A 7-episode motivational documentary series exploring the global rise of Ninja Sport. This comprehensive video biography chronicles the journey of Rashid Demchenko — an athlete of the Masters 40+ Division — who began practicing Ninja Sport in 2017 with absolutely no prior athletic background. It traces his entire path: through the training process, injuries, setbacks, and defeats, to his victories, and qualifications for World Championships, including his participation in the test group for the TV show *American Ninja Warrior* — culminating in the medals he ultimately earned in 2025 at the World Championships of all three International Ninja Federations: WNL (World Ninja League), UNAA (Ultimate Ninja Athlete Association), FINA (Federation of International Ninja Athletics), becoming the first male athlete in the Masters 40+ Division history to win world medals from all three international ninja federations in one single season. 

Rashid Demchenko is known within the ninja community as the "Prince of Persia" — a professional American ninja warrior athlete ranked Pro Level 4 according to the 2025 WNL Power Rankings (Ninja Athlete ID 134164). Of Ukrainian descent, and having lived in Egypt for a decade, he is fluent in five languages: English, Arabic, Russian, Ukrainian, and Spanish. He is also the founder of the international brand BioNatal, renowned worldwide as the premier producer of the highest quality Black Seed Oil.

And so, I found myself in the finals of the most prestigious Ninja Sport World Championship in 2022 — WNL (World Ninja League) Championship — held annually in Greensboro, North Carolina. At that time, the finals format was quite short, consisting of just three Classic Stages; only those athletes who successfully completed the first stage in its entirety advanced to the second. For almost every athlete, however, the first stage proved to be the only one they would face; after that, we were ranked first by the number of obstacles cleared before falling, and then by time.

Unfortunately, my run came to an end following an incident involving a rope, which wrapped around my leg and completely killed my momentum. The commentators on YouTube Live were critical of the fact that I spent a significant amount of time on the "Mushrooms" obstacle. I took my time to aim and cleared it —whereas nearly 50 other athletes, who were stronger and faster than me, prioritized speed and ended up falling on the "Mushrooms." It was precisely this turn of events that helped me secure a final ranking of 49th place, thereby achieving my goal of breaking into the world top 50 in regular Adult Divison.

I missed the 2023 World Championship due to personal circumstances, but in 2024, I returned to the WNL Finals — this time competing in the Masters 40+ Division, as I had turned 40 by then. Initially, I assumed it would be an easy walk and set my sights on a top-10 finish. How wrong I was! This division was stacked with ninja gym owners, ninja coaches, former rock climbers, and even former Olympians. It turned out that, for me, the real challenge had only just begun!

Starting in 2024, the WNL Finals expanded beyond the traditional three Classic Stages to include competitive runs in specific disciplines: Speed, Technique, and Endurance. Starting this year, however, falling during the Classic Stages no longer meant immediate elimination for an athlete; instead, it offered a chance to advance — provided one finished in the top half of the tournament standings.

The first discipline was Technique. Due to the difficulty of the format, a single fall — followed by a re-attempt of the obstacle — was permitted. I had to utilize this re-attempt option, which helped me secure 16th place globally in the Masters Division. Next up was the Speed ​​discipline. Once again, I fell just short, finishing 18th in the world. The final discipline was Endurance. For the third time, I placed 16th. Ultimately, based on the combined results of all three disciplines, I finished 13th in the world within my division. I missed my goal of breaking into the top 10 by the narrowest of margins.

A truly frustrating incident occurred during the first of the Classic Stages: I fell right before the finish buzzer, on the very last move. My tank was completely empty! I finished in 49th place, but that was just enough to advance to the second stage. For the second stage, Abel and I decided to pace ourselves — moving slowly to ensure we had enough energy left for the finish — but once again, I fell right before hitting the finish buzzer. By the sheerest stroke of luck, I finished in 42nd place, securing the very last qualifying spot to advance to the third stage within a group of 42 athletes.

In the third stage, the strategy was simple: move as quickly as possible up to the "dead point" — the obstacle where almost everyone was bound to fall — in order to post the fastest possible time. The strategy paid off, and I finished in 30th place overall. Not a bad result for my first major final, though I did not quite achieve my ultimate goal.

