Jody Avila

Jody Avila is an HVAC technician from Houston, Texas. Standing at 6'6, he's easily one of the bigger competitors. As such, Avila is given the nickname "The Big Dog" by Akbar.

American Ninja Warrior 8
Jody first competed in American Ninja Warrior 8 in Oklahoma City. His run was cut, but he failed the Tire Swing and didn't move on to the city finals. He revealed on Instagram that he missed out the top 30 by approximately thirty seconds.

American Ninja Warrior 9
In San Antonio qualifying, he kept a brisk pace the whole way through, and became the first person of the night to overcome the Pipe Fitter and Warped Wall, as well as the first finisher of the night, ending up placing 9th overall. In the City Finals, his run was digested, but it was shown he failed the Hourglass Drop. He cleared the actual jump, but failed when transitioning between boards. He barely scraped in, placing 15th overall.

In Vegas, his run was digested both times, but it was shown he cleared Stage One with 26.82 seconds left. In Stage Two, his sophomore season came to an end when he failed the third transition on Wingnut Alley,

American Ninja Warrior 10
Avila competed in Indianapolis in American Ninja Warrior 10. He was expected to go far after an outstanding rookie season, but shockingly failed the fourth obstacle, Block Run, when his heavier weight shifted the fourth block to turn, tripping his momentum. He didn't make it into the top 30.

Additionally, Avila's wife, Pauline, also competed in Indianapolis. She made it to the second obstacle, Cannonball Drop.

American Ninja Warrior 11
He confirmed returning to Oklahoma City for American Ninja Warrior 11. He was able to get redemption on the fourth obstacle after failing it last season, and made it all the way to the Mega Wall. Though he was determined to scale it, he wasn't able to do so in all three attempts. He ultimately placed 15th however, advancing to the city finals after not doing so last season.

In the city finals, he made it to the back half of the course and performed exceptionally there. He scaled the Spider Trap and hit his very first city finals buzzer, placing 4th and going back to Las Vegas.

Before his Vegas run, he had shared his embarrassing story about how he encountered a dog and was reluctant to leave his pick-up truck when it started barking. On Stage One, he had a pretty solid run up until the fifth obstacle, Tire Run.

American Ninja Warrior 12
Avila competed in the first episode and finished strong, placing 1st. However, his Power Tower run was not shown. This was confirmed to be because Drew Drechsel whom NBC and A Smith & Co. cut ties with after being arrested, placed in the Top 2 and went up against Jody on the Power Tower. Insider sources has information that Jody has won, taking his team to the semifinals.

In the semifinals, he went on to knock Jesse Labreck out of the top 12 (the first time she did not advance within the top 12), and though he failed The Dungeon, but advanced to the finals, placing 7th. Unfortunately, in the finals, he failed Slam Dunk and didn't advance to the Power Tower.

American Ninja Warrior 13
Jody competed in American Ninja Warrior 13 in the first qualifier round. Although his run was digested, he was one of just five competitors to finish the qualifying course (although he missed the regular Warped Wall on his first attempt). Despite this, he still placed 3rd overall at the end of the night. It is worth noting that he was actually the top veteran of the night; he and Vinnie Castranova were the only two returning competitors to finish the qualifying round that heat.

In the semifinals, Jody moved quickly through the first four obstacles. On Wall to Wall, his height allowed him to span the distance between the first two walls, rather than having to perform a Spider Flip maneuver (similar to how Jessie Graff completed the Giant Cubes on American Ninja Warrior 9). Unfortunately, when transitioning to the small ledge, he missed with his left hand, causing him to fall. He was in 15th place after his run, and was ultimately bumped to 16th by Daniel Gil.

However, shortly after the episode aired, Donovan Metoyer confirmed on Reddit that Jody competed at the National Finals as an alternate for Daniel Gil, after he was forced to withdraw after coming into contact with someone that had COVID. In Vegas, he got revenge on Tire Run but he unfortunately once again failed the first stage when he failed on the seventh obstacle Dipping Birds.