Sarasota man gets his shot on 'American Ninja Warrior' as the 'Sunshine Ninja'

Sarasota will be represented when American Ninja Warrior’s 14th season premieres Monday, June 6.

Kyle McCreight, 34, will appear as a first-time contestant on the show after trying for years to get his shot.

McCreight, an occupational therapist and the founder of Sunshine Ninja Therapy LLC, has been a Sarasota resident for the past six and a half years.

McCreight said was introduced to the television show by his mother five years ago, sparking his curiosity. He then started going to a ninja gym in Palmetto, and a passion was born.

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“I went and checked it out, and met a couple guys there that had been on the show, and they kind of showed me the standard ladder and some of the obstacles and I tried them out, just an open gym,” McCreight said. “And I remember being like, ‘wow, that was really cool.’”

That passion turned into a goal of appearing on American Ninja Warrior, with McCreight entering local competitions to get the ball rolling. The 34-year-old met former ANW contestants R.J. Roman, Cameron Drake and Caleb Bergstrom at those local events, further boosting his desire to make it to the big stage.

“I was like, ‘wow, these guys are amazing,’ and made me feel like I wanted to be that good one day,” McCreight said on meeting those former competitors.

After applying four times unsuccessfully for previous seasons, McCreight got the nod back in January that he made the cut this year, In 2020, he was initially selected to be one of the 500 contestants but later had his spot revoked when the show reduced the number of competitors to 100 in the wake of the pandemic.

Even faced with disappointment, McCreight continued to train and stay ready. With a background as a high school basketball player and an all-state cross country runner in his home state of Minnesota, he was able to stay in shape and remain determined.

“It's kind of different from some other sports, you pretty much train year-round for an opportunity that's not ever guaranteed,” McCreight said.

Injuries have also stood in his way, as McCreight has dealt with two broken ribs and tore his left tricep tendon eight days before the first round in San Antonio back in March. Despite knowing that it would hurt in competition, McCreight told himself “I’m not passing up this opportunity.”

His dog, Tre, also spurred McCreight on. Two years ago, McCreight went through a divorce and was “depressed and lonely.” Having Tre around was a morale boost. For both of them.

When Tre was three months old, he had one of his legs amputated. McCreight “felt like with my background as a therapist that I could help this dog.” It has been nearly three years since McCreight adopted Tre, and during that time, he has helped his dog relearn how to walk using yoga mats, improving his own spirits in the process.

Now, Tre is a certified therapy dog, helping disabled children and hospital patients.

“We've shared our story on social media and things like that, and I’ve just noticed how people gravitate towards him,” McCreight said. “He just kind of seems to be like a light, like a ray of sunshine for people, giving them hope and positivity.”

It is safe to say that Tre was a major source of inspiration for McCreight, as the 34-year-old sought a spot on ANW.

“He just always has a big smile on his face,” McCreight said. “Dogs don't complain, you learn a lot from a dog, they just don't complain about life. He’s not feeling bad for himself that he's missing a leg, he does everything a normal dog can do and it's just motivating for me to keep chasing after this dream.”

When he’s not training, or hanging out with Tre, McCreight works as an occupational therapist at Doctors Hospital.

Not to mention Sunshine Ninja Therapy, which provides assistance to children with sensory processing disorders. McCreight uses ninja obstacles as a mode of therapy, which he says is “a sensory integration for them to swing and jump and run and climb and crash into a mat. It’s all sensory input for their body that helps their bodies regulate and calm down.”

The pandemic interrupted the clinic’s work, an abrupt pause after McCreight opened the business in January of 2020. McCreight will get back to helping out those children this summer, after dedicating much of the last year to training.

McCreight’s ANW nickname, an ode to his Florida background, is the “Sunshine Ninja”. During the competition, one of his goals is to represent the state and city admirably.

“They're gonna do a whole story about me and Tre and a lot of our story is being that Florida lifestyle, driving the jeep with the top down, going to the beach, all that kind of stuff. So, I think it'll represent Sarasota very well,” McCreight said.

ANW, which premiered in 2009 and is based on Japanese reality show Sasuke, features qualifying rounds, semifinals and finals. The finals, which include four stages, are filmed in Las Vegas, with a $1 million prize going to the winner.

The season premiere will air at 8 p.m. on NBC, and will be a 2-hour episode.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota man Kyle McCreight to compete on 'American Ninja Warrior'