Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: She texted me, She goes, how are we dressing?
Speaker 3: I said, grab, I'm a sweat I'm looking pretty chopped
Speaker 3: for this listen.
Speaker 4: Vow's the only one who put himself together.
Speaker 5: I fear went out the match.
Speaker 1: D I know chemistry.
Speaker 3: Spending time on tour with him, I fear he's the
Speaker 3: only person who is always put.
Speaker 4: Together, swaggy all the time, all the time. Why are
Speaker 4: you like that?
Speaker 5: Have you seen my head?
Speaker 2: Like this is so long and beautiful.
Speaker 3: Valve is good, and then it's the then you always
Speaker 3: wear your loafers, and then you found sneaker loafers to
Speaker 3: rehearse in.
Speaker 2: This man is a genie, you know.
Speaker 3: What I mean.
Speaker 5: It was like, it's my dream come true.
Speaker 4: Also, one of my favorite things was when we were
Speaker 4: doing photos, you know, before the live shows, and uh
Speaker 4: he was once wearing an alo jacket and everyone's like,
Speaker 4: I love this jacket. He was like, thanks, it's a
Speaker 4: woman's jacket. I just liked it because it was crossed.
Speaker 3: And we never forget the pasta jacket? Were you there
Speaker 3: for the pasta jet?
Speaker 5: I don't think I'm in my crop top error.
Speaker 4: I love a crop I know, cutting everything. What are
Speaker 4: we going to do when this trend ends.
Speaker 5: I don't know. I was about to cut the shirt,
Speaker 5: but I'm disappointed.
Speaker 2: I thought you were going to pull up with it.
Speaker 4: It looks so great.
Speaker 5: I uh, yeah, no, I don't know. I just I
Speaker 5: have my phases.
Speaker 1: Yeah right now, I'm in my long hair, don't care phase.
Speaker 4: You still look great. I'm going to get that tattoo, locket,
Speaker 4: glove hair.
Speaker 5: I don't care. That's a little Wayne lyric over. We're
Speaker 5: going to keep that on the podcast.
Speaker 4: Ezra, what have you done in the thirty six hours
Speaker 4: since tour ended?
Speaker 2: Thirty six hours?
Speaker 4: It's only been about thirty six hours since to were ended.
Speaker 2: When like, I feel like, kind of that's a ray
Speaker 2: of a moment, Like what did I do? What did
Speaker 2: I do?
Speaker 4: Took a much needed vacation? Talk about your vacation.
Speaker 3: Yes, okay, I went to Greece. And I definitely feel
Speaker 3: like this year is the busiest I think we've I mean,
Speaker 3: I've ever been. I don't know, I don't know how,
Speaker 3: I don't know what your guys is going to look like,
Speaker 3: but I I didn't have much time to spend with
Speaker 3: my family, and I definitely feel like that was just
Speaker 3: so important to me, especially going into like the craziness
Speaker 3: that we're about to get into.
Speaker 4: But season starting again around the corner.
Speaker 3: Girl, the clock is ticking. But just getting to spend
Speaker 3: time with my mom and my sister and my grandma
Speaker 3: and Greece was just so special.
Speaker 4: The four of you went, Yeah, the four of us.
Speaker 5: That's awesome.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: And I just remember as a kid growing up, my
Speaker 3: mom just dreamed about just traveling the world. And and
Speaker 3: like whenever I think of going anywhere, going on vacation,
Speaker 3: I just think of taking her because you know, like
Speaker 3: my mom sacrificed so much for my family just to
Speaker 3: even let us go to day as every single day,
Speaker 3: and she kept she kept the family going.
Speaker 2: So the fact that I was able to do.
Speaker 3: That and spend that time with her and just see
Speaker 3: her light up, and like we were in Athens and
Speaker 3: we're seeing all the history and she loves history and
Speaker 3: she knew everything, and just it melted my heart seeing that.
Speaker 2: So it was a very special.
Speaker 5: I'm proud of you, bro.
Speaker 1: I mean, again, we have some track record of knowing
Speaker 1: each other for a while, but like you're doing it right,
Speaker 1: You'll just see your star ascend the way it has
Speaker 1: and for you to take the time to celebrate the
Speaker 1: right way, because you could have gone on a binger
Speaker 1: and it besa that's not.
Speaker 2: Far but that was so we did that. We definitely
Speaker 2: had we tecked up. We tecked all those boxes, okay.
Speaker 1: But yeah, we spoke earlier about family and just like
Speaker 1: what success looks like and being a provider for the
Speaker 1: people you love is definitely.
Speaker 5: A part of that.
Speaker 4: When so growing up my family is well not even
Speaker 4: just growing up, just in general. My family is from Malta.
Speaker 4: My mom's side of the family is my mom's Maltese Wow.
Speaker 4: And my grand father used to talk all the time
Speaker 4: he played the lotto and his goal was he was
Speaker 4: going to win the lottery and take us all to Malta.
Speaker 4: And you know, he was one of twelve kids. Most
Speaker 4: of his siblings still lived there. And so when I
Speaker 4: graduated high school and I was on Boy Meets World,
Speaker 4: my graduation present to myself was to take my grandfather
Speaker 4: and my family to Malta. And at the time, you know,
Speaker 4: we were there for two to three weeks. And at
Speaker 4: the time, like I had a boyfriend back home and
Speaker 4: I missed him so much, and you know, I was
Speaker 4: like there was a part of me that was like, Okay,
Speaker 4: this was really fun, but I can't wait to get home.
Speaker 4: Looking back, I am so grateful that I have those
Speaker 4: memories and that I was able to go around Malta
Speaker 4: and see, you know, my grandfather fought in the war
Speaker 4: there and got to go to the War Museum and
Speaker 4: see pictures of him on the wall in the War
Speaker 4: Museum and see the churches there and the history and
Speaker 4: the architecture and the just the Mediterranean just unbelievable. So,
Speaker 4: like Val said, it's you're doing it right, and you're
Speaker 4: doing it you know, you're starting so young. The fact
Speaker 4: that you are sharing the wealth with your family, you're
Speaker 4: just so important to me. It really is.
Speaker 2: Did you vak? Did you do you have your RS?
Speaker 1: I didn't want to interject when you were like, I
Speaker 1: don't know about your schedules, but I've been really busy.
Speaker 5: I'm like, well, we have kids. I didn't want to
Speaker 5: do that.
Speaker 3: Oh wait, you know now that back my statement. No,
Speaker 3: you keep forgetting that, keep forgetting that we're just so
Speaker 3: young and cool.
Speaker 1: I know you are, like you really are, but yeah, no,
Speaker 1: but we're perpetually busy. But but yeah, I mean again,
Speaker 1: I'm part of this ecosystem at the moment still.
Speaker 3: And.
Speaker 1: The popularity of the show is just on a different level.
Speaker 4: So, yeah, did you did you get recognized in Greece?
Speaker 4: Do you notice that worldwide fame?
Speaker 3: It's weird, Like I did get recognized, obviously not in
Speaker 3: this like we're in the States, but it was It's
Speaker 3: interesting because the States is like Dancing with the Stars,
Speaker 3: but in Greece it was people who just love my
Speaker 3: TikTok and so that was like really cool, like oh,
Speaker 3: I love your videos, Like, oh, you're that dancer guy,
Speaker 3: Like I see you on TikTok. I'm like, that's super
Speaker 3: cool to experience, and yeah, like.
Speaker 5: Let's go I love that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I should be doing more videos on TikTok people probably,
Speaker 1: I thought to yourself, No, no, not me, I'm saying you,
Speaker 1: because again, when you forget that there are people that
Speaker 1: follow you that have no interest in Dancing with the Stars,
Speaker 1: you start to look at that platform a little differently. Yeah,
Speaker 1: like maybe I should do more than just you know,
Speaker 1: dance all the time or not dance at all. I
Speaker 1: don't even dance, I might say, I just do the
Speaker 1: craziest off the rails like dances like the most inappropriate
Speaker 1: music I could find.
Speaker 5: I make sure I do that.
Speaker 4: Can we talk about the fact that you just recently
Speaker 4: took a trip to Montana with Jenna's family.
Speaker 5: Yes, we with.
Speaker 4: Haley there, Haley was Hailey was they did? Did you
Speaker 4: see Jenna's video about they did the drink challenge? What
Speaker 4: were your thoughts on the drink? Joe, and I was
Speaker 4: dying to know, Like Val, of course, that's your family
Speaker 4: that you've married into. So were you like, what this
Speaker 4: family is crazy?
Speaker 1: Well, first of all, I think it's it's amazing you
Speaker 1: asked me about Haley, and Haley again is now becoming
Speaker 1: this like TikTok star and she's still the cousin you know,
Speaker 1: or the niece, Yeah, you know, and so so it's
Speaker 1: the daughter, the granddaughter, and so when we go to
Speaker 1: these family vacations, first of all, it's such a big
Speaker 1: family that you know, your importance gets lost in the
Speaker 1: in the relationships, the familial relationships. So no, I love
Speaker 1: you know, I call it a blended family because again
Speaker 1: I married I'm from New York and immigrant from New
Speaker 1: York marrying this all American family from California and Utah.
Speaker 1: So I just again, Now we've been married for seven
Speaker 1: years and they've now welcomed me, and I have now become,
Speaker 1: you know, one of the biggest champions of her family
Speaker 1: and her community, and so I just love you know,
Speaker 1: the things they prioritize, and and and and their love
Speaker 1: language that they speak, and fun games like that and
Speaker 1: and crazy activities like this is the most quintessential. You know,
Speaker 1: I feel like I'm having the American experience.
Speaker 3: But it's the Johnson's. So how serious did they take it?
Speaker 1: Oh? They're super competitive, by the way. There's just excellence
Speaker 1: in every single person, whether they pursued dance or you know,
Speaker 1: the finance, whatever it is, doctors, they're all really excellent,
Speaker 1: and they're all really competitive, and so then the playing
Speaker 1: field becomes even when we go into these games, and
Speaker 1: it's crazy. I mean, they're very respectful, well put together
Speaker 1: people until these games start and then profanity is just
Speaker 1: on the tip of their tongue all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: I'm doing that.
Speaker 2: You know, those Johnson's are competitive. Ah, that's what I
Speaker 2: love about him.
Speaker 1: Well, we've been watching your sister on Next Bro. I
Speaker 1: love watching Yeah, I've seen your.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's been it's cool to to support my sister
Speaker 3: through that, and we have like our little watch parties
Speaker 3: every week, and my mom will fly down and like
Speaker 3: we'll all just like sit together, and then I'll see
Speaker 3: like my mom's inner dance mom come out. Like I
Speaker 3: don't see that side of her because I'm the one
Speaker 3: who's usually on TV or performing, but it's Stephanie. And
Speaker 3: so it's been really cool just to see her get
Speaker 3: her moment, get her flowers, get her recognition. But also
Speaker 3: I feel like the thing that means the most to
Speaker 3: me as her brother knowing, knowing her story, knowing everything
Speaker 3: that she went through, is her actually loving what she
Speaker 3: sees in herself. And I feel like girls nowadays just
Speaker 3: have a hard time just accepting their beauty and their authenticity.
Speaker 3: And just seeing my sister, like the first episode she
Speaker 3: watched it and she looked at me and she goes,
Speaker 3: I actually look really good, oh nice, And it meant
Speaker 3: the world to me. I was just like full body chills.
Speaker 3: I was just so proud of her. And I know,
Speaker 3: just like girls, like they can be so hard on themselves,
Speaker 3: and I think that means the most of me, just
Speaker 3: seeing that kind of acceptance that she just has to
Speaker 3: herself and the way that she perceives herself, it's really special.
Speaker 1: I think she's you know, I'm most impressed with the
Speaker 1: way she's conducting herself and the grace with which she
Speaker 1: has taking on these challenges. And I think, you know,
Speaker 1: there's quite a bit of luck in this business as.
Speaker 5: Well, especially on our show.
Speaker 1: The challenges, the music, the partners. Yeah, I just I
Speaker 1: know Stephanie. So I'm just proud of how I don't
Speaker 1: even call it maturity, Like she just feels comfortable in
Speaker 1: her skin enough to open to I mean, like I
Speaker 1: don't want to say cry, but like those the sincere
Speaker 1: openness with which she's navigating that show, which is so
Speaker 1: hard especially for her. I'm sure she has such huge
Speaker 1: expectations for herself.
Speaker 4: And like, if Stephanie were to become a pro tomorrow,
Speaker 4: what would you say are her strengths? Like what does
Speaker 4: she walk into the ballroom as a new Dancing with
Speaker 4: the Stars pro, What does she walk in going I've
Speaker 4: got this part.
Speaker 3: So I definitely feel like between my sister and I,
Speaker 3: I'm like the person who's like thinking of everything. Okay,
Speaker 3: I'm very analytical. I'm very like with choreography. I'm very strategic.
Speaker 3: I'm that kind of person with her, She's very natural.
Speaker 3: She has like a natural are to her. She also
Speaker 3: has like this star quality that is super bubbly and
Speaker 3: like every single time anyone's around her, they make them
Speaker 3: feel warm and inviting. And I feel like if she
Speaker 3: was a pro, I feel like she'd be fabulous pro.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, but if she was a pro, I definitely
Speaker 3: feel like she'd have those qualities too. And I feel
Speaker 3: like she'd be able just to bring their partner out
Speaker 3: of their shell just from her being herself. Yeah, and
Speaker 3: she's also just like I don't know, she's just a star.
Speaker 3: Like I just love watching her dance. Growing up, she
Speaker 3: was a star of the family. Even though I'd still
Speaker 3: kick her ass at every single competition, I'd still beat her,
Speaker 3: but she was the one that would like get every
Speaker 3: audish and because everyone just like loved the way she
Speaker 3: looked and like the way she like flipped her hair.
Speaker 2: She was always that girl.
Speaker 4: What would you say are her areas for opportunities for growth?
Speaker 4: What would you see her? You would love to see
Speaker 4: her improve on excel in focus on as being You know,
Speaker 4: we all look at ourselves and are able to say
Speaker 4: this is an area where I need to work harder.
Speaker 2: I mean, that was perfect. He's got threebels over here.
Speaker 2: You can't touch perfect.
Speaker 4: You're not saying we started off this interview giving him
Speaker 4: his flowers about being all put together, and now look
Speaker 4: where he's ending out.
Speaker 5: I don't want to.
Speaker 2: I'm begging he's gotten too big.
Speaker 3: You guys, they fear, but I also will say, like
Speaker 3: going into the next pro I also had my worries
Speaker 3: and fears, and you guys, I don't feel like it's
Speaker 3: been talked about enough.
Speaker 2: They don't have their phones, they don't have that communication
Speaker 2: to the outside world.
Speaker 4: I didn't even know that.
Speaker 2: So I feel like a lot.
Speaker 3: Of people would probably expect as her brother to be
Speaker 3: on the phone with her every single day.
Speaker 2: No, she did that completely on her own.
Speaker 3: So going into it, the things that I was actually
Speaker 3: worried the most about for her going into it was
Speaker 3: probably how she would mentally handle the situation, because that's
Speaker 3: like really hard, yes, but that's the thing that she overcame. Wow.
Speaker 3: So that's what I'm really most proud of her, because,
Speaker 3: like I was really nervous that she was going to
Speaker 3: be there. She wouldn't know how to handle herself. She
Speaker 3: wasn't going to have her phone, which I feel like
Speaker 3: a lot of people really really to have their phone, Yeah,
Speaker 3: communication with other people in the outside world, just to
Speaker 3: like feel confident in their own skin. But she had
Speaker 3: to find it within herself and that's what she did
Speaker 3: on the show.
Speaker 5: Did they have access to any like tech or Internet
Speaker 5: at all?
Speaker 3: I believe they given and don't quote me on that.
Speaker 3: I believe they had a phone that was able to
Speaker 3: take pictures okay, and like like search the Internet, but
Speaker 3: then it was restrictive of what they could search because
Speaker 3: it was very imperative that the ballroom knowledge that came
Speaker 3: out of their bodies wasn't through anything from the Internet.
Speaker 2: I wasn't straight from the straight from the source.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I was going to say that that's very tough.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, I don't think it's challenge. I don't
Speaker 4: think it's spilling too much tea to say that. On
Speaker 4: Dancing with the Stars, a lot, if not all, of
Speaker 4: the pros, at some week or another, while you guys
Speaker 4: are choreographing the coming upcoming week, sometimes you guys are
Speaker 4: choreographing group numbers. When needed, you will go to outside
Speaker 4: help for or.
Speaker 3: Even like, let's say you're doing a contemporary team, I'm
Speaker 3: just gonna look up some contemporary dances just to get
Speaker 3: inspirait exactly, like, just to get.
Speaker 1: Light opening, just some simple ideas again from that, or
Speaker 1: to even just have another I another look at it.
Speaker 5: Yeah, So to.
Speaker 4: Not have access to that at all and to have
Speaker 4: to do it alone, that's a really great answer to
Speaker 4: continue to like for her to focus on that confidence
Speaker 4: she did it in the hardest circumstances.
Speaker 3: Harder than we Yeah, yeah, gott, we get totally Wow, proud.
Speaker 4: Can anything you want to tell us that you're looking
Speaker 4: forward to with the upcoming season? What are you manifesting
Speaker 4: for yourself in this season thirty five?
Speaker 3: I mean, if you're like, none of us are confirmed.
Speaker 4: So okay, all right, you just got away you're just
Speaker 4: hoping to be on the show.
Speaker 3: I just think, balin, I want to want to be employed.
Speaker 4: You want to be on the show. I'm pretty sure.
Speaker 5: Why do you think I'm doing this as I'm hedging my.
Speaker 2: I think I'm going to need to start one next
Speaker 2: year too.
Speaker 3: I think when I'm looking forward to, like if I
Speaker 3: am picked up, I'm just excited to be.
Speaker 2: Paired with someone and get to tell their story through dance.
Speaker 3: I definitely feel like I was able to do that
Speaker 3: with Jordan, and that's something that I really just fell
Speaker 3: fell in love with through the process and just getting
Speaker 3: to spend like three months with someone.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm really looking forward to that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I don't want to hijack it, but
Speaker 1: that's kind of like, you know, you get a different
Speaker 1: relationship with dance through the show, and going into your
Speaker 1: third season, now you catch the bug and you actually
Speaker 1: reevaluate that relationship and you're like, wow, I have this
Speaker 1: this vehicle to connect to someone else and to you know,
Speaker 1: explore their story and broadcast it and hopefully a creative way.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I mean that's that's a great way to
Speaker 1: go into a season. Hopefully you have somebody whose story
Speaker 1: you're going to be excited to tell.
Speaker 2: I mean, regardless who it is.
Speaker 3: I think that's kind of the fun and excitement of
Speaker 3: like who their partner is, because obviously we don't know
Speaker 3: who that is until we walk in that door. And
Speaker 3: even when it was Annadelvi my first partner, I feel
Speaker 3: like on paper.
Speaker 2: That's someone like you shouldn't be excited about.
Speaker 3: But I was so excited to just get to know her,
Speaker 3: to get in the studio. Obviously it turned out the
Speaker 3: way that it did, but I wouldn't change it for
Speaker 3: the world. I think that's the beauty of being a
Speaker 3: pro and dancing with the stars. You don't know who
Speaker 3: you're gonna get, but once you get with them, that's
Speaker 3: when your job actually starts.
Speaker 4: We're talking on con weekend. What are you most excited
Speaker 4: about for con I.
Speaker 3: Feel like what I'm most excited about for con and
Speaker 3: there's two things I'm very excited about.
Speaker 2: First things. First, I'm just excited to connect with the fans. Yeah,
Speaker 2: it's safe.
Speaker 3: To say that we have a very devoted fan base
Speaker 3: and they they pull they pulled up, especially like we
Speaker 3: got a witness on tour, the amount of applause that
Speaker 3: we saw, the different types of people that would go
Speaker 3: to these shows. I think that's what's really special for
Speaker 3: us to see too. But for Conna, like it's it's
Speaker 3: gonna be a more intimate setting and I you know,
Speaker 3: we get to do our meet and greets, we get
Speaker 3: to take a picture, say hi, but this is like
Speaker 3: we get to actually like meet these people, get to
Speaker 3: know these people and I'm really excited about that. But
Speaker 3: I think one of the things I'm also really excited
Speaker 3: about is just being it's like a clash of some
Speaker 3: of my favorite piece full and like rehearsals, Like you know,
Speaker 3: rehearsals can be tough, but we're all just like laughing
Speaker 3: and having good time.
Speaker 2: I'm there with like Haley.
Speaker 3: Jojo soci like all these people, Riley that I.
Speaker 4: Just love, Danielle.
Speaker 3: Danielle, oh my god, no, with the way we were
Speaker 3: rehearsing today and you were walking down that congo line
Speaker 3: and you were working it, but then you look to
Speaker 3: the left and then there's like there's.
Speaker 2: Johnny and he's doing his contemporary dance and.
Speaker 3: It's slaves like it's there's it's a special moment and
Speaker 3: like the Dancing with the Stars verse where it's like
Speaker 3: I personally have like I personally have like favorite dances,
Speaker 3: favorite numbers, favorite contestants from the show that now I
Speaker 3: get to like actually spend time with.
Speaker 2: So this is this has been a very like interesting week,
Speaker 2: to say the least.
Speaker 5: Family vacation, yeah, family reunion, Yeah.
Speaker 3: A big family reunion, but like in tenfold because now
Speaker 3: you're now you're just spending times with celebrities from multiple seasons,
Speaker 3: so to see them interacted, to see them have their
Speaker 3: conversations about oh my gosh, like how is your experience
Speaker 3: on the show, Like that's really cool to see.
Speaker 4: I got to meet Christy Yamagucci.
Speaker 2: Oh she's on her glitter.
Speaker 4: Yes, so fun. Well, Ezra, thank you so much for
Speaker 4: joining us for this. This was so fun. I adore you,
Speaker 4: always have, always will and we'll catch you next time.
Speaker 5: Love you guys.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna take a nap.
Speaker 4: Good idea