Jay Lewis Found Community, Competition, & a Girlfriend on American Ninja Warrior
"These are the best obstacles in the world, and I'm just grateful to be able to play on them," Lewis said.
American Ninja Warrior Season 17 competitor Jay Lewis has emerged as one the show's brightest young stars. And he earned yet another Qualifying buzzer during the June 16 episode.
The athlete first captivated audiences on American Ninja Warrior Junior. His transition to the big leagues began in Season 13, where he was lauded for his speed and lache skills, quickly earning the nickname Jay "Lache" Lewis. When he's not crushing the course, Lewis attends college at the University of Central Florida and is dating fellow Ninja fan favorite Maggie Owen. With each buzzer, Lewis proves he's a Ninja to watch.
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In honor of his latest buzzer triumph, NBC Insider chatted with Lewis about what it takes to soar on the Ninja course and the many cherished loved ones he's met along the way.
Jay Lewis praises the ANW family: "Ninja is so much more than just obstacles"
NBC Insider: What's been your favorite part of competing on Season 17 of ANW?
JAY LEWIS: The energy in Season 17 was amazing. Seeing a lot of obstacles that I got to watch when I was a big fan of the show when I was a kid has been amazing. Seeing a lot of the O.G. obstacles being brought back as well as a lot of the O.G. Ninjas, we saw a lot of people that haven't competed in a couple of years coming back to the course. And I thought that was really cool and a great kind of ode to the awesome history of Ninja.
ANW fans love your relationship with fellow competitor Maggie Owen. What's it like to compete alongside your girlfriend and be a part of this community together?
LEWIS: It's really great to be able to compete on the show alongside Maggie. She's such a strong Ninja, and it's really inspiring to me to see all of the work that she puts in. We're able to kind of push each other, and it's a lot more fun getting to go through such a fun experience with somebody you love. So it's just amazing to be able to tackle the course with her.
You've been competing since ANW Junior and have consistently crushed the course each year. What has changed or evolved about your motivation or gameplay?
LEWIS: I think since I've started Ninja, I've really tried to make sure that I have a good time while doing it. When I got into the sport, I think I would put a lot of pressure on myself since the nature of Ninja Warrior is very one-and-done. You only get so many chances, but I've found that I performed the best when I focused on having fun on the obstacles; these are the coolest courses in the world. These are the best obstacles in the world, and I'm just grateful to be able to play on them and swing around.
Walk us through what a typical training day looks like for a Ninja.
LEWIS: Preparing for American Ninja Warrior is definitely a big task. Typically, throughout my training season, I'm training nearly every day a week. I'm doing a lot of course practice, so I'll go into the gym, a Ninja Warrior gym that has obstacles that replicate what you'll see on the show. And I'm doing five, 10 runs on courses that are similar to what we're going to see...It definitely takes up a lot of my time, especially being a full-time college student. Most of my days just consist of school and Ninja, and that's about it. But it's definitely all worth it in the end. It's something that I love.
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What's your favorite part about being in the ANW family?
LEWIS: I think my favorite part about the community is just the overall support that everyone gives each other. All of my best friends are from Ninja; I was able to find my girlfriend through Ninja. A lot of my best friends and people that I trained with are through Ninja, and it's just become such an important part of my life, you know?
The obstacles are super fun, and that's definitely a great part of it. But Ninja is so much more than just obstacles, and it's been great to be able to have this be such a big part of my life for the last 10 years.
Watch American Ninja Warrior on Mondays at 8/7c on NBC and the next day on Peacock.
