“I’m a two-time bronze medalist, and now I’m going after that Mirrorball,” Pommel Horse specialist-turned-Olympic star Stephen Nedoroscik announced in late August after he returned from Paris. The challenge was steep, and Nedoroscik? Unprepared, but not ready to give up. “I want to bring some flares, I want to bring some of that gymnastics. Maybe a backflip or handstand. I want to have fun with it,” he told Good Morning America about his Dancing with the Stars journey. And so far it’s seemed to have paid off, as the gymnast just got done with his Halloween special performance, earning a perfect 10 for the first time. But somehow, it still feels surreal for the 26-year-old.

One day, he was just your regular gymnast quietly training for his debut Olympics. And the next thing you know, “I had to literally turn my notifications off!” Those close to the young star will still attest he’s the same Stephen Nedoroscik. Shy, seemingly timid, and a little lost in his own world. Hence, ever since he’s been thrust into the limelight, catapulted by a memorable DWTS run, Nedoroscik still has a hard time believing any of it’s real…

On November 6, the Olympic medalist made an appearance on the Mythical Kitchen show with Josh Scherer. Captioned “6300 Calorie Cheat Meal With Pommel Horse Medalist Stephen Nedoroscik”, the episode centered around food, DWTS, and, of course—the Pommel Horse! The video started with a segment where Nedoroscik was seen giving the host warm-up lessons, followed by some tough Pommel Horse training, where the latter hilariously struggled, and never stopped complaining. The video then progressed to the food section, where the two finally sat down to discuss all things Stephen Nedoroscik…

Josh started about Stephen’s DWTS journey: “Most people would see you on the pommel horse and be like, ‘Surely this man is a confident and good dancer’.” However, the Pommel Horse star completely denied this and remarked that he was quite the opposite. Despite his incredibly confident demeanor while he performs gymnastics routines, he doesn’t have the same attitude when he is dancing. “Well, those people would be very wrong. I’m a very cowardly and scared dancer…Getting on Dancing with the Stars, like, I never would’ve thought… Like an insecurity of mine is dancing. When I’m at the club, I’m usually in the corner,” he said, before expressing wonder at his current self, saying, “You know, I never would have imagined I’d be watched by millions of people dancing. Seriously, not in a million years would I have thought I found myself in these situations. But the thing is, as long as you go a hundred percent, like you won’t ever really look stupid.”

Despite his lack of a dance background, Stephen Nedoroscik is holding his own on the show. In fact, during Halloween week, he received high praise from the judges after his contemporary number on “I Ran (So Far Away)” by Hidden Citizens. Interestingly, each contestant was supposed to base their performances off of their worst nightmare, and the Olympian chose pitch black darkness due to his eye conditions—he has strabismus (crossed eyes), and coloboma (missing eye tissue, which can lead to vision loss and sensitivity to light).

“Without my glasses, I have trouble seeing anything at all. I have no depth perception, and I also have a genetic disorder, so any lights that are in my face, it’s super painful, and I usually can’t really see well at all,” he had said after his performance. It’s clear he’s putting in the effort needed to succeed on the show just like he does in gymnastics. But DWTS is soon coming to a close, and gymnastics fans now await Stephen Nedoroscik’s comeback. Speaking of comebacks, he also talked about his one goal ahead of Paris.

Josh asked, “Your life completely changed after the Olympics. Did you go into the Olympics with any sort of plan? Like, ‘I have a stage, and I’m gonna shoot my shot’. Or you were just focused on competing, and then everything just sort of happened around you?”  

To his Stephen remarked, “Making

the team, it was very unlikely I made it. And I was so blessed to be a part of it. And there was an immediate community hatred that I made the team. Not hatred, but there’s a negativity behind it because I only do the one event. So, like I immediately knew, I had something to prove.”“I like it when people doubt me because…I’m a very positive guy, but seeing people doubt me kind of fuels me like more than anything. So like, I’m very driven. And when I see people like, ‘Oh, he shouldn’t have made the team’. I was like, ‘I’m gonna prove them wrong’. So, like my whole goal, going into the Olympic cycle wasn’t to get famous. It wasn’t to get brand deals or anything like that. It was to come home with hardware so that I could be like, ‘See this guys? I’ve made the team’. And that’s all I really wanted out of it,” Stephen Nedoroscik stated confidently. 

Well, that being said, the gymnast’s life has surely changed for the better. But what about after his gymnastics career and fame fizzle out?

Stephen Nedoroscik discusses his future in gymnastics post DWTS

Many fans have now started to wonder what lies ahead for Stephen Nedoroscik. What is his plan for the future after Dancing with the Stars? The gymnast, however, seemed pretty clear about it. Talking to Josh, he said, “Hopefully my gymnastics career continues and lasts long and long. But I always said I’m gonna stop the sport when I break. Afterwards, I’m gonna be an electrical engineer. That’s always been the end goal. I got my degree in electrical engineering at Penn State and it’d be a shame if that went to waste.” But that’s not all!

As per an update by Inside Gymnastics magazine, he is aware that the next Olympics is on home turf and would like to make the best use out of it. Now that he has already won a bronze medal, the gymnast now seems to be aiming higher for the next competition. Thus, after the end of his dancing stint, Stephen will get back to the mat and hone his gymnastics skills to the fullest.

“Bronze is a great achievement, but I got my eyes for something shinier in my future #2028.” If Stephen Nedoroscik successfully achieves his goal, he can finally reignite male gymnastics and succeed in his mission to popularize it and stop its eventual death.

While it’s too early to think about the outcome, Stephen Nedoroscik definitely has the ability to bring home an Olympic gold medal.