UNAA Crew

UNAA Crew

Bob Clark - CEO

Bob grew up skiing, windsurfing, rock climbing, and racing Motocross. But once he discovered Ninja obstacles, he was hooked. He and his son would watch Sasuske and then ANW every week and always wanted to try it. So he built his own course in his backyard. He then joined a Ninja gym and talked with the owners about starting a competition series where athletes could compete in qualifiers and then to a big Final and win cash and prizes.

So he started the UNAA. The first UNAA Finals in 2016 had 126 athletes, and as of 2022 Finals have grown to over 1500 athletes competing for World Champion!

Bob has been an entrepreneur for most of his career, owning a trucking company, a stage, sound, and light company, a Uhaul Franchise, a Motocross track, a Ninja Fitness Gym, and now UNAA.

Bob has a wife and three kids who all grew up playing sports and were always very active in fitness. He currently works at PlayWell, selling and designing playgrounds for parks and schools along with being CEO at Ultimate Ninja Gym in Albuquerque, the home of UNAA.

Bob has won the Ninja Park Crossfit Team challenge and was the first Over 50 competitor to win the Titan of Texas Challenge in Dallas, TX.

He has a Coaching Level 2 certification from New Mexico State University, with studies in Nutrition, health science, Action Personal Trainer Certification, and sports officiating, and helped create the first Ninja Coach Certification program.

​​​​​​​Bob wants to see Ninja obstacle competition become a real certified worldwide sport and pursue Ninja obstacle competition inclusion in the Olympics and has a desire to use UNAA as a platform to help accomplish that.

Bob Clark - CEO

Bob grew up skiing, windsurfing, rock climbing, and racing Motocross. But once he discovered Ninja obstacles, he was hooked. He and his son would watch Sasuske and then ANW every week and always wanted to try it. So he built his own course in his backyard. He then joined a Ninja gym and talked with the owners about starting a competition series where athletes could compete in qualifiers and then to a big Final and win cash and prizes.

So he started the UNAA. The first UNAA Finals in 2016 had 126 athletes, and as of 2022 Finals have grown to over 1500 athletes competing for World Champion!
Bob has been an entrepreneur for most of his career, owning a trucking company, a stage, sound, and light company, a Uhaul Franchise, a Motocross track, a Ninja Fitness Gym, and now UNAA.

Bob has a wife and three kids who all grew up playing sports and were always very active in fitness. He currently works at PlayWell, selling and designing playgrounds for parks and schools along with being CEO at Ultimate Ninja Gym in Albuquerque, the home of UNAA.

Bob has won the Ninja Park Crossfit Team challenge and was the first Over 50 competitor to win the Titan of Texas Challenge in Dallas, TX.

He has a Coaching Level 2 certification from New Mexico State University, with studies in Nutrition, health science, Action Personal Trainer Certification, and sports officiating, and helped create the first Ninja Coach Certification program.

​​​​​​​Bob wants to see Ninja obstacle competition become a real certified worldwide sport and pursue Ninja obstacle competition inclusion in the Olympics and has a desire to use UNAA as a platform to help accomplish that.

Ben Bitterman

Ben is a true athlete with a diverse background in martial arts, baseball, football, basketball, and parkour. Currently managing and coaching at the Ultimate Ninja Obstacle Gym, Ben Bitterman is also a UNAA partner and World Series Finals committee director.

After watching movies and TV shows with Parkour, Ben decided to learn more and became fluent in Parkour. This brought him into the world of Ninja where he trained both sports. Now he is excited to do things that you only see on TV and in movies. Swinging, Vaulting, Climbing, and completing obstacles brings out an amazing feeling for him.

Currently, he lives in Albuquerque with his Fiance, dog, and two cats.

Ben is a versatile athlete and a guiding force in the ninja community, inspiring and mentoring aspiring athletes worldwide. He loves the ninja community and hopes to bring the sport and community to every part of the world.

Christina Kline

Christina has always enjoyed athletics, playing soccer and basketball from a young age into high school and competing in track and field during college. She desired to learn more about the way our bodies can reach such a high level of athleticism, skill, and finesse which led her to pursue a career in physical therapy. She has been a physical therapist at a long term acute care hospital for 5 years and loves it! 

Not knowing much about the ninja community, Christina began to get involved by volunteering at World Series Finals and eventually became the volunteer coordinator for UNAA. She has now been the volunteer coordinator for 3 years and has also become a partner of UNAA.

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Christina enjoys camping, fishing, reading, and napping. She lives in Albuquerque with her husband, two children, and two dogs who are always keeping her on her toes!

Alison Mattern

Alison joined the ninja community in 2017 when an Ultimate Ninjas gym opened in Naperville, joining the adult fitness program, UltiFIT. It turned out that she discovered a new passion that quickly became a whole family activity.

