South Fayette Native
Makes His Debut on
‘American Ninja
Warrior’
Photo courtesy of Mitchell Leff/NBC.
Mike Shuck gives
all he’s got to
Mt. Midoriyama
By Paul Glasser
E
ven though Mike Shuck’s first attempt to
conquer the “American Ninja Warrior”
obstacle course was unsuccessful, he’s
already planning his next attempt.
Shuck grew up in South Fayette and is a
math, science and language arts teacher at
Aiken Elementary School in Green Tree. He
appeared on the June 27 episode of NBC’s
“American Ninja Warrior.” The episode was
filmed in Philadelphia in May and Shuck was
eliminated when he slipped on the fourth
obstacle—he was climbing up a series of
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vertical metal bars when he lost his grip and fell
into the water.
“I knew I could have done it,” Shuck says.
“I was very hard on myself. It took a few days
before I was not constantly replaying that and
asking what I could have done better.”
He would have been less disappointed
if he had encountered an obstacle he knew
he couldn’t complete. He wants to try again
next season to prove he can do better. Shuck
is already planning his next audition video,
although there’s no guarantee he will be picked
again next season.
“I went out unsatisfied and I couldn’t leave it
at that,” he says.
In addition to teaching at Aiken Elementary
School, Shuck is also an instructor at
Pittsburgh Kettlebell & Performance in
Green Tree. He trained for a year before he
was selected to appear on “American Ninja
Warrior.” He built different obstacles at the
kettlebell gym but says he wants to get more
practice on actual objects from the show’s
course before he submits his next audition
tape. If he is allowed to compete again, Shuck
says he hopes to complete the course. If not, he
won’t try a third time.
“If I don’t make it to the top of the warped
wall, that will be it,” he says. “I need to do
substantially better in order to meet my own
expectations.”
Shuck has always been interested in physical
fitness and is very competitive. His parents
were both bodybuilders and met at a gym.
From an early age, they taught Shuck the
importance of physical fitness and healthy
eating. He participated in football, soccer
and wrestling as a youngster, and hopes to
someday open his own gym. He started
watching “American Ninja Warrior” about