The School of Greatness - Stephen "tWitch" Boss Interview On Love & Life (In Loving Memory) EP 1364

Episode Date: December 18, 2022

I’m heartbroken for the news about our friend.Stephen was a lover, a giver and light to be around. He would always check in to see how you were doing and wanted you to know how much he cared about your life. He was always cheering others on and lifting them to.He was best known as an American freestyle hip hop dancer, choreographer, actor, television producer, television personality, husband a father.If you’re struggling with any sort of mental health-related issue, please don’t hesitate to reach out to someone, or text/call 988 for help. People will show up when you need them. 

I'm not really sure what to say here. It's been a few days of really just sadness. Our friend Twitch passed away a few days ago. And if you haven't heard about it, it's been all over the internet and social media. People talking about how he brought so much joy and light to the world. And Twitch did. I've known Twitch for six years. met him in 2016 I had him on the school of greatness and we built a bond a friendship and it's been extremely hard for me

and so many people that knew him to understand what happened I've had so many great conversations with other friends of his and we've just been connecting on the good times that we've had with Twitch and so many different things that have happened over the years and experiences. The last message I got from him was a few months ago. He invited me to his 40th birthday and he said, my guy, sending love and all the blessings. And he was supposed to perform at the Summit of Greatness a couple of years ago, but he had a conflict. He and his wife were doing a Disney thing. And he was like, hey, man, when you bring it back, let us know. We'd love to do it. And he was meant to come and perform one of these years. He would text me. We would send

video messages back and forth about the meaning of life and purpose and love and, you know, exciting things that were happening in his life and my life. And he would send notes all the time from different interviews. You know, when Kobe Bryant came on the show, he was like, man, this is such an inspiring interview. And he would constantly reach out and say hi. And we were just, you know, friends helping each other out over the last six years. and we were just friends helping each other out over the last six years. And it's been really sad, that's all I can really say, to lose a human being with so much love and light and joy who is a giver.

And every friend that I've talked to that's known him, they're all just like he's been the biggest giver in their lives. We had Twitch on the show back in 2016. I think it was episode 406. It was a long time ago we had Twitch on the show back in 2016. I think it was episode 406. So a long time ago we had him on. And I asked him questions about, you know, the thing he loved the most about his wife. I asked him questions about being raised by a single mom in the South, you know, and overcoming all the adversity that he overcame to get to where he was at the time. And I wanted to replay this episode in honor of our friend Twitch, Stephen, and let you learn a little bit more about who he was, his life, what he was inspired by, And he inspired and impacted millions of lives every single day on The Ellen Show with his energy, his love, his fun, his joy. And he is deeply missed by

so many. So without further ado, my friend, I miss you. We miss you. And I hope you guys enjoy with Steven Twitch Boss. Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for spending some time with me today. Now let the class begin. Welcome, everyone, back to the School of Greatness podcast. We have a dancing legend in the house, Twitch. Steven Boss, good to see you, man. Thanks for coming on here, brother.

Thank you for having me. Appreciate it. We were just connecting before this about how we have some mutual friends and Aubrey Marcus and Antoine Troop. Yes. And I'm sure many more if we hang out a little more. Exactly. But you've had an incredible career, incredible story.

You grew up in Alabama. Absolutely. I lived in Huntsville for a while. You were in Montgomery. And you became well-known around the world from a show. Absolutely. So you think you can dance, right? Yes. Absolutely. So you're thinking dance, right? Yeah, dancing.

And when did you first go on that show? I first went on that show in 2008. Wow. Time flies. I know. That's almost 10 years. Time flies. Almost 10 years.

Eight years ago, right? Yeah, exactly. And before that, though, I mean, I was born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama. I moved out here to go to school. And that was like the deal with my grandfather. Like he was like, okay, you want to go out and pursue dance. But the only way that you're going to do that is if you have some kind of education with it. A backup plan.

A backup plan. Absolutely. So I literally, I applied to, I just started looking up schools that had dance programs out here. Just started applying, applying, applying. And luckily, I got into this one named Chapman University. Oh, sure. I've heard of it, yeah. Which is right there in Orange County.

So it's just- It's a T3 school, right? Like a smaller- Yeah, it's small, but it's like- Liberal arts. Absolutely. It's a private situation, but super impactful as far as, I mean, the film is incredible. The dance is incredible.

And it's just right down the way from here. So I was in a place where I could just hop back and forth. Boom, boom. And that's exactly what it was until I actually got on So You Think. It was a lot of back and forth. You know, I would get a job here and then have to go back to orange kind of go back to school like a little like a dance gig like a little gig here yeah or even a movie i got um i did hairspray uh and remember the movie blades of glory there was

like a dance there was a dance scene in that like i was really wait blaze of glory with uh with uh yeah will ferrell no way yes there was i was in that movie? I was in that movie. Shut up. Yeah, I was. Were you on ice? No, no, no, no. No, no. But I was in a dance studio with a black tutu on. That's amazing. But, you know, so I did stuff here and there.

But So You Think was the one. So You Think was the one. Yeah, of course. The breakout. The impact was like that gave me trajectory. Do you know what I mean? So you were 18 when you went to college then or when you came out to Chapman? I was 20 when I came out to Chapman.

Okay, cool. So you were hanging in Montgomery after high school. Absolutely. Went to a community college there two years just to kind of get the grades up and then try to figure out how I can actually get out to LA. Okay. So you're 20 and you were doing the auditions, made some movies in the first couple of years, I guess. Yeah.

That's pretty big. I mean, it's pretty great. I mean, and also I came out with, because of course, now that you're here too, right? You've been here for some time. Yeah. And, you know, when you're here, you can get, you can get a little jaded about, about certain things. Right. So when I came, I was just on straight, straight, dumb luck, innocence. You know what I mean? And it's just like, what competitive market?

What do you mean? I have to have an agent to go to this. No, I don't show up and I'm going to get it. And I got, and I, you know, I got jobs. It was just, it did. I've always kind of had this, a little bit of denial. Like, no, I am one of the few. You know what I mean? Always, always, always. And that kind of, it worked out.

It worked out in my favor. What do you think allowed you to separate yourself from all the thousands of dancers who are out here for years before you training who maybe were just as good technically or had you know just good dancers but you were giving the gigs what was the difference maker was it a mindset was it a follow-up process you had was it a charisma you had in these auditions what do you think it was honestly i think i think it was it was made up of two things i think it was a uh my absolute love for dance just love for movement like i i i really really love it like dance is my passion so more than like oh we have to learn steps for this audition combo and stuff like that i'm like yo i'm in class this is amazing and like

i get to dance next to this person and that's like that. I'm like, yo, I'm in class. This is amazing. And they're like, I get to dance next to this person. Isn't that nice? So even in auditions, I'm dancing like I'm on stage and loving life. So I think that it serves as a bridge to connection for people that are casting you because you love to look at people that love to do what they do, period. You know what I mean? Whether they're in front of you or if they're over there in the corner practicing, there's something about it that kind of catches your eye.

So my love for movement, A, and then also just the drive. Like I wanted nothing more than to dance. Do you know what I mean? And, again, I'm from Montgomery, Alabama. In Montgomery, Alabama, you know, the mean? And again, I'm from Montgomery, Alabama. In Montgomery, Alabama, you know, the dance community is very, very, very small. And amongst the males, it's even, even smaller. It's like 30 dudes. Not even that.

Like 10 dudes who are doing something. Absolutely. And doing something maybe low-key because, you know, the fellas play sports there. You know, college football is like a religion for us. Absolutely. Alabama or Auburn, right? be low key because you know the fellas play sports there you know and you know you know college football is like a is like a religion for us you know either alabama or albert right you know so to to come up and be like oh i dance you know that's that's not a masculine thing it's not a masculine thing and it's a choice you know but when i made that choice though that was that was it there was nothing else and just like those two things you know just the the absolute

love for what i do and tunnel vision focus um like i said when you're out here for a couple of years and if things happen for you or if they don't you still tend to get a little jaded about what's going on so you get some of the new booties that come in and they're like this is life this is it like i don't care what happens like i'm going to every single audition like i'm going to class whether i'm tired or not like you know what i mean and even at the end of the day i'm spending my last hours of the day practicing in my in my in my living room even if it's on carpet and it's like the floor is hard to dance on, every night we're dancing.

Do you know what I mean? Amazing. It's those factors that I think separate. So you were doing that? Oh, yeah, absolutely. You're being a dancer. I love what I do. When I leave here, I'm going to the studio, not to practice for anything but just to practice.

Yourself? Yeah. No one else will be there? I mean, I've invited some people. If they show fantastic if not i'll still be you're still embodying that drive even after you've made it to a certain point of course number of movies on ellen all these different things of course every single day you're living like it's your first week out here of course because it's it there's still there's still so much there's still so much more that i would like to do so i i can't i can't get i can't get comfortable i can't that there there hasn't

been a time yet where i've been like all right i've arrived i'm i'm good you know i'm i'm i'm in here i'm good because there's still. Because there's still so much to do. And maybe that's one of the gifts and curses of the human condition is that, like, that word more. Do you know what I mean? It's just like, wow, this is great, but more. Just like you. You have an incredible podcast. You have a book.

You get to interview people from around the world and things like that. But I'm sure there's times for you where you're like, okay, but now what? You know what I mean? If we stop pushing our boundaries, then we start getting comfortable and we start slowly dying, in my opinion. If we're not growing,

then what are we doing? So it's like, yes, we want more, but it's like I want more growth. I want to see what's, what I'm possible of creating and doing myself just to inspire myself and hopefully be a symbol of inspiration for others. Exactly. I mean, we're here, we're here to maximize our potential period. You know, that's why we're here. Yeah. You know, how, who is the, uh, who are the dancers that inspire you the most in the industry? Uh, the dancers that inspire me most. I mean, it goes from, you know, across generations. I mean, I could start with, you know, of course, Gene Kelly and Fred Stare, Sid Gerise, like all of those.

And then I move into the music video era that I grew up in. I mean, late 80s, early 90s when, like the music videos used to have like dance breaks and stuff like that you know michael jackson janet jackson uh you know travis payne who choreographed for uh for uh michael jackson and danced with michael jackson for so long um and then uh tina tina landon seanette heard uh and then moving into this into into this generation my wife honestly and not even because i'm married to it before before i was i was married to her before i even knew her i was like that girl's the truth you know yo well that's probably why you married her she is the she is the embodiment of what a dancer is.

A dancer is what music looks like. Do you know what I mean? That's what it is. It's like a deaf person would be able to watch a dancer and be like, I think that it maybe sounds like this or that movement must feel like this. That's Allison. Do you know what I mean? Like to a T. She embodies it. She's incredible. like this or that or that movement it must that movement must feel like this that's allison do you know what i mean it like to a t she she embodies it she's incredible you know um wade robson is like at the top of my he's one of my heroes man and always has been wow um my boy link

sorry i'm just like now i'm name dropping i'm like this guy you know but um Link he's uh he was one of my first teachers one of the pioneers of what we know as street dance today and not and not street dance as in b-boying popping or locking which are all different styles right and these are the cats that um you know you saw in heavy d. These are the cats that dance with Big Daddy Kane. You know what I mean? Like where we get the Running Man, the Reebok, you know, all of those things. This guy helped create all of those things and facilitate all those things. So it is, man.

I'm picking up inspiration from everywhere. Who's the guy? Oh, man. I'm going to forget his name right now. There's a guy in the U.K. who's a short dude who's like the most incredible breakdancer I've ever seen. He's kind of like, he's on his hands a lot. Just like, almost like a gorilla.

Like, he's doing like push-ups. Junior? Junior. Junior. Oh, my gosh. Oh, yeah. This guy's a freak. Unbelievable.

Of nature. That's what I'm saying. It's like. So good. Have you met him or no? It's so good. Yeah, I've seen him. I've seen him.

I don't know him well. Is he amazing in person? The videos I see of like, how does a him or no? Yeah, I've seen him. I've seen him. I don't know him well. Is he an amazing person? Incredible. The videos I see are like – Yeah, exactly. And even after seeing the videos, seeing it live, you're like, you can really do that. That's not a trick. That's not a video effect.

You can do that. It's amazing. And effortlessly. Do you know what I mean? And see, that's what I'm saying. It's just like, where do you go after that, right? Like, you know, because, you know, in the 80s and late 70s when b-boying just started, you know, they're doing footwork. They're spinning on their backs.

They're spinning on their heads, spinning on their hands. And you're thinking, whoa, like they're defying gravity. This is amazing. This is blowing my mind. Fast forward to now, it's like, where can you even go now it's like bruce lee meets ultimate ninja warrior dancing you know it's like three spins and flips and karate kicks absolutely toss like flipping yourself around on one hand but the next thing they're just literally going to start spinning on their face like you know it's like a nose just a straight nose like that's gonna be the next thing

amazing man and then we were talking before there's so many incredibly young talented kids who are like defying all these things like doing things that no one's ever done before these like 10 year olds exactly it's unbelievable it is incredible man so you think you can dance uh the next generation just went off man and they completely switched their format to uh to a younger contestant which were um from 7 to 14 i believe and through that entire gamut man i mean i the the artistry that i mean that the youth is capable of nowadays it's really incredible and it actually watching

them actually kind of gave me a little bit of a paradigm shift because I'm not sure if you have fallen into this saying you know when you be like oh this next generation like you know they can easily be very lazy

because everything's on push button. Ba-da-da-da-da-da. Kind of shifted it for me. You know what I mean? Because when put in the proper circumstances and pushed, they're incredible. I mean, just capable of the most amazing, amazing things. You know what I mean?

So, yeah, I'm really excited to see what this next generation is about to do with the art form of dance. I'm really excited about it. It's amazing. Now, did you play sports at all growing up? You know, I tried sports, man. I tried it. I wasn't blessed with the competitive edge of, like,

my team is going to beat your team outside of dance. Outside of dance. You know what I mean? Our crew is going to beat your team. Yeah, absolutely. Now, then I'm like, okay, let's get it. But, you know, not growing up. I didn't discover that until later, until I was out here.

But, you know, football, didn't even try it. Like, I was like, there is nothing about me being out there and trying to run into somebody else that I'm not trying to. It's just not going to happen. It's an incredible sport, but you're not missing. I mean, you didn't miss out on all the head trauma that I faced and a lot of guys faced and the injuries. You know, the boys in Alabama.

They're huge, man. What? You know. They don't mess around. You running full speed at me? No. No., the boys in Alabama. They're huge, man. What? You know. They don't mess around. You running full speed at me? No. No. Head to head.

No. Yeah. Exactly. You know, I played before they had the rules of, like, the head to head contact. We only hit with the head. Absolutely. And, you know.

It's crazy, man. So, me, I completely dodged that. Tried baseball. I'm a creative type. I'm a creative type. They had me out there in center field i did nothing but i did nothing but daydream like you know what i mean so and basketball just it was cool but like you didn't feel it yeah just didn't feel so who inspired you to get into dance

or what honestly it is um dance is just something that it's it's always been there it really has it's it's it's always been there dance is something that has literally always gotten me very very excited and super passionate even before i knew what passion was you know what i mean um dancing and being on stage those two things i remember uh uh my in first grade was the first time that I ever was on a stage play. And I remember getting so excited that the moment I came out on stage and hearing the audience kind of connecting with the audience, I was like, what is this? It was the most amazing thing. I ran off the stage. I went to the principal. I was like, yo, can we do it again tomorrow? Can we do it?

You know? But, you know, as kids, you know, you get exposed to many different things. And I didn't actually find the performing arts until much later. But watching music videos, hearing music that I love dancing to, I was constantly making up dance routines in my room. I love dancing. I was constantly making up dance routines in my room. But again, you know, when you are the first dancer or person that wants to pursue dance of your family, then nobody in the family is going to look at you and be like, yo, we should put him in dance classes.

They're just like, oh, he likes to dance. Like, hey, come out here and do a dance routine. Right. Yeah, exactly. We're at the family reunion reunion come out here and dance real quick and do you know absolutely you know and then and then that and then that be that you know so i but i um so it's the thing is to answer your question it has always been there you know it's the thing that that has literally been a driving force i could you know i know there's some guys that maybe watch basketball games, football games, boom.

They love paying attention to the highlights, and that fuels them and being like, yo, I'm about to go super hard at practice the next day because did you see, da-da-da, do this, da-da-da-da. It's that same thing of when Michael Jackson premiered the Scream video, or when Janet Jackson, when I saw Janeted, you know, the Scream video, or if when Janet Jackson, when I saw Janet Jackson, all right, like that dance breakdown, this was before YouTube.

Yeah, of course. It was MTV. Yeah, if I wasn't ready with the VHS to record it, I had to burn everything into memory and be like, I think they did something like this, and boom, you know. And that's what it was. That's what dance was for me. So it has always been that passionate driving force. And it was what I wanted to do before I knew that I wanted to do it.

Right. You know? So once you got older, were your parents kind of pushing you into it and encouraging you more? No. Cultivating you? it more uh no it was uh they it actually it it struck them um as quite the surprise because like i said they we we didn't have any any you know anybody pursuing dance yeah the family you know um so when i said that i wanted to dance they were like oh right oh really okay you know because they don't know what that means.

You know, just like I said, the deal with my grandfather was if I could move out as long as I was in school for a backup plan. Do you know what I mean? Because he was like, OK, I hear that you want to dance. I don't know how far that can go as a career. So like, let's back that up a little bit, which is completely understandable, you know? So, um, with that, I, I dabbled in theater and in the theater, I got cast as a dancer in the whiz and that's what started the snowball effect is that I was like, wait a minute. Do you guys take dance classes out here? Yeah. We take over here.

Okay, cool. I'm going to come to class with you. Oh, i can take class for free as long as i take ballet cool like i'm gonna stay here and do this yeah and there it was like oh wait you go to my high school there's a dance team at our high school i'm gonna try out for that there are no guys all right cool it's all right so i was the first i was the first guy on my high school dance team now i'm curious mean, what year were you born? 1992.

92. 82. 82. I was 83. So in the early 90s, in middle school and high school, especially in Alabama, that's not seen as a masculine thing. Right. So were you bullied or were you made fun of a lot by guys?

You know, I was made fun of quite a bit not bullied because i still i still had my size about you know what i mean like so i was tall yeah i was tall still had my size about me and they knew that i was agile you know what i mean so it's just like that it was like oh yeah don't let the turn don't let the turns fool you i could like you know i could you know like you know, I could, you know. It's funny. But they made fun of me. They made fun of me quite a bit.

Really? But you know what? It's, I don't fault them. And even then, even then, it didn't get to me that much because for some reason, I still didn't fault them. Do you know what I mean? and I still didn't fault them. Do you know what I mean? Because it's like, of course you're going to make fun of me because what other examples do you have of someone doing this than me right now? And in my younger days, of course, I fell into that category too.

If I saw somebody doing something that I'd never seen before or that I had a certain stereotype doing of course of course I made fun of course I made fun of them you know what I mean so it but it it never reached the point of violence or anything like that you know it was it was it was only words man and then as time went on then they start then they started to eat their words without without performing and like talent shows you're like oh damn this is 100 yeah and and while Then they started to eat their words. And they see you on stage performing. Absolutely. And talent shows, you're like, oh, dang, this is dope. 100%. Yeah, and while they're calling me, you know, and no disrespect,

just saying while they're calling, they're like, oh, you're gay. But then they get to see, like, okay, cool, like, let's break this down. You play football, okay? I dance. After school, I'm going to go spend the rest of my afternoon with only girls. You're going to spend the rest of your afternoon wrestling with dudes. And when the night is over, when we go get some food, I'm probably going to be hanging out with your girlfriend.

Do you know what I mean? Because we're all going to this place here to hang and you'll still be with the dudes so like after a while they go oh oh that's kind of cool like oh okay that's kind of cool you know did you ever feel did you ever feel uh emasculated or um like you weren't man enough because you weren't playing sports or hanging out with the dudes or you know um it it but it wasn't it there were times of that and it it wasn't necessarily because um because i wasn't playing sports but there are times you know uh even even still to this day because i never really latched on to sports, like following sports.

And sports is like one of the greatest common denominators amongst the male. Do you know what I mean? I've been in situations, which I'm sure you have too, where I've seen two people that do not know each other at all have the longest conversation right right you know just talk just like talking about sports and stuff like that so not necessarily feeling uh emasculated and things like that but there are certain things that that uh that i missed as far as a social dynamic because i was i was i chose to involve myself in the arts and not necessarily pay attention to things like that. I feel like that's kind of where

a void is there because when we start talking about stats and boom, boom, I'm kind of like running man out of there. I'm like, hey, yeah, and I'm out of here. But it is what it is, man.

And it's all love. Do you feel, I mean, being out in L.A. and being in the culture and the community with dancing world and the entertainment world, do you feel embraced? Absolutely. Yeah. I feel very, very, very embraced, man. embraced man because listen as competitive as the uh the the world and realm of show business is and speaking specifically about dance it's still a very very small community tiny right very very small community there's only like what 15 20 top choreographers maybe right who do like everyone's shows exactly because once once you

you know once you you stick through it and you and you and you are able to get on and there is there is work for you because you have you have the experience yeah and you have the know-how to talk to this person to make this happen and this and that you know it's it's so the world is not really that big so yeah so yes i i am embraced and i and i embrace even the even all of the the uh those that are new to it i remember what it was to be new to it you know 22 fresh out of college coming here what being like the hottest dancer in your school trying to make it here exactly yeah yeah very very very small fish syndrome you know what i mean like exactly you

know it's in in rural alabama where i went where i went to community college place called wadley alabama we had maybe two stoplights two stoplights probably um you know yeah of course i was like the dancing guy there you know and then you come out here and I'm like, whoa, everybody here is amazing. But I was still young dumb. So I was like, I'm amazing too. Here we go. Went for it. Yeah, exactly.

You didn't hold back. Of course. What's your process like now when you go into an audition? Do you pretty much just get like booked without having to audition now because people know what you can do for TV, movies or commercials or whatever it may be? Or do you have a practice when you're going into an audition where you're like, here's the routine, and walk us through it if you do have one. Well, when it comes to dance performances,

dance performances now, I'm blessed to say that if they want me for a dance performance or something like that, then they just call and directly book. They've seen videos. They've seen a million times. They don't need to see you again. Yeah, they know what I do now. Amazing.

And that is incredible. What I do audition for now, I've been really studying acting. I've been on a lot of acting auditions. So with that, it is a completely different, So with that, it is a completely different, because A, all the physicalities are more, they're a little more internally driven and not so big. Like, you know what I mean?

It's more facial emotion. It's more like the eyes. And that's the hardest switch there. So as far as process of auditioning for that goes, it's about dialing it down goes it's about dialing it down it's about dialing it down for me because standing on stage even even sitting here talking to you now like i i move i lean i use my hands and apparently too much that does not look good on tv or film you know what i mean so yeah wow okay. So, yeah. Wow. Okay. So you don't have to do any dance auditions right now then?

They're all books. I haven't done a dance audition. How many years? Since 2008. Even for like Magic Mike or a movie where you're dancing in? They're just like, oh, we know we want them. Even for Magic Mike, which is such a blessing. But Channing was just a fan from – He's out.

We just need him. Yeah. And it was just like, yo, I have this role in mind, and you are who I wanted to play for the role. So that was just – that was incredible. Wow. But I'll say this too, though, man. It's – like I said, the world is very, very small,

And it's, like I said, the world is very, very small. And there are those that once you reach a certain amount of time putting in work, people know exactly what you do. Right. And you establish incredible working relationships. So, therefore, when you're like, oh, okay, we need a person that does this, does this, does this. Oh, call Twitch. Oh, call this this, this. Oh, call Twitch. Oh, call this person. Oh, call that person.

You know what I mean? It just does. It happens like that. And I imagine it happens like that in pretty much any industry. Same with this too. I get asked to speak at different events if they want this person to do a workshop on a specific topic about greatness. It's like, oh, call Lewis. Exactly.

Right. Exactly. So it's similar in this industry um what's been the most incredible movie you've worked on where you're just like i can't believe this is happening with all these people and the things i get to do and uh man it's um there honestly there's been a bunch. And it is just because, like, now, Dwight, just to be clear, you said movie. Movie. Movie. I'd have to say Step Up 3D, man.

Oh, 3D. Yeah. It's big, huh? Just because. It's all dance, right? All dance. And they moved us to New York for three three and a half months and it's like i wait this is work but like it doesn't feel like just dancing all day like hanging out dancing and

you know our homies are out there you know we're staying right there in time square amazing i mean in Times Square. Amazing. I mean, it's, so that, I think that, that has been my favorite as far as a film experience has gone so far just because it,

that honestly was the culmination of, of everything from the beginning. Do you know what I mean? Like me watching Beach Street

and breaking, breaking two electric boogaloo, I'm like, man, what would it be like to do that? And then I feel like the step-ups are those movies of this generation, the Beat Streets and the Breakings, all that stuff like that. You have your step-ups. And this one was the biggest one as far as cast goes.

Huge. It was all the homies. All of them. Was John Chu the director? John Chu was the director one as far as cast goes. Huge. It was all the homies. Yeah. All of them. Was John Chu the director? John Chu was the director. He's been out here. I love John, man.

Yes. He's a talented dude. Really talented dude. And also a director that genuinely loves dancing. He loves it. Didn't he start like the League of Extraordinary? Yes, League of Extraordinary LXD. Yes.

It's amazing, right? Which he brought this, like he brought he introduced filming movement um in this like incredibly beautiful cinematic way you know what i mean it's just like even though it's not ballet it it it felt like it was ballet it was elegant it was graceful but it was street dance you know it was amazing man it's so good yeah who was uh the most influential um person in your life growing up most influential person in my life um i mean it would have to be it would have to be my mother my mother honestly my mother um because you know my mom is is easily easily one of the strongest strongest women i know easy because uh to raise to raise boys to raise boys uh but to work so hard that you also, A, give the feeling of, give your children the feeling of not necessarily wanting.

Right. You know what I mean? Like we were not impoverished by any means. Do you know what I mean? Like we we were not impoverished by any means. Do you know what I mean? Like I now that I've grown up, I've spoken with many people, you know, and even when I was a kid, spoken with many people that was like in a completely different situation than I was, which opened my eyes a lot. You know, mom worked really hard to make sure that we had everything that we needed. You know what I mean? And if there was a way that she couldn't make that happen, she would find somehow to collaborate with somebody to make these things happen. Do you know what I mean?

So you never felt like you were in need or something? I never felt like I was like in the things that i actually needed that i never got yeah you know i mean things i wanted of course like you know as a kid you want everything you want everything like those toys but the things that exactly but the things that i needed you know and and the things that uh not just material but things up here too for survival you know i mean and for me it's just it's it's remarkable too because being a parent now, I can't imagine what it would be like to raise two children that are the opposite sex of you.

Do you know what I mean? Because listen, as a a parent you provide everything everything you you all of the love that you need but then there are certain things you know as parents you balance each you balance each other out you know but if you take one part of that equation away and it's just this one person i mean that i have no idea what that would be like. And she did it. And she did it. Amazing.

And she did it. And I saw that then. I see it now. Again, now that I am a parent, it makes me double back and be like, wow, thank you. She was amazing, yeah. Incredible. Was your father not in the picture? You know, my father was not in the picture.

He was, I'll say this. He was there, but he was not actively involved. You know, we were in the same town. One of my brothers, we shared the same father, you know. And my father and I had the relationship that we did just because our mothers took it upon themselves to be like, no, they're brothers. So they're going to stay close. So I would see my father when I was visiting with my brother, you know what I mean? And, and that, that relationship kind of went from there, but as an active father, not, not necessarily. Is he still around today or is he

he's still yeah he's still he's still around and i and you know i talk to him every i talk to him every now and then you know of course i talk to him every now and then but it's not like you know it's not your dad yeah yeah i get it yeah do you feel like um there was something in you that made you so driven to go create and express and move to la and be driven because he wasn't there in any way or do you feel like it would have been different if he was there you know i'd like to say i'd like to say that that that it it was that but i will i'll say this though is that i i have always been that that type that um you know don't don't tell me what don't tell me what i won't do you know what i mean don't tell don't tell me what i can't do

you know i mean and i do remember uh there was a time and i remember vividly i remember talking to him uh outside outside of his work in his work in the parking lot, and I was telling him, hey, I'm joining the dance team. I'm going to need some shoes and some money to get some supplies and this and that. And he went on this tangent about, oh, I thought I'd be buying you cleats and da-da-da-da-da-da. And that, again, not even really taking it personally, like, oh, I can't believe you say something like that to me.

But I was like, oh, so that means I'm really supposed to do this then. Like that means like, OK, cool. So that that means that I'm going to be the example of like, oh, you've never you've never heard of somebody doing this, but it can actually it can actually happen. I'm going to show you how it can happen you know what i mean um so it it was more it was more fuel so i guess to answer your question yeah and not like major major major fuel not like the reason but it was definitely fuel because it was more it was more along the the lines like, oh, maybe you don't think that I can do this. You don't approve.

Yeah, yeah. Maybe you don't think or maybe you don't approve only because you don't know. But I'm going to show you. I'm going to show you. And over the years, I have. It's been fantastic. Do you feel like if he was around, you'd be in this place right now? You know what?

Honestly, I think if he – I really do think if he was around, I might – I actually might be – I might have been out there clashing helmets with you, man. Really? Yeah. Really? Yeah. Yeah.

Because he played football. No way, man. He played football. Yeah. You don't think he'd be dancing and doing what you're doing? I don't think so. Wow. I don't think so.

So it's almost a blessing that he wasn't around. Yeah, I mean, you know, hey, listen, you know, anything can happen in a hypothetical. Sure, sure, sure. You know, I can't say it's a blessing that he wasn't around. You know, maybe I would have been just as happy. Maybe I would have been, you know. But, you know, I will say this, man. Everything happens for a reason.

Absolutely. But, you know, I will say this, man. Everything happens for a reason. Absolutely. And you make the absolute best of it as best as you can. Absolutely. And you take it one day at a time. What is the biggest lesson your mother and your father both taught you about being a parent now?

Both of them. What was the lesson both Both of them. Well, from, from, from my father's side, which is, is presence, presence being the most,

the most significant thing. Like your, your presence is the greatest present period. You know what I mean? Like you just being there. Like, I remember when i was waiting for uh my son to be born i was thinking like okay like you know i didn't have this ongoing example

so what am i gonna do when this happens what am i gonna do with this happens like because i don't have those things to draw back on and be like well well, my father told me, you know? Right. So I'm thinking, oh, my God. But then when he's there and I held him and I'm just like, oh, I just got to be here. You know what I mean? It's not that hard to show up. I just got to be here. And then we'll take these times one day at a time with each other, you know? And that's been great.

and that's been great and then uh and then with my mother man it's just that uh a uh that sacrifice like that when you have this life that depends on you like you have to put things in priority you know you gotta like you have to prioritize you know because my that's exactly what my mother did and with and honestly she this is nothing that she has told me. This is nothing like when you have a child, like, you know, you got to prioritize. This is something that I see from example. Do you know what I mean? This is how I saw her living. She made it happen.

And I take on that same thing that no matter what happens, I'm going to make it happen, no matter what, like no matter what happens, you know. Did you ever feel like, you know, as your career was growing and you're getting all these opportunities that having a child and getting married and having, you know, a family would, you know, get in the way in a sense of your career or of your dreams? Did you ever feel that? Yeah, well, of course, you know, when I'm'm when i was growing up yeah i used to say when i was growing up i was i was like oh i'm you know i'm gonna get married when i have nothing i have nothing else to do

i remember people saying that like oh i'll get married when i got nothing else to do um and then as but as i grew up though especially listen growing up i think in the south or it might even just be like the eastern part of the country people get married you know what i mean like we get like we get married early like we're like it's like a rush like we're like yo what are you doing like yeah like what are you doing after high school or even in college like hey like you know no i'm getting married that's what i'm doing you know and uh you know as i got older it it that did start to happen but my uh the the hunger to get out here and and and do this and create art and be an artist and all that was way heavier than getting married and having kids.

Now, all of that was there still. It was still there. But I made sure that I wanted to do this first because, again, for mom's example, the sacrifice. Do you know what I mean? So I knew that amongst those things, like having a family and stuff like that, I'm not going to be able to freely travel about it just to me i mean some people do it listen some people do it right and it works out

phenomenally i knew for myself though that while making these moves and taking calculated risks and and things like that that it was it it was best to do that solo for a little bit before I had a wife and kids that should be like, rather than walking into an audition and being like, man, I really need this job. Do you know what I mean? Cause you've got a foundation now.

Exactly. Your credibility, your things are coming to you. Absolutely. Where am I going to pay for rent the next month? 100%. Yeah. 100%.

So now do you feel like it was just good timing for you that like, Hey, this is, you know, I can have a family have kids and um it's not going to take away but it's going to add yeah enrich my life at this point timing man is that what's perfect it was perfect timing honestly uh i it's it's it is 34 right yeah i'm 34 now yeah and it's just like the timing could not have been more divine honestly

you know and this is getting into a really esoteric place, right? You know what I mean? But it is. Everything has its own time, period. It really does. And as soon as I trusted that, it did. Everything just really unfolded. really unfolded from, I mean, even for me coming out here, you know, just coming out here,

the jobs that I was involved in, the people that I got involved with that led to other things, and this and that, because there were so many times that my wife and I were supposed to meet on different jobs, and for some reason, either one of us canceled, and we didn't. So we met at the right time. if you'd have known earlier maybe it would have been it might it might not have been yeah it might not have worked out and even when we met uh on uh we met on a season of so you're thinking and dance when we were both doing all-stars we didn't really talk through the entire season we didn't talk at all like there wasn't like this big build-up to like this chemistry or no it was it was just it it it happened at exactly the right moment and then after that moment we both decided you know that this is

right and then also um because she uh she had a daughter from previous relationship and even the the timing of that because you know we we kind of had our thing going and then the timing of like okay now it's time to introduce you to Wesley you know and those things happen and as we went on and I'm like okay now is the time to be like I'm going to propose to you like you know what I mean like it's just how old was her daughter when you met oh she was two two so maybe if you would have met when she was one, she would have been ready for a relationship or to have an experience because she was phasing out. The other one still.

Exactly. Exactly. So, again, everything had its own perfect timing. And the moment that I stopped trying to control so much of like, oh, no, no, I'm not ready for that. I don't think I'm ready. You just kind of trust it. You just trust the process.

It really did everything just literally. And when I say literally unfolded, just literally unfolded, man. Wow. And it was perfect, even to us having our son. Amazing. The timing could not have been more perfect. What's it like for two dancers to be together all the time? Are you guys constantly breaking and doing your thing?

Or is there a conflict because you guys are both doing the same thing? No. What's great about it is that Allison does everything. She was just on Dance With The Stars. I'm not going to do Dance With The Stars. You know what I mean? um i'm i'm not gonna do this you know what i mean because so we we we kind of cover two uh two different realms of dance which really she can do ballroom she can do box yeah that's that's not my thing at all yeah but she can do ballroom she but she can do ballroom jazz contemporary she

can do she can do everything you know modern tab absolutely she can do it and um and me i just i do street dance i can i i've taken those classes and things like that and me i just i do street dance i can i've taken those classes and things like that and it is but i do street dance so we kind of we're kind of like we're kind of like this we kind of cover two different areas which really works out it really works out in our favor because we can go and teach in two different uh and and like in the same place and offer two different and offer two different things rather than, you know, if we were two street dancers or two, I don't know. You know, I don't know.

The competition is not necessarily there because we do two different things. And it's great. And at home, man, we dance to like the classics, man. We're dancing to Frank Sinatra. You know, we got the lounge jams on, you know what I mean? We just kind of slow dance around because we, we do, we do the intense dancing for work, you know? So at home, yeah, exactly.

So at home, man, we keep it chill. That's cool. What's the thing that inspires you the most about your wife? Man. Okay. So if I had man okay so if i had to choose if i had to choose if i had to choose one thing man it would be uh it would it would be her her constant constant undying ability to make it work like to make it work you know just to give you kids to give you back yeah husband absolutely career and killing it just had it just had a child uh just had a child and he's six months now had a child six months ago was just on dancing with the stars body incredible back in it like she never left.

Even when she was pregnant with Maddox. I mean, she was still dancing. She filmed the HP commercial that she's now nominated for a World Choreography Award for. When she was three months pregnant. Do you know what I mean? In a unitard. Body banging. You know what I mean? But a unitard. Body banging. Do you know what I mean?

