Trading Secrets - 198. Joey Graziadei: Fighting for the mirrorball on season 33 of DWTS! Predictions, approach to the competition, and what comes next revealed!

Episode Date: September 5, 2024

This week, Jason is joined once again by Joey Graziadei! Earlier this year, Joey and his fiancé Kelsey were on Trading Secrets to talk about all the details from their time on The Bachelor, life after the show, and what some of their personal, professional, and financial goals were as they started their new life together. As of yesterday, it was announced that Joey would be participating in season 33 of Dancing with the Stars.  Joey breaks down the environment of Dancing with the Stars so far, when he knew he was going to be a contestant on the show, supporting Jenn after her season finale and joining DWTS, how his coaching background can be an advantage, why he is doing the show, being in LA with Kelsey and weighing the options for the move after DWTS, and how Joey is doing his best to ensure that Kelsey is involved in his journey through the competition. Joey also reveals what form of dancing he is looking forward to, his perspective on the judges, and what is next!  Joey reveals all that and so much more in another episode you can’t afford to miss!  Host: Jason Tartick Co-Host: David Arduin Audio: John Gurney Guest: Joey Graziadei Stay connected with the Trading Secrets Podcast!  Instagram: @tradingsecretspodcast  Youtube: Trading Secrets Facebook: Join the Group All Access: Free 30-Day Trial  Trading Secrets Steals & Deals!

Welcome back to another episode of Trading Secrets. Today we are joined again by Bachelor Nation fan favorite certified tennis pro Joey Gratziaday. Earlier this summer, Joey and his fiancé joined us on Trading Secrets to talk about all the details from their time on The Bachelor, life after the show, and what some of their personal, professional, and financial goals were as they started their new life together. Well, in recent news, as of today this morning, it has been announced that Joey will be participating in season 33 of Dancing with the Stars. Joey will be the 13th participant

from Bachelor Nation to join the celebrity dance competition that debuts on September 17th. Is Joey a good dancer? What is his strategy heading into the show? How much negotiation was involved? before agreeing to join the show, will he outperform previous Bachelor Nation participants in the Curveball of All Curveball, the first season ever with two Bachelor Nation members on there. We'll touch it all. Joey, thank you for joining us and training secrets.

God, I love your intro. You like to hear you. I love your intro so much. They get me going. We don't have a drink this time around on, unfortunately. We'll get some later. We're heading the U.S. Open tonight. We'll be just fine.

The only thing between me, you, and a honey deuce is this interview. So we'll try and make it short and sweet. We can take a little long. too don't worry i'm excited to chat with you we also got to give a little shout out on the room we have uh joe mariano here joey bags he was in our just show me the money he got absolutely pranked we got matt and kelly pagula here we're going to go cheer on jesse so we got a crowd in here which is exciting yeah what let's get to you let's do it there's a lot of action this morning you're on good morning america tell me what just the vibe was you got 13 other people there are 12 other people you'll be

competing against. Are you going, like, when you guys are there, is it like you guys are kind friendly? Is it very competitive? Like, what's the vibe this morning on Good Morning America? Vives are great. It's chaotic, though, because being there when you're the bachelor, it's like a time segment. It's a lot more planned out. You kind of get prepared for what it's going to be. There's just so many people there today, whether it's the celebrities, whether it's the pro dancers, whether it's there, dance performance, there's just a lot of moving parts. So really cool to be a part of, but vibes are great. Everyone's so kind, really feel like this is a different type of show that people do root for one another, which I love because they know how uncomfortable

it is. They know how different it is. They kind of put yourself in that position. So everyone's kind of rallying behind each other. I'm sure there's still competitiveness, but it does feel more like support and being part of a family on that first day, which I love. That's great. I mean, that's especially for a challenge show. Yeah. That's usually not the case. And, you know, there's some articles online about how you get paid more the further you go. So there's even some financial incentive to stay. So I'm sure deep down it's good vibes, but you're going to win. I'm there to win. I want to be competing. I'm a competitive guy. It's not like I'm not thinking about that, but at the same time, really what the thought is, it's uncomfortable. It's time to have fun.

And then each week you control what you can control what you can control. But you can't really control what the other people are doing. You can only control what you're doing, which is why I think it's a little bit different with the competitive. Sure. I get that. All right. Well, it premieres September 17th. It's now early September. It's September 4th. When did you find out that you're going to be on the show? I don't know the exact date, but I would say that I had an idea I was going to be on this show for a few months now. I was pretty early in the process, I believe, just kind of talked to certain people and got an idea that it was something that could be thrown my way. When I got the call, I was all in. So I've been keeping the secret for a little bit. Okay. That's a long time to keep the secret.

Yeah. I'm glad there are no spoilers or anything like that. I try my best to stay quiet. I love it. All right. I'm going to ask you a little bit about the elephant in the room. This is the first time ever that there's a Dancing with the Star Seasons where you have two members from Bachelor Nation on. It sounds like Jen found out about this literally last night after the finale. How are you feeling about it knowing that there are two members on for the first time ever? I mean, all I can do is be supportive. I think really after everything that happened last night with Jen and the live show, I'm just really trying to be supportive of her. I wouldn't wish that situation on anyone. That's a really tough way to end the season. And I think this is a great opportunity for her to kind of focus on something different, put herself back out there and have fun with it because that is what this show is all about. So yeah, it's different to have two people from Bachelor Nation. There's going to be, I'm sure, people that are in both camps,

people that might be pushing more towards one of the other. But my focus is just on being supportive, focusing on what I can control. and, you know, trying to be a good guy dancer in comparison to other guys that have been in the past from Bachelor, Nate. I like it. I like it. So you're like, I got to outperform the other guys that have been on the show. I'm going to stay in my lane. I'm happy for her. And it is what it is.

