The Meat Mafia Podcast | Dan Go: Transformation (Part 1)

Today we welcome Dan Go on Part 1 of our 2 part series. This was Dan's first ever live podcast, and as you'll hear, he didn't disappoint. His story is quite incredible - deeply emotional and strikingly inspiring. We hope you enjoy.

Dan is a successful fitness coach, entrepreneur, content creator, and owner of High Performance Founder, a company specializing in fitness coaching. Dan is well known and widely appreciated for his twitter account and thoughts on fitness, longevity, and health. He has gained a large following on Twitter, recently also starting a YouTube channel.

Key Topics Discussed:

Pros and cons of social media for connecting with others and sharing ideas
Importance of authenticity when creating content
Simplicity in communication, especially on platforms like Twitter
Dan's personal transformation from directionless youth to successful entrepreneur
Channeling emotion into transformation, determination

Timestamps:

(00:02) Family Legacy and Emotional Resilience
(03:58) Generational Roots and Social Media
(06:48) Social Media's Influence on Personal Growth
(14:01) Creating Authentic Content for Growth
(19:02) Importance of Personalized Customer Interaction
(24:54) Social Media and Authenticity
(36:07) Transformation and Determination
(46:57) Turning Emotion Into Fuel

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Creators & Guests

Host

Brett Ender 🥩⚡️

The food system is corrupt and trying to poison us... I will teach you how to fight back. Co-Host of @themeatmafiapod 🥩

Host

Harry Gray 🥩⚡️

Leading the Red Meat Renaissance 🥩 ⚡️| Co-Host of @themeatmafiapod

What is The Meat Mafia Podcast?

The Meat Mafia Podcast is hosted by @MeatMafiaBrett and @MeatMafiaHarry with the mission of addressing fundamental problems in our food and healthcare system. Our concerns with our healthcare system can be drawn back to issues in our food system as far back as soil health. Our principles are simple: eat real foods, buy locally, and cook your own meals.

When you listen to our podcast, you will hear stories and conversations from people working on the fringes of the food and healthcare system to address the major crises overshadowing modern society: how do we become healthy again?

themeatmafiapodcast.substack.com

Part 1
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[00:00:00] I'm actually doing this thing with my dad. Uh, he's coming over to uh, British Columbia, and I'm gonna be doing a podcast with him.

And I have this like, list of questions, and it's like, how often do we not? Ask our parents, uh, some of, some things that we would even ask our friends just to get, just to get to know them a little bit. Uh, it's like, how did you and your mom meet? You know? And, uh, how's your relationship to your parents? And, uh, so, yeah, I'm going to do that podcast with my dad.

I think it's going to be like one of the most profound things that we ever do together. I bet you, for yourself, but I know my relationship with my grandparents was very special, and they both passed away before I was obviously like, aware enough to ask some of the questions that I wish I could have asked them.

So I feel like for your kids too, it's just like, these nuggets that they'll be able to, like the stories that I live through, through like, what my mom tells me about my grandfather and my grandmother, like, there's something amazing about just being able to take a little bit of their life and being able to like, apply [00:01:00] that The intergenerational connection is just, I think, so valuable.

Yeah. It's, uh, it's like, do you know anything about your grandparents? Or, it's not do you know anything about your grandparents. My grandparents died before I even, like, remember anything. And then, uh, I wish there was something that connected me to them, and I think a lot of times we kind of, like, miss that, uh, understanding of, like, where we came from.

Yeah. A lot, and, uh, and having something like this where we have, like, the technology to be able to do something like that, it's incredible. Yeah. So why not, like, take advantage of it, you know? It's a time capsule in a lot of ways. Yes. Yes. So we gotta turn this on. Yeah, that's going to be amazing, especially for your kids too, because you hear, you know, like us growing up, because I still have three of my grandparents left, but you know, I hear these stories about my great grandparents and I'm like, Oh, I wonder what my great grandpa that immigrated from Ireland was like, right.

And now for like, you know, You know, your grandkids and your great, they're going to actually be able to see that, which I think is so cool. I think so too. I think so. It's not just for me. It's for like the [00:02:00] rest of the family. Yeah. Um, and for them to be able to, it also like brings this like sense of like humbleness to it.

It's like. You gotta, like, for, especially for kids, like, who grow up, and I think that you're gonna create probably a better life for your kids than you grew up in, most likely, from a consumerism standpoint, from, like, a financial standpoint, but there has to be some form of, like, being able to, like, humble yourself, knowing where you came from, knowing where your roots are from, uh, knowing, like, how your parents were raised, and knowing how things, like, changed over the course of generations.

