Since his debut as a walk-on in season six, Kevin Bull has been a fan favorite. His calm but fearless style on the course generally sees him through to success on the show. Kevin has made it to the National Finals every year he’s competed. He even made it to Stage Three back in season seven.

His sixth season, season 11, seems to be right on track for Kevin. He completed the Los Angeles Qualifying course, taking third place overall. In the City Finals, he fell on the ninth obstacle, Leaps of Faith, but once again ranked third, assuring his spot in the National Finals once more.

The only thing Kevin missed out on so far was cracking the top two spots. That would have allowed him to go to the Power Tower for either the Speed Pass or Safety Pass. Kevin was quick, but narrowly missed out both times.

In this interview, Kevin looked back at his City Finals run and then looked ahead to his next task: Taking on the National Finals once more!

“Oh, the City Finals experience was, it was interesting. We were coming in off of what had been kind of a rainy week and it was a little different climate than we’re used to competing in. But I was going in feeling really strong because I finished in the Qualifiers, one of the top three.

It was tough to play the time that you’re shooting for versus making sure that you’re fresh for the next obstacle. And everything felt pretty good until that second to last obstacle (Leaps of Faith). I knew I was kind of at a moment where I could have taken a few more breaths before going, but I thought I was good enough and I went for it and eventually fell from missing the blind underhand grab they had. I got one hand in but not the other. I think it’s because I was a little bit more gassed. I should have given myself a couple more breaths.”

“Well, it always feels good to know you’re going back to Vegas. I missed out on the Power Tower competition by two seconds and was hoping that I could secure my spot the old fashioned way and fortunately I did.”

Lara Solanki/NBC

“Stage One for me has been hit and miss in the past. It’s about 50-50 on whether I’ve made it through or not. So I’ve got my fingers crossed that this is a good year. I feel strong and ready to go. And looking forward to it.”

“I always expect the best from myself. I want to get on that rope climb for Stage Four. That’s what we trained for. That’s what we shoot for. That’s the goal and I hope I can get there.”

Kevin returns for Stage One of the American Ninja Warrior National Finals in about seven weeks.