NEW ADVENTURE: ROBERT IRWIN REVEALS WHAT’S NEXT AFTER DWTS WIN — AND FANS DIDN’T SEE THIS COMING

Robert Irwin Reveals New Moves After DWTS, Including ‘Outlandish’ New Ad Campaign (Exclusive)

The conservationist is working with Columbia Sportswear for a new brand campaign and says it was a no-brainer partnership

Robert Irwin attends the Premiere of Walt Disney Studios’ “Zootopia 2” at El Capitan Theatre on November 13, 2025 in Los Angeles,.Credit : Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

NEED TO KNOW

Robert Irwin is balancing conservation work, a climate summit, and a DWTS spinoff in his packed schedule
He is launching a brand partnership with Columbia Sportswear, a company he’s worn since childhood
Irwin says DWTS helped him grow personally and reach more people with his conservation message

Robert Irwin has been a busy man since his 2025 Dancing with the Stars win.

“It’s been crazy,” he says of life lately, which included hosting the DWTS spinoff Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro, a series with the goal of finding the next pro dancer to join the franchise. (Coming in July.)

“Next, I’m heading back to what I would refer to as my day job, which is conservation. So I’ll be back in Australia for a few weeks in the middle of nowhere, then I’m straight on to London to do a big climate change summit, and then I’m back in the States over the summer to roll out The Next Pro. And then I’m back on my crocodile research expedition, covered in mud in the middle of Northern Australia.”

Robert Irwin x Columbia Campaign.Columbia

He’s also kicking off a new brand partnership with Columbia Sportswear, launching May 12, and says the pairing is perfect. “I genuinely have loved them, and I’ve been wearing them since I was like 5 years old,” he says. “My first khaki uniform was Columbia! We’ve had a long history with them.”

Robert Irwin x Columbia Campaign.Columbia

“I just love working with people that share a sense of fun, a sense of passion and positivity and are driven by a cause,” he says of Columbia. “And I love this beautiful craft of storytelling, so I’m working with them on creating something that’s fun, that’s funny, that’s gonna connect with an audience and just try and encourage people to get outside.”

Robert Irwin x Columbia Campaign.Columbia

Irwin says the ad shoot, which included inflatable crocs, was so fun. “They were just like, we’ll come to you, and you do whatever you want to do, so I’m climbing trees and catching snakes. But we also wanted to make it funny, like that Australian sense of humor. Australians do not take themselves very seriously at all, so it was also a bit outlandish and just fun.”

Robert Irwin x Columbia Campaign.Columbia

Despite his busy career, Irwin says getting back to nature — and of course learning about the importance of wildlife and habitat conservation — is still his priority.

Robert Irwin x Columbia Campaign.Columbia

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“Being on Dancing with the Stars was life changing in that I can now reach more and more people with that messaging, but it also gave me so many epiphanies and helped me express parts of my life that I never really addressed before,” he says of finding his DWTS colleagues to be more like family than friends.

He adds, “It’s like this time where I’m just trying to pick projects that fill me with that real sense of joy. But you know what’s gonna be funny? Everybody is about to think that I’m doing a movie, because Columbia is rolling this campaign out as if it’s like an action blockbuster movie trailer, and there are all these billboards in L.A. and stuff.”

Robert Irwin x Columbia Campaign.Columbia

So any real future movie star plans for the busy Irwin? Never say never.

“We’ll see!” he says with a laugh. “This is my first little toe-dip into it!”

SOURCE: https://people.com/robert-irwin-reveals-australian-humor-behind-new-ad-campaign-exclusive-11971631