>>Imagine being able to dance freely, without judgment, joined by other like-minded people.

Whether you dance on the beat or not, dork dancing is all about embracing movement.

>>You're dancing with strangers out in public, which isn't a normal or typical thing to do at all.

So people might often come to dork dancing feeling quite uncomfortable, but then they feel a sense of community, a sense of liberation and fun that really helps them ease into the experience and just feel better.

Dork dancing is dancing however you want to, with strangers in public, to break stigmas.

And like Ethan said, it can be quite uncomfortable at first.

But in this case especially, being a dork isn't a negative thing.

Listening to music has always helped me feel better, especially in response to my own personal mental health challenges.

And someone called me a dork after I posted a video online, thought that was funny, and the name Dork Dancing was born.

Back in 2020, Ethan was quarantined in Vietnam, dancing online to get through COVID-19 and the global mental health crisis that followed.

Per classic internet behavior, his videos gained some traction and people around the world began joining the dork dancing movement.

Once COVID restrictions allowed, Ethan took it to the public.

- Bit by bit, more and more people joined and people got more comfortable with the idea of dancing out in public in the name of mental health.

So started small, but it grew just in three weeks.

Was dancing out in public every day and it grew kind of fast actually.

- It wasn't until last year that St.

Louis was graced with dork dancing, becoming the fourth city in the world with a chapter.

It's a blend of advocacy with free spirited movement, showing up as you are and moving how you want.

- Get it, get it Matthew.

I'm the first dork dancer in St.

Louis.

I met Ethan and we met at Tower Grove Park and I volunteered to grow the chapter with him.

I have been an advocate for mental health for years and so hearing someone else doing something about it and wanting to get out in community and really trying to do something, it really touched me and so I had to be a part of it.

At its core mission, Dork Dancing is about improving mental health and overall well-being.

It's about reclaiming what it means to be a dork and creating an open space for community.

I'm an empty nester so I had to find a purpose and you kind of lose yourself a little bit to mental health when you're trying to find a purpose.

It can go one way or it can go another way and I lucked up on Meet Up St.

Louis and fell into dork dancing.

It's became my purpose because mental health is it hasn't not touched anyone.

It's dancing but so much more than that.

It's about relief from the pressures of the world and having fun while doing it.

Knowing that it doesn't matter what other people think even for a moment.

Dork dancing is a space for people to just embrace their authentic selves and be who they are and regardless of their background, their age, their gender, their sexuality, their identity, we really see that there's an inner dork in everyone.