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Florida man leaps on 'Ninja' dreamTAMPA, Aug 22, 2009 (Tampa Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Sean Morris can leap over cars with a single bound, scale walls with his bare hands and cut flips off a tightrope. Morris, 21, of Sarasota, who has about as many moves as Spider-Man, goes to Los Angeles next week to audition for a television reality show based on the Japanese "Ninja Warrior" competition. Hundreds are expected to try out for "American Ninja Warrior," a new series being produced by the G4 cable network. But Morris, recently laid off from his day job, has been invited by the producers for a one-on-one audition based on a video he submitted this month. He says he made the video, a sample of his stunts, in one day. "I was working in construction, putting shutters on a house, when I learned about the show," he says. "The homeowner saw me scrambling up and down on his house, and he asked me why I was doing this kind of work when I could be on a TV show." Morris says he was aware of the action adventure network G4 and "Ninja Warrior" TV series (a Japanese import), but he didn't know about the auditions. "The deadline was two days away, and I made the video just in time," he says. "I feel really good about this because it's something I can really do," says the Sarasota High School graduate who wants to become a stuntman. "I'm not trained in the martial arts, I just push myself to the limits," says Morris, who has studied the European sport of parkour in which climbers use urban surroundings to perform tricks using nothing but their hands and legs to overcome all obstacles while taking a free run from one point to another. "It's like he was born to do this," says Morris' uncle, Geoff Robinson, who plans to accompany his adventurous nephew to Los Angeles for the audition on Friday. Morris says he doesn't use weights and trains by using his body weight. "I am lean and strong. I have freakishly large hands and I'm 6 feet 2 inches, which is ideal for climbing and doing physical stunts," he says. He says he has never been injured. "I don't try anything that I don't think I can do," he says. If Morris is picked as one of the 10 finalists, he will get an all-expense paid trip to Japan to tackle Sasuke, the world's most difficult and diabolical obstacle course. The American competitor who completes all four stages of Sasuke in the fastest time will be named the ultimate "American Ninja Warrior." A film crew will accompany contestants to record their efforts for a G4 reality show to air in the fall. "Only two people have ever successfully completed the whole Japan course," says Morris, who has been testing his physical skills since he was in high school. "I didn't play any particular sport, but I was always the guy who could try big over-the-top challenges," he says. Morris needed money to pay for his audition trip, and WFLZ, 93.3 FM, radio personality MJ Kelli was so impressed with Morris' video he offered to give him $400 to cover some expenses. His uncle also is helping fund the trip. Neal Tiles, G4 president, says that "Ninja Warrior" has a cult following in the United States. To view Morris' video, go to the WFLZ Web site or YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6cLM-G2VHo. Reporter Walt Belcher can be reached at (813) 259-7654 To see more of the Tampa Tribune or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.tampatrib.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Tampa Tribune, Fla. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |