TriHealth Fitness Pavilion
From Track Star To Ninja Warrior
James Wilson, 33, has always been a gifted athlete. Now he is the Nati Ninja.
At LaSalle High School and in college, he was a star running back in football – among the top 100 in the country. In track, his times running the 100-
meter dash, 400-meter relay and 200-meter dash were among the nation’s fastest (10.62 seconds in the 100- meter).After college, he’s run spartan races and mud runs.
Sitting in front of his television with a buddy, eating Papa John’s, watching season five of American Ninja Warrior (ANW), how could he not be thinking, ‘hey, I can do that.’?
But, he has said, “I ate like crap. I was just an athlete thinking, I can do what those people are doing.”
The Road To ANW
To be a Ninja, it takes a lot more than track speed. Those treacherous courses require almost non-human strength, timing, reflexes, coordination. Still, he was determined. He had a body built for elite competitions. He knew how to train.
James built makeshift obstacles in his parents’ backyard. He began taking to athletes who were Ninjas. He sent in a video submission. AND he got selected for ANW season six (2014) in St. Louis.
That first year he cruised through the course – until his long hair touched the water upon landing low on the cargo net from a jump.
Still, he was determined. He has been in six ANWs since then – the most recent was filmed here in Cincinnati. He was selected from a pool of thousands to be among the 101 competitors. Last season he finished among the top 17 of that region. In Cincinnati, he placed 32nd.
Training Future Ninjas
More commonly these days you can find James, who has a master’s degree in exercise science, as fitness specialist/personal trainer at the TriHealth Fitness Pavilion or training at or training others at his very own gym – the only official ANW gym in this area.
The Nati Ninja Gym in Blue Ash is open to everyone of all levels of fitness and all ages. It is a place to play and train and live out your Ninja dreams. It is a place where you can hold birthday parties or celebrate other occasions. There are the same kinds of obstacles you would face in the real competition.
And by the way, eight people from James’ gym have been selected for ANW.
As for James’ future on ANW…
“I am in my prime now and this may be my best year on the course,” James said.
Question to James: What brings out your smile every day?
James: When I go to the gym and the kids want to take their picture with me, I think that is so cool. I take it in and enjoy every moment. At the end of the day though, I am changing lives. I see kids who come to my gym burying their faces in their closes and then transform into these intense athletes. It’s great.
Question: Who is someone who has inspired you?
James: My wife Caitlin, definitely. She, herself, was training for ANW when she had to drop out of contention in 2015 with an Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis. She has the progressive kind of MS but she is young and is fighting it every day. She is my biggest support. She helps me run my gym and has been to every Ninja event. There is no quitting in her.
As to James advice on achieving, he had this to say, “Everybody fails. Without failure, there is no growth. You learn from every experience. Keep pushing.”
Marty Polk Inspires By Example
Marty Polk has smiled at me and asked me about my day more times than I can count. No matter what I am doing or where I am on the exercise floor at the TriHealth Fitness Pavilion, I can’t help but notice him. Holding a towel in one hand, his eyes are drawn to people like magnets. His is that familiar face that always 
carries a smile, inviting everyone to take up conversation. Marty knows no strangers there. His is everybody’s friend. On a day when there is no sunshine, he brightens it just by being present.
I had known that Marty was a retired police officer but not much more. After sitting down with him and his son, Martin, I developed a whole new level of admiration and respect.
For 30 years Marty was a plain clothed officer working in the Cincinnati Police Department’s park unit. Often his job was undercover, helping to bring to justice the people selling drugs. But there is much more to his story than searching for the bad guys.
On those days when he walked Cincinnati’s parks, he was also on the lookout for those needing a step up. Marty had a reputation for fairness and integrity. He wanted to help people he met who were down on their luck. “I wouldn’t give them money,” he told me. “I would take them to White Castle or someplace else to get them something to eat, or I would bring them food or coffee. As long as they tried, I was always helpful to them.”
I am willing to bet Marty paid for this out of his own pocket. He was also known for taking people who were homeless to the Drop Inn Center or another agency like the Salvation Army.
Those acts of kindness changed and empowered lives. Several individuals even came back to tell Marty he turned them around from a path headed toward destruction, saved them.
