Isaac Caldiero is a former busboy and professional rock climber currently living in Chattanooga, Tennessee and originally from Orem, Utah. He considers himself one of the best rock climbers in America and one of the best in the world. He is also known for having lived a nomadic life, even stating he had never lived on a salary higher than $10,000 back in the day. He frequently lived in either an RV or a van with his then-girlfriend and fellow competitor Laura Kisana. In American Ninja Warrior 7, he became the second ever American Ninja Warrior and the first ever champion and million-dollar winner of the show, as he finished faster than the other man left standing, Geoff Britten. He currently runs and co-owns Synergy Climbing and Ninja, a climbing and ninja gym located in Chattanooga, where he resides.
American Ninja Warrior[]
American Ninja Warrior 5[]
During his debut on American Ninja Warrior 5, he walked on in Denver dressed up in a Jesus costume and completed both the qualifying where he placed 20th and in the finals round placed 4th. In Vegas, he completed the first three obstacles with ease and stuck the mount on the Jumping Spider, but he couldn't lock his feet in and slid down into the water on the Spider Walk portion, ending his rookie season.
American Ninja Warrior 6[]
In American Ninja Warrior 6, he once again competed in Denver and once again completed qualifying placing 11th. In the city finals round, he finished with the fastest time and made it back to the national finals.
On Stage One, he got revenge on the Jumping Spider and completed the Stage One with a little bit of showboating. However, he failed the Double Salmon Ladder in the Stage Two, despite training on it on the replica course he built in his parents' backyard, ending his sophomore season. Out of all of the members of the Wolf Pack, he performed the worst this season.
American Ninja Warrior 7[]
He returned on American Ninja Warrior 7 in Kansas City. He completed the qualifying course, placing 11th. In the city finals, he got through the first eight obstacles with ease, but due to the earlier rain, he fell on the newly modified Body Prop. He still qualified for Vegas, finishing in 4th place.
In the national finals, he completed Stage One for the second straight season. He managed to get revenge on the Double Salmon Ladder and complete Stage Two altogether. On Stage Three, he put on an incredible performance, and for the first time in American Ninja Warrior history, cleared Stage Three. Soon after, Geoff Britten followed his run by completing Stage Three as well.
Since Caldiero had the faster time on completing Stage Three than Britten, he decided the order of attempting Stage Four, he decided to go last on Stage Four. Britten made a valiant attempt on Stage Four by ascending the tower in 29.7 seconds and completing the first ascent. Caldiero then went on to complete the tower in 26.14 seconds, astoundingly becoming the first American Grand Champion.
Due to the fact that American Ninja Warrior's rules only allow the fastest Kanzenseiha to "win", Caldiero won the $1,000,000 prize and the title of First American Ninja Warrior Champion.
He was a competitor for Team USA in the third American Ninja Warrior International Tournament in which Team USA won the tournament, where they saved him specifically for Stage Three and helped win it all and he holds the record for fastest Stage Three finish during USA vs the World. Ever since his total victory, he quit being a busboy and lived in Las Vegas, Nevada temporarily.
Temporary retirement[]
Following his great season, Isaac would retire from American Ninja Warrior, as stated on the Wolf Pack Podcast. However, starting from American Ninja Warrior 8, Caldiero is working with POM Wonderful, where one lucky member can win a trip to work out with him and he was advertised during every broadcast episode of Season 8.
It was revealed that he would make a return to Ninja Warrior by participating in the celebrity special of Ninja Warrior Germany last November 2017. From there, he became the Last Man Standing in that competition.
Also, he attempted on KuroOvi, the show that seeks to find an “Ultimate Hero” on a timed course that’s 123 meters long, with 12 obstacles. The obstacles all have a city theme to them, and there’s math involved. He failed on the fourth obstacle called 'Brain Panic', which is similar to Parley which was used in VIKING (not to be confused with Brain Panic which was an event in Kinniku Banzuke). He would also compete in several ninja competitions.
Return to American Ninja Warrior[]
Though stated earlier that he would retire from American Ninja Warrior, he eventually made his return in American Ninja Warrior 10 for the Indianapolis course where it was revealed that he currently resides in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
American Ninja Warrior 10[]
Caldiero was able to clear every obstacle although he was able to clear Block Run, he still had to take a breath before attempting it, Caldiero even attempted the Mega Wall, but surprisingly failed to scale it but he still finished with the 9th fastest time on the regular 14'6 wall.
In the city finals, he was expected to return to Vegas after his legendary total victory on American Ninja Warrior 7. However, in a huge shock to everyone, he failed Block Run and at the end of the Indianapolis finals, Isaac placed 22nd overall in the city finals, which consequently marked the first time in his career failing to compete in Vegas. This was considered by ANWNation to be the shock of the season, and was considered one of the most unbelievable eliminations in American Ninja Warrior history.
Although he didn't move onto Vegas, it was shown in Lucas Gomes's behind the scenes videos on YouTube that he did test Stage Two and Stage Three (specifically the Wingnut Alley, Criss Cross Salmon Ladder, even the tougher version of Déjà Vu, Floating Boards, En Garde, Crazy Clocks, the season 9-10 version of the Ultimate Cliffhanger, before eventually falling on the Curved Body Prop.)
But he did get to return to Vegas in 2019 to compete in the All Stars Special 4 for the Dual Doorknob Drop Skill Event, once against Geoff Britten in the first ever rematch between the only two champions (at the time) but he was slower than Britten and he didn't advance to the final round, even after Geoff had to pull out.
Trivia[]
- Isaac holds the record for the fastest time to conquer Stage Four out of the six ninjas that have completed Stage Four.
American Ninja Warrior Results[]
| ANW | # | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Failed Jumping Spider (Stage One) | Had no traction. | |
| 6 | Failed Double Salmon Ladder (Stage Two) | ||
| 7 | Kanzenseiha | 3.86 seconds left. Completed Stage Four in a faster time than fellow finalist Geoff Britten, who completed it minutes before. | |
| 10 | Failed Block Run (Indianapolis City Finals) | 22nd Place. |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||