After nearly 20 years as an IT project manager, Alison transitioned during covid to stay home and homeschool her twin children. She now fills her time with teaching her kids, volunteering at church with Awana, serving as chair of her Twins Club bi-annual clothing resale and working as preschool ninja coach at Ultimate Ninjas. Alison is, also, active with ninja organizations. In 2023, she joined USA Ninjas to assist with the inaugural World Cup Ninja event in Orlando and continued on with the 2024 US Nationals in Anaheim. Alison joined UNAA in 2024 as Administrative Coordinator and is happy to be a part of the ninja community and help with the growth of this sport. 

When seeking quieter moments, Alison enjoys running, reading, and gardening - and attempting ninja competitions. She loves watching her family grow together through this unique sport, fostering health, community and values. 

Chase Clark

Chase has always been one who loves movement, and being active. He grew up playing all kinds of sports and doing many different outdoor activities such as skiing and hiking. He has taken that love of movement and made it his career by becoming an elementary physical education teacher. His goal is to inspire the next generation to love movement and physical activity as much as he does. 

Chase discovered ninja in his early college days when the first ninja gym opened in his hometown of Albuquerque. Ninja has been a part of his life ever since. He started as a coach for the kids ninja program at his gym. Coaching kids at the ninja gym is what ultimately inspired him to pursue a career in physical education. He has been part of the ninja community for over a decade now. Not just as an athlete and competitor either. He is now the Director of OCR for UNAA. 

When not teaching or being involved with ninja, Chase enjoys spending time with his wife and dog hiking, going on road trips, and exploring different places around the country. 

Ben Bitterman

Ben is a true athlete with a diverse background in martial arts, baseball, football, basketball, and parkour. Currently managing and coaching at the Ultimate Ninja Obstacle Gym, Ben Bitterman is also a UNAA partner and World Series Finals committee director.

After watching movies and TV shows with Parkour, Ben decided to learn more and became fluent in Parkour. This brought him into the world of Ninja where he trained both sports. Now he is excited to do things that you only see on TV and in movies. Swinging, Vaulting, Climbing, and completing obstacles brings out an amazing feeling for him.

Currently, he lives in Albuquerque with his Fiance, dog, and two cats.

Ben is a versatile athlete and a guiding force in the ninja community, inspiring and mentoring aspiring athletes worldwide. He loves the ninja community and hopes to bring the sport and community to every part of the world.

Christina Kline

Christina has always enjoyed athletics, playing soccer and basketball from a young age into high school and competing in track and field during college. She desired to learn more about the way our bodies can reach such a high level of athleticism, skill, and finesse which led her to pursue a career in physical therapy. She has been a physical therapist at a long term acute care hospital for 5 years and loves it! 

Not knowing much about the ninja community, Christina began to get involved by volunteering at World Series Finals and eventually became the volunteer coordinator for UNAA. She has now been the volunteer coordinator for 3 years and has also become a partner of UNAA.

. 

Christina enjoys camping, fishing, reading, and napping. She lives in Albuquerque with her husband, two children, and two dogs who are always keeping her on her toes!

Alison Mattern

Alison joined the ninja community in 2017 when an Ultimate Ninjas gym opened in Naperville, joining the adult fitness program, UltiFIT. It turned out that she discovered a new passion that quickly became a whole family activity.

After nearly 20 years as an IT project manager, Alison transitioned during covid to stay home and homeschool her twin children. She now fills her time with teaching her kids, volunteering at church with Awana, serving as chair of her Twins Club bi-annual clothing resale and working as preschool ninja coach at Ultimate Ninjas. Alison is, also, active with ninja organizations. In 2023, she joined USA Ninjas to assist with the inaugural World Cup Ninja event in Orlando and continued on with the 2024 US Nationals in Anaheim. Alison joined UNAA in 2024 as Administrative Coordinator and is happy to be a part of the ninja community and help with the growth of this sport. 

When seeking quieter moments, Alison enjoys running, reading, and gardening - and attempting ninja competitions. She loves watching her family grow together through this unique sport, fostering health, community and values. 

Chase Clark

Chase has always been one who loves movement, and being active. He grew up playing all kinds of sports and doing many different outdoor activities such as skiing and hiking. He has taken that love of movement and made it his career by becoming an elementary physical education teacher. His goal is to inspire the next generation to love movement and physical activity as much as he does. 

Chase discovered ninja in his early college days when the first ninja gym opened in his hometown of Albuquerque. Ninja has been a part of his life ever since. He started as a coach for the kids ninja program at his gym. Coaching kids at the ninja gym is what ultimately inspired him to pursue a career in physical education. He has been part of the ninja community for over a decade now. Not just as an athlete and competitor either. He is now the Director of OCR for UNAA. 

When not teaching or being involved with ninja, Chase enjoys spending time with his wife and dog hiking, going on road trips, and exploring different places around the country.