Sam Froum

Dr. Steven Bachta is not your typical ninja.

He doesn’t wear black robes or sneak around in the shadows. Instead he tackles the world’s hardest obstacle courses on the popular NBC reality show, American Ninja Warrior (ANW). In his first appearance on season 14, which premiered in the summer of 2022, Bachta advanced to the semifinals. Earlier this summer, on season 15, he made it just shy of the semifinals.

Accomplishing such an impressive feat requires serious dedication for Bachta, with hours spent training in both ninja gyms and regular gyms. However, the sport of ninja is just a small part of Bachta’s busy life—he balances his ninja time with his wife, two young kids and job as a pediatric hospitalist at Evanston Hospital. Although he wears many hats now, he wasn’t always a ninja, father and doctor.

Bachta had a typical suburban childhood in the nearby town of Morton Grove, where he spent his days playing sports and video games with his friends. Back then, ninja wasn’t a part of his life at all. In fact, it hadn’t even been invented yet.

The sport of ninja was created in 1997 with the premier of the Japanese TV show, Sasuke. Sasuke, which is still airing today, features competitors facing off on difficult obstacle courses. In 2009, ANW was created as an American spinoff. Throughout its 14 years on TV, ANW has helped popularize ninja across the world.

Prior to Sasuke and ANW, no one in Morton Grove or anywhere else in America was doing ninja. However, even without formal training and competing, Bachta possessed some of the skills that would later help him become an elite ninja.

“I was definitely always fast… [and I was] always stronger than you would think…I could always do a lot of pull-ups,” he says.

Bachta’s ninja skills would lay dormant until many years later, when he and his six-year-old daughter both developed an interest in the sport.

“We were trying to… figure out what would be a good sport for [my daughter]. She didn’t really like soccer or some of the sports… where you have to react and get in there and be aggressive. [But] she was really good at monkey bars and climbing stuff, just really strong,” says Bachta. “[One day,] we saw [ANW] together on TV, and she was like, ‘I wanna try that.’”

So Bachta took his daughter to a nearby ninja gym, and she immediately fell in love with ninja. Inspired by her passion and wanting an opportunity to bond, Bachta decided to take up ninja as well.

“We went [to the ninja gym], and she loved it. So then I was like, ‘Well this is pretty cool, I guess I’ll do it with her,’ and then we just started doing it together,” remarks Bachta.

Once enrolled in ninja classes, his speed and strength served him well. He improved quickly and with the support of fellow ninjas in the community, began entering in local ninja competitions.

After seeing some success, Bachta was encouraged to apply for ANW. He was hesitant at first, not wanting to invite the invasion of his family’s privacy that can come with being on national television. However, after consulting with his family, they decided that if he were on the show, he could help inspire people his age to get in shape, much like older ninjas on previous seasons had done for him.

He also hoped to serve as a role model for parents by showing them a way to connect with their kids through fitness.

“We really hoped that some older person [would] see [me] and say, ‘This is pretty cool. This guy’s working out with his kids and bonding with them.’”

Along with a desire to motivate others, Bachta wanted to take on the challenge of ANW’s increasingly difficult obstacles. Part of what drew him to the show was watching the ninjas evolve along with the obstacles year after year. In this evolution, he had observed a beautiful metaphor for life.

“I like it when the season ends, and nobody wins, but maybe somebody got just a little bit farther… There’s something about that,” notes Bachta. “It’s like life. There’s big problems in the world, and they’re hard to solve. But when you see people trying, and they get a little bit farther, and a little bit farther, and then all of a sudden, there’s a breakthrough, it just gives you hope.”

After submitting his application and waiting anxiously for weeks, Bachta finally heard back from the show. He had been accepted.

Not only was Bachta shocked and excited, he was also proud that the show recognized and admired his multifaceted life.

“[It felt like the show was saying] ‘It’s cool that you’re doing this and you have a family… It’s pretty impressive that you can balance all those things,’” Bachta explains.

Soon after hearing the news, everything changed. Bachta was invited to train with the most elite ninjas in all of Chicago, people he admired from the show and whom his kids idolized. It was a dream come true.

“It was like Michael Jordan was calling me up and being like, ‘Come practice with me, I’m gonna make you better,’” remarks Bachta.

The ninja community is a supportive one, and it’s no different among the top ranks. With his new training partners, Bachta felt encouraged during practices and competitions.

“They all want to come out on your sideline when you’re during your run and cheer you on. You train together, and you want the best for each other,” he explains.

In March of 2022, after six weeks of intense training scheduled around hospital shifts and time with his family, Bachta was flown to San Antonio to compete on season 14 of ANW.

