BOBBYCAST - Derek Hough Talks DWTS + New Dad Life + The Stolen Mirrorball

This is an I Heart Podcast. Guaranteed Human. Push it to come and buy, man. Thanks for having me, man. So, here's what I say about you, because you've done my show in Nashville before. We've bumped into each other when I was on the show. I just ran them times. There are two people that in my career have always been so kind, even at times, whenever you're like, oh, we were just brief. And it's you and Tim Tebow. Really? The nicest people and not nice fake nice. Like, it's like, if people are the nicest people to you, it's like randomly, Tim Tebow and Derek off. So, you're that. Oh, dude, thank you. So, when you said you would come over and do this, I was so pumped. Because you've always been so nice to me. That means a lot, man. That means a lot. That means so much. That's good company, too. Yeah. If you ever met Tim Tebow? Briefly. Briefly. It's probably like in a mirror and you're like moving your hands if you're doing the same thing. Yeah, he's an awesome guy. So, I just wanted to start with that, so I didn't forget to say that. No, that means a lot to me, man. Because obviously, you know, you never know. Sometimes you're in passing and you say hi to some people and you might not be fully present or something. So, I'm glad that that was the impression. How's the baby? The baby. How's the baby? She is so good. She really is. And I'm so lucky because you hear people that work with they're like, oh, man, say goodbye to sleeping. And you know, say goodbye to sleeping and you know, all these things, she's a sleeper. Really? Thank God. You know, she's sleeping and we're arrested. But there's big adjustments, of course, you know, in your life. It's everything changes, but for the better. I'm asking selfishly, we're about to have our first kid. Tell me about that. Yeah. There's nothing to tell you because it's still in her belly. But you are going through it right now. Yeah. So, what's my expectation? What's your... That's no expectation. That's the most important part. And here's the thing. You know, like, great expression, right? This is a good one. It's hard to live by sometimes, but it's a good one to come back to. It's like, trade your expectation for appreciation. And everything changes. That's for everything, right? Relationships and like, you know, situations, events, people, parents, loved ones. If we always have these expectations about how they should act or how they should be, we're always setting ourselves up for disappointment. So, in the moment, it's always like, find yourself like, what can I appreciate instead of this moment? So, the reason why I say that, because even with birth, right? For instance, there's people always give their experience, their opinions like, this is going to happen. And then you're going to feel this emotion. And then your world's going to just like explode. And then there's heart. And so, if something like that doesn't quite happen, you're like, oh, what's wrong? Is something wrong with me? And I'm not feeling that. And these expectations. And so, that's my advice, honestly, is like, don't have an expectation. Just appreciate whatever it is. Whatever happens. And that's right. And that's the way it should be. And that's perfect. I was talking to my therapist and it was basically about that. And he said, you're going to hear a lot of people say that. As soon as the baby is born, you're going to feel this euphoric feeling that has never been a feeling you've ever felt. Do not put the pressure on yourself to feel it immediately. And if you don't feel it, that's okay. You'll eventually get there, but it's completely different for everyone. But there is this societal attachment of, as soon as you see this thing, you need to fall in love immediately. And he said, if you don't, or if it's weird, or you're scared, or it's a, or it does feel like that. Like, all of that's right. Yes. That's what we just talked about. Yeah. It's so true. I mean, I remember the first time I held her, first of all, they're like an animatronic. They're, they don't, it's like, they're like this, like a bad animatronic. Like, you know what I mean? And they don't look real, honestly. And she, I'm holding her. And I'm like, is this like ET, you know, because they're all wrinkly and like crazy looking, they're like, it looks like my grandpa, he in. It was the first thing I said, actually, when she came out, I was like, grandpa. And, and I held her and I didn't quite know how to scared. I was honestly, I was scared of hold her to break her because she's so fragile. And I, I handed her back to Hailey and I kind of walked away. And I was, I kind of felt like a failure in a way in that little small moment. Like, I didn't know what to do. Like, it wasn't so instinctually natural. Yeah, I was like, I should know how to hold her. Yeah. And I didn't. And I just quietly walked away and Hailey could tell that I was just was a little bit like, disappointed in myself. I guess you could say just quietly. And she had this beautiful moment. She says, honey, you're, you're amazing. You're doing great. Like, you know, and, and by the way, she just gave birth to this thing and there I am. Like, she's coaching you during the moment. Good job. Honey, good job. Um, but, uh, but again, it's that thing of like not putting that pressure on yourself and the timing of it all and the love of it all will happen in the, how it should be. Uh, okay. So the first questions that I have for you just generally speaking, because when I see professional dancers now, there's a new appreciation for being around them a lot. Do you feel like you could have been a professional athlete at something else as well? Um, in some things. Well, I don't, maybe not, but you guys are such athletes. Yeah. Because you're, how you, your hand eye coordination, uh, how you move your bodies. And again, I had no awareness of it until I was just dumped into it. Yeah. I watch you and I, I worked for the NFL and I worked with a lot of NFL players. It's your pure athlete. So I wonder if you had pursued a different way. Could you have been a professional athlete in another, I think so. I think so. I think you've been a gymnast. I could have been a gymnast. Um, I, maybe, you know, it's funny. I actually went to, I wanted to go to gymnastics when I was a kid because I wanted to be an injured turtle. I was like, same. I wanted to be, go to karate and gymnastics so I could flip around and kick some butt in the street. Yeah, the favorite turtle. Uh, it was my collage. I'll go on up. Of course, you know, it was Raphael. Yeah, Raphael. Wise guy, you know, the wise guy. Yeah, the wise guy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, but I, I think I could have been an athlete. It, I don't know what sport honestly, because here's the thing. Football, I played flag football as a kid. I was a great receiver. Um, I remember being going to school. And I was bullied severely as a kid, um, in different schools. And I remember going to the one called Montavista in South Jordan, Utah. And I was like, last pick, always in the school yard. They've never picked me. I was this little guy. I was kind of a little runt. And I was like, okay, I gotta like earn my stripes, you know. And I kept like intercepting the ball and I would go out there. And then eventually, I remember being like first pick. It was me and this, you know, the quarterback in the playground. And we would always be, we'd be like unstoppable. And I remember feeling like, that felt good. That felt really good to like go from here to there on the playground, playing football and being a really good receiver. And you're running around being quick. Um, but then, you know, I get just like tapped on the jaw. And I'm like, I have no chin whatsoever. I think I just, you know, anything contact wise. I just couldn't take it. Were you so focused on dance? Um, and music. Because I know you're super musical as well. But that was actually before, honestly. In my house, we would have drums and timballes randomly. I don't know what a timball is. Timballes, like, it's like a snare. It gets without the, uh, without the, the metal snare parts, you know what I mean? So I was like, don't, don't, don't, don't, don't, don't, don't, don't, um, and we have the guitars and stuff. So I'd always been playing stuff like Beach Boys in the house. And then from there, I actually got into dance, but I understand rhythm and music. And that helped me take the dance a lot quicker. But dance became my soul focus, I think, when I walked in and I was kind of like, I never forget. I didn't want to go dance, by the way. My mom made me go. I had four sisters. They went to dance class. I was sitting in the parking lot, doing nothing, sitting in the twit of my thumbs. She goes, well, why? You might as well go inside. If you're not doing anything, I was like, I don't know how I'm going to go. She's like, you're going inside. I was like, no, I don't want to go out now. It's kicking the screaming. And I'm like, there's dancing for girls. And then I walk in the door. I'm like, there's girls in here. Dance for girls. Okay. I like this. Um, then I had a really great teacher named Rick Robinson, who made it really cool. And then I just fell in love with the community and the music. The way it made you feel blasting over the speakers. And then I'm like, oh, and then you start like sinking your body up to the music and the rhythm. And you're like, wait a minute, this is cool. I feel like in control of my body. I'm doing things. And then it just, yeah, you just fall in love with it. And then also too, got to travel. You know, I'm like this kid in this little neighborhood in Utah. I get to go to LA. I get to go to New York. London. I'm like, wow, dance is like taking me places. And then, um, yeah, and then just one thing leads to another. You talk about being bullied. But when you go to dance, was there acceptance? And was that part of the reason that you thrived? 100%. Yeah. It was like, well, one of the hell of encouragement. You know, the coaches, again, like I said, Rick Robinson and my other teachers and Kim Nell Grosso, they were so kind and encouraging like, hey, you got a lot of talent. Like, you're really great. And I was like, am I? Oh, cool. You know, and okay, let me keep going at this. And it was just an encouraging environment. And when you do certain things, you know, it was like, the kids you're dancing next to you. Like, that has great. That's awesome. Whenever I go to school, especially in Utah, at least where I was from, it was just, I just didn't like, I was just an awkward. Honestly, super awkward. I don't know how to socialize. I would get the crappy anatomy. I wanted like six different schools and like a very short amount of time because I kept getting beaten up. I eventually like, bought back. And I remember the breaking this kid's nose. And I got expelled from school. And then my mom was proud of me, though. She was like, she's like, yeah. But, yeah, man, it was interesting. And it was interesting because when I moved to London, it was like a, it was like a safe haven because I, I don't know. I just feel like I'd never quite knew how to figure out the school thing. But dance always felt like home, you know. It always felt like a good place to be. And you moved to London for dance. Yeah. And so when you move there, I guess the analogy that I'm going to compare it to, you can tell me if I'm wrong. It's like, if you grow up and maybe your high school years were rough, but you go to college. And everybody's new. It's clean slate. Yeah. New culture. People do everything different. And so it almost gives you a sense to start over as well. Was London a bit like that for you? For sure. I mean, I was so naive. I was 12 years old. So, I was fully expecting like horse-drawn carriages and monocles and like, at a dollar, I get there, you know. And I get there, I'm like, flying like this, buildings and cars. What? That's crazy. So naive. But it was cool to see it because growing up in Utah, which was very specific, kind of community and culture, to then going to London, which was a microcosm of the whole world of different ethnicities and religions and beliefs. And I was like, what? And it was wild. It was so great. It was such a rich environment to grow up in, to learn. It was awesome. It was great. I mean, that's where I really honed in this like, this very kind of niche skill, which was Latin and barbed-and-dancing. And now, which is weird because you're not Latin at all. There's nothing about you. There's no one element. There's no one element. Fake tan, fool you. I got a spray tan two days ago. I'm like, okay. When you go to London, you only expect it to go for a bit, right? But you stayed a long time. A long time. I was going to go for like three months and then I just loved it. I loved it. I loved the structure. I loved the structure. I loved the regiment. It was sort of, this is what we're doing, no matter what. I don't care if you're sick. You're going. You know what I mean? I never forget that. I was like, sicker than a dog and they're like, cool. You're going to school. I'm like, what? Dang, my mom would never make me go to school. But okay. But I needed that and I loved it. I thrived off that. But yeah, London was a great place to sort of nourish a skill and really discipline and a work ethic that I think got more thankful for than anything else. About being there. It really instilled a work ethic. Like this is what it takes to be good at something. There's no shortcuts. You got to put the hours in. You're going to stay up late. You're going to, you know, you can't go party. Your friends are all partying, you know, in college and high school and stuff. They're all doing all these cool, fun things. I'm like, sorry. I got to go put spray tan on and then I ran it still in outfit and go to drive deliver pool you know, six hours and then do a competition in a dusty ballroom. And for, you know, 10, 12 hours and there might be two people there. But I still have to go do it and put in the hours and then drive back again. They go to school the next day, you know, hour to, you know, to get to school on a train. It was, it was not glamorous at all. It was hard. And by the way, people see dancing with the stars, for instance, ten years before dancing with the stars, even was like a thing. That's what we're doing. You know, we're going into those bar rooms and we're putting in that work, man. It was, it was hard. It was hard. Are you still happy that you put in all that work and didn't do all the things that high school kids and college kids did? You're still happy about your decision to be that dedicated? Yeah, absolutely. I think, you know, my early 20s, you know, when dancing with the stars came around and, you know, we're going on tours and we're doing things and we're in LA and there's like the clubs and all that. I got, I got my time in. You got it in. I got it in there. I got my early 20s where, yeah, we had a good time. Why did you move back to the states? Dancing with the stars. Dancing with the stars literally was the thing that brought me back from the states. Because I was, I would have stayed in London, honestly. London, I considered my home. I started doing the West End. I was doing musical theater. I did like 450 shows of this, you know, foot loose and the lead in that. And so I'm singing every night, dancing, touring. I was in the West End. And, and then dance with the stars happened and it was funny. I originally was like, I came over Julianne joined the show first, it's season four. And then one of the producers said, he's like, yeah, man, would you like to do the show, you know, did it? No, I was like, because it's a BBC show and they're all brinnell brinnell brinnell. Yeah, yeah. And now he's actually the head of Fox now, which is kind of funny. But, um, he was like, do you want to do this? And then, this is something, it's not really for me, man, I'm going to go back to England and do my thing. And then Julianne ended up winning that season. And I was like, hold on, hold on. Hold on. What's this thing? It's like, you still want me? And so I joined the next season, season five. And then Julianne won that season again too, back to back. So she beat me. And then that really, it was just was the beginning of this really awesome experience that we could have never imagined. You know, I remember people saying back then, like, oh, this show's got like three more seasons. Like three more seasons left in it, you know, and I was like, okay. 20 years later, you know, we're still still kicking in. Yeah, what's crazy about the show is that it has gone definitely through cycles, but it doesn't die and it thrives. Like, there are times where just with culture and television and, you know, they'll put it on Disney Plus and maybe that wasn't the best things. But, man, it did awesome last year. Unbelievable. Who would have thought really 20 years ago they would have been like, hey, there's this show. And trust me, trust me, television is going to be suffering a lot because streaming is going to come around all these different things. But trust me, this show is going to thrive in 20 years when the digital world is going to be, you know, ruling. But this show will be thriving because of that. You know, you could never have guessed that. You know, it's lighting in a bottle. It's like a perfect storm. And we're just lucky. The amount of times when we all looking around, I mean, they cut the budget. It's like crazy a couple of years ago. And we're like, oh, okay, this is it guys. We're coming to the end here. And then here we are still kicking. We always joke around. It's a little train that could, you know, we just keep, keep plugging along, man. How many seasons did you do as a dancer before you quit? 17 seasons. 17 seasons. Were you doing two a year at some point? Two a year. Yeah, we did two a year for most of it. It was like, you do a season, we go on tour and you go right into another season, then you go back on tour. I mean, there was no breaks. That's wild. It was full. It was just like the whole year was packed out. Were you enjoying it until you weren't? Yeah. Yeah. Actually, there was a time before that with the season right before Sean Johnson. Can't remember who was dancing. Did you dance with Sean? Sean Johnson. Yeah. Literally, literally, literally, literally, Sean talked to her today. Is she here? No, no, no. We were with the airport together. We live by each other. Oh, no way. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, Sean. Oh, I love her, man. Yeah, Sean. No, I'm not going to Sean. Sean. I used to do that actually because she's, she's, you know, she's petite. So she'd always be here. And I'm like, Sean, Sean. Oh, there you are. She would have hit that. I love it. But there's before that season, I remember even then feeling a little bit like burnt out and kind of like, I don't know what else to do. I feel a little bit like, I don't, I'm not like growing or expanding, you know. And my mom ended up going to the hospital because she hit her head and went and saw her and was with her. And then this lady next to her and she goes, oh my gosh. I love you on the show. It's been so much joy and all these things. And I remember being like, oh, man, I'm, I'm thinking about myself right now. Like, I was like, I was in my, I was thinking about myself about like, why am I not feeling this way? Why am I not getting this? And I was like, let me try this again, but let me try to like really not think about myself and just go on the show to like serve, to like really serve my partner to like serve the show and to give it my all, but not for me, but for them. And that was my season with Sean Johnson. And that was like, for me, that was kind of like my, my breakout season as far as feeling person like unleashed. And it was awesome. It was so great. We came second that season unfortunately. I remember we're like, Sean didn't win. Do we, she won first with Mark Ballis. Oh, she came back. And it was the all star season. Got it. And I'm not going to lie. That season was one of my favorites because it was just every week we just did something different and we're flipping off stuff and we're falling in and I'm breaking all the rules and Lindsey yelling at me and carrying on the like it was, but we were just like going for it. It was just kind of a great just full out thing and we ended up coming second, which I remember feeling devastated. I was so upset because you put so much into it. But then that season, man, it lit like a brand new fire. A brand new fire under me. And then the next season was with Kelly Pickler. She said, now you won. And we won with her. And the next season was Amber Riley and one with her from Glee from Glee. And then the next season back to back, back to back. Yeah. And then I'm and then with Amy Perty the following season. I know Amy. She finished my second and we came second. So it was like that. Like it was like second first, first second. It was and and both of the seconds were like some of my favorite seasons. So it was a really special time and it was this catalyst of intentionally going into it to be a lot of fun. And then I was just going into it to be like, all right, I'm here to like give. Not to like, it's not really about me. We interrupt this interview to bring you a message from our sponsor. And we're back on the Bobby cast. Some people wonder if the pros are competitive and winning or if they're just there to make their money. Competitive competitive. And actually in the earlier seasons, even more competitive, I would say. Because I feel like we came out of, I don't know what I mean, I'm being said of we, I mean like the pros. We're kind of plucked out of the Latin, bottom competitive world. So we were competitors. And we didn't come from like, you know, dance studios where it was like this camaraderie of like supporting