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Simon the star!
When we catch up with Simon Barnett, it’s just days after he was announced the winner of Dancing with the Stars, and Simon is trying to get back to a sense of normality. He took his wife Jodi and daughter out for lunch in an attempt to get back into routine, but fell asleep at the restaurant table.
It’s the end of an unrelenting three months of rehearsals for up to 50 hours a week, and the ‘trauma’ of the live shows on Sunday night. Monday morning Simon was up at 5 am to do his More FM breakfast show via Skype, and then it was back to rehearsals to start the process again. The moment when Simon was announced the winner was a ‘perfect storm of emotion, sheer exhaustion, unbridled relief, achievement and a sense of sacrifice as well,’ recalls Simon.
Along the way, Simon became the nation’s sweetheart, labelled ‘the dad bod’ after baring his spray-tanned abs under a shimmery bolero. (There is no other context in which this sentence would be okay, but that’s the glorious spectacle of Dancing with the Stars.) ‘Well, it was definitely more flattering than being “the guy that ate all the pies,” ’ laughs Simon, who lost 7 kg during the programme. Although he’s quick to add that he ‘holds fame, for want of a better word, very lightly’.
Simon made no secret that votes for him went toward supporting the work of The Salvation Army. ‘I know the story of William Booth and I’ve always felt that The Salvation Army gets its hands dirty,’ reflects Simon. ‘You have always taken great care of the poor, the under-privileged and the needy. You just get on with the job.
‘There is a deep respect from the public for The Salvation Army, and the goodwill and mana you have is massive,’ he adds. Simon himself is no stranger to the Army, having spoken at local corps (churches). His daughters have even volunteered at their local Family Store.
So, did God help him paso doble his way to victory? Simon says he felt God with him all the way. When he dislocated his knee in the second week, Simon describes his unusual recovery as somewhat of a miracle. ‘Usually you’re crumpled on the ground with a dislocated knee, and somehow it went back in and I was able to keep going. Every week my physio would say, “I can’t believe your knee is performing like this”—usually you’d be off your feet for six weeks with this injury.’
During intense rehearsals, Simon and Vanessa struck up a great friendship. ‘We had amazing discussions about faith,’ recalls Simon. He always prayed before they went on stage. ‘Mostly, I prayed for peace and that I would remember my dance moves! And for God’s grace to be upon us.’
Simon is now urging other Kiwi blokes to be brave and give the dance floor a go. ‘A lot of guys feel embarrassed, just like I did—but hey, I told myself a thousand times I can’t dance, and here I am.’ Simon and his wife Jodi will make their first appearance together as a dance couple at her brother’s wedding, later this year.
Although the exact amount raised from votes for Simon will remain confidential, Public Relations Director Shane Chisholm says, ‘It will make a significant contribution to our mission. Simon and Vanessa have hugely helped us to help others, and we are so grateful to them and to God for this provision.’
by Ingrid Barratt (c) 'War Cry' magazine, 8 August, pp3.
You can read 'War Cry' at your nearest Salvation Army church or centre, or subscribe through Salvationist Resources.