Nothing changed from my head that I went in. Yeah. I came in with the same mentality that I knew that no guy has ever made it to the finale in the past that's come from Bachelor Nation. That was already kind of a mini goal that I wanted to bring out and be ready for. And her coming in doesn't change that. Again, I think no matter who was on the cast, I was going to come in with supportive energy and just kind of hope everyone does the best they can every week. And I got where about my own dance shoes.

I can't think about everyone else. We're going to get into your dance shoes and your dance moves. But before we do that, did you and did you and Jen talk at all this morning about it? Like, did you have any conversation? Yeah. I mean, when she came in the room, she came in like obviously just off the plane. So I gave her a hug and said it was good this year. And I was kind of one of the first people to start introducing her to everyone else.

And like the pros just because I, we had something in night before that she could. to be at because she didn't even know about it yet. So yeah, I just kind of said a quick introduction. And then she got a big one to the whole group with one of the producers. And it was, I think, a good way for her just to get thrown into it. And everyone on the show is so kind. So I think she's going to fit right in and hopefully out of a great experience. Okay. Last question I got on the whole the Jen thing, given what happened yesterday on stage. Like, what is your take? There was just a lot of commentary on having her having to watch the engagement back. And of course, the tears and what she went through. It feels like it swept the internet today. So you were the last lead.

She was on your season. Before we get into everything, Dance for the Stars with you, just give me your take on what you've seen and what you saw. Yeah, I mean, I wasn't able to watch the full live show, sadly, because of things we had going on with dancing a night before, but I got to catch the end. I tried as much as I could today through all the craziness to have some idea of everything. So I can't really talk a ton on it. But what I will say is, again, You just don't wish that on anyone and for her to be in that position to think that she was with the person that she was going to spend the rest of her life with, to have it kind of unfold on live TV with everyone finding out that it didn't work out.

That was a fear of mine when I was in her position. So I can't understand what she's feeling, but I can definitely understand putting those ideas on my head of how that could happen. And again, I just feel for her. It's not a fun situation to be in. I'm sure she's going to have, you know, the ability to push through it and be better. and learn from it. And that's all I wish for her. But yeah, just really trying to be supportive of Jen and just in her corner because I feel like everyone should be right now because you don't

want that for anyone. A supportive king, that is Joey G at his finest. Okay, you already talked about it, but I got the stats here. The average finish for men from Bachelor Nation on Dancing with the Stars, what place do you think the average is of the six people that have been on? I'm going to guess. I know there was only about two or three, if I'm correct, that even made it to the semis and probably some other guys struggled. So I'll go average position, let's say somewhere around eight or seven would be my guess. Okay, the guy is good. It's seventh place.

So you got 10,000 bucks. We talk numbers on this podcast. You got 10,000 bucks. What are the vagus odds that you can outperform and come in at least the top six? I think that that's a pretty good odds. 99%. I would say, like, I'm a little bit of a better, man. I got some numbers here.

I'd say like it's like a minus 100, minus 200. I don't think it's anything crazy, but I think it's a, it's, it's favorable towards me. But I'm not going to, I'm not going to go crazy to say minus 1,000. I'm not out here, like, coming in with a ton of dance experience. I feel like I'm going to come in with a lot of different things. I'm trying to stay confident. But also, I can't give you a real line until I see how it is on September 17th when I step on the dance floor. Like I'm, I'm still in the beginning process of a lot.

That's true. It is early. We do have Joe Mariano in the room. You're a betting man. Coin flip. Is you going to make the top six. places. What do you think, Joe? Coyne. Does he do it? Yes or no? Are you betting on it?

1609% from Joe Mariano. Jake Pavelka came in fifth place. Chris Sol's fifth place. Sean Lowe, sixth place. Nick Vial's sixth place. Grocery store Joe eighth place and Matt James at 12th place. So we also know that the women finish a little bit better. The average finish is third place and there has been three first place finishes. I said I had last question on Jen, this kind of touches it. I just talked numbers here, votes. Do you think having two people are on Bachelor Nation brings more voting to you,

or do you think it might split it up? I think it's unknown because it's the first time it's ever happened. You know, there's a, I believe if I'm not incorrect, there's a limit on the amount of votes you can put out there. So if there's some Bachelor Nation diehards, you know, they might split it half and half. They might have to pick one or the other. And I hope it's not ever going to be something where we're pit up against each other

between Jen and I because that should never be the case. But yeah, I think it's going to be interesting to find out. I think it's definitely different between the guy and the girl. And I know the girls have done really well in the past because there's been a lot of bacheloretts who've come from a great season and come on and they crush it. And have dance experience or can do that. So, yeah, I'm in a different spot. But again, I'm just going to focus on what I can do because that's all I can do.

dance experience, good segue. Do you have any form of dance experience whatsoever? Yes, but not in the way you would probably expect. I took a Cuban rumba class in college. So I have learned about an eight-count. I have been in a dance studio in college before. Was this for college credits? It was for a culture cluster at Westchester University and I got an A. So yeah, I think it was because of energy and charisma, but that's important for dancing with the stars. So we'll see. But yeah, it was just me and a few of my buddies and we had a lot of fun in that class. I took a salts class in Hawaii once. Okay. I did like a powder puff cheerleading thing when I was in high school too, which was like kind of a little bit of a performance in front of a. And so like I've been in situations, but I don't have any ballroom

experience. I'm not anywhere close to a trained dancer. I'm starting at the bottom and working my way up for sure. Okay. You found out three months ago. Have you done any formal training before you started practicing with Jenna leading up to this knowing you're going to be on? Yeah. I found a few months ago and I honestly wish I could have done more, but schedule and life has just been crazy. So I didn't, I kind of didn't want to as well because I want to have kind of the full experience. I was excited to get in the studio for the first time, be like, this is new. This is different. I wanted to have Jenna be the person that kind of directs me through all of it. So I'm sure it would have been smart to go take ballroom dance classes before, especially because I knew for a little bit.

