This is the season when all are embracing the New Year, with aspirations to make each day better than the last. It is that time that we give thanks for all of the blessings that have been bestowed upon us, and pray that each day will bring more fulfillment than yesterday. For Steve Seiver, he has much to be grateful for, and is continuing to fulfill his dreams daily and inspire those all over the world.
Life wasn’t always as positive as it is now for Seiver. The 35-year-old Idaho Fence fabricator, personal trainer, yoga teacher, ninja warrior, Air Force veteran and father of three boys went through a painful divorce several years ago and found himself unable to cope with the situation in a healthy way. He turned to alcohol, gaming and other bad habits to numb the pain he was feeling, which only lead to more suffering. In just a short amount of time, not only did Seiver lose his wife, but his house and job, and lost out on valuable time that could have been spent with his children.
Today, Seiver has turned to a life of sobriety and leads an active and healthy lifestyle, with a passion for rock climbing and yoga—particularly Acroyoga, which is a physical practice combining yoga and acrobatics. You can find Seiver teaching yoga throughout the Coeur d’Alene area. Using the same strength and dedication necessary for sobriety, he decided to challenge himself and train for the next American Ninja Warrior competition.
Earlier this year, he moved down to Southern California for four months where he spent his time training for the competition. He was able to stay with family and work minimally while devoting his attention to his training. Seiver’s training consisted of training five hours a day; rock climbing, yoga, hand balancing, gym workouts and training in a friend’s backyard ninja course. He also taught yoga when he could. One of the big reasons Seiver made the choice to train in Southern California was due to the many gyms in that area dedicated to ninja-warrior training, which are lacking in the Coeur d’Alene area.
Due to his hard work and dedication, Seiver was selected from more than 70,000 applicants in 2016 to compete in the eighth season of American Ninja Warrior for the show’s $1 million prize, with him donating his winnings to the Wishing Star Foundation. He broke through his physical boundaries as he worked his way through the incredibly difficult obstacle course, where he could be seen climbing a 75-foot rope above water and undertook the terrifying “Floating Steps” and massive swinging “Tick Tock” pendulum.
Though he didn’t make it to the national finals, Seiver continues to train his body, mind and soul, dedicating his life to fitness and inspiring others.
As Seiver says, “I really learned that if you’re willing to step outside your box and push yourself and inspire people, it’s like a self-fulfilling prophecy. People inspired by me inspire me. The messages I have received post show saying that I’ve helped save people’s lives with battling alcohol and drugs; those experiences have solidified my focus and my drive to continue to be a sober, responsible individual for people to look up to.”
“I had some pretty dark moments, and I try now to live my life as openly as possible so others can pick up on it and be inspired,” says Seiver. “This is my purpose in life; to continue down this path. I just want to keep going back, year after year, as long as I can, as long as my body will hold up, to inspire people to push themselves.” And with no age limit for the show, Seiver plans to pursue becoming the next American Ninja Warrior for years to come.
As Seiver points out, there is much more to the show than beating your opponents and winning. It’s about competing, not against others, but against yourself. He is grateful for the many lifelong friends he made while training and competing with them on the show.
“I truly have this belief that our sole function as humans is, in whatever capacity you can, to leave this world a better place than when you came, through your skills, your strengths, your inspiration,” says Seiver.
Seiver has been humbled by the support he has been shown from not only his family and friends, but the Coeur d’Alene community. “So many people, my family, my kids, my mom, my dad, friends, all of the people; this community of people has been the most uplifting group of people I’ve ever come across.” He adds: “I’m blessed to have so many people around me who support this and let me live my dream.”
Since the show, Seiver has continued to receive community support and involvement in his current project—his own training studio. Thanks to 360 Fitness in Coeur d’Alene, Seiver has two large rooms behind the basketball courts where he has created his own ninja warrior training oasis. Thanks to donors like All Four Fencing, who donated lumber material for the project, Seiver has been gifted with all the materials needed to create this little piece of training heaven. “The gym would not be what it is without the community who has donated everything,” he says.
“I’m blessed,” adds Seiver. “It’s been an amazing year.”