Derek Hough Reveals His Teenage Alter Ego in the Latest Episode of TikTok’s “For You” Podcast

You know him (and love him) as one of the most decorated contestants and judges from Dancing with the Stars and World of Dance, but what you might not know is that Derek Hough has also taken his skills to TikTok. “For TikTok, it’s been really great to see this sense of permission to just give [dancing] a go,” says Derek in his recent For You podcast interview with Brittany Broski. “I love that, and even for me it’s given me permission to tap into my ‘inner dork,’” he continues.

Although we’re not sure Derek could ever really be a dork, he does reveal that Dixie D’Amelio once roasted him when he first got on the app. Derek also shares that growing up he played in emo bands (nail varnish, eyeliner, and all) and would then quickly transition to ballroom dance competitions. Although he lived with these two alter egos, he now realizes that he’s fulfilled his dream of being on stage, but in a different way—rocking out through dance vs. music.

Check out a snippet of Broski’s conversation with Derek below and tune into new episodes every Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. PST/8:30 p.m. EST on TikTok LIVE and Thursday mornings on Apple, Spotify, Google and all major podcast players.