your fellow dancers. And classmates, we were soloists about being, you know, part way partners. But it was like we were against everybody else. And that mindset of like, I'm against you. I'm against everybody was instilled in us. So we were very, very, very competitive. And you see it. You see it a lot. Honestly, in the earlier seasons. Openly. You know what I mean? And so if you could see some of that openly, you can only imagine what was going on behind the scenes. But it made it fun. It made it really like intense. It's definitely calm down a lot now. You know, he's now there's tours and now the dancers. There's a lot more like camaraderie and a lot more family oriented. I feel like and a lot of these dancers, they grew up watching the show. They grew up watching and being like, I would love to be on the show one day. And now they're there. And now like, oh my gosh, like, because they're in a state of grad suits. Like they're in a place like, this is awesome. I'm so happy to be here, which is great. But with that said, there's definitely competitiveness. Oh my goodness. For sure. Whenever you finished your run as a dancer, did you have the thought that you would come back in a capacity at all? If when I finished the run as a dancer, yeah. Yeah. By the way, you asked me if I until it wasn't. I remember the last my last season. There was like a moment. I remember just being like, oh, I, yeah, I don't have that same thing anymore where I'm like, you know, it kind of went away. And it was a kind of a good moment for me to like walk away, you know, and do a different project. And then miss it. You know, I really missed it. I like love. I was like, wow, this show really is special. I love this show. And then come back in a different capacity. You know, I feel so fortunate. I feel so lucky. And I have to have been a part of that show for so long. It's been really special. Yeah. I really liked off camera. And they don't encourage camaraderie between the contestants and the judges. I had a slightly different lifestyle on that show where I didn't know any rules. So I didn't live by them. Yeah. I wasn't breaking them. I just didn't know them. Any like from the show or dancing. And I would see Lynn out at the car. He was awesome to me until we were on camera. And he had to be Lynn. Yeah. And he was the hardest on me. And people would go, Lynn is such a dick to you. And now I'll be like, he is on camera. But like, I loved that dude. He was so nice to me off camera. You know what's funny? Like, I joke around. Because obviously dance with starts has a whole brand new, you know, audience. And it's funny. All the people I'll say something like, you know, it wasn't really for me. And I'm like, oh my gosh, Derek, you're the worst. I'm like, yo. He didn't see Lynn. Oh, guys, I don't think you quite understand. If anything, I'm actually a little bit too, too, you know, forgiving. I'm not even so 15 years old. I was like, wait, Lynn's on that. Why is Lynn doing up there? It's so random. And getting to the point, No, Len is awesome. I've known him since I was 15 years old. You know, I've known him before dancing with the stars. When you were competing? Yeah. I knew back in London when I lived there. So actually, when he was on dancing with the stars, I was like, wait, Len's on that. Why is Len doing up there? It's so random. And getting to know Len, having our careers kind of like just be parallel and just share the space with him in different ways was so awesome. But you're right. Len, yeah man, there's just nobody like him. He, for one had the gift of the gab. I always, I begged him. I said, can you write a book of just like Lenisms? Because the things you would say, there was so good. And so funny and charming and witty and some, and that nice. And yeah, but not nice, but you would be like, that's Len. Cuttingly funny. He would cut you, but it was hilarious. Yeah. Actually, I'll take it. Yeah. But it's funny. There was a time actually to go off what you said. And I've shared this story a bunch of times, but it was with Kelly Pickler. And I saw Len in the hallway and he goes, oh, Derek, you know, I was like, I was like, what dance do you have next week? I'm like, I'm at the pasta doble. And he goes, oh, I love that dance. It's like, it's like throwing a coup de pic into that dance. Because I haven't seen one of those in a long time. I'm like, oh, you got it, Len. You got a coup de pic. I'm gonna put two in there. You got it. You know. And so I do the pasta doble. We do it. It's this trio thing. And I'm like, man, we got it in with Len. We got this on the lock. We're good. We do the dance. I go up to the judges table and I'm like, you know, looking at Kelly, like, all right, we got this. And Kerry Hamm was like, oh my gosh. She was my favorite dance I've ever seen. Bruno, oh my god, darling. I love it. I love it. The theatrics are wonderful. Len is like, how dare you, Derek? That was an abomination disgraceful. You're letting it partner down and like, I was like, you betrayed me. What are you doing, man? It was such a funny thing. But then afterwards I saw him and he got two tens from Len, sorry, from Bruno and Kerry Ann and he gave us a six. Wow. And that was in like the semi finals. Like this is a big, this is a part of times. So again, when I saw him afterwards and I was like, Len, hey, when the hamming goes, he goes, oh, Derek, it's a bit TV. Did you like that? And I was like, ah, no, I didn't like that. But again, it makes me laugh