For the record, his vow of Sin City silence doesn’t have anything to do with vices or vacations.

Shortly after entering the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program at RMU this fall, Villalobos took a quick detour from his graduate studies to pursue another dream – competing against some of the world’s elite athletes for $250,000 in the American Ninja Warrior competition.

So, how did he do? Did he make it up the wall or fall into the water? Did he complete all six challenging obstacles that test upper and lower body strength, agility and athleticism? Did he surge through qualifying rounds? Win big in Vegas?

This is where the phrase from the famous ad campaign comes into play. Non-spoiler spoiler: Per a nondisclosure agreement, Villalobos can’t say … yet.

Courtesy American Ninja Warrior

You’ll have to tune into the show to see how the RMU student fared on the world-famous obstacle course near the Las Vegas Strip. Filming of the Ninja national finals took place from late September through early October. What actually happened in Vegas will be revealed when the next season airs in June 2026.

Becoming a warrior

Regardless of how he fared against the course and other ninjas, Villalobos — or “Village Wolf,” as he calls himself in competition based on the translation of his name from Spanish – has an inspiring story that will make for compelling TV if producers choose to focus in on him during the nationally televised show.

Now living and going to school in Provo, 23-year-old Villalobos represented the state of Wyoming in the athletic event. He grew up in Rock Springs, studied generals and pre-physical therapy as a collegiate runner at Central Wyoming College, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from the University of Wyoming.

While attending school in Laramie, Villalobos got a part-time job at the Leap Ninja Warrior gym. Coincidentally, it was the only official Ninja Warrior gym in the state. He was enticed by the challenging obstacle course competition. Villalobos’ excellent speed, grip strength and determination helped him quickly catch on and excel while he worked to improve his balance, climbing and other skills.

Villalobos began as a birthday party helper at the gym, learning how to set up obstacles and run competitions. He became the head coach when the opportunity arose and continued his own obstacle-course training, doing well in local and regional events en route to qualifying for nationals within his first year.

Courtesy American Ninja Warrior

“We’re the only gym in Wyoming, so it’s a huge thing for my community,” Villalobos said. “No one really does anything from Wyoming except for like Josh Allen.”

A childhood challenge

Along with carrying the banner for the Cowboy State, Villalobos is proud that he’s able to be a role model for the childhood disease community.

When he was 10 years old, Villalobos became ill and experienced random and severe symptoms, including locked jaws, rashes and pain throughout his seized-up body. His skin turned purplish, and he struggled with temperature regulation, either feeling like he was freezing or overheating.

Doctors in his area couldn’t find a diagnosis, even wondering if he was faking some of his sickness. During one particularly bad episode, Villalobos collapsed while standing on the edge of his bed and crashed into the floor. His family jumped in the truck and drove three hours to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City for assistance and answers.

After initially being treated for Kawasaki disease, it was determined that he suffered from a rare autoimmune condition called Systematic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. He remembers feeling miserable and having his blood drawn for testing a lot. If there was something he hated more than hospitals, it was needles, so that wasn’t fun.

Unfortunately, Villalobos also overheard a doctor tell his mom they should be prepared for the worst. He might not make it.

“It was heartbreaking as a kid to watch your siblings and parents walk into the hospital room crying,” he said. “That broke me.”

Fortunately, Villalobos’ body responded positively to an experimental drug that his doctor prescribed, and his health quickly, almost miraculously, bounced back to normal. He ended up receiving care at Primary Children’s Hospital for a week. He fondly recalls the playroom where kids with a wide variety of health conditions took their minds off their illnesses by playing with Legos, iPads and other toys.

“The thing you really notice in those little kids’ rooms is even though we’re all in so much pain, there’s still smiles on their faces,” he said. “When I saw that, I was like, ‘I can be strong for my family.'”

Nearly 15 years later, Villalobos keeps two souvenirs from the experience – a handmade quilt with flowers on it from the Ronald McDonald’s House, where his family temporarily stayed, and a special pillow that was made to comfort kids and honor a child who died from cancer after being cared for at Primary Children’s.

“His family made a bunch of heart pillows with lizards on it and gave all these sick kids these little pillows,” Villalobos said. “I have that pillow on my bed. When I make my bed, it goes on the very top every morning.”

Villalobos is so grateful for his Primary Children’s Hospital experience that he hopes to do a clinical rotation there as part of his RMU educational experience.

“It changed my life. There’s just so many stories in that place,” he said. “I think that would just be a cool full-circle moment.”

Villalobos was released from the hospital on his 11th birthday, but he quickly returned as his medical team adjusted his prescriptions to control the pain and inflammation. He was eventually taken off all three medications and has not had a painful flare-up that required medical intervention in a few years.

“I would like to say it’s my lifestyle with exercise, but a part of me just feels like it’s luck,” he said. “It can go away for a little bit and then come back. With autoimmune diseases, your body starts attacking your own body and starts poisoning itself.”

An unexpected path

Though he had vast amounts of experience with the healthcare system growing up, Villalobos intended to be the next Gordon Ramsay as a teenager. He didn’t watch American Ninja Warrior; he binged on shows like MasterChef Junior.

While he envisioned going to culinary school, his career aspirations altered unexpectedly as he watched a friend recover from an agonizing injury suffered while competing in cross country.

“I saw her journey and watched her recover from physical therapy,” he said. “I went on a couple of runs with her just to see how she was progressing her senior year and decided that’s what I want to do with my life. After that point, I wanted to go into the healthcare field.”

With fond memories of his Utah experience and having interacted with RMU DPT students and alumni in his home state, the Provo-based healthcare institution became his No. 1 choice for grad school.

Though he’d already placed a deposit with one of the 10 other schools he applied for, Villalobos jumped at the opportunity to attend RMU after being accepted earlier this year.

“I dropped my other school, and here I am,” he said. “Yeah, this is the place I always wanted to go.”

Villalobos worked out a plan with his professors, doing extra homework and quizzes in advance, so that he could stay on course at school while living out his ninja dream a few weeks ago.

Now back on campus, Villalobos can’t divulge any secrets, but he flashed a big smile when talking about his first American Ninja Warrior nationals experience and hinted at more to come.

“It was so cool,” he said. “The sky’s the limit.”

Jody Genessy is the senior content writer for Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions.