Dave Lease's summer has not just been jam-packed with filming for "The Skating Lesson," but you would not expect it given his calm demeanor. When I spoke with him a few weeks ago, he opened up about getting his MBA, traveling with Jenny Kirk and a possible yoga rendezvous with Michelle Kwan in the near future.

Robert Kuang: You attended the Ice Champions show last night right?

Dave Lease: I drove down on Saturday night, went to the show yesterday, went to a Starbucks afterwards to get a couple videos up to make sure we were the first ones to get Ashley [Wagner's] short program up. It closed at 8:00 p.m. and I was trying to get four videos uploaded. I was stalling up at 8:00 p.m. because I had 45 seconds left to upload Nam Nguyen's program and I needed to be sure we got it up first. I was that annoying person packing up my things as slowly as possible. Then I drove back, got home around 11:30 p.m. and started uploading the rest, got to bed around 3:00 a.m., got up to work today.

Robert: I think it was well worth it. What were your impressions on Diva Wagner's short program?

Dave: I like her short program. I'm not completely sold on the music edit because it's different than the other ones I'm used to. I need to see it a few more times, especially in competition. She didn't do her competitive combination and she did the split jump falling leaf instead of the triple loop. But I do like the program. I think it has good energy for her; I think crowds will love it. Is it my favorite program I've ever seen? No, but I think it's a solid outing for her this season. I like it when people bring their personality. It's fresh and makes skating more current, so I'm excited about what she's doing.

Robert: I think someone commented that seeing this was like night and day from seeing the Russian test skates.

Dave: It's so funny when you watch the Russian test skate, because they try to use English or American music to be palatable by audiences around the world, but they pick such bizarre music choices. Lionel Ritchie for Tarasova and Marozov last season, [Julia] Lipnitskaya's Elvis mish-mash this season. I'm just not sure what CD they're passing around in Russia at the ice rinks. Maybe this is a karaoke problem. [Laughs] It certainly makes it entertaining for the wrong reasons.

Robert: Going back a bit, let's start with your incredibly eventful summer. What was it like for you?

Dave: I have to put it into the context of my life. [Laughs] I'm doing my MBA so that takes up a lot of my time. I worked on a very busy project that just went live at work [I work in healthcare]. So that has been a very busy, compartmentalized portion of my life. And then there is what we want to accomplish with "TSL." And then there is my other brain that is always planning six months ahead at all times.

We've had this vision for "TSL" to be on the road and show the personalities from training, competitions and live shows since we started. Unfortunately, it's one of those things where you need a little bit of seed money. We wanted to get a sponsor and some skating companies are still "old media." It's hard to convince people this is where we're going and get them to take that chance on you. And I don't personally have $30,000 to invest in my travel funds to do this.

We were talking to a marketing company about strategies and they came up with the GoFundMe. I feel nervous and embarrassed about asking people for money. I always talk myself down like what I do is nothing, but it wound up being a really great thing. We did a lot of research and knew that the first 48 hours were extremely important. You have to have about 20% of your goal done in [that time] if you want to be successful. So what we did was look through all our PayPal donors and E-mailed them ahead of time. I was really floored that so many of them donated immediately. It was incredibly humbling, [but] then I immediately went into responsibility mode to get really good coverage, and went into planning. I feel a personal responsibility to deliver to each and every person who donates and watches.

So I get to Montreal, I'm at customs and they're asking why I'm there. I say I'm filming for a blog, just being completely honest, but I guess they don't know if that means you're there for business or personal. The woman gets up and walks away, like she has to get someone. I'm thinking, "Oh my God, am I not going to be able to get into Canada? Did I check the wrong box?"

Robert: I saw your status updates. I knew it must have been incredibly stressful but I was also on the floor dying from laughter at your Canada experience. [Laughs]

Dave: Jenny had a cold before we left and then, before we even we really said hello, it was immediately, "My bag is missing!"

Her bag was never found, to my knowledge. We had a hard drive that had all of our old footage. Thank God it was all uploaded to Vimeo. We bought boom mics with the GoFundMe money-that vanished into thin air along with some of Jenny's shoes. So those were the first couple of minutes of Montreal.

We were so tired the next morning that as we were going to Montreal it was a case of, "You have the camera?"

