Sterling Teen to Compete on NBC’s American Ninja Warrior

By Caitlin V. Reidy, Reporter
High school senior and Sterling-native Jonathan Godbout isn’t your typical teenager; he enjoys his vegetables, he doesn’t like video games, and most impressively, he’s a well-known national contestant on NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior.”
“American Ninja Warrior” is a television series on NBC that is based on Japan’s entertainment series, “Sasuke.” A ninja, which refers to a Japanese stealth fighter, is used to describe the athletes who compete in the show and participate in some of the most intense and complicated obstacle courses in the world. Godbout is competing as one of these ninjas in Season 13 of “American Ninja Warrior.”
Godbout said he has always played sports, whether it’s been soccer or basketball, or simply “playing catch in his yard” with his brother.
He originally began competing in obstacle courses for fun and admits that when he started, he “wasn’t that good.” However, with discipline, training and support from his friends, family and other ninjas, he has improved, he said, and moved on to join a team and compete more seriously.
According to his mother, Barri, who works in education, Godbout is dedicated to his schoolwork, makes it a point to eat healthy and stays in shape by working out, training and running track at his local high school.
Godbout was originally called to compete in “American Ninja Warrior’s” 12th season, which was postponed to Season 13 because of Covid-19. When he originally got a call from the producers of the show, Godbout said he was in his kitchen and was so shocked he ran outside and told his family “I’m on the show!”
Godbout trains and prepares for competitions at his gym, Ultimate Obstacles in West Boylston. Caraline Giguere, the general manager of the gym, said Godbout trains hard and the “other kids look up to him” and “ask for him to be their coach” because of the example he sets — achieving success through hard work.
Before Covid, Godbout said, he typically trained about two to three hours a day, six to seven days a week at Ultimate Obstacles. However, when the mandated closures took effect, it changed his routine. And he had to come up with new ways to be prepared for filming and competing in “American Ninja Warrior.” He started doing more workouts at home and began training to make sure he was “staying in shape” and “being ready at all times.”
Godbout has been to California a few times this year for filming and competing, but because of COVID his whole family hasn’t been able to support him on set — So while his mother has been with him in California for the competitions, his father, Steve, and the rest of the family has been “virtually cheering him on.”
Before this competition, Godbout competed in two seasons of “American Ninja Warrior Jr.” So Godbout said he is used to crazy schedules and expecting the unexpected.
Because filming for “American Ninja Warrior” is in the evening, Godbout said he began training at night, something his remote learning schedule during the COVID school closures allowed him to do so easily.
His mother said her son is “very dedicated to physical and mental health,” and that he “eats well, sleeps well and stays healthy” so that he can be the best that he can be.
When Godbout isn’t flying through obstacle courses and being a ninja, he said, his favorite thing to do is to hang out with his brother and best friend, Ben. Not only do these two brothers enjoy engaging in a multitude of sports together, but they also play in a band with their friend, Pat, called PB&J, titled after the first letters in their names. Together the brothers took advantage of the COVID shutdowns and recorded an alternative rock album in about three days.
Godbout will appear next on “American Ninja Warrior” on Aug. 16 on NBC at 8 p.m. in the semi-finals round. This round will determine whether Godbout proceeds to Las Vegas for the show’s finals.