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Wounded vets cheer

By Rachel Sokol

for their hero j.r. martinez

a better word to use. Not only is he making the talk show rounds, he spends hours of time practicing his two-step. J.R. is currently a contestant on Season 13 of ABCs hit reality show Dancing With the Stars. (DWTS) [Editors Note: At press time, J.R. remains in the competition]. His professional dance partner is Karina Smirno, who has become a dear friend to J.R. and vice-versa. Karina and I pray right before the show starts, he says. Right before I go on stage to perform, I kiss a necklace of a saint that I always wear and I always do the sign of the cross. J.R. has become so beloved here in the United States that he was recently featured on the cover of People magazine. Just ve minutes after People.com posted a picture of J.R. on its ocial Web site promoting his cover issue, hundreds fans from all over the nation confessed their love for J.R. on the sites posting board. (We have a feeling his girlfriend, also featured in People, isnt jealous! People fall in love with him, she has said.) Not only can J.R. dance, but he is a total cutie with a great personality, writes one fan. J.R. was raised in Louisiana and Georgia, the latter is where he played high school football and made the decision to go by J.R. instead of his given name of Jose Rene. What I love about the south is that everyone's so willing to help one another and support one another. I really enjoy the culture. The biggest thing I took away from the south was everyones willingness to give a helping hand to someone else, he says. He never knew his father and grew

In an exclusive interview with A Distinctive Style, war veteran, actor, dancer and motivational speaker J.R. Martinez, and his best friend Daniel Vargas, discuss success, being a role model, and ways to support the troops.

s J.R. Martinez is walking from his home to a caren route to The Tonight Show With Jay Leno where he'll be Jays featured guest, you can hear Los Angeles residents cheering for him, calling his name. He stops to greet them kindly before climbing into the waiting car. Apologizing for his weak mobile phone service, he says, "Sorry, my signal isn't that great here in the valley." After we briey discuss the pros and cons of various cell phone providers, I ask if hes ready for his Jay Leno interview. "To be honest, I was hoping I could grab a bag of Doritos on the way or something, but I didn't have time!" he laughs as he settles into the car ride to Jay's studio. It's been a busy week for J.R. Actually, busy is an understatement, and perhaps insane is