E1016 – Going Deeper with Robert Irwin and Witney Carson

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Can we get a water sip of water?

A water.

Water.

Water.

It's pronounced water.

Water.

This is a perfect angle for me to kick him out.

Rob Whitney, welcome to the show.

Thanks.

Welcome back, Whitney, mate.

Thanks.

Welcome, Rob.

Yeah.

Thank you.

How are you doing?

Mate, so good.

So good.

I'm tired.

I was saying to Whitney just then, I've had coffee three times in my life, and one of those times was this morning.

So I'm like on another plane right now.

So this could go anywhere.

Yeah, real jittery.

Could do a backflip.

I could do a backflip off that table.

You should do this before dancing.

Drinking a cup of coffee.

I think that would be worse.

He needs like a Xanax to like end the audience.

What were the other two times you drink coffee?

Okay, so once was I was hosting a show in South Africa, which is a live show that I do called I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.

And it's this show where it shoots live and you start at like 4.30 a.m.

And I had tasted coffee once before, you know, my first little taste of coffee.

I didn't really love it, but I was getting up really early and I went, oh, I was just exhausted.

I need to pick me up.

So I just downed a double shot.

And the weird thing with coffee is it does wake me up, but it also just puts my mind in like 50 different places.

So I'm just like, and then there's this and then there's that.

So yeah, this is a dangerous conversation.

I know.

This morning I saw him.

I'm like, you're different today.

You already seem like a pretty high-energy guy.

Yeah.

So it's like another level.

But I was just tired and I thought, oh, I'll grab a coffee.

Bad idea.

Bad idea.

Bad idea.

So rehearsals are going to be fun today.

Are you tired from all the dancing?

Oh, absolutely.

It's Whitney, like, mate.

Whitney's a goer.

Like, we are, we are

going for it.

I do give him breaks, though.

Yes.

Are you very much like a drill sergeant?

Are you like, let's fucking go, get your ass out?

I don't feel like I'm a drill sergeant, but we definitely work really hard.

Like, we laugh a lot, but we definitely get stuff done because you have to.

You only have four hours a day.

You got to learn an entire new dance by Tuesday.

Can you like go a little longer?

For what?

For then, four hours.

Can you guys?

I always try and show up as early as I can to try and stretch.

Yeah.

But like, you know, you don't have the room.

Like, there's someone who's in there rehearsing and then the room sort of becomes available.

Yeah, so you're pretty, you're kind of limited to time, but it's.

Yeah, we're not allowed any extra time.

We kind of start from square one.

Like the, you know, obviously every Tuesday is the show and every Wednesday feels like the first week all over again because it's a new style.

We start back from scratch and it's, it's humbling, like really humbling.

Because you, I just feel like I'm, I, I always say it's like Whitney has to teach a stick how to dance.

Like there's no rhythm at all but we just work so hard and we're I think we're just an awesome team like I'm very

very grateful for you Whitney y'all came out of the gate I mean like you first week crushed and I think you like blew America away with how good you are I mean like did you

I mean

not a stick you're a pretty good dancing stick well that's all Whitney's fault that like it was that was honestly one of the best nights of my whole life.

Like, that was so much fun.

And

it was such a privilege.

And the jive just felt so perfect.

Our first dance was born to be wild.

It was a jive.

It's just like high energy.

If I was a ballroom dance, that would be it.

And

it was the best to just kind of come out swinging and just go, yeah, let's go.

But to feel the, the, the love and the kindness from everyone.

here in America has just been amazing because, you know, I moved out from Australia.

I'm here for like three months.

It's, it's a daunting experience.

But the second like we got in a room together and started rehearsing, I just felt this sigh of relief.

Like, okay, this is going to be fun.

This is going to be awesome.

And the love from everyone has been incredible.

I'm just so grateful.

You've been obviously a public figure most of your life and obviously even worked, worked in media.

But I'm curious, because like when I did Dancing with the Stars long ago,

like you said, first of all, super much relate to like the first day of the next week.

You were on, like, not far after when Bindy was on, my sister.

What she was.

She was on the show on the show, I think, like, season 21.

Okay.

I was 2017.

Yeah, that's like the year after she was on.

Okay.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Oh, wow.

And yeah, like you're just learning, you just did a dance.

You spent all week learning it.

And the next week, you're just like, that's over.

New language.

New language.

It's very like.

That's what we say.

It's a total new language.

And you have to really go from ground zero.

It's like, not only does he have to remember the steps, but like how to do them properly and get your hips moving.

And then where are your arms looking?

looking and where's your head?

Like there's so many layers that it's really hard.

It's very difficult to get everything in in five days.

Oh yeah.

And it's, and it's such a brain-heavy thing as well.

Like the physical side of it is there.

Like my body this morning, I woke up and I felt like I got run over.

Like I'm just like,

but also the mental fatigue of trying to remember all of these layers.

Because

I've never moved my body.

Like, you know, I'm a very active person.

Like I wrangle crocodiles.

That takes a lot of footwork and upper body strength and all of that.

But dance, you have to harness all of that energy into like flowy and elegant movements.

It's a real challenge.

But

what I was most impressed about with you, kind of like to Nelly's point, is, and I'm just curious because I had done enough of TV before I did Dance with the Stars where I was familiar with cameras and like, you know, being on TV didn't like psych me out, but like, I, I had no experience with like the live performances.

So when I was dancing mostly the whole time I was on, it wasn't until I was like cut where they brought me back to like redo stuff when they're filling out the episodes.

I looked scared, you know, I'm like counting in my head.

And when you were like, you were out there week one, just like your, your facial expressions.

were giving like professional dancer and i think

and it was just like it was really like yeah you were in it you were in character You looked like you're I was really impressed by that because I am You know, did you have any type of performance experience other than because I think there's a big difference between like hosting TV shows being on camera and Performing in front of a live studio audience?

Oh, it's it's insane the feeling in the ballroom when you step in there and you know that you're next up on the roster like our first night We were last.

So it was kind of scary watching everyone else go.

The competition is insane.

Like this season, everybody is incredible.

And you're just sitting there watching it and then going, oh my gosh, I got to go last.

This is, this is terrifying.