It's like, uh, especially for me, it's like, I'm immigrant, and, uh, Growing up was fucking hard. As opposed to like, how kids are growing up right now. Like, beatings were like a, a regular thing. Like, they were just, they were kind of like, it was just like, you just do that. You know, it was accepted, which is fine, right?

And uh, and now it's just like, you have to understand, it's like, where did these, where did my parents go? Freaking parents come from. What did they have to go through? Yeah, [00:03:00] probably what they had to go through is like way worse than whatever I had to experience like going through them. Totally. Yeah, so It's gonna be interesting.

It's gonna be really fun. Yeah. Yeah. Is your family from Korea? No, we are Chinese born Filipino, so Filipino. Yeah, so I am pretty sure we're like 99 percent Chinese But because of, like, all the revolutionary stuff that was happening in, um, or the kind of communist regime that was happening in China, what was happening is that my dad's parents were like, let's, we gotta get the F out of here.

So you have a lot of Chinese who live in Malaysia, who live in Philippines, who live in all sorts of different places. And, and they decided to immigrate to the Philippines. And then I think my dad and, uh, found my mom in the Philippines. And I think she was also like Chinese as well. Did sort of like the same thing.

Unfortunately, like, you know, mom's not there anymore. So I can't ask her these [00:04:00] questions. Yeah. But, uh, but I'll, I'll ask my dad when we, when we do that podcast. We'll do the pod. Yeah, for sure. That'll be sweet. It's gonna be amazing. Yeah. Yeah. Dude, I feel like we've known you for so much longer. I feel like a lot, we say this a lot with people we meet on Twitter.

It's like, you kind of have those shared values, so when you meet up in person, it almost feels like you already know them too. Yeah. Which is very cool. Yeah. Well, I do think that we would not be following each other if we did not share, like, similar values to each other. Definitely. Which is, uh, Which is something to be said about, like, social media in general.

And also, like, with social media, there is, like, this whole concept of just seeing so much of, like, one person's life and also, like, the things that they stand for. And, uh, the things that they believe in. And, and then that gets you, that actually makes you know someone a lot better. As opposed to, like, even talking to them in person.

Because a lot of what people actually put on social media is some of what, like, you wouldn't even say in real life to someone random that you just met. Mm hmm. Um, and, and yeah man, it's uh, it's an incredible thing like with this social media [00:05:00] thing. Because a lot of people kind of like deem it as uh, kind of like this negative thing, which, which it can be.

But it also like brings you into the kind of like, into the sphere of influence of like, guys like you in terms of the information that you're putting out. Uh, I wouldn't have known about blue light blockers if I wasn't on social media in the first place. There's so many things and so many people that I've met off social media that I've kind of created this, like, Second sphere of influence outside of the people that I know in like my local space, so to speak.

Yeah. I love it. Yeah. Yeah. We should, uh, should we get into it? Yeah. Alright, cool. Yeah. Let's do it. I feel like we can, uh, we could probably put some of that in the episode. I thought, I thought we were getting into it. Yeah, I know. Yeah. I was like, I just want to make sure we're all on the same page. Yeah, podcast mode, like, uh.

So we'll edit that out. Okay. Just keep rolling. Cool. Yeah, I love what you were saying about, um, just like, you know, The virtual space gets so much negativity. Yes. But I can't think of, like, there are certain things that I look back on that actually [00:06:00] changed my life because I came into contact with them through the internet and people.

It's like, Twitter, I think we're all like Twitter native, so to speak. So like, getting into contact with some of these ideas that have either changed my outlook on health or finances like the whole Bitcoin community is Like that totally changed my perspective on understanding what money is Faith like all these all these ideas are not typically talked about a bunch in person It's just like this amazing town square where you can go and share thoughts and ideas And I love Twitter for the fact that or X that you just can resonate with someone's You Thoughts and, you know, there's no strings attached.

It's more so just like idea sharing, which, you know, I think that's kind of how all three of us got connected. Yeah, there's like, the way I feel is like, there's this world that's within social media. And then if you try to talk about stuff that you see in this world of social media to [00:07:00] people who aren't necessarily privy to that world, they're like, what are you talking about?

Yeah. Even things like cryptocurrency or things with health. When you, I feel like things happen on social media probably like two to three years before they become mainstream. Before kind of like other people take it who aren't necessarily privy to that information. And then also with social media it's like we're in the weeds as well.

Uh, I would say it's like we are, we are, we are watching guys like Dr. Jack Cruz. Uh, One of them for me is like Rim Hood who, who talks about like blue light. And, and when we, when we see these guys, these guys are kind of like niche a little bit. And when you try to talk about this stuff with, uh, with people who aren't necessarily privy to the space, it's an entirely, completely different world.

And I'm not gonna say that they're like necessarily indoctrinated towards, you know, something specific, but, you know, with social media, you are kind of like, uh, just, you have this sphere of influence [00:08:00] where you're able to not only get like information from different people, but also information from.

Different types of, uh, places where this person disagrees with that person, and then it actually sparks debates between them as well. Now the dangers with social media is the fact that, just like anything, with like food, with, with anything, uh, there can be like too much of it. Uh, especially with like, you know, we're on Twitter, where sometimes like the most negative stuff gets, gets boosted.

Uh, so, so that's like the danger, that's the stuff that, uh, If you're on social media enough, you have to like keep yourself protected against it. And for someone who isn't necessarily privy to that stuff, what's going to happen is, is that they're going to get sucked into those like pendulums of thought and be like, ah, social media is like so negative.

When you really have to like know the right places to look in the first place. Yeah, it's a good point. It's um, it's really a double edged sword like anything else. So you can, you can use it incredibly well or you can use it to be addictive, suck away a lot of your time, et cetera. But I really do think it, it's this amazing tool that really does give you infinite leverage.

[00:09:00] Like if I even think about you, right, prior to getting on Twitter, you own a really big gym in Canada, right? So the max you're probably going to help people transform themselves is a few thousand, if that. Yeah. Versus now it's like 660, 000 people follow you and you're working with entrepreneurs and clients from literally all over the world that would have never previously been able to get exposed to you and your content, your philosophy.

Yeah. And that's so motivating, right, where you're no longer restricted to just Canada, anyone across the world can say, Hey, I really like Dan's philosophy. I want to, I want to work with him so he can help me transform my body, my mind, the way that I show up as an entrepreneur, as a parent. And that's really motivating what the internet does, it pulls away that like geographic resistance that we had before.

Yeah, a hundred percent. That's the reason why I started on social media in the first place. Cause, uh, I owned my gym for 10 years, uh, or 11 years before I sold it. And then, during that time, I'm just like, I had this choice, I was like, I can either, like, grow this, like, one little gym, or do what most people are doing, which is, [00:10:00] like, franchise it, license it, like, grow all these, like, different locations.

And I was just like, I don't, I don't want to do that, like, I don't even like this business that much. And then, I was like, what's one way in which I can expand my reach, without necessarily having to expand the places where I have to be? And then that was social media. And that was Twitter specifically.

And, and, it's been a blessing this whole time. Uh, now my thoughts and my ideas, for better or worse, get out to like millions of people, uh, to hundreds of thousands of people on the newsletter. And I really think I'm doing a good job. Uh, although, you know, I'm getting like, most people just coming back to me, it's like, oh, this changed my life, that changed my life.

And And then, I'm not even, they're not even a part of any of my programs. They're just getting like free information. So, at least for me, like when I first started in fitness, uh, actually before I started in fitness, I was working this dead end job. And I freaking hated it. It was like this [00:11:00] corporate job.

And it was all about just like trying to get people to buy these high interest Uh, loans and trying to get people on these like 30 percent loans and all this kind of stuff. And I felt like dirty every single time that I would be coming home from this particular job. So I was like, all right, screw this.

I'm not going to do this anymore. I hate this. What's the one thing I want to do? I just want to like help as many people as humanly possible. And that started off with me being a one on one personal trainer to eventually starting a one on one personal training business to eventually owning a gym, uh, to eventually like kind of like doing what I'm doing right now.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We've only really known each other for 30 minutes in person, but I get this sense that you have this, um, deep connection with like the alignment and with like who you are and what you're supposed to be doing. Um, like if you were to stray outside of that, you would have some serious problems.

I'm curious, like where does that integrity come from? I feel that. When you [00:12:00] optimize for things like money and reach, uh, and, and certain things that you may or may not necessarily have control over and things that could be just like surface level types of achievements. I feel like even if you achieve it, it becomes like empty and I've done that a number of times in my life where it's just like you, you reach this like pinnacle and you're like, Is that it?

As opposed to trying to optimize for making myself proud, if that makes any sense? Definitely. So I'll use an example. Um, I just got started on YouTube. I was telling you guys a little bit about getting started on YouTube. It's a little bit of like a slog. And before I was like, optimizing for like, okay, so how many subscribers can I get?

Like, how many views can I get on this thing? And, and even though I would get the views, I'd be like, alright, what's next? What's next? What's next? But now it's just like, the way I optimize for YouTube videos is like, am I proud of like, what I created? Uh, did I come at this video in a way which I think is like, really cool and novel?

[00:13:00] And then the more that I optimize for that, I think the results just kind of come as a result of that. And the more that I optimize for what's like, in my heart, rather than like, what my mind wants, it's, it's a lot better and I feel like the more that I can do that, the better my life will be and the more that I'm kind of in flow with things.

And, uh, and yeah, it's like more optimizing for things that would fulfill me rather than kind of like Let's just say like money or other things that are kind of like a byproduct of the value that you're bringing to other people. Yeah, yeah, it's a really good philosophy. Not just about content creation, but also in terms of the way that you should be approaching your life where I think I've gotten to a point now too in a similar way and Harry as well where like if we're not inspired to create a piece of unique content, I would err on the side of just not posting at all.

And I remember when we first got on Twitter when we had, you know, 100, 200 followers and we had big dreams of just wanting to put out really good information and be able to grow the brand. You know, you're taking these different cohort classes and everyone has like their recommendations of how you should be creating content.

Hey, don't make the threads too long, use this type [00:14:00] of image. And what we were noticing is like, those things did help to an extent, but all of our best pieces of content were like, the most authentic things to us. Like some of the best pieces of content we put out were like, the longest types of tweets, the longest types of threads.

It was just true to us, and our audience found that to be valuable, and that's ultimately how we grew. And I find that very similar with your YouTube, where you're like, You know, you're only putting up videos that are authentic to you. You're not like just optimizing for the thumbnail or the perfect header or the, the content that you think the audience wants.

You're just posting content that's authentic to you and what you feel compelled to post about. Mind you, I, we're, we're still trying to optimize thumbnails and thumbnails. A little bit of optimization, still trying to optimize for those things. But I do think there's something to be said about, you can feel the energy of the person who's creating the thing that you're consuming.

Right? Uh, it, it, like, even when I started on Twitter, it's like, you can, you can almost, like, hear their voice through the thing that they tweet. And, and that's kind of like the thing with, uh, [00:15:00] with anything that you create. You can feel the energy of the person that is creating the thing. And a lot of times people will be like, okay, well, that's like unscientific or like whatever it is.

But no, there's, you can feel like when someone's really jazzed about something and when someone's not jazzed about something. I have a. I have a friend who has this, like, incredible following, and he feels like he's boxed in to, like, talk about the thing that got him this incredible following. The funny thing is, is that it's not necessarily, nothing is, like, growing on that end for him, but also because, at least from my perspective, I think it's because He's not speaking from an authentic place of the stuff that he feels like he wants to be talking about.

And I feel like that's the thing about artistry as well, and I don't want to call myself I do think that like what we kind of like do is a little bit of artistry. I mean, there is a bit of art to like what we do. But also, that would mean that we are also like artists. And with artists, it's like, [00:16:00] if you look at like, let's just say, let's just say like a singer.

You would see that their music evolves over the course of time. Right? They talk about different things. And if they're not, it means that they're kind of like playing to the crowd the entire time. And I think that's what we have to do with our own kind of, uh, things that we create. It's like, don't cater to the crowd, cater to kind of like what you feel is right.

You can still cater to the crowd, maybe like on a ratio basis, maybe like 30 to 40%, but still create things that you feel are right for you. And then the more that you do that, the more you evolve your audience, and the more that your audience evolves with you, or they don't. But at least you're creating from a place where you actually feel proud of the things that you're putting out.

It's a really good point, and there's a, you made me think of this clip that, I saw Theo Vaughn, the comedian, he, uh, he put this, this piece out, or it was just a clip from his podcast, but he was talking about how I guess his podcast has gotten to the point where there are so many people involved where he doesn't feel like he has as much of the creative touch on just like directionally where things are going.

And he's like, yeah, sometimes [00:17:00] it just feels like, you know, I'm just like waking up and just doing stuff and I don't even know why I'm doing it. I was like, I never want to get to that point, you know, like, you know, so long as. We're working on stuff and trying to just create things. I feel like having your hands dirty and having your hands involved with the creation process is so important.

Like, you can't step away from that as the person whose voice and creative inspiration is what's driving whatever you are that you're building, whether it's a podcast or social platform. Yeah. It reminds, well, I do like business coaching on this, on the side with just like one or two people. And one of my, uh, one of my clients.

Which is like, pretty much like one of my only clients. He phased himself out of coaching, right? So he's a fitness coach, he phased himself out of all coaching. And I was like, that, that's not the way to do it. Like you need at least like a few people under your roster. Cause this is like what keeps your blade sharp.

This is also like what creates [00:18:00] content. This is also like what gives you ideas. But you can't like relegate everything and be like, okay, well, I just need to outsource everything. There has to be like, especially if you're a practitioner, there has to be some form of you inside of that process, and you can't do that without being in that process.

And I do believe there is something to be said about doing things that don't necessarily scale. Which end up scaling in the first place. Yes, so I do this thing where All right. I was doing this thing before kind of like I got sidelined by Sickness, but I was I was literally sending like voice notes five voice notes out to Five of my followers on Twitter or Instagram and then had nothing to do with like me wanting to like Do business or anything like that.

