Evan Dollard

Evan Dollard was an athlete and host born in Chicago, Illinois on April 7, 1982. Dollard graduated from Columbia College Chicago in 2006 with a bachelor's in marketing communication, and a minor in acting. He was working as a youth instructor and teaching rock climbing when a roommate brought the audition process of the rebooted "American Gladiators" (NBC, 2008) to his attention. As a fan, Dollard auditioned and joined the show, eventually winning the men's competition of the first season. He then competed in the second season as Gladiator "Rocket," which was a nickname bestowed upon him in the first season due to his speed. After the show ended, Dollard's coworkers recommended he try out for "American Ninja Warrior" (NBC, 2009- ). He did so for the second season in 2010, and ended up advancing to compete on the show's parent program in Japan, "Sasuke" (TBS, 1997- ). Dollard competed in every season of "American Ninja Warrior" except for season five, and took on hosting duties for the show and other fitness/competition shows like it, such as "Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge" (NBC, 2016- ).