Kyle Schulze is a motivational speaker from Rochester, New York (formerly Glenwood, Illinois). He has a hearing impairment, thus he is known as “The Deaf Ninja”.
He is known to have taught various ninjas sign languages, and has a series of videos called Sign Language Sundays on his Instagram, which he currently does with Jessie Graff.
American Ninja Warrior 9[]
Kyle first completed in American Ninja Warrior 9, in Kansas City. He failed the Bar Hop in qualifying, but still placed 24th and advanced to the city finals. His run in the city finals was digested, but it was shown that he once again failed the Bar Hop, and didn't move on to the national finals.
American Ninja Warrior 10[]
Kyle Schulze at the Indianapolis City Finals - American Ninja Warrior 2018
He returned to complete in American Ninja Warrior 10 in Indianapolis. His run in qualifying was digested, but it was shown that he was one of many who failed the Spin Hopper, after he banged his head on the final pipe while trying to dismount from the second-to-last pipe. Fortunately, he still advanced to the city finals as he placed 20th overall. In the city finals, he got his revenge on the Spin Hopper but failed Cane Lane. He was still able to advance to the national finals by placing 10th.
In the national finals, he shockingly failed Archer Alley on Stage One because his strides were too long, thus losing his balance.
American Ninja Warrior 11[]
He returned to complete in American Ninja Warrior 11 in Cincinnati. His run in qualifying was cut, but it was revealed that he shockingly failed the Spinning Bridge. This ultimately marked the first time that he didn't make the top 30, thus also not advancing to the city finals.
American Ninja Warrior 12[]
He returned for his fourth season and participated in the last qualifying episode. He managed to get revenge on the Spinning Bridge, but then he once again failed on the fifth obstacle, Sideways, and didn't advance to the semifinals for the second straight year.
American Ninja Warrior 13[]
He returned for his fifth season in American Ninja Warrior 13, participating in the last qualifying round. In qualifying, he injured his shoulder on Double Down and struggled in one of the most memorable runs of the qualifiers. He made it all the way to Sideways and nearly made it through. However, he failed there for the second year in a row. At the end of the episode, he was in danger of being knocked out by the person who had brought him to season 12, Michael Torres. Luckily, but bittersweet, Torres surprisingly failed just the second obstacle, Double Down so he ended up advancing to the semi-finals, placing 30th.
He later competed in the last semifinals episode. His run there was digested, but despite his shoulder still being injured, he managed to make to the eighth obstacle Crazy Clocks before falling, and he didn't advance to the national finals, having placed 23rd overall.
American Ninja Warrior 14[]
He returned for his sixth season in the third qualifying episode. His run was cut, but once again, he failed the fifth obstacle, going out on Salmon Roll. He placed 23rd overall, once again moving onto the semifinals. He later competed in the third semifinals episode. His run there was digested, but he once again failed the eighth obstacle, going out on Box Office. Unfortunately his time wasn’t fast enough to be on the top 15, as he placed 18th overall at the end of the round and didn’t advanced to the national finals.
American Ninja Warrior 15[]
He returned for his seventh season in the last qualifying episode. His run was digested, but he was on a mission to hit the first buzzer of his career. He powered through the first four obstacles, but unfortunately, history repeated itself as he yet again fell short on the fifth obstacle, falling on Mutant Mayhem. He still once again advanced to the semifinals placing 10th in the top 13.
Kyle raced against Enzo Wilson during the fourth Semifinal. Once again, Kyle fell on Sideways, while Enzo cleared the course, so for another year, he did not advance to the National Finals.
American Ninja Warrior 16[]
Kyle returned for his eighth season in the first qualifier. This season, he finally got past the fifth obstacle in qualifying and hit his first buzzer, and became the first finisher of the season. Kyle got emotional after finishing and received support from his loved ones, as well as the audience.
Kyle raced Jesus Capote in the semifinals. The race was close, although Kyle appeared to have a lead through the first three obstacles. Kyle automatically won the race when Jesus fell on the Wingnuts after he completed them. He then went on to complete the rest of the course in 2:32.70, meaning he had back-to-back buzzers going into Vegas. This was also his first time since American Ninja Warrior 10 that he advanced to Vegas.
Kyle competed in the first half of the National Finals for Stage One, where he got his revenge on the first obstacle (this time being Slide Surfer) and made it all the way to The Gambler before falling. This marks his best performance in Vegas.
Trivia[]
- He is the first known deaf competitor to compete on American Ninja Warrior.
Results[]
| ANW | # | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Failed Archer Alley (Stage One) | ||
| 16 | Failed The Gambler (Stage One) |