Flip Rodriguez

**David F Rodriguez**, better known as **Flip Rodriguez** is a freerunner who competed in SASUKE 27, and has been a standout competitor in American Ninja Warrior.

For his first four seasons on American Ninja Warrior, Flip wore a mask as a trademark piece of his outfit. In Season 8, one year after removing the mask, he revealed more detail about the reason he wore the mask: he was sexually abused from the age of 9 to 15.

## American Ninja Warrior 3

Rodriguez made his debut in American Ninja Warrior 3, making it through the qualifying and semi-final rounds with little trouble and completed the Team Relays as one of the more consistent competitors on his team, the White Tigers. This consistency helped him become one of the ten U.S. competitors to qualify for SASUKE 27, with Rodriguez being the #5 qualifier. Although his First Stage run was digested during the NBC broadcast, his full run was shown during the SASUKE 27 broadcast. He was shown showboating on the course during his run, such as doing a flip on the top of the Jumping Spider platform, though this did little to hinder him and he was still able to clear the First Stage with 17.73 seconds left on the clock. In the Second Stage, he failed the Slider Drop when he failed to keep the bar straight along the track, similar to what fellow freerunner and American veteran Levi Meeuwenberg did in SASUKE 25.

## American Ninja Warrior 4

In American Ninja Warrior 4, Rodriguez competed in the Southeast Region. In qualifying, he cleared the course with the fastest time of 57 seconds. In the Semi Finals, he finished the course with the fastest time of 2:02.55, eliminating Kamerion Wimbley. Overall, he clocked the fastest time in all regions, earning him the coveted #100 in the national finals. On Stage One, he cleared with 18 seconds left. On Stage Two, he got revenge on the Slider Drop, but later failed the Balance Tank when he fell backwards and slipped off the tank.

## American Ninja Warrior 5

In American Ninja Warrior 5, Rodriguez competed in Miami. In qualifying, he completed the course with the second fastest time of the night. He then proceeded to finish with the second fastest time of the city finals. However, in the national finals, he shockingly failed the Jumping Spider. When he came out of the water, during his interview, he was shown to be sobbing as he said he let all of the people who wanted him to win down.

## American Ninja Warrior 6

In American Ninja Warrior 6, Rodriguez returned to compete in Miami as the last runner of qualifying. However, he shocked many people when he was disqualified on the Jump Hang when he didn't realize how close he was to the water while climbing down the net, and his foot slipped, causing his rear to skim the water. This was one of the most devastating moments of Rodriguez's life, as he felt far more devastated than the previous season, and even considered quitting for good. This was his first time failing a qualifying course, as well as the only time he failed to advance to the city finals. He was invited as a wildcard to Vegas, but he declined.

## American Ninja Warrior 7

After a such depressing past two seasons, Flip returned in American Ninja Warrior 7 stronger than ever due to the support of his fans. He competed in Orlando, and competed as the final runner of qualifying. He cleared the course with the 3rd fastest time, and for the first time, he competed without his trademark mask that represented everything he had been through in the previous years. In the city finals, Flip powered through the first nine obstacles, but ran out of steam on the final obstacle, the Invisible Ladder. Like qualifying, he placed 3rd overall, and because of that, he advanced to the national finals. On Stage One, Flip flew across the course, even running on one side of the Piston Road. He finished Stage One with 28.86 seconds left. On Stage Two, he made it all the way to Roulette Row, but came up short of the dismount.

## American Ninja Warrior 8

Flip returned to compete in American Ninja Warrior 8 in Los Angeles. As usual, he put up a strong run and finished with the second fastest time behind Kevin Bull. In the city finals, he was hoping to become the second ninja to complete The Wedge. He looked comfortable on the obstacle, but slipped off before the dismount. He placed 7th overall and advanced to the national finals. In the national finals, he finished Stage One with 04.78 seconds left on the clock. On Stage Two, his run was digested, but he was disqualified on the Wave Runner for dismounting from the first board.

## American Ninja Warrior 9

Rodriguez returned to compete American Ninja Warrior 9 competing in the Los Angeles Qualifying Round once again. While he took a more slow and steady approach to the course, it worked as he cleared with the 8th fastest time. In the city finals, his run was digested. He made it all the way to the new Elevator Climb, but in a similar fashion to Orlando two years ago, he ran out of strength midway up. He still finished in 5th place and advanced to Vegas. Prior to the Vegas Finals, Rodriguez suffered from a hip injury. Despite this and his Stage One run being digested, he cleared with 30.66 seconds remaining. On Stage Two, his run was yet again digested, but he made it to the fifth obstacle, Wingnut Alley, where he shockingly failed on the dismount, failing Stage Two for the fourth time.