I literally just said hey, what's up? Thanks for commenting on my stuff really appreciate it, and I see what you're doing on Twitter You know just keep it going really really respect what you're doing and that's it and then the more that I do that For some reason [00:19:00] I feel really good about it, but also it's like I'm Acknowledging the people that are also like following me and giving me their energy as well I And, and I do believe that there is some things that you can do that don't necessarily scale, which, which still add to kind of like this, this energy that you're putting out into the world.

Yeah. Yeah. The voice notes are such an amazing touch or the video messages too. Even with, um, with our customer service tickets for Noble, Harry and I will send loom videos for like a basic customer service ticket to someone. And, you know, the average CPG owner that's scaled the business would be like, you can't do that, that's not scalable.

And it's like every time someone is sending in a request, it's a great opportunity to show them who the face of the brand is and make them feel really good when they associate with Noble. And so many times you'll send those messages where a customer is complaining about something and then they see the founder's face, I'm speaking like from a place of authenticity, They love it, and then a lot of times they'll end up purchasing on subscription too.

But the average like, founder playbook would be like, Oh, you can't do that, that doesn't scale. [00:20:00] And I, to your point, I think it is so important to schedule those, some of those things in and just shoot from the hip. Yeah, a hundred percent. And it keeps you close to the people who are consuming your stuff.

So there's like this, there happens to be like this separation, kind of like the bigger that you get, the more you get separated from your customers or your audience. And, and you want to do things that kind of like keep you close, uh, and keep your ear to the ground, so to speak. And, and, and I think that's, I think that's just brilliant, like, what you're doing, because number one, it's like, you're creating a true fan.

You do that like a thousand times over, that's a thousand true fans right there. And, and it, how long is that going to take? It's going to take like, what, five minutes of your time, you do that like two to three times, maybe like four times a day. And then, guess what? Like, over the course of time, you're, you're building out, like, more than a thousand fans, over the course of, like, a year, if not more than that, so.

I, I, I look at it as, like, yes, do things that don't scale, uh, who cares about whatever the payoff is. And, and more so, like, do what you think is, like, right inside, right? Do what you [00:21:00] think is right, do what you think is cool. And then the more that you do that, the more that it doesn't matter like what the payoff is.

It's just like you're doing something that you feel is cool that's inherent to you. Yeah. Are there people that you've drawn creative inspiration from? Uh, everyone. Uh, that's for sure. You guys. Uh, pretty much like everyone that I, I follow on Twitter. Uh, I see the way that they do things. And what strikes out to me is just their authenticity of like what they do.

Um. So I, I take inspiration from everyone. So especially with like this YouTube stuff that I'm getting into at this very moment, I'm looking at the way that other people are doing videos and I'm like, that's cool. I really like that. Or I'll look at kind of different formats, I'll look at different titles, different thumbnails and different ways in which they present the thing that they're trying to talk about.

And for me, it's like, I'll use, like, one of them is, uh, one of them is a friend of the client, his name is Mark Manson. I think Mark is, like, [00:22:00] one of the most creative guys that I have ever met. And he's also, comes from, like, a super authentic place. It doesn't come from, like, a bullshit place. It actually comes from a place that's inherent in him.

He's done the work, he's done the research. Uh, and, and yeah, I look at someone like him and I'm like, okay, well, I would like to emulate what, And eventually, like, make it mine. So, so yeah, there's, there's a number of people out there. If there's anyone that, that is out there, when people ask me, it's like, you know, who do you admire and get, and take inspiration from?

I would be like, Number one is like probably like Mark Manson, uh, for the reasons that we talked about. The other one is James Clear because basically James Clear like made a book and he just said screw it, like, I'm not gonna make another one. And he kind of like, kind of like exited the, the whole, he didn't exit the sphere, but he kind of like did it on his terms, which I really respect.

One of them is also, uh, he's like, he's a little bit, he's a friend and he's also a mentor. His name is Dan Martell. [00:23:00] And, I just love like Dan's drive and his ability to understand that you can have it all and, uh, his work ethic that he puts behind everything and also like his mindset and his mentality that he takes towards life.

Is, is there anyone, well I'd say like, Huberman is another one, um, For, like, for me, I remember, like, Huberman, and he gets, like, so much flack on social media. So much. And that's, that's, that's, unfortunately, like, the cost of doing business, especially when you get that big. Totally. But the way in which he, like, is able to still post through everything, and also the way in which he is able to respond in a very respectful way to people that seemingly, like, just, like, just disrespect him.

Mm hmm. Mm hmm. I, I, I admire that so much because sometimes I, I can't, I can't help myself when you get some of that stuff. So the way in which he would kind of like navigate social media, I think it's like incredible and also like the contributions that he's made to the [00:24:00] world as well in terms of like the information that he puts out.