But I found the second the music started playing, you know, you hear those counts dancing the jive.

It's Robert and Whitney.

And then all of a sudden, you just kind of go tunnel vision.

You hear the audience, you feel the energy, and it's amazing.

Like, I've spent my whole life, you know, on camera.

Like, I was literally film being born.

My poor mum, there was quite literally the Crocodile Hunter TV crew were in the hospital when I was, when I was, you know, when I popped out.

And so it was, you know, it's always been part of my life, but I feel like through everything I do, there is a, a message and a mission behind what I do, not only for wildlife conservation, but also to try and spread some positivity, to put some passion out into the world, you know?

And so for me, the second I'm in that studio, I'm in that ballroom and

I hear the crowd, I just feed off of that.

And all of a sudden, it's the weirdest thing.

All of those nerves just, it turns into adrenaline and joy and excitement.

And I just want to give people something that they can just switch off and just love and have fun.

Especially when you took your shirt off.

And that was

like, yep.

He's giving back people.

He's giving

it honestly.

I need security.

But any of the confidence that you feel, because it's such a terrifying thing.

I mean, it's beautiful, but it's also really scary.

But all of my confidence comes from Whitney.

You know, it comes from leaning on the experience that we have in rehearsals, trusting your body, trusting the process, trusting your partner.

It is like this whole thing is the ultimate trust fall.

You just got to give yourself to it.

I've never done anything like this, but I've got the best ever to guide me through this process.

So I'm just like full trust, all in, send it.

I don't even care.

I'm just going to give it every ounce of what I got and hope for the best.

Yeah.

Whitney, did you kind of tell him like whatever happens, like this, facial expressions or,

you know, form or like performing, did you tell him anything was like most important or were you just like, let's just try to knock off

your steps.

I know.

It's like, have fun, but be perfect.

No, I think his performance quality and what he does naturally is there.

So like, I didn't really have to worry about that because, you know, it's just Robert is Robert, like what you see here, he's exactly you know, like that in rehearsals.

So, I didn't want to mess with that because I felt like that was him and that's what people love.

Um, our main focus was just trying to, you know, get him as good as we could dancing, and so that was the biggest thing.

I was like, have fun, enjoy it, because you'll never have this experience again.

So, and that's what we've kind of been doing, you know, just I can't help myself but start like I start singing along to the song.

I just have so much fun, I just can't help but just

love it.

It's so fun.

It really is.

It's been like the best, most special season already.

So, how does Danny feel about that?

He's

Danny's great.

He comments on everything.

He's great.

He's like, he's like,

no, I think every past partner has like a little bit of like, hey, like a little bit, like, I want to be doing that again because it's such a special time and you never get it again.

And you never get it again.

And so when you're seeing your part, your teammate, your partner with another person, it's kind of like, hold on a second.

But here's the like, how has it already been here?

You know, of like, oh my gosh, wow.

I feel like we just were here doing the same thing.

But no, he's been very supportive and commenting on all of our stuff.

You are definitely my wife's favorite choreographer

because you do a lot of the flips and the spins and the turns and the lifts.

And as far as my wife is concerned, Natalie, if you're not being lifted and thrown around, like she's like, I'm out.

But then I've been told, I've been told that, like, there's rules, you can't have lift and every day.

Harry Ann will call you out.

It's, it's a nice, you have to have a balance because you need good scores from the judges, but you also, you want America's vote as well.

And you also want to do something that you're passionate about, you know, with the song and the choreography, and you want to be able to show his strengths.

And every partner has different strengths.

Like, it's just, it's different from season to season.

So it's just finding that right balance.

How, what is like, how does choreographing go in your brain like are you on the weekends like taking your boys to you know i don't know practice and also like in your head trying to figure out the next dance 100 i am like 24 7 like working in here so it starts with the track so the music is super important and then from who gets the song I think it's a, it's a collective team effort.

The music team is really incredible.

And we have, you know, we have theme weeks.

And so we're a little bit dialed in a a little bit on what we can choose from.

And then from there, it's, you know, the celebrity has to like the song because we want them to be passionate about it.

And then obviously the professional who's creating it, you know, I have to really love it as well.

And then, you know, it goes through lots of different channels and everybody has to be kind of happy with the song choices.

So yeah, you don't, you don't always get, you don't usually get the first option you have.

Like sometimes

another and it can change several times.

But often you end up with something that you go, I wouldn't have even thought of this song, but this is perfect.

Yeah, it's amazing to watch you like take a song.

Like, I'll play a song, and instantly, you'll be like, That's a jive, and this is how I would do it.

It's it's incredible to watch your brain work with choreography.

Like, I just, it's it's so foreign to me, but it's so impressive.

Like, it's anytime I listen to a song, I go straight to choreography, straight to, I can't just listen to a song and just like

putting it and this would go to trick there.

And like, it's kind of a curse a little bit.

Amazing.

Do you come into the first day of rehearsals with the entire dance done or do you build?

I have like a really good idea.

And then things change as I put it on him.

So sometimes it's like, oh, you know what?

We don't have time to work on that.

Let's let's switch it immediately.

Because another thing that's working against us is time.

Like if we had three weeks to work on something, he would get it 100% anything that I would give him.

But because we don't have a lot of time, you know, you assess and then you change it quickly and then you do something different.

And sometimes, you know, it changes a lot throughout the week.

And I always have to be like, I'm so sorry.

I love you, and you can do this.

And on Saturday, I'm like, we're changing it all.

You come in one morning and I'm like, okay, I feel like I'm finally getting this.

I've been practicing all night.

I got that.

It's completely different now.

We're changing all of it.

And here we go.

You were announced part of this cast pretty early on.

I know when Dina is casting,

she'll ask

who, you know, do you have any preferences?

Certainly, you don't find out who your partner is until like the announcement, but did you like it?

Was Whitney always your first choice?

Did you not care?

Were you like, give me a break?

It was interesting because when I,

same question to you, because I am curious.

I don't know how it works on the pro side.

Anyone but Robert.

