Recognized by Fitness Living Magazine™ For an obstacle-first approach to fitness, a house culture that replaces “can’t” with “not yet,” a dedicated Sensory Open Gym, and a community-first commitment to San Mateo families.
That second act became Ninja Republic, an indoor ninja gym in San Mateo that opened in May 2023. Its tagline, “where obstacles build confidence,” began as a personal truth: before a single ninja obstacle was installed, Regan spent 25 months working through the city permitting process that stood between a signed lease and an open door.
“If it’s not fun, you won’t keep going. And ninja is just athleticism and exercise disguised as fun.”Regan Fletcher / Ninja Republic
The first thing visitors notice is the course itself: obstacles like the ones viewers know from the television show American Ninja Warrior™, ranging from 18-inch beginner pieces to a 14½-foot warp wall. Parents often look as excited as their children, and Regan has overheard them say they wish a place like this had existed when they were kids.
Many people first arrive as guests at a birthday party, then come back for an open gym session. Before anyone tries an obstacle, staff explain how to fall safely instead of reaching out with their hands. Then the rule is simple: if you can reach it, you can try it. People fall, laugh, and go again.
Visitors soon notice that success looks different here. Kids who struggled with baseball or soccer often discover a sport that feels natural, while athletes used to being the star can find themselves humbled quickly. Rather than telling everyone they are winners, the gym offers each person something real to attempt.
Regan Fletcher built Ninja Republic as a second act after emergency open heart surgery, bringing a former Division I athlete’s view that traditional gym sessions can feel tedious. His lens is the environment itself: build a place where people can attempt something real, fall safely, laugh, and keep coming back.
Athleticism Disguised as Fun
Ninja Republic is built on a simple observation from its founder: if training is not fun, people stop showing up. Regan Fletcher describes ninja as athleticism and exercise disguised as fun, and he designed the gym around an experience where falling flat is part of the process and people get back up laughing.
Ninja Republic is an indoor ninja gym in San Mateo, California, founded by Regan Fletcher and opened in May 2023.
It offers classes from Little Ninjas for ages two to four through competition team training, along with an adult class, open gym, a Sensory Open Gym for neurodivergent and sensory-sensitive participants, homeschool PE, and birthday parties.
Its tagline, “where obstacles build confidence,” reflects a house culture built on one rule: “can’t” becomes “not yet.” Regan says Ninja Republic plans to begin franchising in 2027.
Before Ninja Republic, Regan spent his career in advertising and ad tech in Silicon Valley, working with large publishers and their executives. A Princeton graduate who played Division I hockey, he says traditional gym sessions always felt boring and tedious to him, and he believes that is the same reason so many New Year’s resolutions fade.
He describes Ninja Republic as a different kind of fitness destination, built around obstacles rather than machines. Much of what viewers have seen on American Ninja Warrior™ can be found inside the gym, and Regan lives in nearby Burlingame, in the same community as the families who train there.
Inside Ninja Republic’s Obstacle-First Approach
This profile looks at how Ninja Republic turns obstacle training into a place where kids, families, and adults in San Mateo build skill, strength, and confidence.
Training is built around obstacles, not machines, on a course that runs from 18 inches off the ground to a 14½-foot warp wall, with a sensible starting point for nearly anyone.
Preschoolers, school-age athletes, former gymnasts, homeschool families, neurodivergent participants, and adults who want a challenge that does not feel like a chore.
A “not yet” rule in place of “can’t,” a dedicated Sensory Open Gym, and an owner who says yes when the community asks for help.
A Second Act Built After Open Heart Surgery
The idea took shape quickly. In Toronto, the owner of the ninja gym his kids loved generously walked Regan through how her business worked, and before he left the building he knew what his second act would be. Back in California, he began searching for a space large enough to house a ninja gym.
The lease in San Mateo was signed in 2021, but the conditional use permit for recreational use took 25 months to secure, and the doors did not open until May 2023. Regan calls it by far the biggest challenge of the build. He also sees the connection to the line printed beneath the Ninja Republic logo: long before any ninja obstacles arrived, he had to clear a long series of obstacles of his own.
A Sport for People Who Never Fit the Usual Mold
What surprised Regan most after opening was who thrives in a ninja gym. Kids and adults who never felt successful in baseball or soccer arrive and find something that feels natural to them. Several competition team athletes came from gymnastics, and Regan says each of them grew tired of its rigid format. In ninja, nobody has to point their toes or land with their feet together. They simply get to conquer an obstacle, and the smile that follows usually comes with laughter.
Regan is careful to say the business is not built around any single group. In his view, the great equalizer in ninja is that there is no set way to get from the starting block of an obstacle to the ending block, and however a person gets there is good, whether in a relaxed open gym session or in competition. That is why the gym works for people who see an obstacle, or a sport, differently.
Fall Safely, Then Try Anything You Can Reach
Most people discover Ninja Republic as guests at a birthday party, which Regan calls the bread and butter of the ninja gym business, and the gym portion of every party begins as open gym. Those who want to come back are pointed to an open gym session, where they can try ninja at their own pace.