Um, yeah, I would say those guys probably are the top of mind when I think about it. Yeah. I've seen Naval quote mentioned you a few times on Twitter too, which is like, talk about the leverage of the internet. Like you saying. You know, Mark Manson, who's so impactful being a friend and client, people like Naval, who he's impacted so many of men start businesses and think about the world the right way.

Just the fact that those people are in your sphere from getting on Twitter, I think Twitter is the best here and I say this, I think it's the best just like networking app that's ever existed. And it's so interesting because people are probably like, Oh, Dan, so you have 660, 000 followers on Twitter. Why not start with Instagram?

Why not start with YouTube? That's what everyone else does and we're similar to you where we started on Twitter and that's made all the difference for us as well. So I'd be curious, like, what was it about Twitter that made you gravitate towards it when you were like, Hey, I'm going from gym owner to getting in this online thing.

So, I have this thing where I was like, Instagram is for like, Ass and [00:25:00] body where Twitter is like, you have to get noticed for your level of thinking and the ideas that you put out there and it doesn't, it doesn't stop anyone from like putting their bodies out and being like, you know, promoting themselves that way.

But really, it's like you're, you are judged based on the quality of your thought. So when I first started on social media. I was thinking of like the, the highest leverage thing that I would want to do is get judged based on my idea. Not necessarily get judged based on my ideas, but at least put out myself through the quality of my ideas and thoughts.

Rather than the quality of like what my body looks like. Personally for me, it's like I really do think that, you know, I, I'm not like the fittest guy in the world. And you know, I'm not like the most like ripped or biggest guy in the world. But that doesn't fucking matter to me. me It's really about like, okay, well, do people kind of like.

Connect with the thoughts that I'm putting out there, and if they do, awesome. And, I always say this, it's like, if you can actually have people connect with your thoughts and your ideas, that's transferable to every single platform that's out [00:26:00] there. Definitely. As opposed to like, if you're on Instagram and you're putting out, you know, half naked pics, and that's the reason why you're getting like all these followers and everything.

You try to do that on, like, Twitter, I mean, you're probably gonna get, like, flamed. Uh, especially if you don't have the requisite thought that comes along with that, like, the actual ideas and the philosophies behind it. So, I, I do say that Twitter was probably, at that time, like, the hardest nut to crack in that sense.

And that's the reason why I started on it, because that's what I wanted to get judged. If I were to be judged, I would be judged based on the quality of my writing, my thoughts, and ideas. And then I do think that now it's turned into this, uh, this kind of like split testing round a little bit. It's like, I put my thoughts out there.

And these thoughts, it depends on like what people grab onto. They can be automatically transferred to Instagram, to LinkedIn, uh, to even like YouTube. And, and it's more so based on kind of like what I can test on Twitter, which is going to be more so kind of like, [00:27:00] uh, connected on the mainstream. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. The, the written language is so hard to, I mean, not hard to convey, but I think the level of mastery around words and using words to actually convey creativity and you can repackage messages that are so simple. Yeah. Like the amount of times that that we've probably tweeted about meat in different ways that have gotten traction in Very simple ways like there's one tweet that I put out.

It was like God food good food And it like I forget the rest of it, but it was like very simple but just like thought about in a way that made sense and was Impactful and it did well and so I think to your point. It's like You can get a lot of these like bigger ideas just through having clear thinking and clear writing on Twitter Yeah, something that twitter's taught me a lot is that simplicity wins in the end Simplicity of thought that doesn't mean to like dumb down Your ideas, but it [00:28:00] does mean to write in the way that is able to be understood by other people.

A six, a six year old. You know? Yeah, and it's funny, like, I was, I was having a conversation with, uh, Zuby and Ed Lattimore and, and, uh, And it's true, it's like, the, the, the, the quality of, like, reading comprehension has kind of gone down a little bit in, um, in recent years. So, so we have to kind of, like, convey even, like, the most complex things that we can think about.

In ways that a lot of people can attach their kind of like perceptions to and and that's what I try to do on Twitter as much as possible I try to stay away from like, you know, super big words or super big vocabulary, even though I use it sometimes but it's like, how can we take these complex ideas and really just like present them as like these simple, these simple thoughts.

And then the more that you can do that the more that you make like say something like health and fitness accessible for everybody. As opposed to someone who's kind of like, quoting [00:29:00] all these studies, using all these big words that no one understands, and What they're doing is they're only talking to people who are like super addicted to that stuff, but not necessarily like the general population.

Yeah, it's a great point, Dan. And I think Twitter before, when there was just the character limit was a great example of that. Cause I remember like going to the drawing board, writing a draft of something where I'm like, this is really good, but it's like 50 characters over. Alright, what kind of fluff can I pull out of here?