Yeah,

it was interesting because

my sister did this show in what, 2015 2016 I was 11 years old and since then I went I want to do this show like I really I wanted to and you know I was 11 so it was a long way off but you know Dina who obviously decides decides the cast and and everything we we would talk about it we would kind of joke around about it for years we talked about it and then I kind of always had in my mind like after watching bindy season because Whitney you were there yeah we always sort of I don't know as a family we would always kind of talk about I bet I bet I'd end up getting partnered with Whitney.

And I kind of just, it was this weird like feeling I had.

I had this feeling if I ever do the show,

I don't know.

I just, I kept thinking, it's going to be Whitney.

And so when I came into this experience and they said, well, we did our first meeting, which they capture on camera and Whitney was standing there.

I just felt this sense of, whoa, this is a full circle moment.

Like this is 10 years in the making.

Here we are.

And I instantly felt so protected and so like Whitney's become like an older sister so quickly.

Mine is.

It's so funny.

So it's like,

I've got my mum here, my actual older sister, and now you.

So

she doesn't have a life.

No, I've got Andy here.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

So very protective.

I have no dating life at the moment, that's for sure.

You guys are like, no,

we've accessed quite the people to go through.

I know.

Yeah.

My girlfriends at this point are just a distraction.

That's what I'm saying.

I'm locked in.

That's what I'm saying.

I'm locked in.

But no, it's,

it is really cool, but you don't, yeah, you have no idea.

You have no idea.

But I've known a lot of the professional dancers on this show since I was 10 years old.

Like when I came to the announcement to announce, you know, I'm doing this, everyone was there and everyone's just like, oh my gosh, the last time I saw you, you were this big.

You were tiny.

Yeah.

You had a little bowl haircut, you know, like, what's, what's up?

So, yeah.

Yeah.

And the pros also, we don't get a say in our partners at all.

So, it's kind of, they don't ask.

You don't, I mean, I think you get like a tip.

Do you know what I mean?

I personally, I personally don't ask.

Like, I kind of leave it up to fate and I leave it up to the casting producers because they, you know, they're so good at that.

And so I trust them completely.

But I didn't know.

I thought everyone was talking about Robert and Riley.

So I kind of had checked Robert off the list.

And so I was looking at all the celebrities.

And in my head, I had like one celebrity that was like, like oh they'll probably pair me with him not thinking it was Robert at all so when I walked in I was like so shocked were you thinking Riley like you know younger maybe they would hope there's like some kind of like a show man of exact or yes just I think like just them two being so young and like it was in the press a lot and like she had said that she wanted you as a partner yeah so I kind of had checked that off my list but it's cool because like then once you're in this little world everyone's so tight like everyone kind of just becomes mates like I'm mates with all the pros and all the, all the celeb cast as well.

And it's nice.

Like it's the sort of environment where everyone's really just stoked for each other and everyone's kind of just lifting each other up.

Yeah, it is.

It's a family for sure.

It's pretty cool.

So there's no like, there's really, I mean, at least this season, there's really no dramas, nothing crazy.

There's no drama.

There is no drama.

Maybe a little bit.

And there's no like show mances either.

No, which I feel like usually there are.

Yeah, everyone's pretty locked in.

Everyone's like married with kids now, which is funny because it's changed so much

over the years.

But everyone is...

You know, I was just thinking this.

When Bindy did the show and I was there 10 years ago, you had just gotten engaged.

Yes.

I know, which is crazy.

And Whitney was 21.

Whitney was my age.

And I got so excited at that.

I was like, you can be engaged, Robin.

I'm like, whoa, hang on a minute.

I had like an existential crisis.

I'm like, wait, what?

I know, the Mormons, we get right on it, don't we?

You're straight in there.

Straight to marriage.

So are you like off dating period?

Are you like in between for the show?

Or is this like

a music?

No, I'm not.

No, I'm not.

Whitney's trying to say that I'm.

No, I'm kind of at this point in my life where I'm completely like open to it and let it happen, but I'm not in any like crazy rush and I'm and I'm not.

You're only 21.

Exactly.

I'm just kind of trying to throw

a game.

I was neck at 21.

Yes, see.

Yeah, I gotta step up.

I damn, I gotta hurry up.

You got time.

I've got time.

If you, just to indulge the fans.

Okay.

Okay.

Because I know you have a lot of fans.

This is Whitney's favorite comic.

Yeah, I love this.

If you were to date, describe your perfect partner

in a way.

Okay.

I've got it.

All right.

I know exactly what you're going to say.

Okay, so I think.

Well, I want to hear from him and then I want to.

No, no, no, yeah.

Yes.

Well, honestly, I think, first of all,

I try to surround myself with people, genuine, authentic people who are just really kind.

Like, that's the thing.

In life, you've got to find people that lift you up and that you can kind of just support one another.

My life is pretty crazy.

Like, it's here and there and everywhere.

The amount of side quests I'm going on.

I was thinking,

you really don't have, I mean, how would that even work?

You're so busy.

But, like, find someone who's also like, like, a content creator who had, you know, who could trap me issue.

Because one day I'm like, you know, rescuing a crocodile and then the next day I'm dancing with the stars.

And the next day I'm, you know, so it's here and there.

to find someone, yeah, who's up for an adventure to come along and

someone who's got like their own world and passions that you can kind of find what you both love and sort of, you know, form that together.

So someone just adventurous and fun and

really kind, you know, is really important to me.

And someone kind of family focused.

Like family is everything to me.

Does she have to like animals?

I mean, yeah, like that, that would help.

What if she was like allergic to cats?

The only cats I have I've got I've got tigers and and a couple of cheetahs, okay, but apart from that

you know yeah, what would be like a dating pet peeve or do you have like an ick where it's just like I you know the only petty, but I can't do it

oh, this is a good question.

That is a fun question.

Like the only ick that I get.

I'm getting hot now.

I'm getting all sweaty.

No, like I, people who are like rude to white stuff, that should be like a bad thing.

Well, that's, that's a, that's a given.

That's a given.

That's a given.

We want

something really petty.

Like, anytime, anytime Nick gets road rage, I'm like icked out, you know?

And like, you know, we don't.

When do I get road rage?

Well, if you ever do.

You know, anytime, anytime Nick like trips, I'm like, oh, God, could have done without that.

You know,

like it's like,

could have done without that.

Could have done without that.

Oh, my gosh, that's funny.

