Most of the World Cup action took place on the pitch, but for those in the stadium seats, there was another show – and this one featured a Canadian talent.
“My job is to inject as much fun as possible and leave them with a lasting experience. Whether they win or lose, my job is to make sure they go home and say ‘Wow, that was a great show.'”
He went to Dancin’ Wayne. The Oshawa, Ontario native has been serving as floor host for the 2022 World Cup matches. From dancing to fan interviews, Wayne does almost everything he can to entertain fans during games.
“It’s been a marathon,” he told CTV News. “I think I’ve had three days off, just because of so many races.”
The journey from the GTA to Qatar included moving to British Columbia, as well as making major life-changing decisions.
“I quit my job,” he said. “I don’t think I’m, I’m not supposed to sit at a desk eight hours a day. I developed an app called TikTok full-time and it ended up being very popular on the app. Several companies joined me on DMs …one of them is FIFA.”
After hosting several trials, Wayne was selected as one of the World Cup hosts.
His epiphany came after he was involved in a serious motor vehicle crash last year.
“A drunk driver knocked me off the road and nearly injured me for a long time, I couldn’t even walk normally. I’ve come from then to now because I don’t want to live the same life I was living.”
Dancin’ Wayne is featured at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Wayne said he spent three hours a day in the gym in the 18 weeks leading up to the game to prepare himself for performance on the court.
“They’re not small stadiums, right? These are 50,000-seat stadiums, so to see some fans from one end to the other, you have to move, you have to be busy.”
With the World Cup wrapping up in Qatar, Wayne has been having the time of his life. He hopes that others will be inspired by his story to stop sitting on the fringes of life and join the game.
“My best message to people right now is to find your best happiness. I was hosting and dancing and doing all those things in high school and even all the way through college, and I loved doing it even then,” he said.
“It wasn’t about the money, it was about what I wanted to do. I did the millennial thing, got a corporate job, paid off my debt, which was great, but that wasn’t me, so I had to go back Realizing that I want that happiness again.”