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There are 3 main things you need before attempting the safe type of distortion that Ken teaches. You need to have very strong support, good open throat and the ability to really cut back your air through compression.

If you cannot yet sing a strong resonant sound holding it steady for a length of time or if you are constantly feeling hoarse after you sing, you don't have the proper technique yet and aren't ready.

When you "lean" into the sound, you are engaging even more of your support while also relaxing more. It's can seem to be a bit of an oxymoron. There is a tiny bit of vocal fry element to it but it's more to do with how the sensation feels and a way to describe it rather than pure fry. You'll be surprised to know that a distorted tone is actually quieter than a pure whole tone of the same note value. Meaning of you sing a clean note, leading into a distorted note, it won't be as loud. Ive seen this my self on the wave lengths during my recordings. There is also a concept of harmonic resonance, the distorted tone is actually a combination of 2, the whole tone and the slight stressing of the cords are 2 sounds being combined.

The reason you especially need to cut back your air and compress is so that you don't mindlessly blow a bunch of air over your cords to achieve the sound. This will make you hoarse! Distortion is also different from growl, which is again a much more advanced, and not covered in KTVA.