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If you haven’t found it already, Louie was featured on the L.A. Times Olympic Blog. Take some time to get to know him better! Here’s a excerpt:
“To be honest, I’m not a ballroom dancing type of guy,” Vito said. “I have pretty much no idea what is going on.” Vito is trying to follow the tips (orders?) given him by his pro partner, Chelsie Hightower, 20, who is in her second year on the show.
“She is teaching me not to do the wrong step and trip over my feet,” Vito said. Vito said “Dancing with the Stars” first approached him for the 2008 season. When that didn’t work out, he thought they wouldn’t ask again until after the Olympics. When the call came again last spring, it was too good to pass up, but he has no illusions about where it could take him.
“I’m a snowboarder,” he said. “I’m supposed to be a snowboarder on the show.”
Vito could be tied up dancing until November, but he has gotten the show’s approval to take time away for snowboard training if needed. He figures the four to six hours of dance practice a day will keep him fit.
“I have talked to other athletes who said they were in a lot better shape after doing the show,” he said.
Vito also thinks being out of his comfort zone will help him on the halfpipe.
“If I can get in shape to do something I’m not comfortable with in front of 22 million (TV) viewers a week, it should be a breeze to be in front of the people who are at a (snowboarding) competition,” he said.