"No, I thought you have the camera."

Jenny drives back to get the camera. I give her my cellphone because hers isn't working in Canada. I filmed on her phone to get some of the footage that you saw.

Robert: What was it like traveling and spending 24/7 with Jenny?

Dave: [Laughs] I'm the calmer one. I would say I get into work mode—we're going to get this done and there's no if's, and's or but's about it. Jenny has a strange diet. There's a lot of salad with chicken on one end and then there's Twizzlers and Doritos and sour candy on the other. We text around-the-clock, so I wouldn't say anything was a shock to me. It was more mentally preparing spending a week with anyone. There's also the work dynamic and friend dynamic, so spending a week with anyone like that is a bit much, especially when you're in work mode.

She also drives like she's from Los Angeles. She drove in Canada and I drove in Colorado. I made the executive decision to drive the second leg of the trip.

Robert: [Laughs] What was the most difficult part of getting the content?

Dave: The interviews were not hard. I did all of them off-the-cuff. We're constantly researching and in it so we're constantly in skating mode. It was the logistical things that were hard because we hadn't used a lot of the technology. But I feel good [now]. I did it all on my own yesterday and next weekend I'm going to Evening with Champions. The next day, I'm going to film a synchro team in Connecticut and then we're going to L.A. the weekend after that.

Robert: How do you juggle it all? What helps you manage it?

Dave: The biggest thing I've learned in the last few months is to just focus on what I'm doing in that moment. If I'm really focused on one thing, it'll get done quicker. Then move on to the next thing. Don't get anxious about it; don't let the emotions sink in. I don't spend as much time analyzing over every single word as long as it's accurate and succinct. I don't make everything super flowery. I just try to get the content out there that's good quality.

Robert: What are some stories that you're excited to follow?

Dave: Obviously the comebacks this year are going to be so exciting, especially because the athletes only took one year off from the Olympics. So, they're still in relatively good shape; they've had time to rest. But how are they going to fit in now? I love a comeback. I get very attached to people so I'm very sad when they're gone. I'm very excited to see Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov reenter the competitive arena, as well as Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov.

It's so much harder to get from number seven to six than from number 10 to number seven, especially in pairs where there are so many high-risk elements now. If you want to get from seven to six, you have to add a quad or triple combination. It's been so interesting seeing these teams in person. It'll make this show so much more informative because when we give our analysis, it's not just supposition. We've actually witnessed it and know how they practice. I think it'll make us much better reporters and commentators this season.

Maybe it'll be less sassy but more informative and still fun at the same time. We're always going to debate each other because we have different opinions, so we're always going to be sassy with one another. But I'm really excited about pairs this season because they're older, so I feel more comfortable talking about [them]. You're not talking about a young 16-year-old girl and wondering if you're going to shatter their self-image and dreams.

I have skating and I have work, school and everything else. So when I say someone is flutzing, to me, it's just [that] they're flutzing. But a skater might take that as, "I'm a bad person." But then again [skating] is not my whole life. To me it's just an edge; to a skater that could be their life's work. It's so interesting discussing it in person. We didn't necessarily apologize for anything that we said about Alexa [Scimeca] and Chris [Knierim]. I'm just like, "Well, you did do badly at Skate America." [Laughs] But at the same time there's more of an understanding.

Last night, Ashley Wagner's mother Melissa introduced herself to me and she comes up to and says, "Anything you've heard about me from my daughter is true!" She and her friends were talking to me. "We listen to what you say and we think, 'God, we hate what you say. But it's true.'" [Laughs] So I think there are both dynamics and everything will go towards a better show this season. We're always trying to improve and expand and that's going to give us a better flavor and texture to "TSL."

Robert: I can't wait for "This & That" to come back.

Dave: It's something we haven't done this summer for different reasons. Sometimes when there's less to talk about we become sassier and maybe that's not always the best thing. We still want to have the personality, but really balance it with the brand and vision of where we're going. Also, we want to see the skaters' progress a little bit before we give our opinions, because a lot of them are trying triple axels and quads. I want the skaters to have a couple of months to work on everything before we say, "That's never going to happen." [Laughs] You have to make people miss you a little bit and do different things.