Like, does Carson do anything where you're like,

oh.

Well, actually, he did.

He had a little bit of road rage, but this, in this case, it was, I found it really attractive because he was like protecting the kids.

Like, this guy got out of the car and like was like yelling at us like in drinks.

Here in LA?

Here in LA.

Oh, God.

And Carson just like got right out.

It's like we were about to get in a fight.

Carson's a big guy, isn't he?

Yeah.

As soon as he got out of the car, the guy was like,

Never mind.

You guys are great.

He's a unit.

He's built like a house.

I can't do a a drunk, like a sloppy girl who's drunk.

You're like, I'm not ah, I'm like a nice drunk.

Yeah, that's

just like that.

Okay, yeah, that's why.

I'm like, yuck, get away.

Robert is kind of a germaphobe a little bit.

You are,

but not in an extreme way, in a normal way.

But we've been in a normal way.

We've been trying to, I've been doing like exposure therapy, right?

Where I'll just like, like this land railing.

I'll just like touch the floor and then I'll be like ready to dance.

But it's weird.

I can be covered head to toe in mud.

I'm like, no, what?

What's going to say?

Like, your animals aren't necessarily the most hygienic.

Mud, the blood, everything is fine.

But like door handles, like I'm in LA and every, and it's like,

everything's like the ground's dirty.

You're going to struggle once you have kids.

Yeah.

I know.

I know.

I was like, a lot of viruses.

Just you wait.

It's like, oh, my God.

That's take that out of your mouth.

Jesus.

I just found that in the trash.

I know.

And then like, my son's favorite thing right now is to put his shoes on his hands and then put it on his face.

And I'm like,

it is the worst.

I would struggle with that.

Yes.

It's the worst.

Yeah.

I feel like even just having a niece now, you do definitely, you learn to be a little bit more like, I don't know, you've got to just kind of go, oh, well, okay.

This is happening.

You're licking the floor.

Okay, great.

Okay, great.

Yeah, like the pass fire falls out like on the floor of the airplane.

And I'm like, Nick, put it in your mouth.

Wipe it off.

I'm doing that same thing.

I've done that same thing.

I'm the passion passion pyro cleaner on a plane.

It is messed up.

When you have a kid, it's like...

If you have a kid and it's just

life or dying.

The airplane sink water is no better.

No better.

And then your saliva.

100%.

It's not going to drink.

Wow.

Did you ever have airplane coffee?

No.

Okay.

Or tea?

Never.

No.

Or tea.

Oh, you have had tea?

I've had tea.

I'm a tea guy.

Well, I.

Oh, that's right.

You don't drink coffee.

So you had tea on an airplane?

Yes, I have.

Well, I'm going to have to freak you out because I've heard a rumor, pretty common rumor, that you should never drink coffee or tea on an airplane because they're using the same water that you would wash your hands on an airplane.

It's coming from the same place.

So last week, one of the flight attendants was very lovely and she was a fan of the show and she said hi.

So I felt we had a little bit of a connection and she was serving.

And I really wanted a coffee, but I was like, I've heard this rumor.

And I was like, hey, like, would you ever drink the coffee on the plane?

She's like, absolutely fucking not.

Really?

And then, and then we were on a flight yesterday

and the water, the, the sink, they had, they're like, hey, we got hand sanitizers in the bathroom because the water's not working.

Also, P.S.

coffee's not available today.

Oh, yeah.

So make the connection.

So like, just

dirty,

essentially.

I'm thinking about every time I'm here.

I'm still here.

I'm still alive.

I'm still alive.

I'm the guy where I get on a plane and I will disinfect.

See, I'll get a little white out.

That's my mom.

That's my mom.

The fire dependent will come by and they'll always go, that's a great call.

I would do that.

Yeah.

So I'm like,

I do that.

That's what I'm saying.

Normal germopholes.

That's it.

I'm a normal germophones.

Do you want kids someday?

Yeah.

Okay.

Well, if you ever have kids, Whitney, it's just like it's, you, you become like

instantly dad mode, mom mode, where you're just like, I'm here for my kids.

You're oh, like, you're just, you're, you're there to like.

Have you ever seen the, you know, they put something in their nose and you like suck it out with your mouth?

Have you ever seen that?

I've seen that.

I've never used it.

I've never used it either.

No, I've never used it, but like, you would.

Yeah, really.

Without question, you don't even have to question about it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I'm like, oh, you're stuffed up.

Let me suck out all of the snots and then spit it out of your nose and stuff.

That's awesome.

That's great.

It might be an extreme for you.

That's okay.

Whoa.

When my sister and her husband, Chandler, when they had their little one, Grace, like it is so cool when you watch, like even just someone in your family, like watching my sister and brother-in-law, like watching them go into parent mode, it's such a crazy thing.

It's like this instant shift.

I feel like all of a sudden my brother-in-law, Chandler, just went from, you know, this, this guy that I'd known for years.

And then all of a sudden, he's just permanently got like a diaper bag with him and he's got like tactical baby gear, you know?

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And it's so cool to watch, even like on a live show, when they come in, and it's just the most amazing environment.

It's so cool, so cool to see.

Thank you.

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Rob, I want to transition a little bit to just kind of getting to know you and your childhood a little bit.

But obviously, you're, you're very well known for your family in general.

And obviously, your father, Steve, who passed away when you were just two years old.

And speaking about being a new father, it's just, you know, again, like being a dad just changes you in so many ways.

And I saw a recent interview that you did, well, I thought was really cool for a lot of reasons and also just kind of gave me a little peace of mind.

But like, certainly as you get older, you just think about your own mortality in general.

And then, and once you become a father, you have those kind of just like,

what if something happened type of thing?

And just being, doing what I do for a living and doing what we do, I've always just been like, so grateful because like, there's this idea, like, how,

you know, know who's going to be there to teach your kid lessons and things like that that you know if god forbid something happens yeah and you talked about how like because of your dad and what he did for a living and all the interviews he's done and just he was just filmed so much you know it's just like this kind of beautiful gift yeah that you were able to get to know your dad you know even though you know, you probably don't have a lot of memories of him in person.

And I'd just love to like have you speak more about that Because again, like, it's just, that's one thing I've thought about.

