Olympian Jack Woolley has been entertaining us every Sunday with his incredible dance routines on Dancing with the Stars.
The two-time Irish Olympic taekwondo athlete admitted that he had been preparing for another cycle at the biggest sporting event on the globe when he got the call for the RTÉ show.
“The dancing is helping me grow mentally, I’m still in my head a little bit and being a perfectionist, but I’ve seen massive improvements already,” he tells VIP Magazine.
“I’ve realised the growth I’ve made in such a short space of time and hopefully our journey isn’t going to be cut short because to see the growth I’ve already made, it’s just such an amazing feeling.
“Taekwondo is very fitness-based, this is a little bit less, but I’m having to use my brain a lot more. It’s a lot more challenging mentally, which is something that I struggle with.”
And he has an incredible support system, including his partner Dave.
“You know, when I’m with Dave, I feel like all the problems in the world kind of disappear,” he enthuses.
“I’m more myself when I’m around him than I would be with anyone else, we’re able to kind of have a giggle, like our inner child comes out when we’re together. I think that’s probably the most lovely thing about our relationship. I’ve never had that really with anyone else.”
In fact, Dave is always on hand to support him as the whistle you hear at the start of all his songs is Dave’s voice.
“At the start of the show, I always just have to make eye contact with him and think, yeah, I’ve got this. And then just perform because the dance is about putting on a character, so when I know he’s there I’m doing it for him, everybody else isn’t even there.”
How sweet!
Dancing with the Stars continues on RTÉ One on Sunday, January 26th at 6:30pm.