After competing in the 2024 WNL Finals, where I narrowly missed breaking into the global top 10 in my Masters 40+ Division, I had one last chance to achieve that goal at the UNAA Finals in Los Angeles. The UNAA format is quite simple: based on the results of the first round — and depending on the total number of participants — between 15 and 20 athletes from each division advance to the final second round. In this grueling championship, falls are permitted, and scoring is based on points.

I couldn't shake the memory of my falls right before the final buzzers during the first two stages of the WNL Finals, and I feared it would happen to me again. And it did! I came up just half a foot short of reaching the bell on the final obstacle before slipping off the rope. Had I made that reach, I would have placed 11th — enough to advance to the final round; instead, I effectively finished in 21st place and was eliminated.

Suddenly, I faced a moment where I considered ending my career in Ninja Sports. Since 2023, issues with my biceps and inner elbows had been steadily worsening. No amount of advice seemed to help, so I began training less frequently until I eventually stopped going to the gym altogether. Out of necessity, I started playing goalkeeper for an amateur soccer club in a local league.

Then, quite unexpectedly, I stumbled upon a motivational interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger, in which he asserted that anything deemed "impossible" is, in fact, entirely possible — provided you set a clear goal for yourself. I began watching his interviews and films, and listening to stories about his life. I even bought Arnold Schwarzenegger’s book, *Be Useful*. No one could have motivated me more powerfully than the hero of my favorite childhood action movies — and so, I returned to the ninja gym!

And just like that, a light appeared at the end of the tunnel. One day, my friend Peter told me about a clinic — and a doctor — who had successfully treated a similar issue of his. The very next day, I was at the clinic, embarking on a complex course of treatment. A few weeks later, Rashid Demchenko was back in the game! I still had six months remaining before the 2025 Finals, so I began training rigorously and competing in competitions every single week.

Inspired by Arnold Schwarzenegger, I realized that to achieve the highest-level results, I needed to immediately pursue comprehensive, all-around development. Consequently, I started running, swimming, and weight training; I began getting massages including cupping therapy and even took up yoga and breathing technique lessons. Day in and day out, I just worked and worked.

And then came the moment for the true test: the WNL All-Stars tournament for the South-Central region, held at the gym of one of the world's elite ninja athletes, Terry England, in Louisiana. The tournament consisted of two runs: Speed ​​and Endurance. I hadn't even dared to dream of cracking the top three in this competition. But my hard work paid off: I took 2nd place in the Speed ​​run and 5th place in the Endurance run, securing an impressive 3rd place in the overall standings. What’s more, I reached the finish buzzer in the Endurance run — for the very first time in my life!

A monster had awakened within me! From that moment on, I began finishing every single competition I entered. As I continued listening to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s motivational speeches — particularly those regarding setting and achieving goals — I found myself wanting more than just to compete in the Ninja Sport world finals and break into the top 10 in a single discipline. I wanted something greater: I set my sights on competing in the finals of all three major ninja federations (WNL, UNAA, and FINA). My objective was to secure a top-10 finish in the overall standings of any one of them, and — further still — to win a world medal in any of these federations.

Moreover, I came up with the idea to produce a documentary film about this journey. I realized that, at this point, I could condense my entire ninja career to date into four episodes; from this moment forward, the subsequent three episodes would chronicle my pursuit of these new goals. For the title of my documentary, I chose a phrase coined by Arnold Schwarzenegger — "I hate plan B" — though I shortened it simply to *No Plan B*. This title reflected the reality of my situation: I truly had no backup plan. Having conceived the idea for the film in early 2025 — just ahead of the world finals — I had to qualify for those events by the summer. Once there, I would have to give absolutely everything to break into the top 10 in at least one of the finals and win a medal; otherwise, the entire film would be utterly meaningless.

I am flying to Greensboro, North Carolina, for the 2025 WNL World Championship Finals. Just before my final training session, I parted ways with the ninja shoes I had worn for the past seven years. I had once said that I would replace them only after winning a world medal; however, my newfound confidence in my abilities allowed me to make this symbolic gesture before the finals, rather than waiting until afterward. Having just finished reading Arnold Schwarzenegger’s motivational book, I set off on my journey.

