From the minute Ryan Lee sat down to watch his first episode of Australian Ninja Warrior, he was fascinated.
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The eight-year-old loved the show so much that, when his parents asked him what he wanted for his birthday last year, he named one thing: to go and visit the Boggabri-based gym of Cruze Morley, a former competitor on the show.
"We took him out there April last year," Ryan's father, Daniel, said.
"That's when Cruze said he goes pretty good, and they've got a local competition coming up in May. So it all started from that."
The naturally athletic young man placed second in his maiden ninja competition.
From there, his love of this new sport only grew. It works like a scaled-down version of the show, with contestants asked to complete timed runs through obstacles, which they earn points for doing successfully.
The first event was "a bit of an eye-opener" for his parents, who encouraged Ryan's new pastime as his skill grew by the day.
"He had all the ingredients for it, and that first competition qualified him for state," Daniel said.
"We took him to a couple of other little competitions between then and state, and all of them he got podium in."
That trend continued at the state championships, where he earned second place. That was followed by the national championships in Boggabri, where he again finished second.
In what seemed like the blink of an eye, Ryan had qualified for the World Ninja Games in the same year he had taken up the sport.
But that success, Daniel said, has not changed his son at all.
"He's very humble," he said.
"He's always been sporty, but he's very quiet. Everyone comments on how quiet he is, he just sits back and takes it all in stride, really."
In order to allow Ryan to train more frequently, Daniel has converted the carport of their Tamworth home into a gym with balance obstacles, hooks, and swinging trapezes.
By the time the world championships roll around later this month, he should be fully-prepared physically by his training and Morley's coaching. However his biggest asset, his father believes, is not his formidable physical talent.
"He doesn't get nervous," Daniel said.
"In all these competitions, I get more nervous than he does. It's amazing, he's just a cool cucumber and takes it all in."
The World Ninja Games will be held in Anaheim, California. There, a blend of several different ninja associations from across the globe come together to hold their international events at the same time.
Ryan has qualified for "everything they've got", but the trip will not solely be about the competition.
"We head off about a week before it," Daniel said.
"We'll make a trip out of it and take the kids to Disney as well."
