What Shoes Do American Ninja Warrior Competitors Wear? Season 18 Grip Picks

Quick answer: most American Ninja Warrior competitors wear thin-soled, minimalist shoes built for grip and ground feel, not cushioned running shoes. Merrell's Vapor Glove and Xero Shoes' Prio show up again and again in the ninja community, and at least one competitor has run the course with no shoes at all. Season 18 wrapped Aug. 31, 2026, with Josiah Pippel and Taylor Greene crowned champions, and NBC has already renewed the show for seasons 19 and 20.

The course is the reason the footwear looks nothing like a normal training shoe. There is no straight-line running to cushion. Instead there are balance beams, rope climbs, spinning logs and slick warped walls, all of which reward a flat sole that lets a competitor feel exactly where their foot is landing.

Why don't Ninja Warrior competitors wear regular running shoes?

A cushioned running shoe raises the foot off the ground and rounds off the edges, which is good for absorbing pavement miles and bad for balancing on a 2-inch beam. Ninja competitors need the opposite: a thin, flexible sole that bends with the foot and a wide toe box for grip on narrow or curved surfaces. That is why the sport borrowed its footwear from the barefoot-running and minimalist-training world instead of from track shoes.

What shoe brands do ninjas actually wear?

There is no official Ninja Warrior shoe deal, so competitors buy their own, and the same handful of minimalist brands keep coming up across ninja gyms and competitor interviews:

Dave Cavanagh, a multiple-time walk-on who finally competed after Baltimore tryouts, is one of the few competitors a shoe brand has named directly: Xero Shoes' own blog features him wearing the Prio, its top-selling model, on his way to the Las Vegas finals.

Is it true some competitors go barefoot?

Yes. Langdon Dinsdale, a biomechanics specialist from Clermont, Florida, competed in Season 16 with no shoes at all. "I basically haven't worn any shoes for the last seven years," he said, adding that he runs marathons, works and shops barefoot too. On the course he cleared the Pole Vault and the Double Twister before losing his grip on Duck Duck Goose and falling into the water, just short of the Warped Wall he'd predicted he could beat with bare feet.

What does a Ninja Warrior-style shoe cost?

The three brands competitors and the ninja community actually wear, at three price levels. We read these on the brands' own sites; they are similar styles, not confirmed pairs from any specific competitor's run.

Prices checked on merrell.com, xeroshoes.com and inov8.com, Sept. 29, 3:30 a.m. ET. The Merrell sale price applies to select sizes.

Who won American Ninja Warrior season 18?

Josiah Pippel, 21, of Moorestown, New Jersey, beat reigning champion Kai Beckstrand in the final race to win the $250,000 grand prize; Beckstrand fell at Cane Lane, his first fall in three years of competing. Taylor Greene, 18, defended her women's title against Isabella Folsom, becoming the first woman in the show's history to win back to back. The finale aired Monday, Aug. 31, on NBC, with the episode streaming on Peacock the next day.

Which one should you buy for obstacle training?

Match the shoe to what you actually train on. A beam or slackline at home favors the thinnest sole you can find; a ninja gym with turf and weighted bags favors a slightly sturdier minimalist shoe.

How do other competition shows handle footwear?

Amazing Race teams pack one pair of grippy trail shoes for a month straight, which we cover in what shoes Amazing Race racers wear. Survivor players go the other way, mostly barefoot or in water shoes; see what shoes Survivor contestants wear. The Challenge's arena tasks call for their own grip picks, in what shoes The Challenge competitors wear. For wet, muddy footing closer to a ninja course, read what to wear for a mud run.

For what American Ninja Warrior competitors wear above the ankle, see what ANW competitors wear. To name a shoe you spot on any show, start with how to find workout clothes you see on TV, or browse all competition shows.

FAQ

Does NBC give competitors shoes? No public source says production provides footwear. Competitors buy and train in their own shoes, the way Dave Cavanagh did with his Xero Shoes Prio before Las Vegas.

Can you compete barefoot? Yes. Langdon Dinsdale ran his full Season 16 course with no shoes, though the rules don't require it, and most competitors still choose a thin-soled shoe over bare feet.

When is American Ninja Warrior season 19? NBC has renewed the show for seasons 19 and 20, but hasn't announced premiere dates as of this writing; the show has historically returned in early summer.

Sources

• Season 18 finale results, Pippel and Greene wins: Deadline and NBC Insider, read Sept. 29, 2026.
• Barefoot competitor Langdon Dinsdale, Season 16: NBC Insider.
• Dave Cavanagh and the Xero Shoes Prio: Xero Shoes' own blog (xeroshoes.com), read Sept. 29, 2026.
• Shoe specs and prices: merrell.com, xeroshoes.com and inov8.com product pages, checked Sept. 29, 2026, 3:30 a.m. ET.
• Video: American Ninja Warrior on YouTube, "Josiah Pippel's Season 18 Winning Run."