My goals for the WNL Finals were straightforward: I wasn't counting on winning a medal, as only the top three athletes in each division and discipline receive one. Our Masters 40+ Division featured 220 competitors — including several athletes who had recently moved down from the Elite Division upon turning 40. For this reason, I viewed these finals primarily as preparation for the FINA and UNAA Finals, where medals are awarded to the top five and top ten athletes, respectively — and where, due to the extreme difficulty of the obstacles, the favorites don't always hold a clear-cut advantage. Nevertheless, for the WNL Finals, I was aiming for a top 10 finish in either the Speed ​​or Technical discipline, followed by advancing to Stage 3 of the "Classic Stages" — and, at the very least, successfully clearing and hitting the buzzer on Stage 1.

And so, here I am. I should mention right off the bat that, this year, I have stopped competing while wearing my red belt — the symbol of the Prince of Persia. My wife blamed it for my fall from the vertical rope — right when I was within reach of the bell — during the 2024 UNAA Finals; the belt had gotten wedged between the rope and my leg, a mishap that ultimately led to my elimination.

The first discipline was Technic. Just like last year, I had to use my rescue retry on one obstacle, as I had taken risks on every single one in the pursuit of speed. In the end, I took 8th place globally. It was fantastic! I had achieved the very first goal I had set for myself right from the start. My major objectives still lie far ahead, but this success gave me a much-needed boost of motivation.

Next on the list was the Endurance discipline. After a frustrating slip-up on one of the obstacles — which cost me a significant number of points — I ultimately finished in 45th place.

To secure an overall top-10 ranking across all disciplines, I absolutely needed to break into the top 10 in the final event: Speed. A technical nuance — and playing it safe — cost me three seconds; seconds I needed but didn't have to reach my goal. The result: 12th place.

And then, by an incredible coincidence — just as in 2024 — I finished 13th in the overall standings across all disciplines. Surprisingly, I wasn't upset; in fact, I even joked about the coincidence of landing in 13th place twice in a row. For me, simply securing 8th place in my favorite discipline — Technique — was enough to make me happy.

Then came time for the main event: the Classic Stages. The plan was to reach the buzzer, so Abel and I meticulously worked through every single movement required for this run. This was my chance for redemption after that agonizing fall right at the finish line back in 2024. And then — it happened again! A technical error right at the very end! Yet, a whole year of grueling training hadn't gone to waste: I executed an incredible save. I finished the course! I hit the buzzer! By prioritizing technique over speed, I placed 36th. That ranking didn't matter in the slightest, however, because I had successfully advanced to Stage 2 — and I had finally reached that coveted buzzer. Last year, Stage 2 ended for me just as Stage 1 had — I fell right before the finish line. This year, however, I took a moment to rest before the final obstacle — and I finished! My second buzzer! An incredible success! I advance to Stage 3, seeded 32nd based on my finish time.

In the previous stages, finish times didn't matter as long as you completed the course. But in Stage 3, time becomes the single most critical factor. My strategy remained the same as last year: post a fast time leading up to the "dead point" — the point where almost everyone inevitably falls — since it is our times at that specific juncture that will ultimately determine our rankings. I executed the plan perfectly, securing 20th place. This result ultimately earned me an honorable 17th-place finish in the "World Champion" category, as well as the fourth-highest Professional Tier — Pro Level IV — in the WNL Power Rankings (just one step away from the ultimate rank: Grand Champion). The only thing missing to complete my happiness was a WNL world medal. 

Upon returning home, I learned that, starting this year, the WNL was awarding medals to the world's top athletes in each division for their individual seasonal achievements. To qualify, one had to successfully complete the highest number of obstacles of a specific type globally over the course of the season — without falling even once. Checking my statistics on the World Ninja League website, I was surprised to see that, in our Masters Division, the record for balance and equilibrium obstacles "Foot Dexterity" stood at 37 out of 37; my own stats showed 36 out of 37, yet I couldn't recall ever having fallen. After recalling the specific incident in question and cross-checking the statistics, I realized that the system had failed to register a score correction following one particular competition. I filed an appeal with the WNL; after a review — which involved submitting video footage to the organization — I received an affirmative response: an error had indeed occurred, and my official result was to be recorded as 37 out of 37. The WNL subsequently sent me a Golden World Medal — the very same kind awarded to World Champions.