## American Ninja Warrior 10

Rodriguez returned for his eighth season, once again competing in Los Angeles. He moved quickly through the first four obstacles, but was one of many to fail the Doorknob Drop. Despite this, he placed 13th overall and advanced to the city finals. There he was one of nine finishers that round, clearing in 7th place. He was one of three competitors in the Los Angeles region to have failed the qualifying course but still finished the city finals course.

In Vegas, he cleared the first two obstacles, but he shockingly fell on the Double Dipper, ending his season.

## American Ninja Warrior 11

Rodriguez returned for American Ninja Warrior 11, competing in Los Angeles again. He progressed steadily through the course and was the first person to attempt the Mega Wall this season, but was unable to scale it after three attempts. Despite this, he still qualified for the city finals, placing 13th again. In the city finals, he performed well and cleared the course with the fastest time and a spot on the Power Tower alongside Brian Kretsch. From there, he completed the Power Tower with no difficulty earning him the first Safety Pass of the season. On Stage One, he performed well, but fell on the Diving Boards injuring his quad in the process. But since he had the Safety Pass, he was able to run the course again. On his second attempt he had a slower pace due to his injury, but was able to clear the Diving Boards this time and finish the course. On Stage Two, Rodriguez's injury got the best of him and although he performed strongly, he ended up timing out on the Water Walls. Although his season ended in a heartbreaking way, he ended up with his second best performance overall, clearing the fifth obstacle of Stage Two for the first time.

## American Ninja Warrior 12

Flip returned for American Ninja Warrior 12 in St. Louis (he was originally going to be in the D.C. regional), which was the first time since American Ninja Warrior 7 in Orlando where his qualifying round took place outside of Los Angeles. In heartbreaking news, he lost his dog Maui due to an auto-immune disease. In the qualifiers, he performed well through the first four obstacles, but struggled on Slingshot and fell there. Fortunately his performance was fast enough to get him through the Semi-Finals having placed 9th.

In the Semi-Finals, his run was digested, but he made it to the 9th obstacle, The Dungeon. Fortunately his time was fast enough to place 10th overall, and move on to the finals. It's worth noting that his semifinals run was the exact one-year mark of losing his dog Maui. In the finals, however, he surprisingly was one of 5 Dragonback victims. This was the first time he failed to hit a buzzer. However, he was shown on the sidelines supporting his fellow ninjas.

## American Ninja Warrior 13

Flip returned for American Ninja Warrior 13 in the Tacoma Dome during the fifth and final qualifying episode. While he performed well through the first four obstacles, he fell at Sideways. Fortunately, his fast pace was able to get him to through the semi-finals having placed 19th. Flip later competed in the final semifinals episode. In the semifinals, he competed in the last episode. His run was digested, but he failed the eighth obstacle, the Crazy Clocks. But since the cut off for that episode was the ninth obstacle, he unfortunately didn't advance to Vegas for the first time since season 6, as he placed 22nd overall. It was also the first time his season ended in the semifinals.

## American Ninja Warrior 14

Flip returned for his twelve season during the first qualifying episode. His run was digested, but it was shown that he failed on the new Salmon Roll, making it the third straight season that he failed the fifth obstacle in qualifying. Fortunately, his fast pace was once again able to get him to advance to the semi-finals, placing 24th.

In the first episode of the semifinals, Flip was shown wearing his trademark mask that he used to wear until American Ninja Warrior 7, and he revealed he was writing a book called 'The Man Behind the Mask'. He managed to complete Ghost Town, and became the first competitor to clear Split Decision that night, opting for Spin Zone rather than Dragonback (the obstacle that ended his season two years prior). He then completed the Spider Trap, becoming the first finisher of the night. It was also Flip's first buzzer in three years, and he managed to earn a spot back to Vegas after missing out on it last year by placing 3rd overall.

In the National Finals, he was the final runner of the first night, and once again he was shown wearing his trademark mask at the start line, and revealed that he was now training with R.J. Roman. He managed to clear Stage One for the first time in three seasons, since American Ninja Warrior 11, with 16 seconds remaining. On Stage Two, he injured his hand on the Double Salmon Ladder, but he managed to overcome on the next obstacles, and with only minus than 10 seconds on the last obstacle, the Falling Shelves, he managed to clear the dismount, and ultimately completed Stage Two, and advanced to Stage Three for the first time in his 12-year career, with 3 seconds remaining. He was the first runner on Stage Three. He looked strong on the first three obstacles, but he slipped on the Ultimate Cliffhanger, ending his best season to date.