'Dancing with the Stars' JR Martinez: 'I don't always want to dance'
Published Dec 9 2011, 20:47 GMT | By Jennifer Still
© WENN / Judy Eddy
The Iraq war veteran, who was crowned the winner of the ABC competition's 13th cycle last month, revealed that he considers being a champion to be a bit of a mixed blessing.
"It's funny because as exciting as it is to win, it's almost like a curse, too. Now, everywhere I go, everyone wants me to dance," Martinez explained in a new interview with Parade.
"Sometimes I'm going through the airport and I don't want to dance, I want to board my flight and actually sit in my seat and play Angry Birds on my iPad! I'm actually doing a little dancing though.
"I did an event in West Palm Beach recently where they auctioned off a dance with me. It's definitely no [professional partner Karina Smirnoff], but my feet are still moving!"
However, Martinez insisted that he never forgets to be grateful for his popularity, adding: "I have gotten used to it, actually. For the ten weeks on the show, I didn't do any travelling because I was so busy doing rehearsals, so I was kind of secluded from the audience watching the show.
"In my mind, I was just entertaining the people in the ballroom. I forgot about the millions of people that are on the other side of that camera, so it's been an eye-opening experience. I've taken the time to sign every autograph and take every picture."
Martinez was recently awarded the Unsung Hero prize for his ability to overcome obstacles in life.
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