Jackson Twait wasn’t expecting that, ‘If it ends really well, I have literally no idea what I’m going to do.’

Jackson Twait was one of the stunning runs of the American Ninja Warrior Cincinnati Qualifiers. A rookie with a sense of humor, he scootered up to the starting line with a fake cat in his basket, representing his love for his real kitty, Hades. His story on the show reflected a fun-loving college student, dead set on enjoying himself. And that’s what we got on the course.

However, what we also got was one of the best runs of the night. We saw Jackson not only reach his first buzzer ever, but he did it fast enough to send him to the Power Tower. There, he held his own against veteran competitor Ethan Swanson, even taking the lead for a bit. In the end, the Speed Pass wouldn’t belong to him, but it’s easy to say this was a successful debut.

Speaking to Jackson before the Qualifiers started, we found him to be excited and a little nervous. He was not sure a buzzer was in his future, making his night all the more delightful. Jackson also filled us in on the devastating reason he strives to enjoy every moment of every day.

Dennis Mong/NBC

“I would say my motivation is when I was in 8th grade, I had one of my best friends die in a boating accident. And, so not to get too in-depth, but I was in the water right next to him when the boat ran him over. And, he just loved life and everything he did was 100%. So, I know he would’ve lived out his dreams. So, this has been my dream basically since 8th grade. And so, I just want to make sure I kind of made sure to live my life 100% and make sure I follow my dreams.”

“When I think of American Ninja Warrior, I kind of think of the community, and it’s my experience with the community. It’s just like a bunch of goofballs. We’re just going to have fun and support each other.

I’m just out here to have fun. I want to have a blast. I mean, I want to do well, but I’m gonna ride my scooter out onto the starting line with a basket and a cat in it, and just take it all in, and just try to make people laugh.”

“If it’s bad, I’ll just kind of let the water shock me, and then I’ll go from there. Hopefully, not be too upset. But, if it ends really well, I have literally no idea what I’m going to do. I’m just going to go nuts, probably.

I expect to hit the buzzers, I guess. But, I’ve also never done this, so my expectations could be way off.”

Hey Jackson? It went well. It went really, really well. He’ll be back for the Cincinnati City Finals!