Like, God forbid, if something happened, I have like hours and hours of footage of conversations of like just talking with my wife and just talking with our guests and offering perspective and things that I've learned and being vulnerable.

And I feel grateful that, God forbid, something were to happen.

If my kids wanted to get to know their dad, they would have the ability to do that.

And I'm just curious, like, at what age did you kind of have that realization that there was this gift available to you in order to like get to know your father?

Yeah, I think

when you lose someone like that so young, all of a sudden, as you grow up, well, at least for me, one of the most important things in my life and one of the things that I just really would seek out is just any kind of connection I could sort of reclaim to my dad.

And I think that the two greatest gifts that I have in my life to still have that connection: one,

as you say,

it's all that footage.

I mean,

as I just said, I mean, my whole life from the time I was born captured on camera.

So, all of the times with dad in photos, they're on video, there's recordings, it's all there.

My memories with dad are

blurry, very,

very distant.

So, my grief journey has been

different in a way where it's, I'm trying to get pieces of him back.

And when I watch a piece of footage, it happens to me, you know, it's happened a handful of times in my life where I will watch footage that I haven't seen before of me as a two-year-old kid with him.

And all of a sudden, It's like this wave.

It's like I just get hit with something.

And all of a sudden, it's just like, boom, I remember that.

That moment in time just comes back.

It just floods back into my mind.

And I just go, whoa, I remember that.

I remember that feeling.

I remember how I felt.

And I remember

how he felt in that moment.

And that is the greatest gift I can receive.

So that is huge for me.

But the second thing.

in my life, the second gift that I have that keeps me connected to my dad is my mum.

The legacy that my mum and dad created is incredible.

They were just the ultimate team and they created something that now I, my sister, we get to continue.

And it's, and it's a message that is so important.

They built an entire life around trying to make positive change on the planet.

And when dad passed away, everything then stops, but mum just carried it all forward.

She's an incredibly strong human being.

And she made sure that dad was always part of my life and I'm very very grateful for that.

Yes, still having a connection with him is is so important to me and also I get that connection from people I talk to in my day-to-day life.

I mean, he was a superhero figure to an entire generation, I think.

Yeah, and worldwide.

I mean, like, like, you know, we all knew your dad.

And I think it's because

any age, too.

Yeah, like, obviously it's cool because he was this advocate for the environment.

He was boots and all in there and so passionate about animals.

But also, I think he exemplified what it is to truly live, to truly give everything.

He didn't have a lot of time, and it's like he knew that.

He just gave so much to everything he did.

And people still come up to me all the time and share stories of when they met dad or the way he inspired them in their own lives.

And that means so much to me.

And I think

losing him,

it makes, for me, it's really made me try to

appreciate every second, appreciate the fragility of life and how fleeting it is to keep the ones you love around you, to tell everyone you love just how much you love them, and to just try and put out as much positivity because that's all we've got.

That's all we've got in this life is to just try and be kind to each other, try and make each other other laugh, and just spend time with the ones that fill your cup, you know, because you don't know how long you've got.

And

I'm very grateful for my family and for my mom, you know, giving me.

I have to say, like, sitting here with you is very full circle for me personally.

I grew up with my dad having the crocodile hunter on all the time.

That's awesome.

Oh,

you're gonna make me cry now.

He's He's not doing so well right now.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

No, it's tough, mate.

So this is really cool for me to have this conversation with you because it brings me back to my childhood with my dad.

Are there traits that you see in yourself of your dad when you watch back footage?

Yeah, there are.

And I'm...

I'm really sorry that you're going through that because it sucks.

Like,

there's no two ways about it.

It's a really weird

feeling to see my dad in photos and in footage as a young guy.

And now me being that age, it's

very, very surreal.

And like, I think the most emotional thing for me is when my niece will often see footage.

of my dad and she'll go, she calls me Shushu and she'll go oh it's oh it's shoo shoe and and bindy will go no no that's your grandfather when he was your uncle's age and grace just kind of can't quite figure that out yeah it's it's it's really special and i think

in this life grief is just it's it's part of the deal and it's so bloody hard it's so hard And there's no grief journey that's easy and there's no grief journey that is the same as the other.

But for me to celebrate my dad, to celebrate the person he is, to continue what he loved is the honor of a lifetime.

And

I do that with such pride.

And I really hope what you do, what I do, what we all do with a platform is to try and say it's okay.

It's okay when life's hard.

It's okay to be vulnerable.

And it's okay sometimes for some days to just be too much and to just try and keep that light in your heart, try and find the people that lift you up and to just lift each other up.

So thank you

for sharing that sense of vulnerability and for saying that it's okay,

you know,

it's okay to find that grief sometimes.

It's been the week for it.

It's like really been the week for it.

We're doing our dedication week dance and it's like this, it brings up so many crazy emotions, but it's so, um,

it's so powerful because you realize

none of us are doing this alone.

Exactly.

We're all, we've all experienced that in some way and we all have to be there for each other.

And I think that's something we can all connect with, right?

Yeah.

Like

we're all going in grief, like through grief in some way.

And if we can pull together and connect in that way.

And I think that's what's been really big for us this week.

Yeah.

Has been to share Robert's story and his his personal journey.

Yeah.

But to connect.

And hope and try and make sure it kind of helps others.

Helps others.

In some way.

Yeah.

Yeah.

How, how, how are you?

How are you doing with it all?

How, how are you, how do you, yeah, how do you navigate it?

I mean, it's, it's tough.

It's tough.

It's definitely, you know, I've only ever, you know, lost grandparents that, you know, I wasn't super close with.

So, I mean, a parent,

I think for a girl, you know,

her dad is

everything.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Truly.

Truly.

So I, you know,

slowly, day by day, day by day.

Not to get the emotions

going, but I, you know, again, just like, I think a lot is rivers too,

almost two.

So I, I really fantasize about like conversations I look forward to having with her and teaching her things and just like, I care about her character and things like that.

And then again, those moments with your dad was taken from you.

Yeah.

But I imagine you must have conversations with your dad or through your mom or your sister.

Yeah.

I'm sure they express to you things your dad would want you to know or lessons they'd want to teach you.

