Ninja Nation Huntersville

Background

Kevin Cassidy, the owner of Ninja Nation Huntersville moved to the Queen City from Long Island, NY, in 1987 when he was just 10 years old. He attended Sterling elementary, Quail Hollow Jr. High, and Providence High school from which he graduated in 1995. He was a two-sport athlete in high school (football and baseball) and went on to play baseball collegiately as well as a short stint in the minor leagues professionally.

Kevin then became a middle school teacher outside of Washington DC and Baltimore MD before beginning his journey west. That journey began and was fueled by a sport called Slamball, an extreme sport that was full contact basketball incorporating trampolines. It aired on Spike TV in the early 2000’s. Playing that sport took him to Los Angeles where, through connections with Slamball and other acts of randomness he found himself working as a Stuntman in Hollywood. Always and entrepreneur, he knew that when the fun little ride in Hollywood was over, he would open his own business. Little did he know that that ride would last 18 years and include some of the biggest movies of all time including 8 Marvel films such as Avengers Infinity War, Endgame, Spider-Man Homecoming, Far From Home, Black Panther, Captain America: Civil War, Ant-Man, and Ant-Man and the Wasp.

Kevin recently retired from that world and has brought his family, wife Megan, Global Managing Director at Iron Mountain and 3 beautiful daughters: Victoria (4), Blake (2), and Rae (7months), back home to the Charlotte area. 

Always the entrepreneur, Kevin  saw himself opening his own business when he “grew up”. A business that focuses on sports, youth development, giving back to and being a staple of the community. 

Why Ninja?

He was introduced to the sport of Ninja Warrior during his time working as a stuntman in Los Angeles as a few stunt colleagues of his have competed on the TV show American Ninja Warrior. Being an athlete who grew up competing in “traditional” sports Kevin was always drawn to what he calls the “x games mentality” of the people from these other sports. He has witnessed athletes in these sports build each other up at the highest level.  He tells a story of a friend of his competing in motocross in the X-games who fell on the last turn of a race and lost. Only to be the first person to embrace the winner who had passed him while he was down. This mentality is rare in sports even rarer at the highest level of sports.

Enter Ninja Nation. Born from and entrenched in this “X-games mentality” lies the philosophy of the brand and this sport as a whole. It brings with it the ability to humble the most accomplished athletes as well as build confidence in any beginner. It’s rooted in the community, it’s fun, challenging, and exactly what Kevin wanted to be a part of when he “grew up”. Kevin is very excited to combine his expertise, knowledge, and passion for youth development with the sport of Ninja and to introduce Ninja Nation to the Huntersville/Charlotte Area.