Side Hustle: Wilmette doctor conquers ‘American Ninja Warrior’ course

Doctor by day, Steven Bachta swaps his scrubs for ninja gear by night.

Thanks to his 24-hours-on, several-days-off work schedule, Bachta, 44, of Wilmette, has found time to train for his second gig: competing on NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior.”

In his qualifying run on Season 17, which aired on June 23, Bachta raced through the course in 2 minutes, 42.29 seconds. The pediatrician scaled the warped wall, hit the buzzer and secured 14th place overall — earning a spot in the semifinals. 

“Being up there representing our gym and my kids and to some degree the city … it was really just nice to have a good run, have a good showing and [I] felt very proud to be able to finish the course,” Bachta told The Record.

Known in the ninja world as “Docta Bachta,” he has appeared on “American Ninja Warrior” twice before, though this was his first time finishing the course. In 2022 (Season 14), he also advanced to the semifinals but fell on the fifth obstacle. In 2023 (Season 15), he fell just shy of the semifinals, finishing behind another competitor in a run-off.

This season, however, was different. Bachta said he looked at the course and knew he could do it, a confidence he hadn’t felt in his past two attempts.

There is a “big mental aspect” to the competition that can be equally important as physical training, he said. Training at night helps mimic the conditions of the real competition, and previous runs on the show have taught Bachta how to better manage media days before his run.

The qualifying rounds for Season 17 were filmed back in September 2024 in Las Vegas. Cheering him on virtually were his wife, Kelly, their two daughters and a pair of fellow ninjas.

“To see Steve hit a buzzer and know he did it after training for five years and being 43 at the time was pretty awesome, especially because he represents sort of coming to ninja later in life,” Kelly said. “It was really, really exciting as a family.”

In fact, it was Bachta’s family who introduced him to the competition.

His daughters, Logan, 7, and Sydney, 10, discovered “American Ninja Warrior Junior” while flipping through TV channels one night in 2020. After some research, the family learned there were multiple ninja gyms in the Chicago area.

Soon, Bachta and Sydney began to attend open gyms together. As Bachta improved, he applied for the show. His first application was rejected, but he persisted, eventually earning a spot in 2022.

After his initial appearance, local ninjas invited him to train regularly. Now, Bachta spends several nights a week practicing at local ninja gyms with obstacles that mimic those on the show.

11-time “American Ninja Warrior” competitor Mike Silenzi manages Ultimate Ninjas’ Libertyville location. He met Bachta a few years back.

“Steve is very passionate about it, and he just soaks in everything and just wants to learn as much as he can,” Silenzi said. “Steve’s the type of guy who he’ll do something 100 times, you know, he’ll fail 100 times. He just wants to keep trying until he gets it, and eventually he does.”

While Bachta enjoys the challenge, he said the heart of his ninja journey is family.

“This is (Sydney’s) thing and Logan’s thing,” Bachta said. “For me, it’s just gravy that I get to compete and do it too. But they’re the ones that are my inspiration.”

In fact, the Bachta trio competed at the World Ninja League Championships the weekend of June 19 in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Sydney said she’s got the grip, but dad’s got the power. Kelly added their girls are “smoking dad” most of the time.

“It’s been cool just to kind of flip yourself, because usually, as a parent, I can give them some pretty good advice,” Bachta said. “But then to have that flip sometimes and have them give me advice and work through problems [is] really cool.”

Bachta’s competition is also tied to a cause. As a doctor, Bachta said he has seen firsthand the impact of blood donations and wants to raise awareness of their importance. “Donate Blood!” is written on the back of his purple race shirt.

“Not everybody can donate blood, but I think there’s a lot of people that can that just don’t even realize how much they could help,” Bachta said.

A dad, a pediatrician and a ninja competitor, Bachta’s semifinal run on “American Ninja Warrior” will air on NBC this summer. Top performers will move on to the finals for a chance to win $250,000.

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