And I'm just curious, like, what are some of those?

Yeah.

You know, it's like it's something if I, again, God forbid something were to happen, I would, I just would want my daughter to still feel like she was able to learn things I'd want to teach her.

And like, what are lessons that you've been able to learn from your dad

through your family,

the footage or whatever that, you know, that you were still able to connect with your father?

Yeah, I feel like through, particularly through my mom and my sister and through a lot of the people that knew dad best,

I still get to learn from him.

I absolutely learn from him.

He was

just so ahead of his time and was so, he was such a dedicated father.

Like he was so, such a committed, dedicated father.

And the, the time that I had with him and that my sister had with him was so short.

But it's like every, for me, every second of those two years that I had with my dad was just like saturated with his energy and his passion and his spirit.

And I still, I still feel that like all the time.

Yeah.

I, I was clearing out his office

the other day.

We were renovating and I found

one of his old jackets, one of his old shirts.

And I remember pulling it out of this box, and obviously it had been like 19 years, but I don't know how.

This sounds so weird, but it smelt like him.

Oh, wow.

Like it's, it smelt like a campfire.

Yeah.

That's what he always, he smelt like a campfire because he was all, he, every night he'd build a fire and it's like, whoa, there he is.

And, and my, my mom, my sister, they still pass on the lessons that, that he was all about.

He was so family focused.

And his thing was always

treat everyone equal.

Like

you have to treat everyone the way you would wish to be treated.

And he approached that with all the people he would come in contact with, but also animals.

You know, he was very much like, treat every living being how you would want to be treated.

That's this real lesson that I think he kind of gave to me and to my sister.

The other really cool thing, you know, dad was very known for crocodiles, right?

You know, everyone knows that he was, he's the crocodile hunter, but, you know, hunter is kind of the wrong word because he was going out to conserve crocs, to protect them, often to rescue them out of situations where they were going to be killed, you know, so he would go out and wrangle crocs and he devised this method of catching crocodiles because no one else had really done that before, you know.

It was portrayed in movies and all, but no one had ever actually done that in real life.

And he, and he did that.

And so the people that he taught those techniques to now teach me so now I lead our crocodile rescue team and I go out and and and catch and rescue crocs or do crocodile research continue his work and so you know all of all of those actual techniques of how you catch a crocodile were passed down from the people he taught now on to me so it's like all of the the the the lessons the real like material work lessons, you know, I'm still learning from him too, to continue his legacy and to continue his work.

And it's such a privilege.

It really is.

It is such a privilege.

And you know what?

Like, I, one day,

I really would love to have a family and I'd really love to have kids because I would love to give my child one day what my dad kind of gave to me, the lessons that he gave to me.

And I want to.

you know, I want to be around for them as long as I can.

But

I would want to pass that down onto someone too.

So that's something I think about a lot as well.

There's a video that reminds me of a video circulating where your dad, I think it's when you're born.

Yeah.

And he's like, you're born and he's like, this is what it's all about.

Like you could tell he was just all about family.

I love that.

Yeah, there's this, there's, there's this interview that he did where someone, he was on some show, some talk show or something, and someone asked him, like, is there anything that would make you give up what you, what you do, give up your work and your career, you know, ready for the answer for dad to be like, nope, no way in classic dad fashion.

This is what I do and I'll do it to the end.

And I'm so passionate.

But instead, he answered, yes, absolutely.

When my kids are ready to take over my legacy and my mission, I'm done.

It's theirs.

I'm out.

Like that, he always said.

My whole mission is to create a legacy that my kids can continue.

And he said that years before he passed.

And so for me watching that, it's like he gave me this gift.

It's there.

It's material.

It's in writing.

I'm watching him looking through the camera and telling me, I'm not always going to be here.

And

this,

but I'm creating something that you can continue.

And that's what I want you to do.

And that's what I get to do now.

And

it fills me with a lot of pride and what's so cool is like he's there with you when you're doing the stuff you know he's like so proud like watching you crush it and like do it exactly how he would do it and like seeing himself in you like that's so cool

different stuff as well like i never thought i'd be doing dancing with the stuff

i never thought that would be a way to spread my message to continue his legacy and now to kind of try and create my own yeah like take yeah all of the building blocks that he sort of created, take all of that, carry that spirit with me, but now create my own legacy.

You have a whole new generation following you, but you're also introducing them to your father and giving your father an even bigger legacy.

And it's amazing how it's so alive today.

Yeah.

Like his legacy is still so alive.

There's actually a thing that the world really got behind, which is Steve Irwin Day, the 15th of November, is a day that is now celebrated worldwide

to kind of honor dad.

And it's incredible how every his impact is felt and his message is felt even more because I think as our world, you know, the times that we're going through, what he stood for is more important than ever before.

And what he stood for is so universal and it will always be relevant.

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I imagine the answer is no because obviously just hearing you speak with such passion and connectedness to your dad.

But was there ever pressure that you felt, you know, in terms of carrying on this legacy or just kind of being ordained?

And did you ever want to be just like a banker?

Yeah.

Yeah.

I'm done with this.

I'm going to be an astronaut.

I'm going to be an accountant.

I'm going to be a dancer.

I do.

Well, now

maybe it's a career change.

If this whole animal thing doesn't work out, I know where you'll be.

100 robert especially the cha-cha don't say that word i can't even that's that's a that is a trigger word for me cha-cha oh my gosh uh no

honestly it was never a question but the interesting thing was my mum was really big in saying if you want to take over the family business if that's what you want to do great but as i was growing up she would actively try and get me into different stuff.

She'd be like, if I had an interest in something else, she'd be like, yep, go do that.

She wants to do that.

Do that separate things.

She was like, you choose.

So she was very encouraging of separate passions, but I would always end up just circling back to what we do, you know?

And I think it's because growing up, my mum and dad were like, we're going to take, we're going to take the kids with us everywhere.

So when they were on some wild conservation mission, we would be there with them.

And I grew up seeing like, you know, I learnt about rhinos by being on the plains in Africa and and seeing them firsthand with an anti-poaching unit.

I learnt about

koalas by going to one of our conservation properties and watching a baby koala emerge from the pouch there in the wild in front of me in a eucalyptus tree.

