KNOT PERFECT NINJA
By Chris Wadsworth
Some young people are just so dang impressive, you kind of sit back in awe. Stone Bridge High School alum Austin Baron is one of those people.
At age 12, Baron – who lives in the Ashburn Manor neighborhood with his parents and his three brothers – participated in a charity event where they packed food for hungry families. That’s when he learned that an estimated 1 billion people go to bed hungry each night. This fact moved him so deeply, he’s spent the past seven years focused on helping feed the hungry.
He started his own nonprofit called Knot Perfect giving away knotted dog toys – strips of fabric twisted and knotted tightly together that dogs love to play tug-of-war with. He learned how to make them on YouTube.
Local businesses keep the toys near the checkout counter, and when someone makes a donation they get a toy. Baron has raised more than $30,000 – all of which has gone to a variety of local and national charities that feed the hungry. The money he’s raised was enough to create more than 100,000 meals.
Baron is now 19 and a rising sophomore at University of Notre Dame. He’s still running Knot Perfect and – lest we forget to mention – he’s also competing this season on “American Ninja Warrior” on the NBC television network. Baron is one of 20 contestants to advance to the semifinals this summer.
Ashburn Magazine had the good fortune to interview Baron. Here are excerpts from our conversation.
Q: When did you first become interested in ninja courses?
“The summer before sixth grade, I went rock climbing on a cliff over the Atlantic Ocean in Maine with my family. Around the same time, one of my older brothers heard about the show ‘American Ninja Warrior’ from a friend, and we all visited a ninja gym to try some of the obstacles.”
Q: How did you get involved in the “American Ninja Warrior” program?
“A friend suggested that I apply for the show, and I thought I could use the platform to advocate for children and families facing hunger.”
Q: You appeared on a previous season – Season 15 in 2023. How did you do then?
“In my qualifier run, I made it to the end of the fifth obstacle when I missed the last ledge and fell in the water. That was the last obstacle before the warped wall, and I was so close to hitting my first buzzer. In the semifinals, I raced another ninja, so I tried to go fast and link the second obstacle, but I came up short.”
Q: Why did you decide to go back and try again?
“The summer that Season 15 aired, I collected enough donations to provide over 40,000 meals to people facing hunger. I came back to raise awareness, collect more donations and feed more people.”
Q: What did you think when you found out you were competing on “American Ninja Warrior” again?
“I was at college in the dining hall eating dinner with my friends when I got the call, and I didn’t want to be impolite, so I didn’t check my phone. I got back to my dorm, saw there was a missed call from the producer, and called him right back.”
Q: Have you ever gotten injured on a ninja course?
“My hands constantly rip from hanging and swinging on obstacles, but thankfully, I haven’t had any major injuries.”
Q: What’s your most memorable moment from competing on the show?
“One of the nicest things happened the first night that I competed on Season 15. It was my 17th birthday, and a bunch of the competitors sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to me before we started running the course. It was unreal because I had watched them for years on the show when I was growing up.”
Q: How do you balance your competitions with being a college student?
“I had to be diligent with my schoolwork when I missed days to compete. I find time to train when I’m not studying or in class. The University of Notre Dame has a rock wall that I have been bouldering on to work on my grip strength. I do pull-ups on bars around campus and bought some balance obstacles that I train on in my dorm.”
Q: What’s next for your ninja aspirations?
“As Season 17 airs this summer, I am working to raise enough donations so that youth in Ashburn can pack their 1,000,000th meal. This is their 10th anniversary of packing meals together as a community at St. Theresa Catholic Church. I want to help them reach their goal.”
HOW TO HELP
Austin Baron named his charity Knot Perfect both because he makes dog toys by tying ropes into square knots, but also because he believes any world where people are going to bed hungry is “not” perfect. Learn more about his efforts and support Knot Perfect by visiting knotperfect.org.