Brian Burk is an aerospace engineering student from Pasadena, California. Burk has high-functioning autism, with which struggles with daily. However, he refuses to let it slow him down.
His first and only American Ninja Warrior competition was during 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 and placed 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.
He was the first competitor of the City Finals. 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.
Failed Attempts to Compete[]
Brian was actually casted to compete on American Ninja Warrior 12, but was sent home after the season got postponed. He was not invited for the modified season, which only invited 50 top competitors and two of each competitors' friends. He was not considered to be one of those 50 top competitors, nor was he invited by someone who was given the invitation to compete.
He later got the call for American Ninja Warrior 13 and once again flew into the Seattle-Tacoma Qualifiers. However, he ended up testing positive for COVID-19 and was promptly sent home. He later discovered that he received a false positive, since he took a COVID test before and a few days after his result, which all came back negative. Furthermore, he felt no symptoms during this time period. He could not return due to the stringent COVID measures. However, he was invited as a tester for the Semifinals, successfully completing the entire course. More information can be found here.
After missing the past two seasons for reasons beyond his control, Brian was invited to compete on American Ninja Warrior 14. However, that season mandated that every competitor get the COVID-19 vaccine, which he was unable to satisfy because he was allergic to several of the ingredients in the vaccine. Despite his appeals, he was ultimately denied a spot on that season.
Brian applied to compete in American Ninja Warrior 15 and American Ninja Warrior 16, but he wasn't chosen for either season.
He applied to compete in American Ninja Warrior 17, but he got the email for the pre-invitation but didn’t receive the call (making him the first known ninja to receive the email but didn’t receive the call.) and has retired quietly from the show.
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.
Results[]
| ANW | # | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Failed Double Dipper (Stage One) |