Neil Craver

Neil Craver is an artist and photographer from Winston-Salem NC. He is given the nickname Crazy Craver and known for being 'allergic to normal', a trait expressed by his submission videos.

In Team Ninja Warrior competitions, Craver serves as the leader of the Golden Hearts.

American Ninja Warrior 6
In American Ninja Warrior 6, he reached the Miami city finals by finishing qualifying, however failed on the Salmon Ladder which ultimately did not place him in the top 15 and so he did not earn a place in the Las Vegas finals.

American Ninja Warrior 7
In American Ninja Warrior 7 he returned much stronger, and completed the Orlando qualifiers placing 6th. He then stormed through most of the city finals course, defeating the Salmon Ladder that had taken him down previously and even defeating the Cannonball Alley and Double Helix that had also proven to be relatively deadly on that course. However, by the time he reached the Invisible Ladder his arms were exhausted and he could only push up using his legs and resultantly, around 20 feet up, he lost his grip and fell. He still managed to place 5th overall, earning him a spot in Vegas.

In the Vegas finals, Craver had no trouble on Stage 1 and cleared with 22.84 seconds remaining. His Stage 2 run was digested, however it was shown that he failed the Double Salmon Ladder when he failed to reach the final rung of the first set and the bar fell off the wall.

American Ninja Warrior 8
In American Ninja Warrior 8, he returned stronger than ever and one of the favorites to win $1,000,000, and completed the Atlanta qualifiers placing 3rd this time. In the city finals he failed the Floating Monkey Bars, but was still fast enough to make it to Vegas placing 8th. In Vegas he finished Stage 1 with 11.03 seconds remaining. On Stage 2 he cleared both the Giant Ring Swing and The Down Up Salmon Ladder, but he was one of 6 competitors that evening that failed the Wave Runner.

Neil did not compete in American Ninja Warrior 9 due to a shoulder injury.

American Ninja Warrior 10
Neil did return to compete in Miami in American Ninja Warrior 10. His run was digested in qualifying but it was shown that he attempted the Mega Wall, but failed to complete it. he still cleared the course, finishing with the 5th fastest time. In the city finals, he was shown to have struggle on both the Ring Turn and the Slippery Summit, and ultimately failed the Crazy Clocks. His time was still fast enough to make it to Vegas for the third time in his career as he placed 10th overall.

In Stage 1, he failed the Double Dipper. This was his first time failing Stage 1.

American Ninja Warrior 11
Neil returned to complete in Atlanta in American Ninja Warrior 11. His run was digested in qualifying but it was shown that he once again attempted the Mega Wall, but he failed all 3 attempts, making this the first time that he failed a qualifying course. But he still advanced to the top 30, by placing 19th.

Unfortunately, in a huge shock, he failed earlier than expected on the third obstacle, Block Run in the city finals. His performance placed him 28th overall, which sadly, marked just the second time he failed to advance to the national finals. This also marked the first time he did not hit a buzzer in competition, as he did not finish the qualifying course and was eliminated in the city finals.

Trivia

 * It was shown by his submission videos that he after failing the Salmon Ladder in ANW 6, he attempted it while igniting one of his own on fire.
 * In ANW 10, it was shown that he later trained in frigid sub-zero climates, a polar opposite of his training with fire.
 * He was in a relationship with Grace Jones previously, as shown in American Ninja Warrior 7. This was before Jones officially married ANW veteran Brett Sims.
 * He has officially married his girlfriend, Chloe Nickles, in 2019.