But either way it goes, though, she has this ability to look at the cards of the dealt and make it work. Do you know what I mean? She's a very solution-driven person rather than being like, oh, how is this affecting me? Oh, I don't know. She's like, okay, what do we got? Okay, this is what we're going to do to make it work. She goes for the solution, and it's undone she's not a victim it's she's not like oh i've got so much to do how am i gonna figure this out what was me ever ever ever cool here's a challenge let's make it work ever you know she's responsible for her life absolutely

that's great even her come coming out here from los angeles she's from Utah. She made the decision to move out to Los Angeles. Her and her daughter, Wesley. Wesley was one at the time. And what was going to happen? I mean, she didn't know. But she was like, I'm going to make it happen. And she did. And it's incredible.

Amazing, man. Absolutely. What's your message to young artists and performers who are trying to figure out their path or that have this energy inside of them, this fuel, but they're worried or scared or don't know where to go or how to make it work or it's intimidating? Honestly, man, it's A, if you have something on your heart

that is undying and you want and you you feel like you have to create it you have to do it then you must then you must do it period and that seems like the most it seems like the most simple it seems like the most cliche answer right but but the the the the power and the decision of making a choice to be like, I'm going to do it. And I don't know where it's going to take me, but it's on my heart, and I'm going to do it, and I'm going to see it through to completion. That in itself already kind of lays out the path for you. A, to just doing what you love to do.

B, finding like-minded people that could help you, and if not help you, just support you in what you love to do be finding like-minded people that could help that could help you and if not help you just support you in what you're doing you know you just you just you just got to do it and make it and also listen no don't listen to don't listen to the naysayers you know like if you got it on your heart like nobody nobody nobody feels your heart like you do you know i mean and they don't and they don't feel it and they're not going to feel it until much, much later, if they ever do. You know what I mean? Like we talked about earlier, the people that were at my high school,

the naysayers, they feel what I was talking about now. Do you know what I mean? But it took me being like, oh, okay, cool. Like, y'all just don't – you just don't see it yet. Yeah, yeah. You just don't see it yet. Now they're like your biggest fans. Like, oh, I went to school with that guy.

I went to school with that guy. Oh, snap. Yeah, I went to school with that guy. Oh, yeah. Yo, I remember when you danced back in the day, bro. You know? That's good stuff, bro. Yeah, you know?

So it's just – it's trusting yourself. And I think that's – honestly, that's – and I'm sure you know that it is one of the hardest concepts to grasp when you're younger. Absolutely. It's just to trust in yourself and know that what's inside is going to map out everything that you need. It's hard to trust yourself, too, I think, when your parents are saying, don't do it. Absolutely. Family's saying, you should do this instead. Exactly.

Friends are like, uh. Everyone wants to be part of a it. Absolutely. Families saying, ah, you should do this instead. Friends are like, uh. Everyone wants to be part of a community. Yes. Especially their friends and family. They want them to appreciate and we want to be, you know, we want to please others. Exactly. And this is a challenging thing for me when I left to go play, to go for my professional football dream.

All my, I wasn't the best player on my team in college. The fastest, biggest, strongest. But I had the biggest biggest heart the biggest drive and you know i had some talent enough to make it but i think um i lost a lot of friends from college right a lot of my teammates they didn't support me because they stayed back and did other things and thought i should do that as well i thought i was better by going after my dream right and it sucked because i tried to reach out to friends and they wouldn't get back to me. And you kind of lose a community by going after a new dream or a new community.

100%. And it can be challenging. Very. And you know, that is very challenging. And that often sometimes is the hardest part of a transition sometimes, is letting go of those things before you continue to move on it's a very it's

it's it's very hard you know it is very very hard but you know sometimes your your heart is going to be it's going to be your biggest fan you know like like you said like you might not have been the the biggest the fastest you know or whatever but if you have heart though if you have heart yeah you got it you know if if you can if you can if you can stand in the midst of people saying no like and you and you can go okay i hear you but i'm still gonna do it you know that you got it that's it that's it man that's the secret yeah what's something you're most proud of that not a lot of people know about you? I'm most proud of that not a lot of people know about me. I learned to solve a Rubik's Cube, so that's tight. Really?

That's tight. How fast can you do it? A few minutes? I can do it in my fastest time. And for the speed cubers out there, sorry, this is not going to be flattering for you. It's not going to be tight. But my fastest time was like a minute 15. That's amazing. out there sorry this is not gonna be flattering for you okay it's not gonna be tight but i got my fastest time was like a minute 15 that's amazing i remember watching youtube tutorials

for a while for like a few days trying to figure it out and i finally got it to where i could get it but i had to watch the tutorials yeah so i didn't memorize yeah yeah the pattern yeah but now you know make me want to get back and do it it's a nice little party trick right it's such a good party trick you know what i mean it's just like when you see – it is. It's rare that you see one because you always see them mixed up and you're like, I'm going to do this while I'm talking to you. No big deal. So you're not a one-trick party.

You don't just break dance for people. No, I can also solve Rubik's Cubes. You know what I mean? So, yeah, when you're tired of choreography, if you need a professional Rubik's cubes, exactly. That's great. But I mean, that was just kind of

off the top of my head. But at the same time, man, honestly, something I'm proud of that not a lot of people know, I'm not really sure, man. Everything's pretty out there. I feel like everything's pretty out there, man. I've enjoyed the entire experience, the whole journey, man. What's the biggest adversity or challenge you've faced in the last seven years?

Biggest adversity and challenge? It seems like you get all the things you want. You manifest. You've got the relationship, the family, the gigs. Of course. You're on Ellen, the DJ and dancer on Ellen. all the things you want you manifest you've got the relationship the family the gigs you're consistent you're on ellen the dj and dancer on elegant how long you've been doing that for i've been doing that for four years now amazing it's like one of the biggest shows on tv absolutely and you're always featured you're always shown every show right it's a great show yeah yeah we

have a little back and forth every show, which is fantastic. The greatest adversity, man, honestly, I would say it's this. My greatest adversity is still to this day is mastering self-assurance. Do you know what I mean? What do you mean by that? With all of these opportunities that come. And, man, this is great. Because I'd also love to just kind of get your take on this, too. You're welcome, Internet.

So with this, like with all of the opportunities that come, of course, you know, we're big dreamers. We dream big. We manifest things. They do come but when when these opportunities show themselves there's there's a moment where a little gemini side comes out and goes you're not ready for that you know what i mean or or or or it goes wow i'm not ready for this or wow i'm a little scared or what was there a mistake here are they sure are they sure they picked me? Like, you know, and still to this day. Oh, absolutely.

And, you know, and of course, with practice, of course, you just kind of get in there and you make it happen and you get in and you realize like, oh, yeah, I'm ready for it. But still to this day, still, I feel like that is one of the, if not the greatest adversity because to me, what greater adversity is there other than me trying to defeat myself? Do you know what I mean?