Before he could take on the course, he had to film his introductory interview. This interview typically features a ninja giving their emotional backstory or saying some corny lines. Many times, these interviews seek to exaggerate one or two aspects of a person in order to turn them into a simple, easy-to-remember character for the audience to root for throughout the season.

“They wanted to play up the doctor stuff, so they gave me all these cheesy doctor lines,” mentions Bachta.

The next day, it was finally time for Bachta to put his ninja skills to the test. Not only would physical strength and agility be required, but a proper mentality would be paramount to his performance. As is the case with most first time ninjas on the show, the pressure of the lights, cameras, and millions of viewers can cause overwhelming nerves, so a strong mindset is essential.

For Bachta, the key to quieting his nerves was putting things in perspective and appreciating all the things he had in his life.

“[ANW] is a game show at the end of the day,” states Bachta. “Some people will take it really hard because that’s a big part of their life, but for me, it’s awesome and I’m so blessed to have the opportunity, but I still get to go back to my family and my job. It’s not going to make or break my life.”

After waiting late into the night for his turn to compete, Bachta stepped up to the course. He had spent the last several hours visualizing the exact steps he would take, down to the precise placements of his hands and feet.

The starting horn blared and Bachta began his run. After making it through the first four obstacles, he fell on the fifth. This was enough to advance him to the semifinals.

Looking back, Bachta sees his completion of the fourth obstacle in the qualifying round as a defining moment in his ninja career.

“The fourth obstacle was huge. It sealed that I was gonna be on the [show again] the next year and that this was gonna be part of my life moving forward,” says Bachta.

It also proved that he was deserving of his spot on the show.

“When you have the opportunity [to be on the show], you owe it to everybody to take that seriously,” he adds. “It’s some people’s whole dream in life to get on the show, so I just felt like I needed to do my best to show respect.”

In the semifinals, Bachta fell on the second obstacle, six obstacles short of his goal of reaching the finals in Vegas. However, he did well enough to be invited back for season 15, which was filmed during March of 2023.

During Bachta’s second time on the show, he fell on a balance obstacle in the qualifying round. In order to make it to the semifinals, Bachta needed to beat another ninja in a run-off.

His strategy was to go out fast to get an early lead over his opponent. Bachta took off on the first obstacle but quickly made a small misstep and toppled into the water. He had not qualified for the semifinals.

Although he did not advance to Vegas, Bachta says it is likely he will be invited back on future seasons of ANW, though with greater expectations from the show’s producers.

“I think I have one more invite at least, but at that point they’re going to want me to hit a buzzer or go to Vegas,” remarks Bachta.

After being on the show twice, Bachta has gained a reputation around Evanston Hospital as an elite ninja. Despite his bulging biceps, some find it hard to believe.

“They can’t believe someone like me does that, because they don’t think of doctors as athletes.”

Interestingly, being a doctor is a large part of what makes Bachta such a successful ninja. His schedule of 24-hour shifts followed by three days off gives him the time he needs to train. With a typical work schedule, it would be much harder to fit in time to practice.

Doctors and ninjas also have a similar method of training.

“There are some pretty intense situations we find ourselves in, like trying to save kids when they’re really sick, so we practice those skills in a controlled environment,” explains Bachta. “We [also] practice the ninja course in a controlled environment, we do the same thing. So then when it happens [either saving a sick child or competing on a ninja course], we’re primed to do it the right way.”

Bachta hopes this intense training regimen will help him reach the finals in Vegas, but that’s not why he does ninja. He got into the sport three years ago to connect with his daughter, and that’s still the reason he does it today.

“It’s the number one thing that we do as a family. [My older daughter] is nine now, and she’s legit really good. My younger daughter is six, and for a six-year-old, she’s really good. My wife is playing with [the idea of] it,” Bachta says. “It’s been a great bonding experience for us as a family.”

Competing in the same sport as his daughters also serves as motivation for Bachta.

“If you see the trajectory that they’re on, in order for me to keep up with them I have to get better. [With] their grip strength and all the stuff they can do already… five years from now they’re gonna be better than me,” he explains.

He’s not just impressed by his daughter’s athletic improvement, however. Watching their emotional growth as a result of ninja has been one of the most rewarding aspects of the entire ninja experience.

“When [my older daughter] started, she was this nervous kid who wasn’t even sure if she could do this or compete at all. Now she’s nine and is competing in a stadium full of 1000 people [at the World Ninja Championships],” marvels Bachta.

As his ninja career continues, Bachta is determined to improve his skills and make it to Vegas. Yet at the end of the day, it’s all about connecting with his daughters and watching them grow.

“I love when they win, but I actually love more when they lose and they’re okay with it… As a parent, that’s what it’s all about.”