If you’ve ever watched American Ninja Warrior, that level of athleticism can seem unattainable. Lights. Cameras. High flying action. Even beginning to train like those athletes looks impossible. In fact, when Ninja Nicole Griffin told her friends she was going to start training, they rolled their eyes and only offered two words:
“Good luck.”
Four seasons on the national stage of American Ninja Warrior later, no one’s rolling their eyes anymore. Now she owns Tenacity Training, western Kentucky’s first Ninja Warrior training, bouldering and fitness center.
Ninja Nicole grew up rock climbing, bouldering and staying active however she could. While going after a degree in Physical Education, she was able to convince her stepdad to build a full-sized rock wall of her own design in the family barn.
That’s right. A whole rock wall.
A year later, Nicole caught an episode of American Ninja Warrior and she knew she had to go after it. Before long, her stepdad had a few new projects: a peg board and a set of monkey bars, alongside the rock wall in the barn.
At the time, making it to American Ninja Warrior seemed like a longshot. Since then, not only has Nicole earned the title of ‘ninja,’ but she also coaches America’s next generation of athletes.
Today, there’s history in the bones of Tenacity Training: the current bouldering wall is made of the rock wall she designed for her family barn; the peg board is made of recycled parts of her old jungle gym.
And just like Nicole built the gym from a rock wall in an old barn, we’re dedicated to building our students into better versions of themselves – facing fears, finding their inner athlete and conquering all, one obstacle at a time.
Are you or your kids ready to join the Tenacity Family? Let’s get after it.
Meet the Coaches
Nicole Griffin Owner/Head Coach
Nicole is a veteran American Ninja Warrior competitor, competing on seasons 7, 9, 10 & 11. If she’s not at the gym, you’ll catch her somewhere outside, probably mountain biking, rock climbing, or spending time with her husband, Chris, and her dogs, Archer and Jack.
Words Nicole lives by?: ¨Every safe zone was once an uncharted frontier.”
Connor Horath Coach
Connor is a local student at McCracken County High School. He started training back in 2017 and has been competing in Ninja competitions since January 2018. What started as a love for obstacles has expanded into a love for seeing students at Tenacity smash their goals!
Connor is always ready to cheer, dance and encourage ALL students who walk through the doors of Tenacity.
Tee Jackson Coach
Whether you know her as Tee or online as @onesieninja, you definitely know her for her smile and warm hugs. If you want to get more of Tee, you can catch her on reruns of NBC’s American Ninja Warrior & Spartan Challenge – and keep an eye on the TV for more of Tee smashing any obstacle they put in her way!
Tee is a Physical Therapist from North Carolina, with a passion to see everyone succeed. She has traveled around the world and will become your biggest fan if you let her!
Coaches-in-Training
We’d also love to give a big thank you to our coaches in training, who take the time out of their busy lives to give back to Tenacity. These young men and women are some of our most dedicated members, working hard, staying late and putting in the hours for the athletes of all ages.
Are you interested in a leadership position with our team? Join Tenacity today, train your heart out and get ready to find your inner athlete – and one day, get the chance to take up the mantle of ninja coach.