Less than four years ago, Maxine Gellens could only recall stepping onto a dance floor a handful of times over the previous 30 years of her life — perhaps for the occasional wedding or something of the sort.

However, these days she’s dancing 3-4 times a week or more, and her life has changed dramatically because of it. 

The catalyst for this change came when her home city of San Diego put on a "Dancing With The Stars"-themed fundraising event. Known as one of the most successful real-estate agents in the area, the 79-year-old Gellens was asked to be one of the local celebrities to participate in the event, and — despite her better judgment — she took up the challenge. 

“Mary Murphy was in charge of matching us contestants up with partners, and that is how I got paired with Dan," Gellens said. 

While her partner, Dan Gibbons, was a professional ballroom dancer, Gellens immediately felt the pressure of the narrow window she had to get ready for the big competition.

Gellens recalls being on vacation a week before the event and flying back early because she felt so unprepared. 

“They gave us 10 free lessons and 2 1/2 months to practice," she said. "Well 10 free lessons for me was like one lesson for everyone else."

Much to Gellens' surprise, when the day finally came to hit the dance floor, she and Gibbons won the prize for "Most Entertaining" with a cha cha cha number danced to "Lola.

After it was all said and done, Gellens returned back to her normal life, but things just didn’t feel the same as they had before.

“When it was all over and I went back to work I realized… man, I miss dancing,” she recalled.

So she called Gibbons up and told him she’d like to continue taking lessons. Less than a month after the pair had performed their debut dance to "Lola," GIbbons invited Gellens to do it again at a showcase event in Seattle. 

When Gellens got back to San Diego, Murphy, whose studio Gellens had been training at, suggested that she come watch a competition happening in a few weeks in Las Vegas to experience what one was like.

“I sat there for three days and watched every single session," Gellens said. "I wouldn’t do that now if my life depended on it, but I came back from that competition and I said, 'Oh, Mary, I’ve got to do this.'"

From that moment forward, Gellens never looked back. She began taking more lessons with Gibbons and immediately started learning both Latin and Standard styles of dance simultaneously. Within a year of "DWTS," Gellens found herself competing in her first competition.

“My very first competition I did all 10 dances and I was exhausted… (but) I’ve been hooked ever since," she said. "Now I dance every day, two to three sessions a day. I do competitions year round. I own 17 dresses, 50 pairs of shoes, and I practice 15 hours a week on top of working 40 hours for my job, juggling my family life and I am 79 going on 80."

Gellens is familiar with the sacrifice it takes to really immerse oneself in a sport such as ballroom dancing.

“It’s one the most expensive sports that you could ever be involved in… but I have to compete because I need a means to an end," she said. "If I am going to do all this practicing, I want to show it.”

Gellens recently returned from competing in Hawaii, where she said she danced 127 times in less than two days.

When we asked her what made her fall in love with dancing, her answer was simple.

“It’s changed my life," she said. "Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had a great life, but I’ve found something that’s just for me and I don’t care if anyone comes to see me. I do it for me.”