Derrick Pavoni is a pizzamaker from Crestwood, Illinois. He is the pizzamaker of "Simply Slices", a pizza restaurant owned by his family.
American Ninja Warrior 9[]
Derrick first competed in Kansas City in American Ninja Warrior 9. In qualifying, he fell on the fourth obstacle, Crank It Up and did not make it into the top 30.
American Ninja Warrior 10[]
Derrick returned to compete in Indianapolis in American Ninja Warrior 10, where pizza from his shop was being served to Matt, Akbar, and the audience. However, he got overconfident on the course and ended up failing on Cannonball Drop, failing to stick the dismount.
American Ninja Warrior 11[]
Derrick returned to compete in Cincinnati in American Ninja Warrior 11. His qualifying run was cut, but he was one of many who failed on the Sling Shot. But this meant that he qualified for the city finals for the first time in his career. He placed 20th overall. His city finals run was digested, but it was shown that he failed the Spinning Bridge and twisted his back on the dismount (in a similar fashion to Scott Willson's fall on the same obstacle in ANW 10's LA finals).
American Ninja Warrior 14[]
After a two year absence, Derrick returned to compete in his fourth season in the third qualifying episode, being shown as the first runner. It was revealed that the gym that he was working at had tragically burned down from a fire. On the course, he once again failed on the fifth obstacle, falling the Salmon Roll. He placed 19th overall.
He later competed in the third semifinals episode. There, he finally got past the fifth obstacle Hopscotch and the Warped Wall for his first time on the main show. Later at Split Decision he chose to do Flipped Around which he failed. He placed 11th overall, advancing to the national finals for the first time.
His run at the national finals was digested, but he was one of many who failed on the Jumping Spider, ending his season.
American Ninja Warrior 15[]
Derrick competed in American Ninja Warrior 15's fifth Qualifier. His run was digested, but for the third time in a row, he failed the fifth obstacle in qualifying, coming up just short on Ring the Bells. Though he was frustrated, it was still enough for him to place 8th overall, and advance to the Semifinals.
Derrick raced against Scott Behrends during the Semifinals. Both men failed Slingshot, but Scott got there first, eliminating Derrick.