because again, these seasons like, you know, we'll give like two, eights and then a judge will give us seven and the energy that is thrown at that judge for giving a seven, seven, eight is crazy. And I was like, let me give me a six. When they hear you give me tens, like, this is, that was a different discrepancy. So, you know, he's wonderful. And it was a big shock when he passed away, honestly. We knew he wasn't quite himself and he was, energy-wise. But the last season, our last season together is interesting. I felt really drawn to his trailer and going to see him and talk with him. I was like, hey, man, let's do this TikTok or do something kind of fun together and he would be open for it, you know, he'd be down. I mean, we spent a lot more time than usual. And so at the end of that season, when he said that he was stepping away, one, I couldn't believe it. I just, I was like, this is like the end of an era. And we're losing the heart of dancing with the stars essentially, that foundation. And then a couple of months later, when we found out, what we lost him completely, we had no idea. It was such a shock to us. And again, that's why I really genuinely don't take it lightly, where I sit and being in that position. When I go on my tours, I'm going out on the tour this summer. And a couple of years ago, when he first passed away, I did a tribute for him on my tour. And even as I'm building this one, I was thinking, I was like, should I take that out now? And I was like, no, I'm keeping that in. I'm keeping that in because it doesn't matter. I don't care if it's 10 years. I'm still keeping that in there because I think, you know, we wouldn't be here really with him without him. You really helped build that show. Now the Mirabals named after him. Yeah. We got the Lynn Goodman Miraball trophy. Yeah, I loved him. It has a little bow tie on there. Like it's amazing. Hang tight. The Bobby Cast will be right back. Welcome back to the Bobby Cast. How many do you have, Mirabals? Six? Six. Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś Ś and I would go out and have fun. I think I had three at the time and there was somebody at my condo where I was living, I was a bachelor, you know, the whole thing. And then I woke up the next day and I was like, where's my trophy? No way. And I was like, wait a minute. Somebody took, somebody took my, because I had like an after party at my house and there's a bunch of people there and stuff. And somebody took my trophy. And I think it was like, honestly it was I think it was two of them because there's only one there, like wait, hold on. Luckily there was like a card on the ground. It was like somebody's card. I don't know, I was random. I was like, let me call this person. I was like, hey, did you take a bunch of rupees? Yeah, we took them and they're in like, Koreatown, which is nowhere near where I live in the bush somewhere at this address. I'm like, of course, why did you do that? Secondly, what? So I had to find them and turn off there in a bush, had a grab them, take them home. And one piece? And one piece, they were fine. But I have broken them. I've lost a few, but you could get a remade. They're like $5,000 a piece, which you're like, you know, kid. Yeah. I feel like you could just get like, I have one actually. Wow. I did not know they were that expensive. Yeah. They're cool. They're fun. Yeah. Yeah. What happened with yours? That's not why you're here, but I'm happy. I'll talk about whatever. I don't want to preface it by saying this, but I must. I just had surgery like two days before. You did. That's not an excuse, but I was not right in my mind. So I had surgery and they were, they, everybody was going back to for like, it was the big episode where all the winter, everybody came back. If you were on the show, you get to be a part of it. And I couldn't go to that. And I was just awful little and I love and still loved Ombarsron. Yeah. He was the nicest guy to me. He's the best. And so I was a little messed up on paying bills. And I felt like I got a slight from somebody I really admired. Yeah. And I was like, this sucks. I get beat up by the audience all the time. Anyway, because I don't, I don't want to dance. Sure. I worked really hard. And we won, but I don't know how to dance. I don't claim I know how to dance. Like I'm not fighting for my dance skills, but it really hurt my feelings, like really bad. And so I packaged it up and mailed it back. Yeah. Because I was like, you don't want me to be a part of the show? Yeah. I don't want this thing around me. Now, clear head, I don't think I would have done that. Right. And I know the head of BBC. And because I wrote for BBC for a while, I had them produce my Nat Geo show, have great relationships. And I was talking to him. And I said, hey, Ryan, have you seen the trophy? Yeah. And he was like, no, we've been looking for it. And I was like, I don't know where it is. He said it's an Abushing Korea town. I was just going to say that. I was like, it's there. It's just like all trophies go to that place. Yeah. It's like a black hole. Yeah, I mailed it back because I was upset. I was very sensitive. I loved Tom and my feelings got really hurt. And also, I think I would, I just get pounded. And then I'm going to move off me because it's not about me. But here's the thing that hurts my feelings about that show a little bit. On my season, I wasn't the bad dancer. There were three or four bad dancers. I was never in the mix of being