But for me, it was just, I was just coming in and kind of ready to do it on day one and just fully dive into it. Okay. You have diving into it. You've already started practicing. If I had Jenna right there and I said, Jenna, pretend he's not here. Talk to me about Joey. Can the guide dance give me a rating scale right here, day one, what would Jenna say? She, we had press earlier today and she gave me a solid six out of ten, which I think is a great base. Like a score right now is a six out of ten? She said six out of ten. And I don't know if that's because of potential, if that's because of what she's seen so far. But I don't know. I think my biggest two strengths for me right now are tennis is You got to be light on your feet.

You got to be able to move around. So I think I have a good sport that's going to help with a little bit of that. She was, you know, impressed with the ability for me to kind of be a little more flexible and get into lower positions and lunge and those kind of things come with tennis. But I think my biggest thing that I've been really happy about and hoping it will kind of progress even more throughout the season is I'm a teaching tennis pro. So when you're a coach, you also usually are a pretty good student because you understand how someone's trying to teach you.

You're a little bit more receptive. can kind of put things in the metaphors and understand what she's doing a lot, too. So at least in the first couple of days, we've been communicating a lot and finding a ways to kind of get through things, I think, pretty quickly and progressing pretty well. So I feel good, but again, I can talk all of this. I'm not going to know what's going to be like until I'm on that live dance floor. It's a completely different experience. And I'm confident, but I'm also curious at the same time of what it's going to be.

I feel like you're kind of guy that, like, you underpromise and over-deliver. I think we're going to get big things from you. You're playing at chill. I think it's going to be huge. You know what it's like to perform on stage. You've had to do it live. You've had to do it as a tennis pro. It's your tennis instructor.

When you're going live right before the performance, we've also heard grocery store Joe say it's the hardest thing he's ever had to do with just the stage presence, the intensity of it and the pressure from your partner, your peers, and everyone watching. What is Joey G going to do to like keep his calm? and perform under such a high pressure situation. I think first and foremost is making sure that I've rehearsed enough

that I'm feeling very confident in what I'm doing. I think preparation is everything. So before anything else, I have to make sure that I understand every single part of the dance and feel comfortable with it. Even if I'm going to make mistakes, I have to have that confidence.

And I gotta have fun with it. You're not gonna have any type of energy or charisma or stage presence if you're not having fun. If I'm thinking too much each step and too much about this or that, then I'm going to struggle with just sinking into it, feeling the groove of the music, playing off of the crowd, all these things that are so important. So I think that might be one of my biggest difficulties because my brain is going to want to think of every single perfection, making sure the technique is there, things I want to be focusing

on, but there has to be a blend of techniques got to be solid, but then you also have to groove with it and enjoy it and show personality. And I'll be honest, it's a new type of of personality that I'd never had to show. Like, I'm not the type of person that's confident enough to go rip a dance move in the middle of a dance floor unless I got a couple tequila shots in me. Like, I have to build that confidence with repetition to be able to do that in that stage. And I'm hoping to build that over the next couple of weeks. I'm hoping to feel confident.

I think each week it's going to get better and better is the goal. You're going to kill it. You're going to crush it. But one thing that when you say, like, the high energy thing, the one thing I get worried about is I remember you telling me if I could share this story. And if you want me to take it out, we can take it out. You're good. But how when you're on The Bachelor, they're like, we got to get this dude more energy.

And they're giving you shots of B12 in the ass to fire you up. Do you think, are you going to need the B12? Are you going to need the pops? Or do you think when you go out there, like, you're going to be like staged, Joey? Just roll it. It's different, right? Because this is energy for a short period of time. It's a performance.

I've never really done a ton of this. I don't get like, it's not like I haven't gotten jacked up in certain stages. But the show is so different because for me, it was like, that's not stuff that I get jacked. backed up for. Like, I was trying to get to know someone. I was trying to have, like, intimate conversations. I was starting a group date. I was obviously excited for the group date, but it wasn't like I was getting, I don't know, the same type of energy and prep like you would for something like this. That's a full-eye performance and everything. I don't know. I don't know how I'm going to be. I feel like I'm going to be okay, but it is all going to be new. I'm a chill

guy. I lay back a lot more. I get it. I know how I sound. I know how I act. But I'm competitive. And I'm going to do everything I need to do to perform and to be competitive in this whole entire experience. And that comes with showing a lot of energy. Am I going to show as much energy as Dwight Howard? I don't know if I have that in the thing. But I'm going to try my best to be in that level and competing with those guys because that's what you have to do. Yeah, it's a little bit different. I think filming The Bachelor is mentally, physically a marathon.

You're up at 7 a.m. You're going to bed at 2 a.m. At best case scenario, it's constant filming. This is more it feels like each week is a sprint. and it's different being an athlete. For sure. Let's get into some numbers, though. I know you can't share much because you are contractually obligated not to.

I don't want to get you in trouble and I don't want to get in trouble. But according to a report by variety, the most a contestant can make in the competition has been capped at $295,000. That was as of 2020. And there's a lot of different reports out there that those who make it three to four weeks get an additional $10K per week, five, week five, get a bonus of $15,000, week six and seven, I added $20,000 per week. Weeks 8 and 9 receive an extra $30,000 per week. The resources for that we will put in the show notes. That is not coming from any specific person. It's from an article that was written. I don't want you to confirm or deny that. But there's been a lot of resources out there that suggest something like this. You've come on the show before. We talked about the little credit hiccup while you're filming. You've fixed that. You're killing it now. The credit is in good standing. When I talk about some of these numbers, whether they're on par or a little bit of a deviation. how important financially is it for you to have success on the show

when these types of numbers are being discussed in articles? My honest, true answer is money will come and go, but experiences last forever. And the reason I'm doing this show is for the experience. I don't even understand the idea why someone would put me under the label of a star and be under a show like this. It doesn't make sense to me. So to get this opportunity to learn something as cool as dancing,

to be able to be with all these other Olympians, champions, you know, real stars that have been on TV and all these other things and movies. Like to be in that room, to be able to have an experience like this, that's why I signed up. I'm doing just fine outside of this. I don't need this to be successful or to kind of continue to, you know, up my own worth. This is really just about an amazing experience and that's what I'm focusing on. Take that Howard Stern. And now you have a home under your head and you always have, but you're out in LA. Talk to me about logistics. Has Kelsey moved out there? that you guys have an apartment, is a house, how long you out there?

