especially on the course, a lot of people hold their
- 12:25Speaker 3: breath and that is not good. So making sure you're
- 12:27Speaker 3: breathing with every movement as soon as you tense your muscles,
- 12:30Speaker 3: kind of breathing through that, making sure you're providing.
- 12:34Speaker 2: Oxygen to your body is very important.
- 12:36Speaker 3: Which is something I've been working on for a long time,
- 12:38Speaker 3: staying calm and collected and focusing on breathing while I'm
- 12:41Speaker 3: running at such a high pace.
- 12:43Speaker 1: Can you hear those play-by-play announcers to the sidelines? Because
- 12:46Speaker 1: I've always been afraid of that, that would it control
- 12:49Speaker 1: me if I was up in the air like that
- 12:51Speaker 1: and I could hear the guys on the sidelines?
- 12:55Speaker 2: I mean, I block everything out.
- 12:56Speaker 3: There's very few people I can hear, sometimes a couple
- 12:59Speaker 3: of my friends, but honestly, I don't even hear the crowd.
- 13:02Speaker 3: As soon as I step up on that start line
- 13:04Speaker 3: and I'm going, it's just silence.
- 13:07Speaker 2: I'm so focused.
- 13:08Speaker 1: Well, I don't know how the hell you guys are
- 13:10Speaker 1: even up that late at night or that early in
- 13:12Speaker 1: the morning, because I mean, I can't get my body
- 13:14Speaker 1: going until I've had at least 55,000 gallons of, of,
- 13:17Speaker 1: of caffeine here.
- 13:20Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, it's, it's tough. I don't drink any caffeine,
- 13:22Speaker 2: but we're filming from, yeah, we go all the way.
- 13:25Speaker 3: We get to set at 6 PM and we're all
- 13:26Speaker 3: the way there until 6 AM that championship race with
- 13:29Speaker 3: Kai was at like 5.30 in the morning and we
- 13:32Speaker 3: had been up all night.
- 13:33Speaker 2: So it is a challenge.
- 13:34Speaker 1: Dude, that's how we study for martial arts because, I mean,
- 13:37Speaker 1: that's the thing about it. When you go for that
- 13:39Speaker 1: black belt test, it is always at the most awkward time.
- 13:42Speaker 1: And I swear to God, it's about learning how to
- 13:44Speaker 1: trust the atmosphere of right now. So I've got to
- 13:46Speaker 1: ask you, were you in your moment of now during
- 13:50Speaker 1: this time of the championship? Yeah, I mean.
- 13:54Speaker 3: It's all about what you've trained for. And so we
- 13:57Speaker 3: flip our sleep schedules leading up to it. We make
- 14:00Speaker 3: sure we're prepared as much as we can. And adrenaline
- 14:03Speaker 3: handles a lot of it. But I knew I was
- 14:06Speaker 3: I knew I was prepared and I knew that as
- 14:07Speaker 3: long as I could let my training handle it and
- 14:10Speaker 3: let let what I had done to prepare. Guide me
- 14:15Speaker 3: that I would I would get there as long as
- 14:16Speaker 3: I wasn't making any mistakes.
- 14:18Speaker 1: So there's two things that we do and that a
- 14:20Speaker 1: lot of people that especially those sideline. I don't want
- 14:24Speaker 1: to don't even say fans. Don't don't do that. What
- 14:26Speaker 1: I want to do is I want to say the
- 14:27Speaker 1: people that walk with us the entire way. There are
- 14:30Speaker 1: two things that we always bring up. Do I do
- 14:32Speaker 1: it again? Do I do it again? Or how was that?
- 14:34Speaker 1: How was that? How was that? How do you deal
- 14:36Speaker 1: with those moments where you go into a moment of
- 14:38Speaker 1: doubt and you're relying on those around you boost my
- 14:42Speaker 1: butt back up because I need to get back into
- 14:44Speaker 1: that competition.
- 14:47Speaker 3: Yeah. I mean, for so long I was, I was like,
- 14:50Speaker 3: Oh yeah, I don't need to keep doing this. Like I've,
- 14:52Speaker 3: I've accomplished enough, but now that I've seen the top
- 14:54Speaker 3: and I've talked to a couple of friends about, do
- 14:57Speaker 3: I step away?
- 14:58Speaker 2: Do I keep going? And they were all like, yeah,
- 14:59Speaker 2: you should keep going.
- 15:00Speaker 3: And I think, For a little while, I was considering
- 15:03Speaker 3: stepping away, but now that season 19 is right around
- 15:06Speaker 3: the corner, I'm back in it, and I'm here to
- 15:09Speaker 3: defend my championship.
