Ben Udy has gone above and beyond to make sure we remember his rookie year on American Ninja Warrior. Oh wait, you’re not sure who Ben Udy is? Let us re-phrase that, Chad Flexington is a hard one to forget!

Farmer and father Ben decided to make a splash with his television debut by introducing us to his alter-ego, Chad Flexington, who’s all about the big hair, flashy clothes, and endless personality. Okay, we hate to say this but, normally, when someone opts to lead with a gimmick on the course, it usually doesn’t result in a long run.

That’s not the case with Chad/Ben. He raced to the Spin Hopper in the Los Angeles Qualifiers, advancing to the City Finals. In the City Finals, he made it all the way to the ninth obstacle, Leaps of Faith. He fell there, but his time put him in ninth place overall. That means Chad Flexington is on his way to Las Vegas and the National Finals!

We caught up with Ben, who was in full Chad Flexington regalia, after his City Finals run. The costume might have screamed party, but Ben was all about straight-forward answers on how his season has unfolded.

“It was pretty awesome. It was a little bit better conditions than the City Qualifier, wasn’t as rainy and slippery. And I had a lot less nerves than the City Qualifiers. That was my first time ever like getting on a legit American Ninja Warrior course. So naturally I was super nervous, especially wearing an outfit like this.

There’s so much pressure, like if I wear this and make this big scene and then go out on the first obstacle, I’ll be the laughing stock of Ninja so there’s a lot of pressure to somewhat perform. But yeah, I felt a lot better. Finals, I was more okay with my performance. I slipped and made a stupid mistake with Qualifiers, Finals night I did much better though.”

“Yeah, I went out on the last obstacle, which, my grip actually finally gave out. City Qualifier night I just made a mental error and slipped off of it (Spin Hopper). I still was 100% on my grip, but the City Finals night I actually pushed it as pretty much as best of a run as I could have done, which is good.”

“I was stoked (to make Vegas). I was hoping. I felt pretty confident just based on like how the night was going, but once we got down to like the last like 20, 15 people, then I was pretty confident that I was going for sure. Pretty crazy. Pretty surreal. Rookie season going as a Chad Flexington-style character, like I’m pretty stoked to making it to Vegas.”

How far can Chad make it in Vegas? We’ll find out when American Ninja Warrior heads to the National Finals!