WAWAUTOSA, Wis. — Twins from Wauwatosa are trying to win big on NBC's American Ninja Warrior. Marquez and Nathan Green are the self-proclaimed 'Wisco Twinjas' on the show.
The 21-year-olds are now students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but they graduated high school from Wauwatosa East.
"We lived with our mom in Madison," said Nathan. "When she passed away from breast cancer we had to come to live with our grandma and finish off the rest of our high school."
Their mom was their motivation to compete on American Ninja Warrior. Nathan said that's what hurt most about falling on the second obstacle.
"My first reaction was I let my family down, I let my mom down. I was really sad and upset," he said.
But the story doesn't end there.
The duo ended up on American Ninja Warrior after trying to get a walk-on spot last year. Marquez and Nathan didn't make it, but they did meet the owner of Legacy Gym in Tosa. The twins told her they had no experience but wanted to become ninja warriors, so she helped them train and master the warp wall.
It was climbing that wall that brought Marquez through the qualifying competition and into the next round, the City Finals.
"Seeing him finish really, I mean of course I was jealous, but I was happy for him," said Nathan.
"Hitting the buzzer was just... an experience that I will never forget. It was awesome," said Marquez.
Marquez will be in the City Finals competition that should air on August 5. American Ninja Warrior airs Mondays on TMJ4.
