EDITOR’S NOTE: This report has been corrected to reflect that Pozarzycki studies hapkido and became interested in the Japanese version of “American Ninja Warrior” while a friend was stationed in Japan.
PORT ANGELES — A local man is asking for the community’s help in making a dream come true.
Shae Pozarzycki, 24, said he is hoping residents can help him attain a longtime goal: to compete in season eight of television’s “American Ninja Warrior.”
“American Ninja Warrior” is an athletic game show on NBC in which contestants power through upper-body strength and balance challenges. Some tasks are similar to freeclimbing, in which climbers ascend walls or cliffs without ropes, while others see competitors try to navigate obstacle courses without falling to mats or water below.
Pozarzycki had to fill out an application and submit a video, which is posted on YouTube at www.tinyurl.com/PDN-ninja.
“The more viewers that you can bring a TV station, the more likely they are to choose you,” he said. However, he added, being high in views is no guarantee of selection.
Town’s support
The North Olympic Peninsula community was strong in getting behind Port Angeles to reach second place in Outside magazine’s “Best Town Ever” contest, and he’s hoping his neighbors can help him achieve his dream of competing in the punishing physical challenge.
If Pozarzycki is selected to compete, he will be notified between late March and early May. He will have about two weeks to report to the show’s qualifying round in one of several cities where it will be shot for television.
The locations of the qualifying rounds have not yet been announced.
Those who qualify during that round will move on to “city finals,” where they compete to be one of 15 finalists at the Mount Midoriyama final in Las Vegas, according to the show’s website. The winner of the finals gains the title of American Ninja Warrior and a $1 million prize, Pozarzycki said.
Each season, several past contestants come back to the show, along with a selection of newcomers, and Pozarzycki said he wants to be one of those new challengers.
“I constantly train,” Pozarzycki said.
Some applicants are selected for the “Team Ninja Warrior” show, a similar competition that pits teams of athletes against each other.
Pozarzycki works in construction and is currently an employee at the bluff stabilization project at the Port Angeles landfill.
A Port Angeles High School graduate, he competed on the school’s Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps strength and fitness competition team, and served in the U.S. Army from 2010 through 2014.
While a friend was stationed in Japan, Pozarzycki began watching the original Japanese version of “Ninja Warrior” and was hooked on the sport.
Matters took an unexpected turn however when Pozarzycki broke his hip.
“The doctors told me I wouldn’t be able to do a lot of things I used to, but I decided I would get back into the shape I was in back before my injuries — or better,” he said.
Went home
Pozarzycki was discharged and returned to Port Angeles, then threw himself back into training, including parkour, freerunning and studying hapkido at the Phoenix Dragon Martial Arts center.
He also has trained with other “ninja warrior” and freeclimbing athletes at gyms in Bellingham and Maple Valley.
Much of his motivation comes from his family, he said.
He has two children, Caidence Pozarzycki, age 7, and Davin Pozarzycki, age 18 months, and lives with his girlfriend, Renee Madison.
“My father was my inspiration. He was very into fitness,” Pozarzycki said, but he added that his father died after complications from diabetes eventually overcame that fitness level.
Now he has his own to children to inspire, he said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