This was, in essence, my first world medal; however, in reality, I did not receive the official ruling from the WNL — nor the medal itself — until after I had returned from the UNAA and FINA finals. Consequently, I still headed to those finals with the specific goal of winning a world medal, as I did not yet possess a WNL medal at that time.

Two weeks after the WNL World Championship Finals, I headed to the UNAA and FINA World Finals. My goal was to place in the top 10 overall standings in one of these federations, as well as to secure a world medal from either organization — since, at the time of these finals, I was not yet aware of WNL's decision regarding the awarding me the world medal following the appeal I had filed.

The UNAA rules are quite simple: between 15 and 20 athletes from each division — depending on the total number of participants — advance from the first round to the second and final round. In 2025, FINA expanded significantly and consisted of three disciplines: Speed, Endurance, and Ninja vs. Ninja.

The first day was the toughest, as I had the FINA Endurance run as well as the first round of UNAA — which is, by its very nature, a true test of endurance. Two endurance runs in a single day!

I vividly remembered my elimination last year after failing to reach the bell at the end of the course, so this run represented another chance at redemption for me. And I did it! Striking that bell was an absolutely unforgettable moment. With a full score, no falls, and a sense of deep relief, I went off to prepare for the FINA Endurance run, knowing that there were still many competitors yet to run in the UNAA event.

Realizing that the starting lineup for FINA included many athletes who had not competed in UNAA, I knew that the only way to break into the top 5 and secure a medal was to complete the course cleanly — without any falls — and earn a full set of points. It was an extremely difficult course, and the fatigue from running two endurance events in one day finally took its toll: I fell right at the finish button, coming up just short — I needed only a couple more moves to complete it. The result: falling short by just one point, I landed in 13th place.

But the disappointments didn't end there. I soon learned that this year at UNAA, 19 athletes had scored a perfect run in the first round; due to time tiebreakers, I ended up in 17th place — and only the top 16 advanced to the final round. I missed qualifying for the finals by a mere 0.9 seconds behind the last athlete to make the cut.

On the second day, I had only one event: FINA Speed. Athletes get just two attempts to post their fastest time without falling. My first attempt was a bust; I touched the floor. Even so, I clocked a time of 41.31 seconds — which wasn't fast enough to crack the top 5 and medal based on the first-round standings — so I had to figure out how to shave off a couple of seconds.

I had just one attempt left to try and win a world medal. In that very moment, I realized this was my only shot: I didn't yet know about the WNL medal; I hadn't qualified for the UNAA final round; I didn't get FINA Endurance medal; and for the Ninja vs. Ninja format the following day, I knew I wouldn't have any energy left. I understood that in less than a minute, this moment would mark either the crowning triumph of my entire ninja career or the complete failure of a season that was supposed to be my best.

Recalling why people call me the "Prince of Persia," I executed a flawless run — just like in the movie — including a crazy, high-risk 12-foot leap to bypass a difficult section of the course. The result: 37.21 seconds and 5th place in the world. I had won a world medal! It was a triumph of sheer willpower!

But then, something unexpected happened. Lee Cates — a main contender for the world title in the UNAA Masters 40+ Division who landed 3rd after the first round — called me to announce that he was withdrawing from the competition, thereby vacating his spot in the UNAA final round. Consequently, the participant holding bib number 17 — myself — advanced to the final round. Personally, I remain convinced to this day that he did this for my sake, even though he claimed otherwise. The reason he cited was that he had designed and tested the final course for the UNAA. Thus, I found myself back in the running; on the third day, I stepped up for the final round — where, to secure a medal, I would have to outperform half of the very athletes to whom I had lost in the first round.

After receiving the opportunity from Lee Ceates to compete in the UNAA World Finals final round, I immediately set my sights on winning a medal — an honor bestowed upon only the top 10 competitors in this technically demanding championship. I also didn't want to let Lee down, as it was thanks to him that I had been given this chance. To achieve this, I needed to outperform half of the participants — who had beaten me in the first round just two days earlier.