Robert: How has "TSL" affected your personal life? So many people have heard of you through it by now.

Dave: Yes, but it's been a gradual thing. Because I live around [New York City], you run into so many people and everyone knows each other. My friend Matt ran into this guy TJ and another guy, and they both knew me. It's not unusual for gay men to know each other, but they knew me through "TSL." More of my friends are starting to know ["TSL"]. "What's he always posting? He's always posting clips with that girl." That's more of how I've been affected.

Robert: Even I've become friends with "TSL" fans. People are adding each other on Facebook.

Dave: We're creating a community. There are people who chat on Skype. Last night, I ran into this guy and I thought I knew he was from DC because I try to follow our fans back and build the community up. He had sent me a video from Glacier Falls. So I'm starting to recognize people from certain places. The hardest part is I wish people had nametags. [Laughs]

Robert: When did you start your MBA?

Dave: I started in the spring and I'm doing it in marketing. I had to wait until six months after I started my job. Even if every subject matter is not immediately applicable to "TSL," I'm thinking differently about certain things. [I'm] thinking a bit more as a business manager so it's helpful in that sense.

It's fun to have something to think about when you're in class. [It's] like this little side project that's growing and it feels almost like it's at the precipice of exploding. [Laughs] So I'm thinking, "What do I need to be doing? What do I need to be thinking about?" It makes the class more interesting for me.

Robert: I can't imagine doing a full-time job, going to school and doing "TSL."

Dave: I do my MBA part-time so it's not bad. My job pays for my MBA. I did one class last quarter, two classes this quarter and I'll do one class next quarter because it's getting a little crazy. I'm doing about 12 credits years and I got 12 credits to start so I'll be about halfway done after next quarter.

Robert: Random question.

Dave: I'm still doing yoga, don't worry. Oh! I've been getting texts from Michelle Kwan. We're going to do yoga together. Obviously that's exciting. I didn't respond to her at first because I wanted to play it cool. [Laughs] She invited me to yoga at 7:00 a.m. in Brooklyn. I actually declined her invite. It was a workday.

Robert: If it happens you have to get footage of that!

Dave: Oh, there will be a selfie. Michelle Kwan was not on social media, but now she's taking selfies everywhere. She's very into wearing black with the big shades lately.

Robert: [Laughs] What was Meagan [Duhamel's] workout called again?

Dave: Essentrics! I've done it in my apartment! I have really tense shoulders and it really helped me. When we go to LA, I'm going to work out with Ashley Wagner and then with the Gold sisters. One thing I noticed with the Gold sisters is they started to change their wardrobe on Instagram to always show off their abs this summer, and I'm really into that. I want abs like Carly Gold, so I told her we need to do something together.

Ashley's goal is to make me throw up because I didn't throw up with Alexa. Working out with athletes has become a thing and it shows them in their natural state. It's interesting for viewers or anyone who works out to see what they do off the ice. It's often fun and it's often a little crazy. At the same time, I need to work out and build up to this because if Ashley wants me to throw up in person and I'm not going to let that happen. [Laughs]

Robert: So who's the hottest skater, male or female, in your opinion? I asked Jenny so I have to ask you.

Dave: Body-wise I'm into Guillaume Cizeron, but also Morgan Ciprès who skates with Vanessa James. I'm into both their Instagram accounts. Jonathan Beyer who was on "TSL" and Greg Blazer who's involved in beauty pageants are both big fans of Morgan and they will have a group text anytime he posts anything. I'm a big fan of their Instagrams and they're on the other side of world so I don't worry about running into them.

Adam Rippon's body is really getting crazy this season. He's looking good. Obviously, Alexa's body is something we need to talk about. She's hot and she's got a good personality. I always enjoy running to Tanith [Belbin] and Meryl [Davis] and their glamour.

Robert: Any end-of-the-year goals?

Dave: Be at Worlds with credentials and be all over international skating and build towards the Olympics in 2018. I really want to get into synchro skating because I was in marching band in high school. I know how hard it is to get 20 people to do anything together at the same time. And it's extremely popular, so Jenny and I need to know more about it.

I'm excited for gymnastics next year and I think we're going to try and tie that in. I still follow gymnastics as intensely as I follow figure skating.