Like, what do the logistics look like behind the scenes of Dance with Stars? Yeah, I mean, we're out in a place in L.A. Kelsey came out with me. This has been really exciting because not for any reason other than convenience. We both have kind of been focusing on us getting to a spot where Kelsey's outside of release and I'm able to go wherever makes the most sense. So we kind of knew L.A. was coming up with dancing and that was always the plan. That was kind of why we didn't get another place when we were in New Orleans with Kelsey.

We couldn't explain that at the time because it was under wraps, but we always knew we were coming out to L.A. together to be in a place. And this was going to be the first time that we actually got to live together without anyone else. And we're so excited for that time. And currently right now, we're in between whether we want to stay in L.A. or go to New York. I think a lot of L.A. fits some of my really important things that I want to do, like tennis, golf, surfing, things that I enjoy. But New York is something that Kelsey really likes as well. So we're kind of weighing the options at this time and going to enjoy L.A. for what it is and hopefully kind of look at both places and see what makes the most sense for both of us when we're when we're done with

the show. All right. So Vegas odds, though, life after dancing with the stars isn't going to look New Orleans or Philly. It's likely going to look New York or L.A. Yeah, I think right now we have been so grateful for everything that's been coming our way. We want to be in a spot where there's a little bit more going on, especially Kelsey's 26. You know, she wants to live in a city. Again, New York has been something she's always dreamed about. we've been lucky enough at a lot of things over these last couple of months to meet a lot of people in L.A. So we know more people in L.A. We love the weather there. So there's a lot of good things if you do a pros and cons list that are leaning both sides. So yeah, we're open right now.

I think it's fun to use this time to figure that out. But we'll see. I'm not promising anything. I really, at the end of the day, I'm going to do whatever Kelsey wants most. But she's been really understanding to come here during this time to support me and something that I'm really excited about doing. And we'll figure out what we're going after this. Once upon a time when I was in Kelsey's position with this show, I remember how intense the training was and how often they were training. And I also remember there would be some couples or whatever they refer to them as, but like dancing partners that would actually go find studio time outside of the scheduled hours. Because if they could get more practice, the likelihood is they would be better. When you're partnering

with Jenna, it's only early, but one, what does your schedule look like? And do you think that's something like, is Jenna that hyper-competitive? Like, do you see that happening? Like, you guys practicing in the apartment? I can't speak on any of that right now because we are just kind of get rolling. But I know as of right now, it's a lot of practicing for sure. Like how many hours a day you think? We've been doing at studio time is usually somewhere around four hours a day. And then we're doing somewhere around five to six days a week. It just kind of depends on what the schedule is because there's a lot of moving parts with, you know, our own schedules, the pros schedules. But this is first and foremost, it's a full-time position of putting all the effort

and you've got to be prepared for these dances. So I'm willing and looking to put in as much time as I possibly can. But they also think ahead about making sure that the dancers who are coming in, obviously, not having professional background, a lot of people get injured really quickly if they try to push too much. So they put in situations to try to make people feel comfortable. And for me, I'm just listening to what they're doing. they allow me to do. But my mindset right now is I'm going to be getting on the dance floor

in the studio as much as I possibly can because the smartest thing for me to do is to get as much prep as possible, especially before week one so I can feel confident in that first situation that's going to be so different. Tennis pro knows practice makes perfect. Practice makes perfect, baby. All right, I can say it from experience myself. I know this show can have a big challenge in a relationship. I can speak to that. And I know charity and Dotten have come on the show. They've talked about how it created a ton of challenges for their relationship. So everyone, all of America, is rooting for you and Kelsey. You guys are amazing together. Are these conversations you've started to have with someone like Cherry and Dotton to ask them

for advice? What are some things you and Kelsey are thinking about? Because I'm sure it's noise that you've heard at this point. Oh yeah. I mean, it's known that the show can be really difficult on a relationship because of the demand of it, because of the timing. you're doing it right after an engagement because a lot of times if people go on the show, it's directly after their season. So there's a lot of parts of it that come with difficulties. And I've tried as much as I can to talk to Charity and Dotton that have been in this position. I would never have done this if I didn't get Kelsey's blessing. She's actually been probably the person that's been pushing it the most.

She's been really excited for me, thinks it's something that I'll do well at, thinks it's something that will be amazing for both of us at the end of day because it'd be such a fun experience to see how it all goes. but she's been nothing but supportive. I've just been focusing on, you know, making sure that I'm going to be there for her as much as I can. I have to actively put in a lot of effort outside of this because I'm going to be tired.

I'm going to want to be kind of, you know, in that introvert state after a busy day. But she deserves all my attention when I can, and I'm going to do that the best that I can. And it's something that we've talked through and worked towards. And like I said, I'm doing the best job I can in this situation. I love it. Twilery offers stylish, professional.

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point. Yeah, Jenna's obviously married to one of the dancers on the show, Vow, and they were amazing right when we got to L.A. invited us over to dinner, so we both went over there and got a chance to just like, yeah, just to sit down. And obviously, I want Kelsey to be as involved in this process as she wants to be comfortable to kind of have a relationship with both of them, to understand what it's like and to see all the different parts of it. Because there's always going to be people talking. There's going to be noise online. It's part of the show. But I know I'm confident in my my own relationship with Kelsey. I know that we are both actively talking through and going to have an open communication about everything. And we're going to be learning together too. But it's the

same as the show when you're on The Bachelor. If you can make it through that, you can make it through anything. Just like if we can make it through this whole entire experience and deal with everyone and any type of negativity, we can deal with anything because at the end of the day, it's how we feel about each other. That's most important. Yeah. And it's like these curveballs can do one or two things. They could break you apart or they could actually make you stronger than you've ever bet. And when you go in with that mindset, it's going to be like an unbelievable experience you both have as one and will bring you guys even closer. And this is an amazing experience that I'm so excited for. But my relationship with Kelsey is always going to be priority number one.

So I'm going to do anything I can to make her feel comfortable. And I think people just need to kind of understand that. And we're going to do whatever we can through that process to make sure we're all good. I love it. Perfectly set. Now let's get back to dancing. All right. So which there's all different styles of dancing.

And we know Jenna's just one of literally, I think you've got partnered with these best pro. Her choreographing, her and Vail's experience, I know they'll help one another. Like, you hit the jackpot. Yes, sir. So what form of dancing are you looking most forward to and which do you think will be the biggest hurdle for you? Yeah, I'm still learning a lot of the dances. So I don't want to say something incorrectly, but I know that any of the more fast-paced dances are what I'm most excited about. Anything that's going to allow me to be light on my feet, be moving around a little bit more.

I really like moving to the music, having the ability to kind of vibe with it. So that's what I'm most excited about is the fast pace. On the flip side, what I'm most nervous about, I think is the most difficult from what I'm told on the show is the more technical, slower pace technique driven is like the waltz, the fox shot. They're a little bit more buttoned up a little bit more awkward and it's slower. So when it's slower, it's a lot easier to kind of, I think, expose where there's weaknesses in your dancing. So I think usually if I'm not wrong, those are kind of the tougher ones. So I'm going to learn which one.

Do you have that form down perfectly yet? My posture. All I found out very early is that I need to make sure I use my lats a little more to puff up my chest. I want to see, what is your ballroom form look like right now? I mean, right now we're like, we're here is what you have to be. And then you figure out in terms of where you're holding your pockets. It depends.

It depends when you're at with your partner. If she's right here, what does it look like to you? If she's here, it would be. Give people a sneak peek. Well, we're not. We haven't done, we're not doing waltzes yet. Oh, we're more, we're more in like this position where my elbows are up a little bit and we're hands on the side because we're moving. I'm spinning her. It's a lot of different things right now. But it's really more about having the chest be proud.

This needs to be strong, whether it's up or whether it's down, depending on which move you're in. But it needs to be a very like up and like everything. When you like take a pause in something, your toe needs to be pointed. you need to be very proud with your chest. You need to be leaning in some ways. You need to be leaning back in some ways. Guys lean with their butt out because we usually do squats. When in reality, you're supposed to tuck your butt because it looks better when you're, it's a lot.

So the thought process initially is not getting too deep down the road of like tightening up everything. It's getting comfortable with the move of what you need to do. And then once you have the move down, then we tighten it up. And we're still early on in that stage. But the biggest thing that's going to be difficult, I can tell on. on day one is the posture needs to be aggressive. You're drunk at a party, okay? We're playing spin the bottle, you're hammered. The bottle lands on you. There's a huge circle. You got to start dancing in the middle. What move you're going with? Dude, for my entire life, my move was always

the, it was for the Will Smith from Hitch. I just stay here. I don't do anything big. I just live, I just live right there. But I actually can, I used to know how to do. It's called the SpongeBob when I was in high school, which is just like a footwork. I can do it. What is it? Give me an idea. It's a feet, so you would go out, and then when you jump in, this foot goes behind and it goes out and you jump in and this goes behind. That was like my coolest dance before I was a kid. It just kind of looks like you're like running around on the, it looks cool. Stay tuned for our Instagram because we're going to move this table after us. I might have to do that.

I probably shouldn't say that. We're going to have to do it. No, the SpongeBob was something I did when I was a kid. That was something I could do. But I know all the stuff. I knew how Dougie. I know how I had Jerich. I knew all that kind of stuff that was like bigger moves when you're a kid.

But I don't know. I don't know what I would break out. something would happen, but I don't have a go-to dance move. I'm hopefully going to get from this experience some more, some more go-to dance moves. All right. One of the big conversations is you're scoring and you got judges, okay? We know that the judges all have different styles. We've seen that certain judges historically might be a little tougher on Bachelor Nation. You got Carrie Ann and Naba, you got Bruno and Derek Huff returning as the judges. Which in order do you think will be the hardest to easiest on you.

That's a good question. Carrie Ann, Bruno, and Derek Huff. I don't know. I don't want to rank them because I don't want to put them in position to make them think like one of them is going to be gunning for me more than the other. I am a little familiar with the show that I know Derek is a newer judge and I think that he is coming from a really different position of being one of the dancers. So I think that he's very supportive, but he's also very critical,

which he should be because he knows what it should look like. I know that Carrie Ann is also probably known as one of the more critical judges that wants to make sure that everything is kind of to a point with your technique. And she looks at that a lot. And Bruno is just, you know, he's a personality. Bruno is hysterical. He loves when there's passion. I think Bruno always looks for the energy and what you're giving too. But they all bring something different to the table. And I think the biggest thing is they are going to be the people that you have to kind of listen to their their construction, their feedback and what they're giving, whether it's constructive or not. I just think that.

that I got to trust that they're there to help me. Yeah. And yeah, I don't want to put them into a ranking because I think it's fair to like see what it's going to be like. But I know some are a little bit more rough than others in people's eyes. For me, I'm coming in with a blank slate. I'm just going to try to impress them all. You don't want to, I do.

I'm going to put them in a ranking. You got it. I think I have at least some kind of inclination here. I'm going to say Derek Huff is going to be the easiest on you. And I think that Bruno is going to love you, but I could already see them. Joy, I need more energy. like I already see it. I think it'll be number two. I think the hardest on you is going to be carry on. I'm going to go Derek Bruno Carrienne. Do you think it's way off or not?

No, I think that's fair. I think that's probably where a lot of people's rankings would be. But, you know, I love trying to get someone that usually isn't in a corner in my corner. I love being the person to try to like, if there's a tough shell, I want to crack it always. So whoever you think is number three, if it's Carrianna, I'm going to try my best maker number one this season. So I love it. My thought is always trying to, you know, to yeah, to be someone that's it's going to be a little different than their else. Okay, here's what I want you to predict. We already think you're going to be in the top six.

