Local chef to take a shot at ‘American Ninja Warrior’

By GUY D’ASTOLFO

dastolfo@vindy.com

Patrick Lavanty can take the heat, but he’s getting out of the kitchen anyway.

The chef at Nicolinni’s Restaurant in Boardman will take a couple of days off to do something that’s even more stressful: compete on “American Ninja Warrior.”

VIDEO (from WFMJ) of Lavanty training for American Ninja Warrior

Lavanty will be in Cleveland Sunday and Monday, where the NBC competition show will set up its obstacle course and film contestants as they go through it. The session will be the basis of the upcoming season of the show, which premieres June 12 at 8 p.m.

If Lavanty makes the top 30, he will compete again Tuesday. Then, if he finishes in the top 15, he will advance to the finals in Las Vegas.

Nicolinni’s will be closed Monday and Tuesday so the staff and Lavanty’s family can go to Cleveland to watch him take on the course.

Working in a restaurant kitchen takes speed, stamina and strength – which are also necessary attributes for “American Ninja Warrior.”

Lavanty has been trying to get on the show for years, and has been training to prepare for it.

“It’s been a passion of mine for three or four years now,” he said. Lavanty submitted a video to the show – a requisite for an invitation to try out – three times in the past but to no avail.

Lavanty was a walk-on contestant when the show was shooting in Pittsburgh three years ago, but was not selected.

Getting the nod to be an invited contestant in Cleveland might have had something to do with his workout regimen, which Lavanty showed on the most-recent video he submitted to the show.

Because the chef works long hours at Nicolinni’s, he incorporates extreme exercise into his day. He has installed a rope climb at the restaurant, and also leaps up to an overhead beam to strengthen his arm and finger strength while working. He demonstrated the makeshift exercises on his video.

Lavanty also trains at Warrior Warehouse, which is located right down U.S. Route 224 from his restaurant. Warrior Warehouse offers the same ninja-style obstacles that are used on “American Ninja Warrior.”

A 1998 graduate of Canfield High School, Lavanty has worked at Nicolinni’s – which his family has owned since 1962 – for most of his life.

“I got interested in ‘American Ninja Warrior’ a few years back when I started watching it with my kids,” he said. “I thought it was something I could really get into.”

It wasn’t easy finding time to condition himself, but Lavanty made it happen. “I work seven days a week,” he said. “I come in to the restaurant and make sauce in the morning and then set up and prep. But if you are going to be competitive, you have to put the time in and get a quick workout in every day. It worked out so conveniently with [Warrior Warehouse] right down the street. I couldn’t have written it better.”

“American Ninja Warrior” competitors take turns running an obstacle course that requires not only great strength and athleticism, but quick decision making under pressure. Again, that’s where working in a busy restaurant is good training.

“With what we do here in the restaurant, you have to be almost a super athlete sometimes,” said Lavanty. “We get really busy and you have to stay cool.”

If Lavanty is cool enough, and fast enough, he could win the show’s top prize: $1 million.