How two men from Upstate SC became regular competitors on NBC's American Ninja Warrior

Through the years, Simpsonville's Bob Reese has sustained several injuries while participating in extreme sports.

A season 15 contestant on NBC's American Ninja Warrior, Reese said his most painful injury occurred while he was in college. He attempted to complete a double backflip on concrete. The stunt resulted in Reese landing on his knees and face, breaking six of his front teeth.

"When I went to the dentist, they gave me this liquid stuff that I squirted in my mouth that numbed my entire face where I couldn't feel anything," he said in a recent telephone interview. "I don't know how I would have made it through without that medication because it was the most painful injury I've had by far."

Also while he was a college student, Reese, now 27, snapped his kneecap in half from overuse. The injury put Reese in recovery for over a year.

“I get a lot more sleep and realize the importance of it, so it was a good learning lesson,” he said.

However, injuries don't hold Reese back from doing the stunts he loves. On his social media pages, you can find the adrenaline junkie testing the limits of his capabilities. On TikTok alone, Reese has over 5.1 million followers.

Brett Sims, 37, from Lyman is also competing in the latest ANW season. Known by other warriors as “grandpa,” he has competed on most of the popular show's 15 seasons, only missing seasons 4, 7 and 12.

The “grandpa” nickname was coined by Reese. In 2020, Reese, Sims and wife Grace Sims, and 9-time ANW contestant Scott "Bootie" Cothran founded Greenville’s Motive School of Movement, a parkour and Ninja Warrior gym. Reese and Sims have a friendship of 10 years.

“We all came together and everything worked out. We were able to start this business and it's been a big dream, a big passion of mine for a long time," Sims said. "I'm really happy to be able to share all this stuff that I find enjoyment with over the years with other people."

Sims and Reese were eliminated from the show on Monday, Sept. 4, after making it to Stage 2 of 4 in the finals.

The season finale aired Monday, Sept. 11 on NBC. All previous episodes are available to stream on Peacock.

Here's what to know about Brett Sims

∎Ran track and played in the marching band in high school.

∎First heard about Ninja Warrior in 2007, which aired the Japanese version on the G4 network.

∎While working in construction, he entered the American Ninja Warrior Challenge, submitting a video of himself and making it into the Top 3 in Japan.

∎Has competed on American Ninja Warrior in 12 of the show's 15 seasons. The 12 stripes tattooed on his arms represent the seasons he has been on the show. He said he "won't stop until he reaches Mt. Midoriyama or turns into a zebra."

∎Reese is a four-time national finalist (ANW seasons 8, 10, 11, 13).

∎He has designed obstacles for ANW such as season 9's "Iron Maiden" and last season's Qualifying Stage 2 obstacle, "Piston Purge." He also creates obstacles for the Motive School of Movement.

∎His advice for athletes: "People aren't used to falling down. It's such a big part of learning in our sport. And if you do come into a place like [Motive School of Movement] where you do fall down, it can be a little uncomfortable getting used to falling in front of people. But that's what we do every single day ― I fall every single day trying things."

Here's what to know about Bob Reese

∎During high school, he said he was a "daydreamer who always thought about what challenges he could do after school."

∎His love for overcoming a good challenge led to social media, where he started posting videos of himself doing stunts and parkour.

∎ Reese describes his social media content as "really silly, absurd ideas that I don't think will work that I think are fun and entertaining."

∎He began teaching himself parkour at 14 during Thanksgiving break after his neighbor moved and gave him his mattresses. Reese used the mattresses to prevent injuries and used YouTube videos to learn stunts.

∎Reese became involved in ANW after befriending Sims at a local gymnastics gym.

∎He looks up to Sims, who taught him to be a better athlete. Reese said Sims gives him a different point of view on how to approach obstacles, making them easier to achieve.

∎Social media is his full-time job where he shoots, edits and posts 7-10 videos per week, each of which averages 200k-400k views. He is known for his backflip series where he attempts to do a backflip with every device possible.

∎Competing in ANW is for exposure and a way to have fun with friends: "For me, it's never going to be about winning and trying to be a millionaire with a TV show. For me, it's more about showing the world what's possible with my parkour training."

Nina Tran covers trending topics. Reach her via email at ntran@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: NBC's American Ninja Warrior features competitors from Upstate SC