Like I was so immersed in this world of conservation that it filled me with a great sense of responsibility.

Not pressure, but responsibility.

Like I was born into this world and I was born with a platform.

I am so grateful that I get to reach people with this message and I feel like I have to do that justice.

I've been put on this planet for a reason.

This is what gets me out of bed every day with a fire in my belly is to make the world a better place and to try and show the next generation that it's up to us to make that difference.

It really is.

And it doesn't matter who you are.

I mean, everything I do was started by this young bloke.

in Australia in a town called Beerwa, population nobody in the middle of nowhere.

And he just loved animals.

And that was my dad.

And he created this empire, this legacy with my mom.

So you've got to just follow your passion and you got to give it 100%.

And that's always been my passion.

But it's the same as you.

Like we talk about this.

When you're born into something that gives you that sense of passion and you can form a career out of it, that is life's greatest gift.

Yeah, 100%.

For sure.

What has been the most like unbelievable thing you've witnessed being around animals?

Oh my gosh.

So many things,

so much heartbreak, so much beauty.

The natural world at this point in time, as it goes through its most uncertain point and it's going through such turmoil, there is such just horror and beauty happening at the same time.

Here's two examples.

These are just two examples that come straight to my head of

how hard this job is and how beautiful it is.

So a couple of years ago, Australia went through a bushfire crisis, which you would have heard about.

You know, millions upon millions of acres of land destroyed, billions of animals lost.

It was devastating.

I and our team went down to a place called Kangaroo Island down in the south of Australia.

And it was one of the places hardest hit by these wildfires, absolutely decimated.

And we went down there to help out.

to rehabilitate injured koalas, the burn victim koalas that were rescued.

I went out with the army.

It was like ground zero.

It was like an apocalyptic scene.

I remember we were going out to try and find any sort of greenery that we could pick for these koalas to keep them fed.

They were at a local animal hospital and they were trying to be rehabilitated.

I went out with the army and I remember going out trying to find any sort of leaf, anything we could find, and it was just ash as far as the eye could see.

And I remember getting out of the car and looking on the ground and seeing,

it's just so sad and it's horrible to even think about, but just seeing a field of just singed koalas just koalas that's horrible littering the ground next to the road that were trying to flee the fire

and there they all are that's horrible the icon of australia one of the most iconic animals ever and it was just devastating and i remember i was i was crying and these like super tough army guys and girls were there they're all crying and we were all just devastated and there was this one tree sitting there that was still green.

And there's a koala sitting there at the top of the tree, unscathed, totally fine.

Wow.

And you just look at that and you go, there's always hope.

Yeah.

There's always hope.

We ended up getting hundreds of koalas rehabilitated, put back out in the wild, revegetated, and that island's doing really well now.

That's so great.

Wow.

Another example of that.

I'm out on the Great Barrier Reef looking for sea turtles, right?

Endangered sea turtles.

And I'm out in the deep water and I'm sitting there just bobbing around, can't see the bottom.

And this just gives you the idea of how, how small we all are, right?

I'm looking and I can't quite see.

It's kind of murky.

And all of a sudden, this shape just starts like emerging from the deep.

This deep blue, dark shape, like a submarine just starts coming up.

And your heart rate goes up.

And this like weird primal instinct just pops in your head and you're like, I gotta run.

What do I do?

I gotta run.

What's going on?

Yeah.

And I look and it's, and it's a humpback whale.

Massive humpback whale.

Comes right up.

And I'm telling you, she comes up eye to eye with me where Whitney and I are right here.

One foot, reach out a hand and you touch her.

There she is.

And she just comes right up, turns over and shows me her beautiful little calf, her little baby that's right underneath her.

Oh my gosh.

The baby comes up and we spend like half an hour.

just circling each other, watching each other, her eye looking dead in your eye, just watching, allowing me to have this connection, to have this moment, and then she disappears again.

And I just felt so small.

That is the natural world.

We are part of something so much bigger than ourselves.

And in so many ways, unfortunately, we are part of its destruction, but we will be its solution as well.

Do you like try to figure out why?

You know, like, why would she have done that?

Why, you know, like, is there a part of you that's like, and this is the thing: there is no

instinctual primal reason.

There is no reason for her to do that.

There's no reason but curiosity.

And no reason for her to allow me

to be with her baby.

Exactly.

They are incredibly

defensive creatures.

And for her to say, hey, here's my little baby.

I'm going to let you.

She kind of like ushered her over.

Here she is.

kind of here's a little introduction and i'm going to let you spend this time wow and then she went all right we're done now and i'm and I'm off.

There was no

reason.

There was, she had no gain out of that.

There's so much more to animals than meets the eye.

That's amazing.

She's like, look what I did.

Look what I did.

Yeah, we do.

We do.

We need to get to like hooty-dooty with it all, but there's a real energy in that.

Like, there are energy.

Oh, my God.

Your energy.

They have a soul.

And if you put out that energy, if you're gentle, if you're respectful, if you have this sense of I'm in your space, I'm grateful to be here.

Thank you.

I'm telling you, animals pick up on that.

I was going about to say that says so much about you for her to be able to come up with a lot of people.

It was a real privilege.

It was a real privilege.

But anyway, have y'all made plans to get Whitney in the safari or in the ocean?

She's coming to Australia.

Yep, I am.

I'm coming to Australia.

I'm so excited.

She's naming an animal after me, so I must.

What animal?

I am.

Watch this space.

I'm thinking about a wallaby.

I'm thinking about Whitney the Wallaby.

Wouldn't that be great?

They're really cute.

I used to always play this game

in my young professional life when I'd do like training and it's always boring or in like school, I'd always be like, What animal would I be?

If you're an animal, who are you?

Or like, what's your favorite animal?

What would you be?

I don't know.

What's your favorite animal?

I used to always say monkey because I'm like slightly obnoxious and

a little quirky, you know.

But what is your favorite animal?

Crocodiles.

Okay, crocodiles.

I absolutely love them.

Okay.

Like.

They are cool.

What animal would he be?

What would I be?

You would definitely be a koala.

I mean, I don't know much about koalas.

I mean, they're native to Australia, right?

