Learning to drive. Going on a first date.  These are the firsts ordinary teens experience. Not Enzo Deferrari Wilson. This 15-year-old is anything but ordinary—becoming the youngest competitor ever on American Ninja Warrior. Enzo, a Palm Harbor native attending NewGate School in Sarasota remotely, has experienced a series of unimaginable firsts in American Ninja Warrior. Fastest rookie and teen competitor on the first episode. Youngest person to make it to Las Vegas and the National Finals. Youngest to hit the buzzer and make it to Stage Two (out of four) of the National Finals. 

How exactly did all these superlatives happen? How does one go from being a normal teen—going to high school and studying—to being a high-flying, record-breaking Ninja Warrior competitor? It all started 10 years ago, when Enzo was just 5 years old. His grandma introduced him to NBC’s hit TV-show American Ninja Warrior and it was love at first sight. “From the moment I saw the show, I was hooked,” he says. “I knew that I wanted to be on it when I grew up.” With that goal in mind, Enzo began his journey to elite athleticism at age 11—training hard at Jungle Gym in Pinellas Park and Obstacle Ninja Academy in Orlando—and soon thereafter competed in his first obstacle course competition in Bradenton. 

The teenage ninja never predicted that only a decade later, his dream of competing on his favorite show would become a reality. But as the age-limit for the show began to steadily decrease from 21, to 19, and then eventually 15, it became apparent that could happen sooner rather than later. And so it goes, after just four years of pure, unadulterated hard work and dedication, Enzo became the youngest competitor ever to grace the stage of American Ninja Warrior, setting unbelievable records and making memories that he admits still feel surreal. His favorite of which would be hitting the buzzer on the Stage One qualifying round in Las Vegas. “It’s a tough course,” he says. “It takes out some of the best ninjas. So being able to complete that and stand on the platform with the buzzer, looking back at what I had just done—knowing that I had just completed that course—was the craziest feeling of my life.” 

And if competing against adults on an action-packed, high-flying show, when he’s not even old enough to get a driver’s license, wasn’t already an amazing feat, Enzo is also the founder of O.N.E. (Ocean Needs Everyone), an ocean conservation program dedicated to cleaning our beautiful beaches and spreading awareness about the topic. No matter what age, Enzo reminds us that doubting ourselves from reaching our full potential will only hold us back from hitting our own buzzer. “If being on American Ninja Warrior at 15 proved anything to me,” he says, “it’s that no matter what you dream about doing, anything is possible. If you don’t try, there’s a 100 percent chance you’ll fail.”