5 Dancing with the Stars champions who proved that you don’t need dance experience to win the Mirrorball

In the luminous ballroom of Dancing with the Stars, where uncharted feet meet measured steps under watchful eyes, five champions rose without the lantern of prior training to claim the Mirrorball Trophy.

Some winners started green - animal caretakers, football players, race drivers, tough debaters, also folks raised on saving nature - but by pushing hard every day, they learned moves that once felt totally strange.

Robert Irwin's Season 34 triumph echoes his sister Bindi's a decade prior, bookending a lineage of raw potential honed on Dancing with the Stars stages, alongside Emmitt Smith, Hélio Castroneves, and J.R. Martinez, each proving the spark within needs no inherited flame.​

Triumphs without prelude on Dancing with the Stars

Robert Irwin (Season 34)

Robert Irwin, wildlife conservationist and son of Steve Irwin, stepped into Dancing with the Stars Season 34 devoid of professional dance or classes.

Paired with Witney Carson, he navigated an 11-week gauntlet, dedicating routines to his late father and mother, Terri, amid a rib injury that reshaped their freestyle.

Irwin credited Carson post-premiere jive: 

"That was all Witney. I’ve never danced to music in my life."

Their victory over Jordan Chiles and Alix Earle crowned the season's heartfelt arc.​

Emmitt Smith (Season 3)

NFL rushing record-holder Emmitt Smith joined Dancing with the Stars Season 3 as a dance stranger, his frame built for turf, not turns.

With Cheryl Burke, they scaled leaderboards weekly, clinching the Mirrorball against Mario Lopez and Karina Smirnoff.

Smith noted bodily contrasts: 

"You have to understand, my physical body is a lot different than Apolo's or Hélio's. I have muscles in areas that some of them may not have muscles in."

Observers dubbed it the "Emmitt effect," spurring men toward ballroom rigor.​

Hélio Castroneves (Season 5)

Indy 500 racer Hélio Castroneves swapped helmets for heels in Dancing with the Stars Season 5, absent any dance foundation.

Julianne Hough guided him through self-study of Season 4 tapes and videos, yielding four perfect scores across 15 dances at 27.1 average, surpassing Mel B.

Their quickstep finale secured the prize, marking the first racer's win; Castroneves later corresponded for Entertainment Tonight from 2007 to 2010.​

J.R. Martinez (Season 13)

Army veteran, actor, and speaker J.R. Martinez entered Dancing with the Stars Season 13 without ballroom basics, scarred from Iraq yet resolute.

Karina Smirnoff, securing her first victory, elevated his skills; perfect tens felt "out-of-body" to him.

A rumba to Tim McGraw's "If You're Reading This" honored troops at 26 points, before 2011's Los Angeles crowning amid post-win banter.

Bindi Irwin (Season 21)

Bindi Irwin mirrored her brother's path on Dancing with the Stars Season 21, lacking formal training yet disciplined under Derek Hough.

Multiple perfect scores peaked in a freestyle to "Footprints in the Sand" for her father Steve; Carrie Ann Inaba called it "brilliant," Julianne Hough saw an "imprint on everyone's hearts," Bruno Tonioli hailed "the power of dance in its most pure and effective form."

Robert later recalled her counsel: "She's given me a few tips already, but she never danced either," holding the perfect-score record until Jordan Fisher.​

From Irwin’s crew to top commanders, these DWTS journeys show that going your own way - step by step - can lead to real skill, with the glittering trophy standing for unexpected elegance found along the road.

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