“It is why I wanted to be a police officer,” he said. “We are here to help people. I always tell people to try and do the right things, be positive and return favors to others. When I know I have helped someone, it makes me feel good inside. It shows that police officers can do more than just be police officers. We can take care of people.”
But Marty’s story has taken a turn since those days walking the Cincinnati Parks. Just three months past his retirement, January 18, 2012 to be exact, he had a stroke that took away use of his entire right side…and one of his greatest gifts, his speech. He was hospitalized for three months, during which his family never left his side. He endured a rigorous schedule of therapies that detoured when he coded three separate times from a blood pressure drop. He battled long and hard. Ultimately Marty’s journey took him from a wheelchair to a cane to being able to exercise three days a week….with enough energy left over to greet everyone with whom he comes in contact. His trainer has him spend 30 minutes on the elliptical machine, ride the stationary bike for 5 miles and walk a mile in less than a 15 minute stride.
Since his stroke, Marty has even become a seasoned 5K participant, having walked in two Flying Pig races, the American Cancer Society 5K, and the NFL Hall of Fame Walk.
“He is my best friend and role model,” Martin said sitting next to his father.
Lisa: What are some life lessons you have taught your sons?
Marty: I always have taught them that when you approach people, you call them ‘Yes Sir’ or Yes Ma’am’. I try to teach my sons the way my father taught me to be honest, have integrity and do the right things in life.
Lisa: What do you hope you impact will be?
Marty: I like to inspire people. It is the reason why I try to speak to everyone to see how their days are going because not everyone has good days. But you’ve got to keep fighting to maintain what you have got.
#GoodThingsCincy
CINspirational People: Rachel Brown
There are people who we run into who stand out from the crowd. Rachel Brown is one of those people. I exercise at the TriHealth Fitness Pavilion, and from the day Rachel was hired, I could tell she was someone with very special qualities. Rachel always greets me with a genuine, warm smile and I see her going out of her way to help others.
I was the recipient of her kindness numerous times, but one time stands out. I had injured my ankle (not at the gym, but at home before I arrived). It was not anything serious but was swollen and painful. I just used the upper body ergonometer (a machine that I compare to a recumbent bicycle except that you are sitting in a seat and use your arms to pedal instead of your feet). I remember Rachel getting me a seat to prop that foot onto, and then getting me a bag of ice. And I remember how she kept coming ba
ck to check on me, not just because it was her job but because she cared. I also remember how she walked with me all the way to the locker room when I left to make sure I was ok, and came up to me on my next visit to see how my ankle was doing.
Rachel definitely stands out to me every time I see her interact with people. I thought I’d really like to share some of who she is on my blog. With a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and a master’s degree in exercise promotion, she is currently a fitness coach at TriHealth.
Lisa: Was there a life event that influenced your decision to pursue this career track?
Rachel: There has been. I come from an active family. For a short time, I gained a lot of weight from poor living choices, and I realized how fast that can happen. Excess weight can cause so many other chronic issues. I lost the weight, but I remember how I felt during and afterwards. It was a real eye opener.
Lisa: Tell us about some of your inspiration.
Rachel: I just met with someone who is 90 years old, who wants to keep getting better. I thought, ‘that is the type of person I want to be.’ I also have active grandparents and I think, ‘this is what I want to do.’
But, I also want to help everyone be the best that they can be. They may not know what their full potential is, or they think there are things they cannot do when they really can – or can do better.
I want everyone I meet to see that in themselves. If you are happy with whom you are, then you probably are going to be happier and nicer to everybody around you. It will make a better connection for everybody.
Lisa: What is some wise advice that you have received?
Rachel: My grandparents have always said, ‘take time to rest’ and that has stuck with me. We feel like we have to keep up with everything going on around us, and we need to take time for ourselves.
Another thing is to get to know and be accepting of people. Someone may look unhappy, have trouble walking, or be overweight, but you don’t know why. There is always a reason.
Lisa: What advice do you give others?
Rachel: To live positively and take it day by day. We all have long term goals for ourselves. Take control of what you can control. You can’t control how someone else looks at you but you can control how you look at someone else. You can’t control if someone else is friendly to you but you can control your own perspective.
#GoodThingsCincy #CINspiration