Every newcomer starts with a safety overview built on one expectation: you are going to fall. Staff teach people to take the fall rather than put their hands out to stop it. After that, the open gym rule is simple: if you can reach it, you can try it. With obstacles starting no higher than 18 inches off the ground, there is something for everyone between the beginner pieces and the challenges only top competitors attempt. Sunday morning open gyms often turn into family time, with dads trying obstacles they recognize from television while their children play on smaller ones, and anyone who wants to go further can ask an instructor for an evaluation and a class placement.
In the Community’s Service
Princeton’s unofficial motto speaks of being in the nation’s service. Regan is quick to say a ninja gym does not rise to that level, but a poster in his office adapts the idea to his own work, with the community at its center. He estimates that about 95 percent of Ninja Republic’s visitors come from within 15 miles of San Mateo, and he has heard a child at Safeway point him out to a parent as “the ninja guy.”
That closeness shapes how the gym gives. When a local school asks for an auction donation, the answer is yes, usually a 10-visit open gym punch card. Ninja Republic sponsors local baseball and softball teams and donates birthday parties to charity and local education fundraising auctions. Regan does not weigh each request; he simply says yes.
Ninja Republic matters because it gives people who never found their place in traditional sports a real athletic challenge, then replaces “can’t” with “not yet” until the obstacle gives way.
What Ninja Republic Offers
Based on the interview and the official website, Ninja Republic serves young children, school-age athletes, families, homeschool students, neurodivergent participants, and adults through classes, open gym, private training, and parties.
Who Ninja Republic May Be a Good Fit For
Regan says ninja suits people who see an obstacle differently, and the gym’s programs reach from preschoolers to adults.
Children who never felt at home in baseball, soccer, or the rigid format of gymnastics may find a sport with no single right way to finish an obstacle.
Families of neurodivergent or sensory-sensitive kids and adults may appreciate the Sensory Open Gym’s reduced capacity, calmer music and visuals, and coaches who follow each participant’s lead.
Adults who find machine workouts tedious can try the adult class, open gym, or private sessions with the head coach. Anyone returning to exercise after time away or a health event should check with a physician first.
“Great course for kids and adults. I was expecting it to be basically a kids place (and it was great for that especially since for parties you rent out the whole space) but there are tons of great obstacles that will challenge almost any adult.”
The Parents Who Stopped to Say Thank You
The client experience Regan returns to is not a podium finish or a personal record. It is the moment a parent stops him on the way out to say thank you.
Early on, parents who brought a neurodivergent child to open gym began thanking Regan as they left. According to Regan, they told him it was the first athletic environment in which their child had ever felt comfortable.
That feedback changed how he saw what Ninja Republic offers, and it grew into the Sensory Open Gym. Capacity is cut well back so participants have space to themselves, the music changes, lava lamps play on the gym’s TV monitors, a basket of fidget spinners sits nearby, and coaches follow participants and offer suggestions rather than directing every move.
Those moments carry extra weight for Regan because of his father, a dedicated sailor who discovered single-person sailboats in Australia that were designed not to tip and could be sailed by people with paraplegia, then grew a disability sailing program from one boat to a fleet of about a dozen. As Regan put it, having a parent thank him for something that made a difference in their kid’s life “is more rewarding than I can put words to,” and a reminder that he followed his father’s example.
Where Every Skill Level Shares the Floor
Ninja Republic’s day-to-day life happens on the mats. Regan stays involved on the gym floor alongside his instructors and head coach, classes are grouped by skill rather than age, and the same room serves preschoolers, competitors, and parents trying an obstacle for the first time.
Why This Matters Locally
Regan points out that kids once found their obstacles in nature, climbing whatever they could, and that kind of play has largely disappeared from urban and suburban life. On the San Francisco Peninsula, Ninja Republic gives that instinct an indoor home, where kids, parents, and adults share one place to climb, swing, fall, and try again, including on rainy winter days.
For families searching for a ninja gym in San Mateo, obstacle classes for kids on the Peninsula, homeschool PE in the Bay Area, or a sensory-friendly open gym, Ninja Republic offers a clear local point of difference: an owner who lives in the same community as his guests, a course that scales from 18 inches to 14½ feet, and a culture where “not yet” replaces “can’t.”
Built for Play, Parties, and Practice
Ninja Republic’s community life starts inside its own walls. The same course hosts classes, open gym, and competitions, and birthday parties, which Regan calls the bread and butter of the ninja gym business, are how many families first walk through the door.
Questions Readers Ask
Who Is Regan Fletcher?
Regan Fletcher is the founder and owner of Ninja Republic, an indoor ninja gym in San Mateo, California. After a career in Silicon Valley advertising and ad tech, he had emergency open heart surgery and, while recovering, discovered ninja gyms during a visit to Toronto with his children. He opened Ninja Republic in May 2023 and lives nearby in Burlingame.
What Does This Ninja Republic San Mateo Review Highlight?
