MINNEAPOLIS - Ropes, ladders, hooks, giant walls and water.
What looks like torture on this blazing Saturday afternoon, actually has people lining up to willingly take part and test their will.
“I honestly, I don't think about anything when I do the course,” says Kyle Soderman, a course tester. “I just let my body do what it does.”
What these bodies do, is becoming one of the fastest growing sports and most watched NBC programs.
It's American Ninja Warrior and it's no longer just a niche sport. The show made a stop in Minneapolis this week.
“It's not just a cult following anymore,” says Maggi Thorne, a competitor on the show. "With an Emmy nomination you can’t go wrong. You’re always going to see something inspirational.”
It's inspired a new class of athletes. Gone are the days of slinging weights. Now they swing from hoops and ropes.
“I haven’t touched a normal gym in three-plus years now,” says Soderman. “And I don't touch weights at all.”
Kyle, like the rest of the athletes here, are obstacle testers. They help fine-tune the course, long before the competitors ever get on it.
“Yeah, it's critical,” says Anthony Storm, one of the show's executive producers. “The testers give us an idea of how many people we can expect to get through each obstacle.”
Testers like Maggi Thorne, a mother of three, who's also been a competitor on the show for four years. She moves through the course with ease, enjoying the physical and mental challenge it poses.
“You get a little bit nervous,” says Thorne. “You don’t want to be over confident. You have to take it seriously, but the number one rule is always have fun.”
Then there are others, who just get to show up because the show is on their network.
Which is the other interesting point about the show and the athletes. There is a camaraderie among them... sharing in each other’s successes and failures
“It's super hard for me to watch someone I am competing against about to beat me,” says Soderman. "Because I think, ‘I hope he falls,’ but then I think, ‘Go, go, go,’ because you want to see them succeed and it’s unlike any sports realm in the world.”
Which is exactly where this sport falls. So different, yet so alluring, whether you scale to the top of the warped wall or fail on the first obstacle.