You're going to outperform this average. When you think about the one person in this group that might like it's going to, it's going to be you two in the final two and one of you guys is going to go to the next round or it could be you going home, who do you think is like your biggest competition as it connects to who is likely going to be as talented as you out of the castes out there? It's hard because I don't know any of these different dance experience. I know that Chandler, Kenny has dance background. I know she's going to be great.

Disney Star just, I know that she's got the ability, not only with her personality, but her experience with having some dance background. I think she's probably one of the biggest threats this season. I think personality is a huge part of the show. You have people like Dwight who are just like polarizing with their energy and America's going to fall in love with them. And it's going to be so different to see someone that tall dance. Well, and you saw Amman and Danny.

So if Dwight can dance, anything like Amman. Like, if there's any connection to height and the agility in basketball, they're going to kill it. They're going to crush it. And then, I mean, I'm thinking a lot of times if you're thinking about competition, I probably should be focusing more on the guys because usually there's only one, maybe, if you're lucky, two guys that make it to the final.

So I'm thinking to someone like Dwight. I'm thinking someone like Danny Amandola, who is, you know, has, he has obviously a football background. He's going to be light on his feet, too. Very athletic, very strong. I think he's also a really cool guy. so I think people are going to really dig him this season. And you can't forget, Stephen, he's like America's sweetheart right now.

Everyone loves that guy. He's as nice as he seems in person. Him and Riley are going to be a really tough duo, too. So I think it's going to be interesting to see where the dance level is, because it's just like I don't know where I'm going to be. They don't know where they're going to be at either. But I think that you have a lot of really great personalities this season that are going to be definitely tough to go against.

All right. Last time I had you on the show, we talked a little bit about projecting and thinking about what your career would look like. It obviously took a detour to something so exciting. But I want to think about what your career might look like after the show. One opportunity that does come up for some people on this show, hopefully it will come up for you, is going on Dancing with the Stars tour. If that opportunity is presented to yourself, I know it's probably safe to say I'd have to consider it then, but just your initial reaction, does that feel like something that you would want to do? I think it's another great experience that I would love

love to do, but I also know that's a conversation I have to have with my fiance, because that's a whole other thing that's going to tie me up again. I mean, it's crazy for me to say yes to anything without talking through it with her first because she agreed to this, but I didn't talk to her about what would come after. So again, my biggest priority after this is to make sure that Kelsey and I are in a great spot, getting us set up for what we're going to be doing later after this, because it's a really big decision of where we're going to live and what we're going to be doing. So that's my first focus. I am in nowhere. saying no to anything, I think it would be another amazing experience. But yeah, I got a phone

a friend in terms of Kelsey first. I love the way you speak about her. Okay, I'm giving you a paint brush right now. It's in your hand and you could paint this. And I want you to just imagine, here we go. Which week do you think will be the hardest week? Like, give me a number. Do you think we're the first week, the fourth week, the fifth week? Like, if you had to predict when you're going to get the worst score, what week is going to be the worst score for you? My guess would be, And again, it's a guest. God willing, I'm still around this week. You know, let's hope I'm not going to stay a week and I'm not even going to be there.

Yeah. My number that comes in my head is like a week four or a week five. In my head, what I'm thinking is that's when you've put out a few dances. Hopefully I'm doing very well. And then they start having expectations. And I think it's very hard once if you start putting out good scores to continue to improve. I think that's usually where I would think a lot of people end up. taking a step back because they do some type of new dance.

They have, you know, a little bit of a time where maybe their body's starting to catch up with them a little bit. So I think like a week four, week five would expect to be a pretty difficult week. I think usually the lowest score is always week one because it's just so new and you're nervous. So, yeah, I would say probably if I would expect my lowest score, hopefully they're all good. But yeah, I think I can see like that middle of the way, tough dance, maybe difficult situation could be a case. Strictly prediction. strictly prediction is there a week you think you get all tens i would love to see in all tens yeah i think

that's another i think it's happening i think i think that's another i'll manifest it i'll manifest it i think that's another really good goal in this in this season i came with the goal like i said not only to have a good time and push myself but i was like i want to be making it to the finale i think it's a great goal no guy's done it for bachelor nation that was always the first goal that i wanted i'd say another great goal would be to get a perfect 10 across the board by all three judges that would be amazing that lets you know you're moving in the right direction. And then, of course, the last goal is to win the whole thing. I mean, that's what I'm going to come in with the mentality that it can happen.

But I know that there's going to be other great competitors. And like I said, I got to see where I'm at first. Okay. I love it. You're right. Chris Solz and Jake Pavelka, they both came in fifth place. No one from Bassert Nation ever from a male perspective has ever come in the top four. So this is the year to break that and set a new precedence.

Talk to me about this. There's a lot of people in your story. and we know that Dancing with the Stars is storytelling. Who from your story can we expect to see on the show or possibly see? Give us a little tease. Yeah, I'll give a tease for the first week. I mean, my sisters are coming out to the first show for sure. They've been, you know, the most supportive for me from the beginning of doing anything Bachelor-related.

I think this is really exciting for them to be able to be a part of something like this and cheer me on. So they'll 100% be there. Kelsey's going to definitely be a part of the story. the whole journey of everything we've been through. I would be shocked if there's not some way that she gets incorporated this season just because I would love for her to be. But again, those are things that are going to come with time. I can't promise anything,

but I know that my sisters are coming to the first show. I know Kelsey will be there every week. We know you're going to get out there sometime. I got to bring you out. So, yeah, I think it's going to be great to have family, friends, my beautiful fiance, just there to support me because I'd love for anyone to be a part of this experience. can be. Do we possibly see Kelsey's father in the mix a little bit? There's a chance. I mean,

every, the good news right now is every Tuesday we got me and Kelsey and every Wednesday we got Mark. So it's great that he's going to be able to be on that show after. And yeah, if he ends up coming out here for something or is it around the L.A. area, Mark's got a ticket automatically. Has he given you any indication as to like how things went? You know when you get off the show? Yeah. I talked. You're like, I think it went okay. Does he think it went on? I've been lucky enough to talk to Mark about his whole experience. I know everything that's happened, but I'm going to hold that close to my best because that's his information to tell. And I'm supportive of Mark and anything and everything. All right. This is going to be a tough one. It's going to be a little rapid fire.