How do I get this, trim it down? And then you pull out some words, you rephrase some sentences, and you're like, oh, this is actually the purest, most direct thing of what I'm thinking. And it's a great tool to actually make you become a better writer. And you're interesting because we were, scrolling through your YouTube and there's just something about video and speaking that just your authenticity is able to come through even more where my What I thought about you is I was like, he's a fitness guy Who's very passionate about help helping entrepreneurs level up and then I was when I was watching through some of your videos I'm like, I actually changed that a little bit I'm like, I think he's just passionate about helping men become [00:30:00] stronger versions of themselves and there was a video you posted about like Porn addiction and like your journey through that which was like super relatable to some of the things that I had experienced too And it like that's what video does like gives you the ability to be super authentic speak from the heart Right into a camera and I'm excited to see how that grows for you because I was like I think there's very few people that can speak Eloquently, and then also write eloquently.

And if you can package those things together, that's an amazing combination. Well, thanks for saying that. I appreciate that. I really do. Uh, Yeah, the, the concept of, like, going from, like, writing to, uh, To YouTube has been very interesting. But also, it's like, it's brought me back to, Okay, so, You know, even things like giving up porn, uh, giving up alcohol.

These are things that have been very like personal to me. So it's easier to talk from an experience that I have had and also the experiences that I've had also with like other clients as well. And, and I do think that my life [00:31:00] as like a practitioner or a practitioner being in this fitness industry for like 20 plus years, seeing thousands of thousands of clients, all of that has like culminated in kind of like, Again, like taking these complex ideas and trying to, trying to understand like, who is it that I'm actually talking to?

I'm actually talking to two people. I'm talking to me, probably 20 years in the past, and I'm also talking to the person who's like a complete beginner. Uh, a person who doesn't necessarily like work out, and a person who's kind of like just getting started, a person who has all these vices, all these things that are distracting them from the full potential that they have.

Uh, it's funny that you say like the, the male things, like, I, my audience is like 84 percent male. And, uh, and I do speak to females still, but at the same time, if I am being authentic, it's like I am talking to like who I was, like, 20 years ago. And, uh, and, and, uh, I think that's where the authenticity comes from and also it's easier to kind of like allow yourself to be [00:32:00] vulnerable in that sense if it is coming from a personal place.

And, and for me it's like anytime that you're putting any content out into the, the sphere and into like the social media sphere, there is like a piece of you that you're bleeding out there into the world. So if you're okay with that, if I'm okay with that, then, then, then that's cool. And it's also understanding that.

I used to really like care about like what other people thought and I had this like had this really like I guess you say this knack of just wanting people to like like me and and the reality is is that the more I do that the more I actually push myself away from Actually, people liking me in the first place, you know?

Uh, so, so I've come to this, like, little balance, this little space. Where, where really it's like, I'm not trying to offend anyone. I will speak from a place where I feel is like, personal to me. And the more that I [00:33:00] come from that place, anyone can say whatever they want. And the reality is, is that, reality is malleable.

So, their perception, it's so funny, it's like, I will say some things on a YouTube video. And then I'll get comments and people, they will say things that I didn't even say in that video and I'm just like, well, your, your perception is allowing you to see this thing that I didn't even say in the first place.

So that's the whole thing with like reality as well. It's like, it's malleable. So whenever I even like, Create content on Twitter or create content on YouTube. I'm realizing that people will automatically place their own perceptions on like what that message actually means And as long as I know what the message means to me, then that's the only thing that matters Anything else and anything else that kind of like comes along with that is just like a bonus or it or won't matter in the first place Yeah, did you feel any fears or insecurities pop up as you made that decision?

Transition from written form content [00:34:00] to actually putting your face out there. Yeah, 100%. 100%. And, uh, a big amount of that insecurity came back from that wanting to be liked. And wanting people to like me. And then, and then you're just like Well, fuck it. Like, who cares? You know? But, but you have to get to a place, and I do think it's like this, uh, idea of like exposure therapy as well.

Where the more that you do it, the more you realize that it doesn't really matter in the long run. And, and you have to do it enough times where you can get over that inherent insecurity. And, uh, and to be honest, like, I've been kind of being an amateur on YouTube since like the 2010s. So my, my YouTube channel.

Uh, even though it's getting traction right now, like, I've been making videos since like, 2008, 2010 and I've been, I've been at it but only doing it like sporadically. It's only this year where I've decided to become a pro at it and I've decided to create on a cadence to [00:35:00] script out my stuff to look at each video and to look at how I can improve each and every video and to really treat it like a professional just like I did when I first got into like, you know, Twitter and social media.

