By Jed Lanyon
Healesville resident Daniel Mason is set to compete in the semi-finals of hit tv show Australia Ninja Warrior on Sunday 4 July.
The local Ninja Warrior is competing in his fifth season of the show, which sees athletes compete in giant obstacle courses of increasing difficulty, with the fastest named as Australia’s ultimate Ninja Warrior.
Mr Mason said he’s “pretty excited” to be competing in his third semi-final in four years in hopes of making his second grand final.
“Every year is a new challenge, we don’t know what we’re coming up against until we’re there. It’s always a good atmosphere and the competitors are great in supporting each other… It’s been pretty fun this year coming up against new obstacles.”
Mr Mason’s strength is the ‘Salmon Bar’, an obstacle where he holds the record of 58 consecutive jumps and one that he likens to climbing a ladder with no rungs.
“You’re basically hanging onto a bar and that bar is sitting on two rungs and you have to jump up 30 centimeters to the next rung, while holding the bar.
“It provides good preparation for a lot of the obstacles of the course that require similar types of strength and movement.”
The Healesville osteopath explained how he became a Ninja Warrior.
“I had a background in gymnastics as a teenager and into my early twenties and then I got into rock climbing. I’ve always had an interest in sports that require strength and control.
“I was never at the top of either of those sports, but when combined I make for a really good Ninja Warrior.
“I always watched the Japanese and American version of the show, so when it came to Australia, it was something I always wanted to have a shot at and I was lucky enough to get a chance.”
If you see a barefooted athletic looking man along Healesville’s parks and playgrounds, chances are it will be Mr Mason, who is nicknamed the ‘Barefoot Ninja’.
“I do just about everything barefoot. Not unreasonably, I got to work in shoes and will be wearing shoes in a restaurant, but all my training and competition is done barefoot and I’ll walk around parks barefoot. I even got married barefoot!
“It was a preference for me coming from that gymnastics background and I extended that out into everyday life, I suppose it’s a bit of a habit of mine.”
“I think it’s a bit of a giveaway when they see the bare feet when people try to figure out where they know me from. It gives them a hint. I’ve had a lot of support with locals when I take the kids down to the playgrounds and parks a lot.
“The show’s very popular with kids, they’ll recognise me before the parents do. It’s nice to know people enjoy the show and enjoy watching what we do… It’s cool seeing the influence we have on kids being active.”
The Ninja Warrior moved to Healesville with wife Maddi five years ago. The couple are now raising two young children, Fletcher and Andie.
“I really love the area and the community coming from the inner suburbs. We just really enjoy that country feel of Healesville and the sense of community and having a bit more space.
“Having two kids now, we’re loving the family friendly area that it is.”
Mr Mason’s children could be future Ninja Warriors in the making.
“You never know what they’ll get into when they’re older. Fletcher likes to play Ninja Warrior, he has a rock climbing wall on his bedroom wall and a trapeze in the hallway. I used to take him to training with me so he’s sort of grown up around it and a lot of the people who are competing in Australia Ninja Warrior where he sees it as an everyday thing.
“Andie is one year old now and she’s very adventurous and seems to be heading down that path as well.”
The Barefoot Ninja had some advice for kids looking to take up the competition.
“Lots of my training happens on playgrounds when I’m there with the kids. It’s such a diverse sport and you don’t know what you’re coming up against. The best way to train for it is to figure out what your body can do. It’s a pretty fun and easy sport to train, it does take a lot of hard work, but you just get out there and see what you can do.
“Really, that’s what I love about it, no two training sessions are the same and I can be down at the playground with the kids and still feel like I’m training for the show.”
Mr Mason will also be competing in the upcoming Australian Ninja Warrior: Record Breakers, where fan favourite Ninjas will go head to head on five epic individual obstacles that have been transformed into their toughest forms.
“It was such a fun thing to film, I think it’d be great if people tuned in for it. It’s something a bit different than what has been in other seasons, so hopefully it’ll be one of the most exciting episodes aired yet.”
