For Stephen Nedoroscik, the thrills of life are unfolding on a very different kind of stage right now. After a historic Olympic run, the pommel horse specialist is wooing fans at the 33rd season of Dancing With The Stars. For someone who’s performed on the grandest stage with some of the most elite gymnasts in the world, you’d imagine anything less than that would feel stale. But the Penn State alum thinks there are more similarities between the two than not.

The gymnast’s mom, Cheryl, claimed that Stephen Nedoroscik is never shy to try out something new. As fans keep getting amazed week after week by Nedoroscik’s groovy performances, the ex-Nittany Lion assures a familiarity with the setup of DWTS, and the Olympic Games helped him ease into his new role without breaking a sweat.

In a recent YouTube short uploaded by Lightweight Podcast with Joe Vulpis, Rylee Arnold’s partner was heard talking about how his maiden stint at the popular dancing show made him realize that it wasn’t much different than what he does on a daily basis. During the conversation, Vulpis enquired if DWTS and the Olympics felt anything similar from the perspective of a performer. In response, Stephen Nedoroscik noted that the similarities took him by surprise as well. “Believe it or not, I find parallels between dancing with the stars and the Olympics or any gymnastics competition very much,” the Olympic medalist revealed.

He went on to highlight the things that made gymnastics and dancing kind of the same. “The thing with Dancing With The Stars, there are spotlights on you, the cameras, the judges, and it’s the exact same thing as the Olympics. So it’s a very familiar feeling when I go out and perform,” he stated as a matter of fact. But the biggest difference that caught Stephen’s eye was the difference in the size of the show’s location.

“My first initial reaction when I walked into the actual studio, I literally went to Rylee; I said, ‘this is much smaller than I was expecting it to be’,” grinned the Superman lookalike gymnast. However, he noted that the lighting setup of the studio helps Stephen Nedoroscik to stay focused, as he cannot see the audience that way. Whatever the reason, the 25-year-old is proving that his decision to expand his horizons was a move in the right direction.

Stephen Nedoroscik is ushering in a new era for male gymnastics with DWTS stint

In the past five weeks, gymnastics fans have been enthralled to see that their favorite star is as graceful on the dance floor as he is on the gymnastics apparatus. While Simone Biles is leading the Gold Over America Tour across the country, bringing more exposure to men’s gymnastics, Stephen Nedoroscik is doing the same thing in his own way, and his dancing partner Rylee Arnold is head over heels watching him make the sport more popular. “It is so amazing that Stephen is representing the male gymnasts. Male gymnasts are very overlooked and a lot of people just focused on the female gymnasts,” Arnold told Vulpis a few days ago.

Moreover, the fact that Stephen has been able to achieve so much despite his eye condition creating hindrances in his pursuit of greatness is also encouraging young and aspiring dancers and gymnasts alike to keep their passion alive. “A couple of mothers have reached out about their sons. One of them had strabismus, which is when your eyes are crossed, and you know they thought like he couldn’t do sports. And he thought he couldn’t do sports. But sure enough, like after seeing me at the Olympics and seeing me on Dancing With the Stars, you know, he started to tackle like football,” Nedoroscik confessed to Extra TV. So what has been your favorite performance by the Team USA poster-boy so far? Tell us in the comments!