This Spotlight examines Regan’s path from Silicon Valley advertising to ninja gym owner, the 25-month permit process behind the opening, the gym’s “not yet” culture, who thrives there, its programs and Sensory Open Gym, its community commitments, and how a first visit works.
What Ages Does Ninja Republic Serve?
Classes begin with Little Ninjas for ages two to four and continue through beginner, intermediate, advanced, and competition team training. Adults can join an adult class, open gym, or private sessions, and Regan said adult participants commonly range into their 40s and 50s.
What Is the Sensory Open Gym at Ninja Republic?
The Sensory Open Gym is a session for neurodivergent and sensory-sensitive kids and adults. Capacity is reduced, the music is changed, calming visuals play on the gym’s screens, fidget spinners are available, and coaches follow each participant’s lead rather than directing the session.
Can Adults Train at Ninja Republic?
Yes. Ninja Republic offers an adult class, open gym sessions, private training with its head coach, and adult birthday parties. Sunday morning open gyms often include parents trying obstacles alongside their children.
What Is the Best First Step for a New Client?
Regan recommends starting with an open gym session. Sessions are listed on the Ninja Republic website, and visitors can also call ahead to arrange for an instructor to meet them for an evaluation, which determines the right class to start in. Open gym hours shift around classes, camps, and weekend parties, so it is worth checking the schedule before visiting.
Key Takeaways
Ninja Republic is an indoor ninja gym in San Mateo, California, founded by Regan Fletcher after emergency open heart surgery and opened in May 2023.
The tagline reflects both Regan’s 25-month permitting journey and a house culture that replaces “can’t” with “not yet.”
Programs run from Little Ninjas for ages two to four through a competition team, with adult classes, homeschool PE, open gym, and a Sensory Open Gym.
Local donations, team sponsorships, and a place for people who never fit traditional sports show how Regan builds the gym for San Mateo.
Conclusion
Ninja Republic exists because a health crisis forced a career change and a family visit to Toronto pointed the way. Regan then spent more than two years clearing permitting hurdles before the first ninja obstacle went in, a history that gives the gym’s tagline a personal weight no marketing line could supply.
What Regan wants people to take away is simple: fun keeps people moving, and “can’t” is only “not yet.” For families, kids, and adults in San Mateo who want more than a routine workout, that may be the real value of Ninja Republic, a place where obstacles build confidence one attempt at a time.
Regan Fletcher
Regan’s background spans a Princeton education, Division I hockey, and a career in Silicon Valley advertising and ad tech, experience he now channels into the ninja gym he built as his second act.
Regan Fletcher is the founder and owner of Ninja Republic, an indoor ninja gym in San Mateo, California. A Princeton graduate who played Division I hockey, he spent his career in Silicon Valley advertising and ad tech before emergency open heart surgery changed his direction. A visit to a Toronto ninja gym with his children during his recovery inspired his second act, and after a 25-month permitting process, he opened Ninja Republic in May 2023. He lives nearby in Burlingame and remains closely involved on the gym floor, where he and his instructors guide visitors toward their next obstacle.
Regan’s philosophy is that the environment matters more than encouraging slogans. He avoids telling people they are all winners and instead builds a space where they can attempt something real, fall safely, laugh, and try again. At Ninja Republic, the mission is to keep exercise fun enough that people keep coming back, while giving kids and adults who never fit traditional sports a place where they can thrive.
His values include community service, accessibility, safety, and steady progress. Ninja Republic specializes in ninja and obstacle training from age two through adulthood, skill-based class placement, competition team preparation, homeschool PE, private training, and a Sensory Open Gym for neurodivergent and sensory-sensitive participants. Those values show up in the gym’s “not yet” rule, its local donations and sponsorships, and the way every first visit begins with learning how to fall.
About This Spotlight
Fitness Living Magazine™ selected this Spotlight for Regan Fletcher’s second-act founding story, the 25-month permitting effort behind the gym’s opening, a house culture that replaces “can’t” with “not yet,” a Sensory Open Gym that grew out of parents’ feedback, and a community-first approach to giving back in San Mateo.
Part of the Fitness Living Magazine™ Local Fitness Leadership Series, this profile documents an independent gym owner through a recorded interview, a draft he reviewed and approved, and material supplied by the business.
Regan Fletcher’s recorded October 14, 2026 interview with Fitness Living Magazine™ is the foundation of this Spotlight. The draft he approved during the technical sign-off process, his follow-up email, a customer review supplied for editorial context, photography and branding provided for publication, and the official Ninja Republic website supported program details, contact information, and first-visit guidance.
This feature is editorial content and is not medical advice. Program descriptions, client comments, and experiences reflect Regan Fletcher’s account, supplied client material, and current public business information; they do not establish guaranteed results. Ninja and obstacle training involves falls and physical risk. Individual experiences vary, and readers should consult appropriate healthcare professionals before beginning or changing an exercise program, especially when returning to exercise after time away or a health event, or when managing pain, injury, or a medical condition.
