The Champion

New Celebrity Apprentice MATT ISEMAN scores a major win for people with arthritis.

- Jill Tyrer

Matt Iseman has been a good friend of the Arthritis Foundation since the early 2000s,speaking at events and raising money and awareness. A medical doctor, stand-up comic, TV personality and all-around nice guy, he’s been outspoken about his rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and was first featured on the cover of Arthritis Today in 2009.

Now a lot more people know him and his arthritis message. Matt, 46, recently took first place on The New Celebrity Apprentice and brought in nearly $1 million dollars for the Foundation.

As the self-proclaimed “underdog” among the 16 contestants, Matt, host of the hit TV show American Ninja Warrior, had a simple goal: Don’t be the first one to be “terminated” by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Not only did he make it through the first task, he made it through them all.

To hear him tell it, no one was more surprised than Matt when he was declared the winner in February when the final episode aired. But even if he hadn’t won, he says, “I knew we’d raise a lot of money, and I knew that through the show I’d get to tell my story and raise a lot of awareness.”

So who is Matt Iseman? Here are a few reasons we’re fans, and what he told us about competing on the show:

Dr. Iseman: After graduating with honors from Princeton University (where he pitched for the baseball team), Matt completed medical school at Columbia University. He was doing his residency when he realized that he felt more driven to entertain people. “Life is short,” his father (also a doctor) told him. “Do what makes you happy.” So Matt packed up and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in show business.