- 15:10Speaker 1: You got to be honest with me here when it
- 15:12Speaker 1: comes to this. I realize you're from Jersey and you're
- 15:13Speaker 1: right now the most famous person from Jersey. You're out
- 15:16Speaker 1: doing Bruce Springsteen. And the thing is, is that if
- 15:19Speaker 1: I were your manager, I want you in marketing right now.
- 15:22Speaker 1: I need you on commercials. I need you on magazines.
- 15:25Speaker 1: I need you everywhere. So where are we going to
- 15:27Speaker 1: see you beyond this moment? Because you've been crowned the champion.
- 15:32Speaker 1: I want you to be a marketing genius here.
- 15:35Speaker 3: Yeah. I mean, I don't know what's next for me,
- 15:37Speaker 3: but I'm definitely looking at a bunch of opportunities and
- 15:40Speaker 3: trying to put things together so that I can use
- 15:42Speaker 3: this success to its fullest.
- 15:44Speaker 2: Yeah.
- 15:45Speaker 1: So now what are your other areas of creativity? Because
- 15:48Speaker 1: I mean, all of this energy into one little shell,
- 15:52Speaker 1: there's got to be something else that you do that's
- 15:54Speaker 1: very creative.
- 15:55Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of opportunities in Ninja.
- 15:58Speaker 3: I run a league where we host competitions, and I
- 16:00Speaker 3: design a lot of obstacles for gyms around the country.
- 16:03Speaker 3: But I'm a huge car guy.
- 16:05Speaker 2: I love cars. Yeah, when I.
- 16:09Speaker 3: Was 15 or 16, I bought a wrecked car and
- 16:14Speaker 3: rebuilt it in my parents' driveway, and I still drive
- 16:16Speaker 3: that car to this day. So stuff like that, sim racing,
- 16:20Speaker 3: I'm a big Formula One fan. So that's kind of my...
- 16:24Speaker 3: outside of athletics outside of ninja and building hobby.
- 16:28Speaker 1: See that doesn't shock me because you're into the mind
- 16:30Speaker 1: body and soul the spirit of it all you understand
- 16:33Speaker 1: how the engine works and how to get it started
- 16:35Speaker 1: so for you to be working on a car that
- 16:37Speaker 1: doesn't shock me because you totally get the process of
- 16:40Speaker 1: how to get to success.
- 16:44Speaker 3: Exactly yes and i've always had a very engineering mindset
- 16:47Speaker 3: um ever since i was a kid i love taking
- 16:50Speaker 3: things apart and seeing how they work and so the
- 16:52Speaker 3: the The working on cars has always been something that
- 16:56Speaker 3: I've wanted to do. And now, especially with the money
- 16:59Speaker 3: I've made from Ninja, it's been really cool to get
- 17:01Speaker 3: that opportunity.
- 17:03Speaker 1: Is there a moment that you're going to hold on
- 17:05Speaker 1: to forever that is just going to be that Josiah moment?
- 17:10Speaker 1: I mean, is it the championship or is it the
- 17:12Speaker 1: grind to get there?
- 17:13Speaker 3: I think the biggest moment, especially from this season, that
- 17:17Speaker 3: stands out to me and that is something I'll never
- 17:19Speaker 3: forget is actually before we filmed. It was before that
- 17:22Speaker 3: last night. I was preparing for the bracket, preparing for
- 17:25Speaker 3: all the championship races. And we got to set. It
- 17:28Speaker 3: was 7, 8 p.m., sunset in Vegas. And everyone was
- 17:33Speaker 3: kind of in a group just talking. We were about
- 17:36Speaker 3: to go through rules for the night. And I just
- 17:37Speaker 3: kind of walked off to the side. We're in a
- 17:40Speaker 3: stone and dirt lot.
- 17:42Speaker 2: Um, in Vegas.
- 17:43Speaker 3: And I just looked at the mountains and looked at
- 17:44Speaker 3: the sunset and really took in the moment and was
- 17:48Speaker 3: grateful to be there. And I think that moment will
- 17:50Speaker 3: always stick with me. Just kind of that moment of
- 17:52Speaker 3: appreciation and enjoyment of life. how far I'd come and
- 17:56Speaker 3: again in that moment I had no idea that that
- 17:58Speaker 3: moment that that night would lead to me being the
- 18:00Speaker 3: champion but I could I could feel that it was
- 18:03Speaker 3: a special night.
