Stacy Nick, The Coloradoan
Ian Dory has spent his life training to be on “American Ninja Warrior,” he just didn’t know it.


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“I trained for a long time, so I have a good base,” Dory said. Using his skills as a rock climber, along with some encouragement from friend and “American Ninja Warrior” superstar Brian Arnold, Dory — along with fellow Fort Collins resident Noah Kaufman — can be seen beginning tonight on the Las Vegas finals of the NBC obstacle-course contest.
For the Fort Collins native, the show has given him a new opportunity to test himself.
“Being on the show has been a lot of fun and also a lot of pressure, which is something I really enjoy, that lights, camera, action,” said Dory, who excels in the strength categories but said the balance and coordination obstacles have been trickier.
“You only get one shot so if you lose your balance, it’s over,” he said.
This weekend, Dory embarked on another new challenge: the role of dad. He and his wife, Jessica, welcomed a new little ninja, Pax Robert Dory.
As for how his wife feels about the show, “she chuckled at it at first. It was like, ‘I’m going to go train with the ninjas. I’ll be back.’ But then she got really into it.”
Juggling the show with all of his other commitments — including working on his father’s farm, studying economics at the University of Colorado and coaching a Boulder competitive rock climbing club — has been tough, he said.
“I think the lifestyle of being a farmer and that there’s always some job to be done and that work ethic has transferred to my training,” he said.