Australian farmer rises to fame with Ninja Warrior campaign

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Australian farmer rises to fame with Ninja Warrior campaign

A rural community in South Australia is rallying around a farmer who has climbed his way to the grand final in one of the most physically challenging competitions in the world.

Simon Martin is a fourth generation farmer and councillor from Karoonda, who has a population of about 340.

The father of three has risen to fame because of his Australian Ninja Warrior campaign and images of him are projected onto Karoonda's silos at night to celebrate his success.

Martin said it was quite surreal.

He received encouraging messages from family and friends.

Martin said that it was a pretty humbling experience to hear them yelling at their TV screens and really supporting me.

The sport of unconventional sports has exploded in popularity over the past decade.

Martin gave it a go in Adelaide, where he trained alongside top-level athletes.

I rolled up to the Ninja gym and realized how bad I was, he said.

I was expecting to be a lot better.

I think that's what attracted me to it, because you can basically train at your own level and there's no end to how good you can get. Martin's dedication to the sport is exemplified by his home gym, Ninja Barn The family started training together, and while the sport can be physically demanding, Martin recommends that kids have a go too.

He said that the upper body strength of a child is probably lacking in a lot of sports these days, especially for the younger kids.