Born in Cairns and raised in Mount Isa, Jack Wilson is a proud Kalkadoon man with a large and supportive family behind him.

Jack moved to the Gold Coast 18 months ago to pursue a career as a carpenter, and is currently working in construction for the Commonwealth Games.

Auditions for the gruelling obstacle course were in Brisbane in August, and involved a fitness assessment to narrow 6000 applicants down to 250, Jack said.

“They want the best of the best of Australia, that’s why they test the athletes’ mental and physical strength,” Jack said.

On the Australian Ninja Warrior course, Jack wears his heritage proudly with traditional body paint and Budgie Smugglers in the colours of the Aboriginal flag.

Jack says his goal is to inspire Indigenous men, women and children to live a healthy lifestyle and always strive to achieve their goals.

“I just want to send the message out there to Indigenous people, because we suffer from a lot of chronic diseases. 

“I want to be a role model in the community, be the person my nephews and nieces can look up to. To have a bit of a vision and believe anything is possible in life.

“It’s very powerful and a lot of people struggle with that. I’ve been there with the struggle, but work hard and it pays off,” Jack said.

The young athlete said sport and fitness runs in his Kalkadoon blood.

“Growing up as a kid we were always oriented with team sports. My father was a football player so he was one of my idols."

“I was always a really good runner, I’d always compete in the cross country and go away to represent the region.

“My family was into fitness, and indigenous people we’re very athletic, so it just runs in my blood I think.

“The Kalkadoon people were actually warriors; they used to hunt for their food and eat from the land, and that goes back 60,000 years so it’s definitely in the Kalkadoon blood,” Jack said.

Filming for Australian Ninja Warrior took place across two weeks, and Jack said his employer was very supportive.

Since filming for the show Jack has continued his training, experiencing a ‘spike in motivation’.

“I’m determined to keep pushing and be better than I was yesterday.

“Keep striving, keep pushing, keep trying to be the best that I can be – for myself, for people around me, and for my culture,” Jack said.

In 2013, Jack joined the Indigenous Marathon Project where he was mentored by Olympian Robert De Castella. 

After training rigorously for 7 months, he was sent to New York to compete in the New York Marathon alongside 11 other male and female Indigenous runners.

JACK WILSON

Age: 23

Occupation: Carpenter

Ninja name: Deadly Ninja

Lives: Mt Isa, QLD (currently living in Mermaid Beach, Qld)

Passions: Swimming, surfing and running