the bad one. Right. I was, I'm the bad winner. Right. Big difference. Right. Because there were three or four people that lasted. And people were like, how are these people staying on? I was never that guy during the show. Right. Because I was fine. Yeah. But when it comes to like winning, I didn't have the dance skills to be a winner according to the traditional winners. So I went from the fan favorite, obviously, a one, to, I'm now associated with every bad dancer on the show when I wasn't even the bad dancer on my season. Right. Yeah. I have three final questions for you. Yeah. Something that people ask me about. And I was also very uncomfortable with it when I first started the show as all the touching because how I have lived my whole life as you don't touch people really. Yeah. Like, especially like that in dance, it took me a couple weeks to realize that's just a culture. That's what you have to do it in order to actually do any sort of performance. Fundamentally, your hands have to be on the other person's body all over their body all the time. When you're learning, you're moving, it's afraid. My mind was blown by all of it. Because here's this girl, I don't know, in small shorts at the top, and she's like, put your hands right on my butt, touch my hips. Okay. And I'm like, it might, me too. I don't want you hashtag me too. Yeah, it's my guess. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So that was very uncomfortable for me at first. But people all the time say, man, they're all touching each other. Everybody's got to be doing it with each other. You hear that a lot, right? Yeah. What's your response to that? Most of the time, no. So it's funny, actually, I would say this in earlier seasons, there was a lot of stuff that would go on, I feel like. But the touching is like, it's like, but the working at a bank and taking money. Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, no, here's the thing. I'll say this. The dancing part of it, again, for a dancer, for a dancer, it's not intimate. You know what I mean? It's not like, ooh, like this is like this. Get in here. It's not that at all. It's very, it's very clinical. Yeah. You know, it's like, hey, get your, get there. No, no, that doesn't feel right. Okay, good. No, no, get that, get that hip up in here. And you know, for me, I'm not thinking like, ooh, I'm thinking the mechanics of it. And anatomically, does that make sense? Does it feel good from a balanced perspective or from, you know, just that push and pull to create the speed and the dynamics? I'm thinking of the performance, you know what I mean? But I remember my first partner, Jenny Garth, you know, I was like this young kid and I remember it's all on camera. I remember doing ballroom and I kinda like, all right, put your hip here. And she remember me like, she'd be like, woo! Hey! And again, for us, this is even like, you know, this is just what we're doing, you know. It's very clinical. That's what I tell people. Like, it doesn't even like factor to professional dancers that there's anything romantic happening because it's another day on the job. Yeah, it is. And it's interesting too because I think, even like, you know, it's like enacting, you know what I mean? And in film, you know, I was with Margarabi yesterday talking about her weathering heights film and it was like, all this stuff about her and Jacobalority like, oh my gosh, this is like crazy but for me, I was like, it's like dancing. It's like a dance partner, you know? It's not, it certainly looks that way. You're like, wow, there was something going on there. They met up people who thought that things were going on with a bunch of my partners and couldn't be further from the truth. Like, I was like, they're like my sisters, you know. They're like my family and, but we could just, we could just, you know, we could just dance, you know. How's the extra job going? That's good, man. Yeah, it's good. It's different. I'm different skill. It's a different muscle, you know, learning, just learning those ropes, man. You know, they're doing a certain voice and the VOs and stuff and then the interviews and that's been great. It's been good. I call it my dad job because I go to have an office and it's like, you have an office, they gave me an office. I have an office. That's awesome. It's a dope office. It's nice. Hayley came in and she did it all up and we did the walls and the shelves and the things and it's in nice office and, you know, I go from like 830 and I'm done by like noon or 11 sometimes and go home. How many days a week? Four days a week. So today I shot two shows and, you know, yeah, yeah. That's super cool. Yeah, it's cool, man. Yeah, it's fun. It's fun. If people want to see you on tour this summer, yeah, like what's the deal? Dude, my tour, well, first of all, performing live is for me number one. It's the best. You know, being on television, you know, I love that. Don't get me wrong, of course, but there's nothing like performing live in a room, having that shared experience, you know how it feels, that instant response, that relationship. And I'm going back out on the road with the tour that I've done before called Symphony of Dance. And it's a really special show. I'm so proud of this show. So much so that I want to do it again and go back out. We're gonna change things, of course. There's gonna be different songs, different pieces, different things happening in there, of course, make it different, but the most part's the