I am going to ask you to be the predictor of all predictors. And I will not make you give yourself a number. But I'm going to say a name of someone on the cast and I want you to predict what place they're going to come in. That's crazy. That's crazy. That's crazy. crazy. Let's just see how he reacts. Let's just see. All right, one through 12. You can put any number to Anna. What do you think Anna's going to be? I can't do that. I'm not putting these people in that position. That's going to go. No, that's going to go viral. They're going to all be like Joey predicted where every single person was. All right. How about this? Can you give me a prediction of who you think and you cannot name yourself will be in the final four. Yeah. I can

You can do that. I'll throw some final four predictions. Give me some final four predictions. I think I have a few of my head. You can name five people max. I'll even give you a bonus. Five people max. Your predictions on the line.

Outside of myself. Outside of yourself. Again, I've already said Chandler Kinney. I think she's going to do great. She's got great personality. She's got a dance background. I think people are going to love her. I think Alona is blowing up right now.

She is awesome too. Just so fun. So easy to talk to. and she's an athlete. She's going to be all in this. They know how to perform. They know how to be able to compete. So I think she's going to be tough,

especially with Alan as a partner. I know how great he is. He seems amazing. So those are two on the girl's side right away that just come to my brain like, yeah, they're going to be definitely not only impressive, but they're probably going to be a threat

throughout this whole show. I think people are going to love him. Yeah, we already talked about Stephen. I just, you know, if Stephen has any ability to dance whatsoever, he's already got America's hearts. And again, another Olympic athlete that knows how to train, knows what he's doing.

Who else we got here? Yeah, we talked about Dwight too. I mean, Dwight is going to, Dwight is going to be able to just, he's going to capture America's heart like he usually does. I mean, the guy is a performer. He wore a damn Superman costume and won a dunk contest. Like, he can do a dance competition 100%.

Okay. And the bonus one, it's hard because, you know, I think I can connect more with the guys and at least like envision. people that like I can put myself in their position. So if I go for another guy, I probably would say Danny too. Yeah, I think so too. I think that's another one. I mean, like I said from the beginning,

I think I'm focusing on the guys. And I think the biggest competition for me has to be Steve and Danny and Dwight. So I can see all of them. And hopefully I'll be in that top floor. But, you know, we'll see. I think there's a lot of great people, though, because there's other dancers I could throw into that mix. I think you're going to do great.

But those are the people I can like think of off the top of my head that are performing. I like it. All right. So for those that don't know, full cast. You have Jen Tran, the Bachelorette. You have Stephen, who's the first male gymnast ever to compete on Dancing with Stars. You have Fadre from Real House Wives, Atlanta, Tori Spelling, Eric Roberts, Julia Roberts, brother, Dwight Howard, Danny Amandola. You already said, Brooks Nader, Alona. Chandler, you already referred to, Reg, Family Matters, actor, and Anna,

Anna, the convicted con artist, who is currently on house arrest granted permission to travel to L.A. for Dancing with the Stars. That is something I don't think I ever would have expected. No. A convicted con artist. They always do one controversial person. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that will be interesting.

You'll have to get some stories from her. I'll try my best. You know, everyone, like I said, has been so great. And I'm here to talk about what everyone wants to talk about. But Anna is definitely the one that a lot of people are like, that is so interesting. Yeah. She seems great. I've only got to meet her in passing really quickly.

But yeah, that's definitely a crazy one. It is fascinating. All right. Dancing with the Stars will be on your resume. the Bachelorette will be on your resume. The Bachelor, of course, is on your resume. What next in the field of entertainment and media do you think is coming after this? If you had to just guess. That's a million dollar question. I know for a fact that my goal when I get outside of this is to really start focusing back in on doing something in the tennis and golf space. I just know that's something that I really want to do that could be so many different things. I don't think I'm going to be in the position or want. to be teaching tennis full time because I want to be open to new opportunities and challenge myself in new things. But I know I'll be doing something in terms of the tennis world, whether that's going to be doing something content creating wise on tennis, whether it's going to be getting more

into maybe broadcasting space or something like that. I'd be open to. People have seen nowadays in golf the YouTube space, the content creation of golf is blowing up. It is such a big thing. you see like the tour championship where they finally have like a creator contest that happened before the tournament so the golf space has so many opportunities too but i know i want to do something in that realm i want to be open and look into it but exactly what it's going to be yet i think people are just going to have to wait and see because i'm still going to figure that out myself too all right you are navigating the waters the last question i got for you joey variety said in 2020 it was kept the 295 000 who knows exactly what the numbers are but my question

question to you is after this experience, you'll have a couple more bucks. Is there anything special you're going to do with the payday? Anything you're thinking of top of mind that you might either buy or invest or a vacation? Is there one thing that comes in mind? No, I think for me, I'm really thinking about making sure I set myself up for the future. I want to really be smart about this because I know that there's a lot of opportunity, a lot of great things that come with all of this. Obviously, what money is included with that. And, yeah, Yeah, I want to be able to set myself hopefully to be able to purchase a house someday. I want to be able to look into putting that money into maybe some type of franchise,

something that can kind of make money for itself later on. So, yeah, I'm going to be talking to people like you and other people I know that are very successful to make sure that money goes a long ways and something that I'm not a lavish guy. I'm not going to go buy some crazy car or try to buy some ridiculous amount of clothes. I'm going to be using that to hopefully make money back for me someday. That's what I would like to be doing. I love it. When you do, you'll come back on to tell that story. There's only one last thing I got. We saw tears. We saw happiness. We saw all of it on your time on The Bachelor. You think we'll see tears from you? You think at some point you'll shed a tear through this journey? I mean, I bet you there's a chance.