- 18:04Speaker 1: Wow now do you travel around to the different schools
- 18:06Speaker 1: and talk with students to get them uplifted because right
- 18:09Speaker 1: now they need someone like you Josiah they need a
- 18:13Speaker 1: warrior or just somebody who's so damn honest like you
- 18:16Speaker 1: are to say hey look you can do it but
- 18:19Speaker 1: you've got to believe in it first.
- 18:22Speaker 3: Yeah, so the gym that I work at is the
- 18:24Speaker 3: Grit Ninja. We have locations all over New England and
- 18:27Speaker 3: the Northeast. We actually go into schools and give talks,
- 18:31Speaker 3: and I've been doing a lot of those last year
- 18:33Speaker 3: and this year, and just kind of preaching that message of, hey, like,
- 18:37Speaker 3: failure is not the end of everything. Like it's okay
- 18:40Speaker 3: to fail. It's good to fail because that's how you
- 18:41Speaker 3: learn your lessons. If you only ever succeed, if you
- 18:43Speaker 3: only ever try a little bit so that you don't fail,
- 18:47Speaker 3: you're never going to see how far you can go.
- 18:48Speaker 3: And those failures are what are going to teach you
- 18:51Speaker 3: the biggest lessons in life.
- 18:52Speaker 1: Your name is very spiritual, sir. Josiah, where's it coming from?
- 18:55Speaker 1: Because I, because your mom and dad obviously had a
- 18:58Speaker 1: vision and a plan for your purpose.
- 19:01Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I've always had a very strong faith.
- 19:04Speaker 3: And so I've always wanted to uplift people and bring
- 19:08Speaker 3: them closer again. Before every race this season, I said
- 19:12Speaker 3: a little prayer and I was just like, God, give
- 19:14Speaker 3: us strength.
- 19:14Speaker 2: And so that really took us, that took me far.
- 19:17Speaker 3: And so I think sharing that message of like, if
- 19:21Speaker 3: you dedicate yourself to something and.
- 19:25Speaker 2: Ask God to be there with you, he will provide.
- 19:27Speaker 1: Well, you've got the glow. And my pastor, Stephen Furtick
- 19:29Speaker 1: from Elevation Church says, you never have to say a word,
- 19:32Speaker 1: just offer the glow. Just let people see your glow.
- 19:35Speaker 1: And you've definitely got that glow. And that's the reason
- 19:37Speaker 1: why I had to bring that up because there's something
- 19:39Speaker 1: about your inside core that says that you are the champion,
- 19:43Speaker 1: but you're willing to share the journey with those like
- 19:45Speaker 1: Peter did. He turned around to help the people up.
- 19:48Speaker 1: And that's just, I just feel that about you.
- 19:51Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, my goal is to just lead by example,
- 19:54Speaker 3: be the best version of myself and let my accomplishments.
- 19:58Speaker 2: Show people that they can. they can do it too
- 20:00Speaker 2: if they dedicate themselves to something.
- 20:02Speaker 3: Wow.
- 20:02Speaker 1: Where can people go to find out more about you, Josiah?
- 20:05Speaker 1: Because they have to understand this is not an overnight success,
- 20:08Speaker 1: that you have seriously dedicated your entire life and soul
- 20:12Speaker 1: to this project and they too can do it.
- 20:15Speaker 3: Yeah. I mean, my Instagram, Josiah Appel, I'm posting all
- 20:18Speaker 3: the time, posting course runs, training, Ninja Warrior stuff, as
- 20:22Speaker 3: well as just like lifestyle things, the things I'm passionate about.
- 20:26Speaker 3: And that's really where It all happens that I show
- 20:29Speaker 3: my authentic self because I don't want someone to see
- 20:32Speaker 3: me on TV, see me on Instagram, and then meet
- 20:36Speaker 3: me in person and go, oh, he's really different. I
- 20:38Speaker 3: want to be my authentic self, and so I try
- 20:41Speaker 3: to be the same person on and off the course.
- 20:43Speaker 1: That's what it's all about, dude. That's what it's all about.
- 20:45Speaker 1: You've got to come back to this show any time
- 20:47Speaker 1: in the future, Josiah. I love your energy. I love
- 20:50Speaker 1: everything that you're doing with your mind, body, and soul
- 20:52Speaker 1: because you're using it as the tool that it is.
- 20:56Speaker 2: Thank you.
- 20:57Speaker 1: You be brilliant today, okay, Josiah?
- 21:00Speaker 2: Thank you. Thanks for having me.
- 21:01Speaker 1: You bet. See ya.