Julius Ferguson, also known by his stage name Black Jewelz, is a rapper that first competed in American Ninja Warrior 8 in Philadelphia.
American Ninja Warrior 8[]
He first competed in Philadelphia where his run was all cut, but he failed the Paddle Boards, being disqualified for stepping on the center axis.
American Ninja Warrior 10[]
In Minneapolis qualifying, Julius was one of the mere 31 to conquer the Ring Jump, the brutal third obstacle, but face-planted on the second diamond on the Diamond Dash. He barely squeezed into the city finals, placing 30th.
In the city finals, Julius was the first to attempt The Hinge, but on the second flip, slid off of the final board, and nearly completed the obstacle but failed. Since 16 competitors made it to the next obstacle, the Iron Maiden, Julius was cut out of the Top 15. He placed 20th overall, and he did not make it to the National Finals.
American Ninja Warrior 11[]
Julius returned to compete in Baltimore in American Ninja Warrior 11. His qualifying run was once again cut, but it was revealed that he once again failed on a balance obstacle, the Hazard Cones. But since only 26 competitors were able to get past the obstacle, he once again advanced to the city finals by placing 27th, being the fastest competitor to reach the obstacle.
During the city finals, his run was digested, but he became one of 22 to fail the unbeatable Angry Birds and got there in a fast time to guarantee 4th overall. During his first trip to Vegas on Stage One, he failed the Jumping Spider in a digested performance.
American Ninja Warrior 12[]
Julius returned to compete in ANW 12. He participated Qualifier 1, where he placed 5th in the qualifying round after finishing the course, making it the first time that he was able to finish the course and hit his first buzzer. Unfortunately, his season was cut short as he had to withdraw from semifinals due to testing positive for COVID-19. [1]
American Ninja Warrior 13[]
He competed in Qualifier 2 of the ANW 13 season. He revealed that sometime before in 2019 (shortly before ANW 11), he was homeless and lived under a bridge. He shared his phenomonal community story with how his fellow competitor and friend Dan Champagne helped him find a home.
On the course, Julius put together a solid run, making it past the first four obstacles with ease. However, on the descent on V Formation, he accidentally kicked the last pipe. He eventually plummeted on V Formation after being unable to grab the last pipe (which was still spinning in motion). However, given his brisk pace, he managed to place 8th overall and advanced to the semifinals.
He later competed in the second semifinals episode. His run was digested, but he was one of many who failed on Padlock, once again going out on the eighth obstacle and since his time to the obstacle wasn't fast enough for the top 15, he didn't advance to the national finals.
American Ninja Warrior 14[]
Julius returned for his sixth season in the first qualifying episode. His run was cut, but it was known that he failed on Salmon Roll, once again going out on the fifth obstacle. His time to the obstacle placed him 19th overall.
He later competed in the second semifinals episode. His run there was digested, but he lost his momentum on the second obstacle, Lunatic Ledges and he spent two minutes trying to get it back. Eventually, he tried to use the spider flip technique to clear the obstacle, but he unfortunately came up short, ending his season.
American Ninja Warrior 16[]
He competed in the last qualifier of season 16. His run was all cut, but just like his past two appearances, he advanced to the semifinals after failing the fifth obstacle. He placed 4th on the men's leaderboard after making it to Ring the Bells.
Ferguson raced Lance Pekus in the fourth episode of semifinals. Both competitors went very fast across the first three obstacles, until Ferguson failed Hopscotch, with Pekus later following suit. However, Ferguson reached the obstacle faster, so he advanced to the national finals by placing 12th overall, marking the first time he moved on since American Ninja Warrior 11.
During the National Finals, Ferguson's Stage One run was digested but he got his revenge on the Jumping Spider, but Ferguson would take up a lot of time trying to gain traction on the walls. He would also suffer from a shoulder injury during his run and would ultimately time out after he reached the Warped Wall.
Trivia[]
- During the Baltimore city finals in ANW 11, Julius was showing doing a backflip off the Warped Wall. This is a homage to Drew Drechsel’s flip in American Ninja Warrior 7’s Orlando city finals. Julius himself was employed at Drechsel’s gym in Connecticut at the time.
- During ANW 12, he and Taylor Johnson were the only contestants to not be associated with a team captain. However, from external information, it was revealed they were invited to be part of Drew Drechsel's team. Drechsel was edited entirely out of the season following his arrest in 2020, however him and Johnson were still shown on broadcast without Drechsel being shown. This was ultimately confirmed by Ferguson on Instagram. [2]
Results[]
| ANW | # | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Failed Jumping Spider (Stage One) | Digest. | |
| 16 | Failed Warped Wall (Stage One) | Digest. Timed out. |