Fargo Gym Honors Child Who Lost Battle With Leukemia

The Staff is Raising Funds For The Family's Medical Expenses

FARGO, N.D. — Phoenix Ellis is described by Conquer Ninja Gym staff as a huge American Ninja Warrior fan.

The 11-year-old passed away after his battle with Leukemia. Now the staff at the gym want to show respect for the little ninja.

“We heard that he lost his life and we got in contact with the mom and we wanted to set something up, so we could celebrate his life and do something in honor of him and help other kids in need,” Conquer Ninja Gym Chris Chamberlin said.

The gym partnered up with Ellis’s family and Brave The Shave, a non-profit dedicated to stopping childhood cancer and providing assistance to families in need.

Chamberlin says although he never got to meet Phoenix, he felt the need to go the extra mile to support the Minot native and his family.

“The fact that Phoenix was here in North Dakota is huge in my books. Cause I knew that he was a part of our community whether we knew him or not, he was a part of our community and we wanted to do our part to help him,” Chamberlin said.

Chamberlin set up a challenge at the gym: raise one thousand dollars for the family and he would shave his head.

“Because it hit so close to home for me with Phoenix’s death, I wanted to do something to help raise awareness myself, that wasn’t my employers pushing, that was me saying, I felt this close to home, I wanted to show it and raise awareness in my own way as well,” Chamberlin said.

He says Phoenix’s death struck a cord with him and he will try and honor the life Phoenix lived.

“At any point and time life can be taken away, so you gotta live it up, you gotta do whats fun, you gotta go out there and meet new friends, do fun things,” Chamberlin said.

Donation Link For GoFundMe Account.