same show. And we have a live band, live musicians, incredible cast of dancers. That I hand-picked that are just, they're superheroes. They can do things. I specifically picked dancers who do things that I would only dream of doing. I can never do what they do. And yeah, there's music in it, singing, and audience participation. But it's also very personal. It's very heartfelt. I always try to make my shows feel connected and feel like there's an emotion there. So I'm really proud of it. This is also the show that Haley actually, a couple of years ago, she ended up having a brain bleed during the show and we had to go off the stage. And there's just something, and then she came back. She came back and it was incredible. And we were talking about what tour we wanted to go out with in the summer and we both were like, we want to go back out with that show. That show is really special. There's something about it that's really special. And I think part of that might, because of the experience that we had together, but also we're really proud of the show. It's a good one. It's a good music, the energy, this rock and roll, there's ballroom, there's contemporary, there's ballads. There's just a bit of everything, tap, old Hollywood musical theater. You know, it's a bit of everything in it. It's really fun. I really appreciate you coming by. This has been great. Thanks man. I won bonus question. Do you ever have any input at all and who your next partner is going to be? Do you have any input? No, you don't. You don't have any input. You answered that a little suspect. I love that so much. Sorry, I was just trying to think, the only reason why I'm saying that is because of this, because a while ago, and I'll be completely honest with you, I was doing a show, I was doing a radio city music call. I was in a show there, and I was like, I can't do dance with the stars. I'm gonna go do this show at Radio City. I'm doing 13 shows a week, which is insane, by the way. Three shows a day sometimes, with the rockheads, some on stage were singing. I'm singing and dancing. It's 50,000 gallons of water falling on that stage. It's incredible. Sold out shows every night, you know, 6,000 per show. And we're in rehearsals and I was like, I think I could do dance with stars at the same time as this, which was crazy. And I remember calling them and saying, hey, guys, I think I can do both. I think I can fly red eyes and go back, do 13 shows a week, teach my partner in-between shows in my dressing room. You need to summon a New York. And I was like, what, the person needs to be in New York. And they're like, well, okay, then they were like, well, let's think about it. And then funny enough, Nasty Luke was going to school in New York City. And so it just happened to work out that way. So it wasn't like I was like, hey, I want this partner. It was like, we could make this happen, but my partner has to be in New York. So that's it. And then he need to be a Olympic gymnast. And it has to be a Olympic gymnast. Yeah, I did. Yeah, I have. It's a Olympic gymnast, and it'd be amazing. No, it wasn't that. It was just by chance. And, but it was amazing. She was incredible as well. But, but yeah, there's, you know, it's interesting. I, of course, especially now with like the energy around the show, there's a lot of like wanting to figure things out and look into things and all the stuff. It really isn't that complex really. Honestly, it's just like, hey, these guys go well together. Let's put them together. There are, of course, sometimes when partners, you're kind of like, man, I wish this person would, you know, have a different opportunity, you know, I think, yeah, I don't know what I'm trying to say right now, but yeah, there were people, I'll just keep names out. There were people on RC's and that really didn't like each other, like really, like partner and that really, and I felt bad. Yeah, I felt, because they just didn't mix. You know, I feel like now I could be wrong, but I feel like we're sort of in a different time now where I think that people who come on the show now, you know, celebrities who come on the show, they want to be there. Do you know what I mean? I feel like there's gonna be, like now they want to be there. They're here, take me. What am I, what do I gotta do? Doesn't mean they're not gonna have conflict, they're gonna hit heads and that's gonna happen. But if like in some cases in the past, there'd be people who were there like, what am I doing here? Like my agent made me be here. I've heard of those too. You're like, it's difficult for the pro as well. Yeah, there's just like, come on, please come in and rehearsal. I mean, you feel bad for them and that's a bummer. That's a bummer. We're in a net time now where it's like, there's like a people wanna be on the show. They wanna be there and you feel that. So, well congratulations, man. Thanks, dude. Killing it, love the smell of an hour here. Big fan of your work. You filled lens spot wonderfully because you're not trying to be the Lynn. You're just being you. Thanks. And I think that is a really hard thing to do. Like when you're coming in after somebody legendary, you think, well, I should be somewhat like this, but you've really embraced just being you and that is probably exactly what Lynn would've wanted to. So, Derek, good to see you, man. Thanks, man. He's a lot of thanks so much. This has been a Bobby Cast production. This is an I Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.