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Evan Dollard
Personal information
Born (1982-04-07) April 7, 1982 (age 42)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

Evan "The Rocket" Dollard[1] (born April 7, 1982) is an American athlete and rock climber.[2][3] He came to prominence during Season 1 of the rebooted American Gladiators, as the season 1 men's champion.[2] He earned his nickname "Rocket" from his speed in Gladiator competition, taking it as his gladiator name, becoming a Gladiator for season 2 of the rebooted American Gladiators.[4] He has since appeared prominently in the Ninja Warrior franchise; in American Ninja Warrior (and hence US TV specials for Sasuke called "Ninja Warrior") and the standalone American Ninja Warrior, also using his nickname. Dollard also hosts his own web series, "Ninja Quickies".[5][6] He has also competed in local editions of Ninja Warrior.[7]

Biography

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Before coming to fame, Dollard worked as a youth instructor,[3] and taught rock climbing.[2][3]

Dollard was a childhood fan of the original American Gladiators (AG). He discovered that AG had been rebooted through his roommate finding the audition request on the internet.[8] After discovering that AG was making a comeback, decided to try out for season 1 of the new show. He eventually became season 1 men's champion, and went on to be optioned for being a Gladiator for season 2, as "Rocket". Dollard discovered that AG had been canceled when an AG coworker mentioned that set equipment had been sold off, he had not been contacted by producers about the fate of season 3.[9]

Dollard found out about American Ninja Warrior (ANW) through co-worker computer programmers, who showed him YouTube videos of SASUKE and American Ninja Challenge, and suggested he try. Dollard contacted G4 TV to apply for a spot on American Ninja Warrior, and submitted a tape of his performances on American Gladiators as his audition tape. He was selected, and on ANW season 2, made it through and obtained a trip to Japan to Mount Midoriyama.[9]

Dollard was part of ANW for G4 in season 5 by being host of Well Trained Warrior web series web extras to ANW. The series interviewed ANW competitors at CrossFit Beach, and showed their training.[10]

Dollard became involved in A. Smith & Co.'s mid-2010s attempt to restart AG, which was not picked up by any network. With that show's failure to launch, Dollard started "Ninja Quickies" on YouTube.[9] Ninja Quickies is and expansion on the premise of earlier series "Well Trained Warrior", interviewing ANW competitors on their own training grounds.[10]

With Dollard's experiences on ANW and AG, he was asked to host BattleFrog for 2015, and be an analyst, analyzing the obstacles and strategies to overcome them.[10]

In 2017, Dollard joined the WolfPack Ninja Tour, a touring exhibition show of NinjaWarrior/Sasuke-style obstacles.[11]

In the 2020s, Dollard has been an iFit fitness trainer for NordicTrack.[12]

Competitions

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Filmography

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References

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  1. ^ Karazsia, Grant (August 17, 2014). "Linton teacher aiming to fulfill a dream of competing on American Ninja Warrior". Greene County Daily World.
  2. ^ a b c d Rocchio, Christopher (February 18, 2008). "Evan Dollard and Monica Carlson claim 'American Gladiators' title". Reality TV World.
  3. ^ a b c "Grandma cheers 'Gladiator' grandson". Daily Herald (Chicago). March 18, 2008.
  4. ^ a b c "Interview With Evan Dollard aka Rocket from NBC's American Gladiators". Reality Wanted. May 12, 2008.
  5. ^ "Evan Dollard". Youtube.
  6. ^ Garofalo, Alex (September 5, 2014). "'American Ninja Warrior' Kacy Catanzaro: What Has The 24-Year-Old Been Up To Since Her Las Vegas National Finals Run? [VIDEOS]". International Business Times.
  7. ^ a b Chance, Todd (July 14, 2015). "Rockford Ninja Warrior returns with new course, more 'American Ninja Warriors'". MLive.
  8. ^ "The Only Sure Way to Avoid Regret". Spartan Up. Episode 58. October 13, 2015.
  9. ^ a b c "Evan "Rocket" Dollard". Obstacle Racing Media. Episode 122. March 19, 2015.
  10. ^ a b c "Interview with American Gladiator and Ninja Warrior Evan Dollard". Open Sky Fitness. Episode 052. June 30, 2015. Archived from the original on January 4, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  11. ^ Margaret Schlachter (April 12, 2017). "Evan Dollard Joins WolfPack Ninja Tour". Mud Run Guide.
  12. ^ "Meet iFit Personal Trainers With NordicTrack". NordicTrack UK. September 21, 2021.
  13. ^ a b c d e "Host Bios - Evan Dollard". Spartan Ultimate Team Challenge. NBC. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  14. ^ a b c Goldman, Eric (May 9, 2008). "American Gladiators Run Wild Again". IGN.
  15. ^ McGuire, Jacob (May 16, 2016). "American Ninja Warrior films first episode of its kind in Oklahoma City". The Norman Transcript.
  16. ^ 第26回大会 (in Japanese). SASUKE データサイト. エヴァン・ドラード
  17. ^ "Rocket". Gladiators TV.
  18. ^ "American Ninja Warrior Premiere RECAP 5/26/14: Season 6 "Venice Beach Qualifying"". Celeb Dirty Laundry. May 26, 2014.
  19. ^ "American Ninja Warrior Recap 7/27/15: Season 7 Episode 9 "Houston Finals"". Celeb Dirty Laundry. July 27, 2015.
  20. ^ 江苏卫视官方频道 China JiangsuTV Official Channel (November 3, 2015). 极限勇士 2015收官战中美勇士顶级对决 五国勇士决战紫金之巅 151103. YouTube (in Chinese).
  21. ^ Garofalo, Alex (January 12, 2016). "Everything You Need To Know About 'Team Ninja Warrior', 'The Future Of American Ninja Warrior'". International Business Times.
  22. ^ Dollard, Evan. "Ninja Quickie". YouTube.
  23. ^ Matt B. Davis (March 11, 2016). "BattleFrog College Championship Season 2 Preview". Obstacle Racing Media.
  24. ^ Keveney, Bill (March 10, 2016). "Exclusive: NFL, MLS vets to host NBC 'Spartan' challenge". USA Today.
  25. ^ Spartan Race. "Spartan Strong with Evan Dollard". YouTube.
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