Member since August 2025
Michelle Warnky Buurma is an 11 time Ninja Warrior competitor who has hit 4 regular season buzzers. She is a motivational speaker, has co-owned a gym named Movement Lab Ohio located in Columbus for 10 years, and also runs Obstacle Course Races. Michelle has been blessed with a husband and a baby who was born 3 months premature, weighing under 2lbs! Michelle spent five years after college teaching English in Kazakhstan before stepping into the world of Ninja and Gym owning. Michelle runs competitions with a Bible verse written on her leg as a thank you to God for each chance to compete after an almost career ending injury! Michelle loves God and people, and aims to live her life serving both with love.
I served overseas in Kazakhstan for 5 years after college, and I thought I might serve overseas for most of my life like my grandparents who were missionaries. But I felt called to come back to the States. I wasn't sure why and struggled to figure out the direction of my life when I got home. I looked into lots of different options and eventually became a personal trainer, while I was also serving tables at Texas Roadhouse. I signed up for an obstacle course race, and while there, two friends told me about a show called American Ninja Warrior that they thought I would enjoy. It sounded cool, but we were about to run and I admit I didn't think much of it afterwards. But later that week, a friend and fellow server at Roadhouse came up to me, slapped her hands on the table and said, "MICHELLE! You have got to do this show American Ninja Warrior! You would LOVE it!" I went home and looked it up, and fell in love instantly. I traveled to a gym 9 hours away to try out some obstacles and I completed all of them, including the salmon ladder and warped wall-staples on the show! I started building obstacles at a local climbing gym called Vertical Adventures, then a producer from the show called me and asked if I was interested in applying. This was at a time when there were almost no women competing on the show. I ended up being one of the first 3 women to get a buzzer in season 6, and I got bombarded with phone calls, voicemails, and emails about offering more in Columbus, Ohio, especially classes, camps, and birthday parties. I didn't initially want to open up a gym, I wanted to focus on training and competing, but I had already built up a ninja community in Columbus for 2.5 years and I again felt called to open up a gym. That gym, Movement Lab Ohio, has now been running for 10 years and we have had some many staff and members also compete on the show, as well as in international leagues!
I served overseas in Kazakhstan for 5 years after college, and I thought I might serve overseas for most of my life like my grandparents who were missionaries. But I felt called to come back to the States. I wasn't sure why and struggled to figure out the direction of my life when I got home. I looked into lots of different options and eventually became a personal trainer, while I was also serving tables at Texas Roadhouse. I signed up for an obstacle course race, and while there, two friends told me about a show called American Ninja Warrior that they thought I would enjoy. It sounded cool, but we were about to run and I admit I didn't think much of it afterwards. But later that week, a friend and fellow server at Roadhouse came up to me, slapped her hands on the table and said, "MICHELLE! You have got to do this show American Ninja Warrior! You would LOVE it!" I went home and looked it up, and fell in love instantly. I traveled to a gym 9 hours away to try out some obstacles and I completed all of them, including the salmon ladder and warped wall-staples on the show! I started building obstacles at a local climbing gym called Vertical Adventures, then a producer from the show called me and asked if I was interested in applying. This was at a time when there were almost no women competing on the show. I ended up being one of the first 3 women to get a buzzer in season 6, and I got bombarded with phone calls, voicemails, and emails about offering more in Columbus, Ohio, especially classes, camps, and birthday parties. I didn't initially want to open up a gym, I wanted to focus on training and competing, but I had already built up a ninja community in Columbus for 2.5 years and I again felt called to open up a gym. That gym, Movement Lab Ohio, has now been running for 10 years and we have had some many staff and members also compete on the show, as well as in international leagues!
