Brian Burk

Brian Burk is an aerospace engineering student from Pasadena, California. Burk is diagnosed with high-functioning autism, which he faces struggle with in his everyday life, thus refusing to let it slow him down.

He first competed in American Ninja Warrior 11.

American Ninja Warrior 11
Brian first walked onto the ANW course in Los Angeles at the age of 20. Despite having everyday struggles with his disability, he proved on the course that he is a serious and dedicated competitor, as he finished the entire course in qualifying, placing 9th overall. An ecstatic and joyous Brian surprised many at the end of his run doing the splits on top of the Warped Wall after hitting the buzzer.

In the city finals, he was the first competitor of the night. He made an impressive save on The Hinge as he nearly went out on the board. He failed one obstacle later on the Leaps of Faith but it was good enough for him to advance to Vegas in his rookie season. He placed 10th overall.

On Stage One, he failed the Double Dipper.

He was actually casted to compete on American Ninja Warrior 12, but got de-casted because of the modified season due to COVID-19. He also got the call for American Ninja Warrior 13, but he mentioned on Instagram that during the COVID-19 testing, he seemed to be tested positive despite being tested negative the day before, which unfortunately means that he cannot compete this season. More information can be found here.

Trivia

 * He is the third competitor on American Ninja Warrior to be revealed to be diagnosed as autistic, after Vincente King and Steven Moul.
 * He is the first autistic competitor to complete a course, doing so in the Los Angeles qualifiers. With that in mind, he is also the first autistic competitor to advance to the city finals and the Las Vegas finals.
 * He was a tester for American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs. Ninja and American Ninja Warrior 10 in Los Angeles.
 * He is not to be confused with Brian Burkhardt, a former law school student and current attorney from Lubbock, Texas.