Because you can defeat yourself before anybody can get to you. Do you know what I mean? Like an inkling of an idea that you might think is great, to you you know what i mean like a inkling of an idea that you might think is great you you might talk yourself down before before you can even tell anybody about it so that you're already not just fighting an uphill battle you haven't you haven't even taken the first step up the hill like you you won't even allow yourself to go that path because because there's something in you that's kind of like yeah you know what i mean like yeah there's a there's a great, because there's something in you that's kind of like, yeah, you know what I mean? Like, yeah, there's a, there's a great podcast. Well, there's a, there's a story called the one you feed of the two wolves. I don't know if you've heard of this

story. There's two wolves inside of us, right? Right. There's the bad wolf and the good wolf, right? The one that takes you down and the one that lifts you up, right? Moves you forward, which one you have a decision every day, which one you feed. Right, right, right. Which wolf are you going to feed inside of you? Yeah, exactly. And I think that's a lot of our challenges is the, you know,

one of the reasons I have this podcast and I keep doing it is to feed the good wolf inside of people. Right, right. To give people the tools and information

and inspiring stories like yourself. Right. To show them what's possible. Right. You know, mental food. Exactly. Soul food.

Of course. Real soul food. You know what i mean so that's a great it's a great thought about the adversity so it's a necessity man you know i mean and that's yeah i applaud you for it like i said i listen i appreciate it and it's and and just know that it's which i'm sure you've seen by the way that it's grown like it's insane it's it's it's a necessity i feel like this is this is an adversity that I'm not going to say all, but most people go through unless you're Kanye West. Even then I bet he doubts himself.

Yeah, exactly. But then he has an inner Kanye. That's crazy, yeah. You know, one of the things I try to do is before every year is up, I think about what's the thing that scares me the most that I haven't done yet. I look at my life in terms of like a sport, in terms of seasons. every year is up, I think about what's the thing that scares me the most that I haven't done yet. I look at my life in terms of like a sport, in terms of seasons. There's always a new championship to chase.

Always a new season to go after in life. Last year it was like I wanted to do a book. I was like hitting the New York Times list as a kid from Delaware, Ohio, who couldn't read and write in high school and was in the special needs classes and who when the teacher asked to stand up and read aloud from the book, couldn't read and write in high school and was in the special needs classes and who, when the, when the teacher asked to stand up and read aloud from the book, couldn't do it. Right. For me, it was like, it terrified the crap out of me to think about writing a book and putting my, my heart on the line for the world. Something that's like etched in stone when everything I was doing before was like online courses and I could edit things or whatever.

This is like, this is out there. And then this year it was, you know what? I've never really done a big conference and brought people together and created an experience that I think could move people. I just showed you a little highlight video. Yeah, man. And that just happened a weekend ago. And the night before, I could not sleep because I was like, just nervous about it.

Am I going to pull this off? What's going to happen? But I was like, oh, I got this. I can do it next year. Right. But what's the thing next year that's going to scare me, that's going to help me grow? Right, right.

And so I try to create structured challenges for myself because we're going to face adversity every day, but if we don't structure it in a way that's helping us move forward, I feel like we're going to stay comfortable. Ah, yeah, I see. And so that's what I'm constantly challenging other people to do is like, what's the thing that scares you?

Go do that more often and you're going to grow in the process. Love it. Yeah. Love it. That's awesome. Tell me about what it's been like working with Ellen. Like what has that done for your career

and for your reach or everything? Absolutely. Well, first and foremost, working for Ellen and with Ellen and being there every day, it's the biggest dose of happiness that one can get on a daily basis. Amazing. I mean, it's kind of crazy because – have you ever been to a taping? I haven't been. Okay, first of all –

Off the cuff. Okay, you're going to come to a taping. All right. You're going to come to a taping. I appreciate it. You're going to come to a taping, okay? So, A, I mean, it's like – people say Disneyland is like the happiest place on earth. This place.

No way. I really do. Wow. I really do. Because, like, Disneyland is like kids. They're like, oh my God, everything's great because it's big and majestic and all that. But these are like adults that take

a step away from their everyday lives no matter what they have going on and they sit and they laugh. They might cry at an inspiring story. They might get a gift to come back to 12 days of giveaways, you know, like things like, and it is, it's, it's the biggest dose of, uh, of like

daily happiness. And then, I mean, it just kind of smacks you in the face. You can't, you can't help, but to just be kind of captured by the, by this energy,, I mean, people genuinely, genuinely have a love and love her and her entire essence and the environment that she creates being there. Do you know what I mean? And that alone, just being able to be there and see that and feel that every day. You know what I mean? And see that and feel that every day. You know what I mean? It was yesterday.

She surprised the audience with 12 Days of Giveaway. And I'm in tears. Because when this happens, everybody's happening. You see people across rows high-fiving each other. Walking down the aisles high-fiving. Hugging people that they don't know, that they did not come there with. You know what I mean? And with things so turbulent right now and everything going on out there, it's just nice to see an environment where you bring people together

of all shapes and sizes, different colors, creeds, blah, blah, blah. And for that hour, like, they're just they're just human beings they just want to be happy they just want to laugh together they just want to feel love and that alone has just been incredible and for my reach man it's it's it's there i've um i feel like i've i've become part of the the ellen family now so. So those that have a love for the Ellen DeGeneres show, you know, they've come to know me a little bit as well. You know, so it's honestly, it is the biggest, one of the biggest blessings that was,

I could not have planned for this. Were you even a DJ before? No. Learn this. Yeah, even a DJ before? No. There was not a time when I was like, okay, I am going to be on the Ellen DeGeneres show daily. Right. Were you ever on it before as like a performer or just like as an actor? Yeah. So we met by doing a dance together on So You Think.

With Ellen? With Ellen, yeah. She came on and did it? She came on. Yeah, I'll have by doing a dance together on So You Think. With Ellen. With Ellen, yeah. She came on and did it? She came on. Yeah, I'll have to show it to you. Oh, my God. So I did a dance called Get Out of Your Mind. And the guy that I did the dance with tore his Achilles.

This is the ballerina, dude. Yes. Yeah, yeah. My podcast editor showed me this video and was like freaking out about it. Yeah, yeah. And then he tore his Achilles. He tore his Achilles. She was like, he was like he was gonna win it yeah exactly yeah he was and like it was incredible and he tore his achilles that next week so um ellen was big is a big fan of

so you think and she was and she contacted the choreographers and was like hey i want to recreate this just you know because because i want to show them some love and we did the dance together and from there she started bringing me onto the show uh you know just to dance or if um if she you know needing me to dance uh for her or something like that she bring she was like oh yeah call twitch for again yeah again we're like creating like really great working relationships you know it comes to dancing like outside there there, oh, I need somebody to dance. Like, oh, call Twitch. You know, so when the DJ spot opened up,

Tony, her DJ of 11 years, I think he just wanted to, you know, just wanted to do something else and just kind of do his thing. That opened up, and they were like, okay, well, we should do like guest DJs, somebody to just come in. And they were like, oh, call Twitch. And then I went, had a great time. They and they were like oh call Twitch and then I went had a great time and they were like oh call Twitch back

so they're bringing other guests at the same time they brought other guests like a season or something over the years I kept coming back and you would dance rock the crowd and then wow man it's insane.

Congratulations. Thank you very much, man. It's a huge platform. It's a huge platform, and it's just a great place to be, all the people over there. I'm telling you, man, when you come, not if, when you come to taping,

I'm bringing you around. You can just feel the vibes. You feel the vibes. That's cool. It's happy. It's great. What would you say is the biggest lesson you learned from ellen from just being around her and being on the show for four years what's what's the thing you learned to be kind man

be kind she says that she says it every day the after the show yeah be kind be kind to one another that's that's it and that it's it's simple but it a really, really long way, though, even on days where, you know, my patients might be running short for whatever reason. You know, I mean, and be kind doesn't mean be fake. It doesn't mean it doesn't mean slap on a smile when you don't feel like sometimes it means just like on days where you might feel like you might want to have a go at somebody. You know what I mean? Or feel like somebody might deserve you having a go at them. Sure, sure. Being kind might just be like, you know what?