They're cute and cuddly.

Everyone loves them.

I mean, yeah.

You've obviously, you've been a professional on Dance with the Stars for a long time and like Rob, you know, fascinating persona, fascinating career.

Last season, you had Danny,

professional football player, Super Bowl, you know, winner.

Like, have you picked up on all your various partners with all these like crazy backgrounds?

I'm sure you've must have picked up on these

professions that they've all had.

And not to ask if you've had a favorite, but what are some of the most interesting things you've learned

just from your various partners?

Well, I learned how to do the Carlton, which is pretty cool.

And I was able to dance it with him.

I can do the Carlton.

You can.

I did it in front of him.

And he said it was pretty good.

Wow, I'm going to save this.

Pretty good.

Yeah.

Wow.

And what did he say?

He said it was really good.

I'll show you.

Really good or pretty good.

Okay.

I haven't done it in years.

Okay, well, you're going to have to show me after this.

That'll be the deciding factor.

Yeah, no, Danny had he actually took me through some like football runs, and I actually beat him.

So there's

beat him, but no, it's been really, really fun to have Robert as a partner.

Just how passionate he is about animals.

And, you know, he actually showed me an alligator, and I got in with an alligator and I touched its little chubby legs.

Very well.

It was very cute.

And we had, what did we have on set with us?

That snake.

Was it?

Yeah, we had a had a Burmese python on set.

And I had it all over me.

And I was like, I am like, I love that.

That's impressive.

That was our first day.

That was our first day.

And Whitney's like, none, that's no worries at all.

I'm actually

surprised.

I'm actually surprised that I did that.

Before we let you guys go, this episode is going to drop next Wednesday.

So it'll be the day after your next dance.

So I'd love, you know, going into this week, you know, people have already watched the dance.

Can you just, I know it's dedication week.

What's the dance you're going to be doing?

How are you feeling about it?

Like, what's maybe the biggest challenge in terms of the dance itself and the choreography that you're thinking about?

So when we all watch it back, we'll have thought, you know, he nailed it.

He conquered that move.

Like, what are we excited about?

And do you know the music you're going to be dancing to?

Well, I'll let Whitney describe the, like.

the actual choreography and what is difficult about the dance, you know, but from my perspective, the hardest thing I think has been tapping into like a real sense of, I've really just, for the first time, like I'm a very positive person,

but I'm kind of just trying to put my heart on the sleeve with this one and try and allow myself to kind of just be vulnerable and let that emotion just fly.

And it's been really hard.

It's been really a draining week because you're creating something that is literally just pouring your heart and soul.

I've been thinking a lot about, obviously, my mum.

It's dedicated to my mum.

You'll be in my heart, Phil Collins.

But it's also about how my mum has kept our family together and how she's sort of pulled me out of the dark so many times throughout my grief journey with my dad

while she's enduring her own journey with that.

And to capture that feeling in a song is such a cathartic experience.

It's so much deeper than just a dance.

I really hope that it means something to people.

Anyone who has lost someone, feels lost in their own life.

There's always people around you that believe in you, that want to see you do well, and you need to, you need to keep moving forward.

To capture that in one dance is a big

thing.

And Whitney, you've done that incredibly well.

Thank you.

Well, it's, you know, it's Robert's story is so special and it's something that we really we want to take care of and you know i want to challenge him at the same time so we're trying to you know really push ourselves and challenge ourselves but I think at the core it's what what's his story and what is this about and how can we connect to the audience and make them feel something that's like the most important thing what is the type of dancing it's contemporary contemporary yeah and is do you have a favorite I love contemporary I do

your shirt be off no probably not

for this

definitely

The week after.

No more shirts coming up.

Like, I feel like,

come on.

Messed up.

Let's get this.

Just one more time.

Let's get that.

One more time.

It's been a, it's like, I feel like our, the, the trust that we've built has just been amazing.

And I feel like it's all kind of

like come to fruition.

It's like reached this height this week.

Yeah.

Like we've really, like, I feel like I've been really leaning on Whitney so much, not just from a dance perspective, which I have every week, but also emotionally.

There's been a lot of tears and you've had a lot of that kind of just put on you.

I love it.

But yeah, I'm really grateful for

this team.

I'm really grateful.

They'll make a great team.

They'll do make a good team.

Well, I know you guys have to get going.

Really appreciate you taking the time, Whitney.

Always a pleasure to have you on.

Thank you for watching.

Rob, this has been a lot of fun getting to know you.

Thanks for just being so vulnerable and having fun with us.

And congratulations on crushing it so far.

Good luck the rest of the way.

Thank you.

If you don't make the finals, I'll be very disappointed.

I know.

We're going to do it best.

I'm going to give it everything.

I know, obviously, but how can, just for a reminder, like, what's the text?

How can people vote?

Text Robert to 21523.

Well, you can vote online.

You can vote online.

You can vote 10 times.

Yes.

Look at that.

You probably know it better than I.

We'll be there Tuesday night.

Yeah, we'll be there on Tuesday.

Text.

And

you guys.

Thanks.

Do you have a favorite couple?

Definitely.

Well, you're my favorite dancer.

So anyone that you are coupled with, I love.

I agree.

And she's not just saying that.

I don't know.

All the time.

Nick's like, shut up.

Talking about Whitney.

You know, interestingly enough, I know a handful.

Like, Dylan's a good friend.

Oh, good.

It's been fun getting to know you.

It's always fun to root for you.

Obviously, the Mormon wise with Whitney and Jen.

That's great.

Yeah.

It's a really good cast.

It is a good cast.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Really.

So

it's been fun to root for everyone.

And

it's just fun to see the dances.

And it always brings me back to when I was on it.

I feel like they've really modernized the show in a fun way.

They did.

They've made a lot of changes.

I'm kind of envious of that.

Yeah, no, it's been really fun.

They've done a great job.

And like keeping the younger generation involved, too.

Like social media has been they've realized that like there's this thing called social media.

Exactly.

Hence TikTok night.

And it's revolving

the whole thing.

Yeah, modernize it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Very cool.

We'll see you on Tuesday.

We'll see you Tuesday.

It's such a good chat.

I really appreciate it.

We'll see you guys tomorrow.

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