He thrives on a challenge and it’s the main reason why he rolled the dice, filled out an application form and now finds himself within reach of an appearance on Ninja Warrior.

The fact the 30-year-old sports star has made it this far is a miracle in itself after a serious car crash 11 years ago almost ended any hope he had of walking.

So don’t tell him he can’t do it.

In March, he took on Port Macquarie Running Festival’s Treble Breakwall Buster – a 21-kilometre marathon, 10-kilometre run and then five-kilometre fun run.

He’s previously competed in Ironman events as well.

When asked the simple question of why, Bigeni responded with a shrug of the shoulders and “why not”?

“I like a challenge and every time Ninja Warrior was on my mates would message me or call me and tell me to apply,” he said.

“That was a year ago and they’ve kept saying it and I thought why not, so I applied.”

Bigeni has undergone a rigorous training schedule to give himself the best shot at making the final cut.

“It’s sort of about how much you’re willing to hurt to get there,” he said.

Training involves rope climbs, muscle-ups and any activity on the rings – but it was the rope climb he was most looking forward to.

“I think the rope climb will be the best bit; climbing to the top and pressing that button, but it’s a new challenge and I’ll see how I go,” Bigeni said.

“It requires a lot of upper body strength trying to hang on.”

The blisters are there as are the mental demons he has overcome, but they pale in comparison to what he’s already been through.

But competing on a national television show was something Bigeni thought he’d never do.

“It definitely went through my head that I’d be keen to do it, but it wasn’t something I always set out to do, no,” he said.

“If I could progress through (to the next stage) and then see how far I get on the course, that would be awesome.”

Only a limited number of positions were available for the Sydney try outs on Thursday so what happens next is anyone’s guess.

“Not many get to this part; they said they got a lot of applications and it’s pretty rare even to get to this stage, so I was stoked,” Bigeni said.

“You can imagine the people who apply are pretty good athletes, but you’ve got to have a bit of a story and be able to challenge yourself.”

Filming will start for next season’s episodes in December and Bigeni was hopeful of progressing to that stage.

“I’d love to go down there and go all the way,” he said.

“I’ll back myself and have a crack, but I might fall on the first obstacle. We’ll see how we go.”