Apart from the occasional debutante ball or a dance at a bar or club, dancing hasn't really been on Sean Weir's radar.
But over the last few weeks the gym owner has traded his usual fitness regime for the dance studio as he prepares for the Ballarat Foundation's Dancing with our Stars event.
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Mr Weir and his dance partner Rochelle Kirkham are tackling the jive, one of the fastest styles on display at the event.
"I like to keep fit, but the fitness in dancing is not what I expected." Mr Weir said.
Despite the cardio surprise he said he has been enjoying the new experience.
"The footwork and the speed has been really challenging, but really fun," he said.
"It is super fast, we have been practising at about 30 per cent and it needs to be faster."
"You have to put a lot of trust in your partner.
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"Rochelle has been amazing, she has been able to help me throughout the whole thing."
As part of his fundraising effort Mr Weir has offered to do a burpee for every dollar raised at this event next weekend.
Any money raised on May 7 at the FX3 gym will count towards the burpee tally.
Mr Weir is glad to be putting his support and raising funds for the foundation.
"I think the foundation is doing great things with the local community and it is always really good to get behind something local," he said.
The weekend after his burpee challenge Mr Weir will be hosting the Shaka Ball.
A number of people will be getting together on May 13 with ticket prices and proceeds from the charity auction going towards the Ballarat Foundation.
He said it was exciting to see almost all tickets sold.
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"There are only a few left," he said.
Mr Weir was nominated to participate by some of his gym members.
"A few other people sort of sent the message to say that I should do it," he said.
"I brought it up with a team and they thought it was a great idea."
He said it is also a good opportunity to keep talking about the work the Shaka Project does.
As people go back into the office, he said his work in the mental health sector will be vital.
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"Making sure that companies are looking after their employees' best mental health interests and at the same time, making sure that people are looking after their own mental health," he said.
"I had a pretty rough upbringing with addictions and my own sort of rough past with drugs and alcohol."
Mr Weir said he was glad to be able to use the platform to shine more light onto men's mental health.
"There is definitely more conversation around mental health, but there is still a long way to go," he said.
"I am just really passionate about letting people know that they are not alone in those really dark times. If we can sort of help someone feel little bit better about their day or themselves then that is a win for me."
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