Ariel started competitive gymnastics at age 5. He later competed in springboard and platform diving nationally under Dave Burgering (president of USA Diving). He competed nationally in Horse Vaulting with Tambourine 4H Vaulters. After training aerial at UCLA, he continued aerial silks with Shayna Swanson and aerial straps with Andrew Adams and Ming Fang. He performed in Aloft’s El Circo Cheapo and taught aerial silks and tumbling at The Actors Gymnasium, MSA & Circus Arts, and Aloft Loft in Chicago. He performed Duo Aerial Straps, Bungee, double-point harness, and original apparatus with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line’s Splendour of the Seas in Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. He was a dancer and aerialist for a contemporary ballet company Coco et Compagnie and teaches aerial straps.