You've probably seen the YouTube video of Lylah, the 7-year-old girl whose dad set up a junior-scale American Ninja Warrior course in their backyard. But did you know she's from Colorado?
When we found out that Lylah the Tie-Dye Ninja is from Northglenn, Colorado, we simply couldn't wait to meet her! After all, we've been a fan of her adorable, impressive YouTube videos (featuring homemade obstacle courses in her home and backyard) for a couple years!
So on a warm August afternoon, we met up with Lylah and her dad Gavin at a park near their home, so she could show us her Ninja skills and talk to us for a bit. Gavin told us that Lylah's most popular YouTube video received 150,000 views the first day after it published, and it's received 50 views every minute in the year since, racking up a whopping 29,000,000 views.
This sudden popularity (and her genuine interest in her ninja obstacles) catapulted Lylah and her dad into the limelight, affording them opportunities to travel across the country, appear on NBC's Little Big Shots, meet all kinds of people, and even allow her dad the chance to compete on a qualifying round of NBC's American Ninja Warrior.
But sweeter than Lylah's mad ninja "skillz" are her can-do attitude, her spunky personality, and the dimple in her cheek when she flashes that infectious, 7-year-old smile.
OCN Interviews: Lylah the Tie-Dye Ninja
So, tell us, how old are you?
LYLAH: Seven.
What grade are you in?
LYLAH: First. I'm about to go in second.
And how long have you been doing this?
LYLAH: I've been doing this for three years.
What made you get into it? Were you just climbing around the house a lot?
LYLAH: No, my dad-- he was watching American Ninja Warrior, and I was watching it, too. And I just started. I moved the green chair and just jumped over it.
Do you practice every day? Do you come to the park to practice? Do you go to the gym?
LYLAH: I practice at home. In my house. We hanged, um, a lot of things from the ceiling.
How many competitions have you been in, do you think?
LYLAH: I've been in one competition. I got in third place!
Were you nervous? How do you help yourself when you feel nervous?
LYLAH: Yeah. Um, by just -- keep on doing it to see if I can do it.
Your dad was telling us that you practice at climbing gyms sometimes. Tell us a little bit about what you do at climbing gyms.
LYLAH: Classes. At the Ninja gym, I do classes and I climb.
What's your favorite place to train?
LYLAH: My favorite place to train is Santa Monica Ninja Nation. Santa Monica has a lot of ninja stuff. And there's these really long, far rings that I can do five times in a row -- no, seven!
When you're doing all of your climbing and everything that you do, what's your favorite part?
LYLAH: Learning how to do it. Um, like learning how to do what I don't know how to do.
So you like the challenge of knowing that it's something you didn't know how to do before. Do you feel really accomplished? What does that make you feel like?
LYLAH: Um, super-amazed. When I finally complete an obstacle I feel great.
What happens when your hands hurt from the obstacles? Do you have anything that you use to help your hands feel better?
LYLAH: When my hands hurt, I just keep on going. I make my hands feel better by putting ice on them.
Have you ever fallen?
LYLAH: I have fallen [laughs].
You don't really have any skinned knees. It's amazing. You're pretty good at what you do.
LYLAH: Barely.
Who is your favorite ninja warrior?
LYLAH: My favorite ninja warrior is Flip Rodriguez and Austin Gray.
Have you met them? What was that like?
LYLAH: Yes. When I met them it was amazing.
How do you keep in shape?
LYLAH: Um ... I keep in shape by training and training and learning how to do it. So I do it over and over again.
What's your favorite subject to study in school?
LYLAH: Everything!
Do you like to read? What's your favorite book?
LYLAH: My favorite book is every book.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
LYLAH: I want to be a veterinarian and a kindergartner teacher.
What's your favorite animal? Do you have any pets at home?
LYLAH: Dog and a cat. Mm-hmm. Got three cats and two dogs.
What's your favorite thing to eat?
LYLAH: Pizza and spaghetti.
Do you watch TV or movies?
LYLAH: I watch YouTube, other YouTubers, and I watch American Ninja Warrior.
How did you decide on the name "Tie-Dye Ninja"?
LYLAH: We decided on the name 'cause I always do a lot of tie-dye shirts.
You like to make them at home?
LYLAH: Uh-huh.
So you've visited a lot of places, right? What's your favorite part about living in Colorado?
LYLAH: Colorado is better because it's not as hot as other places!
How has being the Tie-Dye Ninja changed your life?
LYLAH: It changed my life a lot. By learning how to do things that I never knew that I could do.
Do people ever recognize you when you go out shopping or to restaurants?
LYLAH: Yeah. I do get recognized a lot. At Ninja gyms. We were at this park, and we got recognized by somebody.
What's your favorite part about being a Ninja Warrior?
LYLAH: Um, my favorite part about being a Ninja Warrior is climbing and learning new things.
All right. Well, I think we've got everything. Thank you so much, Lylah!
LYLAH: Yep. Can I go play yet?
Check out our video interview -- featuring our very own footage of Lylah, the Tie-Dye Ninja -- coming soon!
Do you know of someone else that we should feature on OCN? We're all ears! Please reach out to us at [email protected]!