Writer / Pat Carlini
If you watched NBC’s hit reality show “American Ninja Warrior” last month, you may have seen a neighbor or two.
Andy Smith is a teacher at Fishers High School and lives in Noblesville. Dean Mosier is a Fishers resident who competed alongside Andy on the Ninja Warrior’s July 6 episode. The two were chosen from 50,000 entries to compete in a series of challenging obstacles over water.
Andy teaches stage craft at FHS, instructing students to build scenery for the school’s theater and musical productions. So it was nothing for Andy and his neighbor Dave Steenburg to build a 14-foot tall warped wall obstacle in his driveway for training.
Andy says his family has been watching the show since it began, and they always wanted their dad to compete. But when a series of health problems seem to slow Andy down over the past few years, he feared his kids would no longer see him as a possible contender, so that’s when he decided to do it!
“It was a lot of fun, and I hope my kids see that you can overcome your obstacles and just keep moving forward,” says Andy.
Andy is an eight year veteran of the Indiana National Guard and was honorably discharged in 1998 at the end of his term of service.
The show did not air Andy’s final attempt on the July 6 episode where Andy says he made it to the second obstacle, then slipped through ropes and into the pool of water below.
“It was a great experience, and just stepping up onto that platform was a thrill for me!” says Andy.
Dean, a digital artist with an Indianapolis-based ad agency called The Basement, used his one time Navy SEAL training for the competition. On the July 6 episode, viewers watched as Dean made it to the fourth obstacle where he finished putting all the pegs in the holes, then fell back into the water below.
Dean says he may try out again for the show, and Andy already has his sights set on the Vegas finals next year.
Good luck to our neighbors, Andy and Dean!