I'm an emotional dude. There's a very good chance. I'll probably cry at some point. But I don't know. Like I said, this is going to be all new. There's emotions I probably have never felt before I'm going to feel from this show. But I'll tell you this, I'm 100% going to be honest with my emotions. I don't know how else not to be.

I'm not going to be putting it on a face for the camera. You're going to get the same Joe you saw from The Bachelor. Whatever I'm feeling, I'm going to talk through it. It's going to be in a way different setting. I think in a more maybe cool and comfortable setting in a lot of ways because it's not about my personal life per se it's about this journey i'm going on for you know something i'm striving towards but i'll be joey i'll be honest and if there's a tear along the way there's a tear along the way it sounds like the foundation is set i'm so excited for the way that you and kelsey are on the same page for this

it is unbelievable that you got jena as your partner and obviously you know here and there maybe you'll get some coaching guidance from val too i think you guys are set up for success and greatness for this dancing with the star's journey so i can't wait to watch everyone back home make sure you're voting for Joey on September 17th and every single Tuesday. Do you know the time that it premieres? I believe it's 8.7 Central every Tuesday. 8.7 Central. You got to make sure you're voting for Joey. Joey, one trading secret. You left us with one before.

Maybe it could be on this experience. Maybe it could be on something that's happened since our last time. You've got to leave us with some type of trading secret. Trading secret. Don't be afraid to put yourself out there and ask for opportunities. Like, I knew that Dancing with the Stars was something that could possibly come along, but I know that also came from me being active and saying like, like, hey, this is something I actually really would like to do, you know? The opportunity came my way and some different ways, too. Like, they definitely were reaching out to me. But I did at a certain point, you know, have to say to someone like, hey, I would really be open to this. So I think a lot of times people forget that you have to put yourself out there for opportunities.

You can't just expect things to come to you. So this is a great example of it, you know. I think it was a perfect blend of me putting myself out there. wanting me for the opportunity but yeah my secret would be don't be afraid to put yourself out there for something that you want to be doing it's brilliant i mean do you think like do you think they knew that you had a ton of interest in doing it before you did that i think that it it solidified it i think that i was definitely in the mix of people they wanted to be in it but i think i also let them know like you know i'm thinking about this i know it's been a while since you guys had a guy do

it but if you really want me to be a part of this i'm open to the conversation it seems i had that first zoom and that first conversation i was like oh this is happening And that was great. That's what I wanted. But I know I had to talk to certain people to make that happen. And I did that actively pretty much right after my season. And I think they knew pretty early on that's something I would want to do. It's a hell of a piece of advice. And that goes for anybody. It doesn't matter in your relationship. It could be at work. It could be anything. Like people can't predict your needs and wants. You've got to communicate them. You've got to put them out. And I struggle with that a lot too. I a lot of times have been so grateful. A lot of great things have come my way in life. and I sometimes have to remind myself that it's not selfish to sometimes say,

hey, this is something I want to do. Like, it's okay to campaign for yourself. It's okay to, like, put yourself out there and say, this is something that I want. Because if you do get it, you're going to be very grateful you did it. If you don't get it, you're going to be like, well, at least I put myself out there. So for me, it's giving me this new opportunity and I'm stoked for it. I love it. The last thing I want to say is last time you were on the show, I vocalized this already on my social media,

but you are vulnerable about a very minor. financial mishap that happened when you were filming. We're talking about a $50, $100 thing that touched your credit a little bit. And I think it is absolutely ridiculous that someone decides to be vulnerable about their finances and some of the shame that's associated with that. It's the reason why in this country have so many issues with personal finance, financial management, debt, spending, et cetera, because we're not willing to talk about it. And when we do, we're shamed and blamed for doing so. So I commend you for talking about it. I think you inspired a lot of people. You created a safe space for it. And I think it's

the absolute irony is that within a week of that happening, you get a call from credit karma and you get an opportunity. It's crazy too because, again, as everyone and you stated a ton of times, people took that and ran with false information. No one listened to that whole entire meat and potatoes of the thing. And like, I think that was a learning experience too to remind yourself that you could say everything perfect like I did in that case. And they'll find a way to make it seem like it's something that's not true. And that's okay. You know, and I was able to address it in my own way, like you said, get an opportunity with credit karma to give light to something that happens to a lot of people. I can't even speak to the amount of times people

were in my DMs, people I knew, people I didn't knew that said, thank you for talking about this. Like, this is something that I struggled with and I didn't even go on a TV show. And it's like you miss payments. It happens. And I am been open. Intentionally or unintentional. I've been open about my financial situation because I'm not embarrassed by it. I've been in good standing the entire time in my life. I've been successful and everything I've done since I've graduated college. I've been on my own, taking care of my own bills, never had a ton of debt, always been on top of things. And still, you go on a TV show where I'm making more money that I have in my entire life. And I miss one payment because I'm not home and it changes everything.

And that's okay. It happens. And if I can be honest about that in a place where I'm in the best financial status I've ever been in my life, then I think it's great that people can kind of connect with that and understand because there are people that are going through way more difficult times than me. And people just need to be a little more kind. 100%. There's not one person in this planet that has finance figured out perfectly. No one is perfect. We all have our mishap. So I appreciate your honesty. You know, when it first happened, I felt terrible. It's like I put them in a bad position. But then after it and I started to settle down. I'm like, no, honestly, that's the purpose of this show.

It was good. It did what it was supposed to do. I appreciate that. Like I said, if you will listen to the full interview, they would have understood that it was just fine. Unbelievable. On that note, Joey, we are all rooting for you and dancing with the stars. Thank you for coming on another episode of Trading Secrets. And let's go to the U.S. Open, man. Let's do it.

Appreciate it. Brother. Woo! Now.