It's all good. It's all good. And just keeping it moving. Because it is. It's huge. And also to give. She gives. it is it's that is it's it's huge and also to give man she she gives you know and like to to get a gift for her it she wants you to give you know what i mean it's like it's like no don't don't get me anything give it to someone else give to somebody else like get like that's you know and

for me i'm like that's that's incredible you. He's like an everyday philanthropist. That's amazing. Yeah. Amazing. We've gone over an hour and 15 minutes. I apologize. It's all good. I feel like I could ask you questions for another hour. Yeah, exactly.

But I want to ask the final few questions. Okay, cool. First thing is, what are you most grateful for in your life recently? Most grateful for in my life recently is definitely my family, man. My wife, my my daughter and my son i know that's that's uh that's it and and and and then that just kind of it extends to everybody else you know because something that something else that i've also uh really been discovering in my 34 years is that something in the chase of trying to make all of these things happen and this and that, I found myself getting away from my roots, meaning the things that cultivated me as a person um and not just not just twitch but

like the person that that was like oh i'll have an idea to make a make a nickname for myself like you know what i mean like i start i started kind of getting away getting away from my roots because i was i was reaching for like you know you know how it is out here. It's a rat race out here, you know. It's just like every single opportunity I started going, oh, yeah, I need that. You know, and I found now, man, that, like, the richness comes from, like, cultivating your roots. Do you know what I mean? It comes from cultivating your roots. Like, you can chase this and that and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah blah blah blah but like you know where where are you from like what what what makes you tick like this and that i mean you know the good the bad the ugly whatever but like cultivate cultivating my home life

you know what i mean like and and stop and me stop stopping with trying to be all of these people for everybody else rather than just being exactly who i am for my family and the people that actually uh love me need me depend on me you know like being that person for them and that will shine out there and I'll just talk about it out here rather than like trying to be this person like trying to be like this guy like being exactly who I am for the people that need me you know that like that and to me that that just it that's what I'm grateful for man because at the end of the day like I'm not I'm not twitch, man, because at the end of the day, like, I'm not, I'm not Twitch to them, you know, like, like, Twitch is cool, like, yeah, that's, that's, that's, like, a really cool

character, you know, but, like, at home, I'm dad, like, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm dad, you know, and, and to me, that's, that's the, that is, that is the, the most, it's the most amazing and humbling and challenging thing ever. All of the elements of life is right in there. You know what I mean? That's cool, man. Sorry, that was a bit of a tangent of an answer that you asked. It's all good. This is a question I ask everyone at the end called the three truths.

Okay. So it's many years from now and it's your last day here on earth. And everything you've ever created has been erased. All the videos, content, anything you put out there is gone. And you're with all the people you care about and you love. And they hand you a piece of paper and a pen. And they say, well, you write down the three things you know to be true about everything you've experienced in life that you would pass on to us? And this would be the message to the world, your three truths, lessons.

What would you say those would be? Three truths. Is that I am love, I have love, I am love. I have love. I deserve love. Those three things. Because at the end of the day,

love is what makes this whole thing happen. Everything. It's the reason you're here right now. It's the reason she's here right now it's the reason she's here right now do you know what i mean it set all this up it's the reason i'm here do you know what i mean and and still speaking because it's like yeah hour 15 has passed but i'm sitting here talking because like we we love what we're talking about right now like you know what i mean so you are loved

like we're created from that you. You have love within you. You have it around you. And you deserve love, period. So those three truths for me, those are the things that I could pass on because I know that if I could hear that in my high school self, that I am love. That's what I was created from. I have it.

So no matter what anybody is saying right now, like, I have love in me, and I know that there's some love out here somewhere, like, so I don't have to take all of this hate. And then I deserve love. So even with all this stuff happening, I don't even need to hear that because I don't deserve that. I deserve love, man. I deserve love. I deserve kindness, you know. So I am love. I have love. So even with all this stuff happening, I don't even need to hear that because I don't deserve that. I deserve love, man. I deserve love.

I deserve kindness, you know? So I am love. I have love. I deserve love. Those are powerful. Thanks for sharing those. Before I ask the final question, I want to acknowledge you for a moment, Twitch,

for your incredible giving heart. You have such a powerful energy about you that is very loving and very kind. And you're creative. Your creativity is such an inspiration to so many people around the world. Again, my podcast editor was freaking out when she knew you were coming in because she's like, he's been so inspiring to me over the years for bringing his gifts to the world and letting us experience it

and lighting something up inside of us. So I want to acknowledge you for your incredibly loving, kind heart for your incredible creativity and for your drive to make an impact on the world with the gift that you love. It's really inspiring. Thank you so much. Yeah.

Thank you too. Seriously. Thank you so much for having me. Of course. Seriously. This is a incredible, incredible honor, man.

It's been incredible. I've got one final question. Absolutely. Before I ask it, what can we do to support you? Where are you on social media the most? How can we – you're on Ellen every day at what time? I am. I'm on Ellen every – on NBC.

You'll have to check your local listings for that. Sometime midday. If you're here in Cali, it's at 4 o'clock. But it's in the afternoon sometimes so check it's on NBC I'm on social media

Instagram sir twitch a lot with the underscores sir twitch sir underscore twitch underscore a lot sorry the underscore

get a little obnoxious and then on Snapchat I'm twitch snapped okay where do you hang out the most Instagram? I'm on Instagram the most. I've been really playing with Snapchat a lot.

I know, yeah. But now with Instagram Stories, it's kind of like, eh, what's the point? It is, but you know what it is? I think I'm just such a, I'm like, eh, like Instagram Stories is cool, but like, I like Snapchat too. Yeah, it's cool too. Okay, cool. I like Snapchat, yeah.

We'll make sure to follow you there. We'll make sure to watch your movies. Anything else we can do to support you? Absolutely, man. My wife and I both have a clothing line called Boss Empire, bossempireclothing.com. It's a good name. Just kind of stay tuned because we're working on two different dance fitness programs that are going to be dropping later in the year, which is going to be something serious. Like video dance programs?

Something serious, yeah. All right. Absolutely. Yeah. All right. No, I can't speak about it. Don't say it yet. They're going to be dropping later in the year, which is going to be something serious. Absolutely. I can't speak about it. Dance fitness programs. Dance fitness programs. Cool. My wife is writing a children's book. Allison Boss is her name.

There you go. Check that out. BossEmpire.com. BossEmpireClothing.com. BossEmpireClothing.com. We'll make sure to check that out we'll have it all linked up here in the show notes as well

the final question what's your definition of greatness? what's my definition of greatness? oh man the definition of greatness is my definition of greatness is

is is is greatness is making life happen no matter what happens, no matter what's going on in front of you. It's making the choice to make life happen no matter what's going on in front of you. Like not being in it, not being in effect, not, not just letting whatever happens happens, but like making a choice to make your life happen. Like no matter what's in front of you, that is great. That's greatness to me. That's greatness.

Twitch. Thanks for coming on. Appreciate it, bro. Absolutely. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and it inspired you on your journey towards greatness. Make sure to check out the show notes in the description for a full rundown of today's episode with all the important links.

And I want to remind you, if no one has told you lately that you are loved, you are worthy and you matter. And now it's time to go out there and do something great.