Barnaul man beats gambling addiction, reaches Superninja show final

Barnaul resident Andrey Kuleshov became a participant in the extreme project «Superninja» 16+ on STS and managed to reach the final. NGS22.RU spoke with the athlete and found out how he got on the show, what was the most difficult part on the way to the decisive stage, and what made his participation in one of the channel«s most spectacular projects memorable.

Became ostracized

All his life, Andrey was passionate about various sports — judo, athletics, and even football — searching for himself in this diversity, so he didn»t chase after achievements. Ultimately, he chose basketball, and his main job, despite long searches for himself, became coaching, which he has been doing for 10 years.

In the program, Andrey admitted that for almost all this time, he was seriously into gambling, particularly sports betting. That he was prone to this was clear from early youth, when as a seventh-grader he would blow all his lunch money on slot machines. In adulthood, it started with harmless bets on football, which grew into a real addiction with constant search for money, accumulation of debts, and attempts to win back:

— No matter how much I lost, I always wanted to win it back. You take a loan, the money goes, you look for it again, win it back, and so on in a circle. I remember taking 400,000 rubles (about $4,000 at current rates) from the bank for a car, lost it in two days, thinking I«d quickly win it back, and in the end, I paid off the loan for a non-existent car for 5 years.

The addiction seriously affected his relationships with people. At some point, as they say among gamblers, he became «ostracized», since everyone understood that another call would entail a request to borrow more money. Even large wins didn«t change the situation: sometimes Andrey could win up to 150,000 rubles in a day, but losses, debts, and loans immediately ate up all the effect.

— Sport, to some extent, was the cause of my betting addiction, which I was in for 10 years. I started being interested in them because I was constantly immersed in that environment, understanding something. Maybe if there was no sport in my life, I wouldn»t have been drawn in. But later it helped me overcome myself, since I unloaded my head from problems and managed my psycho-emotional state. At one point, I realized I had to act. You live like a pauper, and people see that something is wrong with you and gradually stop picking up the phone and responding to messages. I know that there are no former addicts. But now I just live and understand that I absolutely cannot, because even during treatment there were relapses.

Was considered the heaviest finalist

For a long time, Andrey dreamed of getting on the show «Titans» 16+, so initially he applied there. However, he didn«t pass the selection, since he has no professional achievements and doesn»t even maintain his social media.

Therefore, the coach decided to start recording short videos to build his audience and try to apply again. After some time, his page was noticed, and he was offered participation in «Superninja». Moreover, the casting, as Andrey specifies, was simple, but the interview stage lasted longer for him than for others — the editors were interested in the story about addiction.

— I weigh 93 kilograms (about 205 lb), and other participants were in the range of 70-80 kg (154-176 lb), which, of course, allowed them to be even more agile on the obstacle course. I waited a very long time for a response from the organizers, and they called me right on my birthday. They asked me not to tell anyone, but I was sitting at the table, with 20 friends around, I said: so you«re on speakerphone, everyone already knows. A week later, I flew to Mineralnye Vody for filming, — the athlete laughs.

»Every second counts«

Andrey had no time to prepare for the show, but his physical fitness and ability to handle nervous situations played a key role:

— I had an advantage: I rested all summer, which means I saved more strength for the show than my opponents, — Andrey laughs, — In it, it»s not so much about being a cool ninja, but about being able to control your nerves. There you have only one attempt, and every second counts. I never really trained specifically for such obstacle courses, I just always loved climbing and jumping. A lot in all this depends on chance and a combination of factors: the participant«s physical fitness, nervous state, and a bit of luck. Sometimes victory comes precisely from the ability to cope with excitement at the right moment.

The atmosphere on the show, according to him, was friendly, and the participants almost didn«t cross paths, since they passed the courses independently of each other. The filming itself went from five in the evening until late at night, which further complicated passing the challenges.

— Of course, all this is emotionally and physically draining. Someone lies on the mats, trying to sleep, someone distracts themselves in various ways. The hardest part is just waiting for your turn. I had a slight nervousness. Cameras, fans — I wanted to show myself. But I didn»t feel strong pressure. I just understood that it«s already good that I passed the selection and made it to the semifinal. Such fierce athletes were eliminated, and I passed on general physical fitness alone. My task was simply not to mess up, — the athlete admits jokingly.

During his stay in Mineralnye Vody, Andrey managed to travel around all the surroundings and properly gather strength before the first filming day and the semifinal, which was filmed only after four days.

— We lived in a hotel, the athlete and one fan had both travel and accommodation fully paid for. So, with my girlfriend, the support group, we had a 9-day vacation, — he summarized.

Now viewers will see Andrey Kuleshov in the final, where he will compete for 5 million rubles (about $50,000 at current rates).

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