Since Abel was busy coaching the children from our Ninja Academy, I found myself without a coach; fortunately, however, I crossed paths with the legendary Sam Sann, who helped prepare me mentally for the run ahead. Sam and I worked out a run strategy and refined my technique for every obstacle in an effort to post a competitive time.

I poured every last ounce of my remaining energy into that run, and I waited with bated breath for the results of all the other athletes. I was the first competitor on the course, having advanced to the final round from the very last qualifying spot. In the end, I secured 9th place — a podium finish — and my second world medal! I did it! I had earned world medals from both federations at a single event.

A few hours later, the final event — Ninja vs. Ninja format under the FINA federation — began. I was physically exhausted, and having already won every medal I had set as a goal, I found myself lacking motivation. In this particular format, each athlete gets two attempts to set their best personal time; the field is then narrowed down to the top 16 participants, who proceed to compete in head-to-head knockout rounds.

My first run yielded a time of 41.59 seconds — a result that, based on the preliminary times posted by other athletes, felt like it was "cutting it dangerously close" to the cutoff. Finally, Abel arrived, and together we devised a plan to shave some time off my run. Ultimately, I posted a time of 36.40 seconds, which was enough to secure 7th place in the overall standings and earn my spot in the playoffs. But by this point, my tank was completely empty, while most of the athletes in our Masters 40+ Division were much fresher; just a couple of hours earlier, only a handful of us had competed in the final round of the UNAA, whereas the others had been resting and preparing exclusively for this specific event. Consequently, I lost the elimination race, and that was the end of the road for me, leaving me to settle for a 15th-place finish overall in the Ninja vs. Ninja format.

And so, my final goal for these championships was achieved: I didn't just make it into the overall top 10 — I managed to do so in both federations, finishing 9th in the UNAA and 10th in the FINA (based on the combined results of all disciplines). I accomplished even more than I had originally set out to do!

Then, two weeks after returning from Dallas — where these finals took place — I received my medal from the WNL, the one featured in Episode 5 of my film. I officially became the first male athlete in the history of Ninja Sport, within the Masters 40+ Division, to successfully win medals from all three international ninja federations in a single season: the 2025 season.

As Arnold Schwarzenegger once said, "There is no such thing as a self-made man" — and I became convinced of this throughout my entire journey toward winning world medals in Ninja Sport. I owe my success to many people, but I would like to single out the most important among them: Abel Gonzalez (Main Coach), Sam Sann (Coach), Lee Cates (Coach), Dr. Illiana Cantu (Chiropractor), Dr. Ricardo Saenz (Chiropractor Assistant), Dr. Alexandr Sechin (Sport Physician), Alex Hinojosa (Massage Therapist), Matthew Morales (Yoga Instructor), Mayela Salinas (Yoga Instructor), Peter Magnusson (Friend), Wilfredo Hinojosa (Friend), Arnold Schwarzenegger (Motivator). 

During the second half of 2025, all seven episodes of my film *No Plan B* were released and uploaded to my YouTube channel of the same name: *No Plan B*.

WNL 2022 - Adult Division

Stage 1 - 49th, Championship Overall - 49th

WNL 2024 - Masters 40+ Division

Tech - 16th, Endurance - 16th, Speed - 18th, Disciplines Overall - 13th

Stage 1 - 49th, Stage 2 - 42nd, Stage 3 - 30th, Championship Overall - 25th

UNAA 2024 - Masters 40+ Division

First Round - 21st, Championship Overall - 21st

WNL 2025 - Masters 40+ Division

Tech - 8th, Endurance - 45th, Speed - 12th, Disciplines Overall - 13th

Stage 1 - 36th, Stage 2 - 32nd, Stage 3 - 20th, Championship Overall - 17th

UNAA 2025 - Masters 40+ Division

First Round - 17th, Final Round - 9th, Championship Overall - 9th

FINA 2025 - Masters 40+ Division

Endurance - 13th, Speed - 5th, Ninja vs. Ninja - 15th, Championship Overall - 10th