Nick Hanson, aka The Eskimo Ninja, is a ninja coach from the small village of Unalakleet, Alaska who has competed in nine American Ninja Warrior competitions. He is also known as one of the sweetest people ever. He has married his girlfriend Joanne Semaken since August 25th, 2021, and they both have a son together as well.
American Ninja Warrior 7[]
Nick first competed in Venice in American Ninja Warrior 7 where he was one of the many competitors that failed the Hourglass Drop. He just missed out on advancing to the city finals, as he placed 31st overall, after he got eliminated by Kevin Bull.
American Ninja Warrior 8[]
Nick returned to compete in Los Angeles in American Ninja Warrior 8 where he cleared the qualifying course placing 13th.
In the city finals, Nick made it to the back half of the course, where he just barely completed the Salmon Ladder, and ultimately lost his grip on The Wedge. This performance, however, did place him 14th in the top 15. In the National finals, Nick unfortunately timed out at the top of the rope ladder on the final obstacle, the Flying Squirrel.
American Ninja Warrior 9[]
Nick Hanson at the Las Vegas National Finals- Stage 1 - American Ninja Warrior 2017
Nick returned to compete in Los Angeles again in American Ninja Warrior 9. His run was digested but he finished the qualifying course placing 7th.
In the city finals, he was the first runner of the night and failed the Swinging Pegboard when he missed the grab to the second pegboard, but he placed 14th overall, making his second trip to Vegas. On Stage One, Nick became the first competitor that hit the buzzer on Stage One that season, finishing with 5.03 seconds to spare. His run on Stage Two was digested but it was shown he struggled with the course and failed the Criss-Cross Salmon Ladder when he lost his grip after the final transition.
American Ninja Warrior 10[]
Nick Hanson at the Los Angeles City Qualifiers - American Ninja Warrior 2018
Nick returned to compete in Los Angeles in American Ninja Warrior 10, In qualifying, he became just the second competitor to scale the Mega Wall and take home $10,000. He finished the course placing 9th.
In the City Finals Nick's run was put in the corner to watch during advertisements. He managed to get to the Baton Pass before failing, and placed 12th.
On Stage One, he had a good strong start, but just like American Ninja Warrior 8, he timed out at the top of the rope ladder on the final obstacle, this time being Twist & Fly.
American Ninja Warrior 11[]
He returned in Tacoma for his fifth season. His qualifying run was digested, but he became one of many to fail the Lightning Bolts, making it the first time since his debut that he failed to complete a qualifying course. He still placed 20th overall at the end of the night.
In the city finals, Nick was the first runner of the night. Nick manage to get revenge on the Lightning Bolts where it took out many competitors and manage to get to the 8th obstacle, the Floating Monkey Bars before falling. However, he managed to qualify for the national finals, placing 11th.
Unfortunately, on Stage One, history repeated itself as he failed the final obstacle, Twist & Fly. However, in comparison to his timeouts in the previous seasons, he had actually failed the transition to the cargo net this time around.
American Ninja Warrior 12[]
He returned to the downsized American Ninja Warrior 12 and started out strong, but he spent a lengthy amount of time on the Ferris Wheel, barely beating the obstacle. He took a long pause before the Mega Wall and despite fatigue, he was able to scale it, earning the $10,000 prize for the second time. Hanson became the first person to complete the Mega Wall in that season. It was shown that, unfortunately, he did not advance to the semi-finals based to a video posted by Grant McCartney, the truth is that he had to be sent home because of contact testing, and so had to withdraw due to COVID-19 exposure. So Nick actually did not place 13th overall, but on broadcast, it was edited to where it seemed he placed 13th due to him consequently withdrawing due to quarantine.
American Ninja Warrior 13[]
Nick returned to compete on the third round of qualifying. Nick had ran right after his buddy Grant McCartney failed the qualifying course, with McCartney sitting in a precarious spot on the leaderboard. Nick took his time to ensure McCartney would land in the top 30. Nick himself, however, surprisingly went out on the same obstacle as Grant, going out on Air Surfer. From his slower time reaching the obstacle, he was automatically outside of the top 30. Because of this, it marked the second time he failed to move on to the city finals and the national finals since season 7 (this does not count season 12, as he technically was supposed to advance but due to withdrawing was edited on broadcast to make it look like he missed the cut-off for the semifinals).
Additionally, Grant McCartney ultimately placed 31st at the end of the night, and did not advance to the semifinals either. But unlike Hanson, McCartney did by chance get to participate in the semifinals as an alternate for a competitor that withdrew, as he was just one spot away from the top 30, unlike Hanson.
American Ninja Warrior 15[]
Hanson did not compete in season 14 due to not meeting the new medical requirements at the time. However, he returned in season 15 where he participated in the seventh qualifier round. Once again, Hanson was unable to finish the fourth obstacle, failing Kite Surfer. But that was enough for him to place 9th overall and advance to the semifinals.
Hanson raced Joseph Rouse in the semifinals. Rouse seemed to have a much faster pace than Hanson the entire time. Hanson ended up failing Slingshot. Since Rouse reached the obstacle faster despite falling there, Hanson was eliminated.
American Ninja Warrior 16[]
Nick returned for season 16 in the seventh round of qualifying. His run was cut for the first time ever, but it was revealed that he failed on Duck Duck Goose. This marked his third time in a row failing the fourth obstacle in qualifying. He still advanced to the semifinals placing 8th overall.
Hanson raced against Karsten Williams in the third semifinals. Nick was behind early on, but then Karsten shockingly failed on the Wingnuts, while Nick completed the course, hitting his first semifinals buzzer and advancing to the national finals for the first time since season 11 and it was also his first buzzer since season 12.
Nick competed in the first half of the National Finals of Stage One, where in a digested performance, he made it all the way to the seventh obstacle, Dipping Birds, ending his season. This marked the first time that Nick didn't reach the final obstacle of Stage One during the National Finals.
Trivia[]
- In all of his Stage One appearances in Vegas, he has made it to the final obstacle each time (excluding American Ninja Warrior 16). Two of those times, he timed out, and only once did he actually hit the buzzer. The other time, he failed the transition to the cargo net.
- Nick was the first competitor to ever conquer the Mega Wall in qualifying and not move on to the next round, which happened in American Ninja Warrior 12.
Results[]
| ANW | # | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Failed Flying Squirrel (Stage One) | Timed Out. | |
| 9 | Failed Criss Cross Salmon Ladder (Stage Two) | ||
| 10 | Failed Twist & Fly (Stage One) | Timed Out. | |
| 11 | Failed Twist & Fly (Stage One) | ||
| 16 | Failed Dipping Birds (Stage One) | Digest. |