Maks Chmerkovskiy admitted that he was tough on some of his Dancing With the Stars partners because of the show’s financial elements.
“There’s definite ways to influence you to want to do your best and stay on and so I think that somebody like me, for example, that backfires,” Chmerkovskiy, 45, exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting his new vodka brand Kápa. “Sometimes that competitiveness kicks in because on top of it, if I don’t keep making it week after week, I don’t get paid. And so now my time here becomes, like, ‘Now I’m wasting time.’”
Chmerkovskiy, who performed on the competition series as a pro for 15 seasons, added that it was his goal to make it to the semifinals to ensure he would get a “paycheck all 10 weeks.”
Throughout his time on the show, Chmerkovskiy made it to the finals five times. He took home his first and only mirrorball with Meryl Davis in season 18. While he finally got his win, Chmerkovskiy confessed he doesn’t remember if took home a bonus cash prize.
“I don’t think I had a bonus. Maybe I didn’t. I dunno,” he said. “The thing you know is how busy you are, how completely engulfed in the show you are. Especially at that time, I was under so much pressure to, like, ‘Oh, you have to win.’”
Chmerkovskiy added that while partnered with Davis, he felt extra competitive against Derek Hough who has won the competition series six times — and since become a judge.
“Then you look over and there’s Derek with one of his best, most memorable partners of all time and she’s been performing fantastic,” Chmerkovskiy said referring to Hough and Amy Purdy’s dynamic. “And so there were a lot of things to that season as well. But Meryl was an incredible partner. And I think I was also at that time already ready to go all the way in that type of partnership.”
While Chmerkovskiy recalled his personal experience, he acknowledged that he’s “not sure what current contracts are” but it appears to have “evolved” since the early days of the show.
“I don’t think [that’s] the case anymore. I think there are some guarantees,” Chmerkovskiy said of the dancers’ contracts.
However, he added that some pros could still have that competitive mindset that’s not fueled by the desire for a paycheck.
“But also some people welcome that too. Some people are like, look, my pro is just OK with stuff,” he told Us. “And they get upset [by] the fact that I wish I could have been paired with somebody who’s so driven because I need that stuff.”
Chmerkovskiy noted that he is the type of person who flourishes when he has strict guidance and he performs best with a partner who has a similar mindset.
“That’s why some of these types of partnerships work. I had some incredible partnerships with people who were a certain type today,” he reflected. “Honestly, it’s whatever they want. They want to push themselves. They want to have a great time. They want to be athletically inclined. They want it to be more of a showmanship. It’s whatever you want, but I just want you to have a fantastic time.”
Chmerkovskiy last appeared as one of the DWTS pros in season 25. However, he confessed that he’s asked back “every year” because of his connection to brother Val Chmerkovskiy, sister-in-law Jenna Johnson and wife Peta Murgatroyd.
“I think today I would come back,” he told Us of a potential return to the ballroom. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s to judge or to dance, I think it’s just fun to even be in this situation. Who would’ve thought there were moments in talk about reminiscing. There were moments in my journey with Dancing With the Stars that I’ve never thought that 20 years later I will be as part of it as I was.”
In addition to his ballroom career, Maks has ventured into the alcohol business and launched his new vodka Kápa. The spirit is available now, but Maks will make an appearance at Elsie’s Rooftop in New York City on Friday, June 6, to celebrate his new venture.
“It’s something that I’m proud of and most importantly, it’s bringing me back to New York City,” he told Us. “At the moment, [Kápa is] all over Manhattan and New Jersey and Brooklyn and surrounding areas. These are my stomping grounds.”
Maks shared that he is proud of what Kápa has accomplished so far because he’s never done anything like this before now.
“I come from a different industry. I do know sales a little bit. It’s also a different crowd,” he explained. “But being a father of three, a husband and all the duties that come with it, I now am of age and in that sort of demographic of like, this is for my people. This is for me to all of you. And it doesn’t have any bad stuff.”