And then the more that I approach it from that aspect of things, the more that. The more I realize that, it's almost like my own little, it's like my own like subjective idea of success is already guaranteed. Versus like if I just like do that. And they keep on, like, trying to improve it. All these, like, external measures of success are gonna happen, probably.

But at least, like, I'm doing what I feel is, like, right. For what I feel that video needs at, like, that particular amount of time. And I'm pretty sure, like, a year from now I'll look back at my videos and be like, Oh, shit. And, like, cringe at all that stuff. But for now, I feel like, you know, what I'm doing and how I'm doing it is, is sort of right, right now.

Yeah. That's well said. I love what you said earlier about the concept of your reality being malleable. I think that's such a powerful statement. Yeah. And it's really cool to talk to you [00:36:00] now and learn more about your story because, I think there are some people that could see you, you're 43, right? 44. 44.

Yeah. Incredibly successful business owner, you work with a ton of clients, have a huge brand. It's almost like, there's probably almost this air of like, how relatable is this guy? Was he always perfect? And then when I started to learn more about like, kind of your origin story and, Where you were in your 20s and seems like you kind of just looked in the mirror and didn't like what you saw and decided to take drastic action.

I think that's just such an encouraging thing of like, you're never too late to start. And you imagine this version of yourself now and all the people you've helped. That could have literally not existed had you not done those difficult things in your 20s to turn your life around. So, maybe we could tell the audience that story because it's so powerful.

For sure. Like, uh, If I didn't do what I did back in my 20s, I would probably either, uh, be working a dead end corporate job that I hate, or be a waiter, or, uh, or most likely be out in the street, because at that time I was [00:37:00] doing some drugs in a very addictive manner back then. So, back in my teens and 20s, um, I was pretty directionless, and my parents would always, like, tell me, which wasn't really cool.

But they always affirmed to me, like, out of every one of our kids, like, we're worried about you, right? Yeah. My mom, uh, I remember because I used to work at the, we used to own this, like, printing shop. She would sit me down at her table. She had this, like, big conference table. She'd sit me down at the table.

She would get this message for, like, one of my teachers about something that I did or something I wasn't doing. I was, like, a straight D student. And she would be like, Dan, like, what is going on? Why are you doing this? And. And I'd be like, I don't know. As a kid, it's like, what are you supposed to say? And she was always telling me, it's like, you know what, I know that whatever you put your mind to, you can achieve.

Just, I just don't understand why you're doing all this [00:38:00] stuff. And um, and I feel like I went through like a few transformations, and I'm still going through them right now. So, my first one was, it was at a point where I dropped out of high school, and then I went to uh, I was, at that time I was binge drinking on the weekends, eating bags of potato chips.

On the couch to myself while playing video games. Completely just like, what am I doing with my life? But it's like you're stuck in this zone. And maybe back then there was depression. Like who knows what it was? Because we didn't label these things back then. And it was at this point where, you know, I was smoking cigarettes.

Like I was, I was just doing all sorts of stuff that were just like the complete opposite of who I am today. And my friend asked me, because I used to play basketball, I was like, hey Dan, you want to go like play basketball? I was like, Yeah, cool. I'm like, not doing anything. I end up going to the run. And then I'm just like, heaving and puffing and my throat's just like, burning because of all the cigarette smoke that's coming up.[00:39:00]

I remember one time, this uh, during the game, like a fast break happens. And then, fast break happens, I'm running as fast as possible. And then I feel like this like, jiggle in my chest. And I'm just like, oh shit. Like, what is this? And then at the time I'm like, oh man, do I have like, breast cancer or something like that?

Oh god, like, ugh. So, I remember I excused myself, and then I go to, uh, I go straight home, I go to my bathroom, and I take off my shirt, and I'm just like, shit. And then I realized, like, I had man boobs. And I just looked at my body, cause even at that time I was so embarrassed of my body. I was just like, It was at that point where I was like, so shamed.

I was so dissatisfied, and then I looked at myself in the mirror, like, hard look. I was like, never again. I'm never gonna feel this way again. I'm gonna do everything in my power, and I don't care, like, what happens. It was like this sense of [00:40:00] determination, that I'm going to change this, no matter what. So, I end up, uh, playing, I end up getting into basketball, playing, getting more active, quitting smoking.

And then, uh, and then my, my dad ends up kind of like, giving me a pass to the gym, a one month pass to the gym. And I was just like, cool, like, the worst, what's the worst that can happen? And I ended up going to the gym and I was like, the worst thing that can happen is that I see some pretty girls and I get injured or something like that.

The best thing that can happen is I actually get in shape. And I ended up, because I had nothing going for my life, I just went every single day. And my only thing, and this is actually just like a big lesson, it's like, whenever you're starting off with like, even just like wanting to get in shape, it's like, the only habit that you really want to start is just showing up.

So my whole thing was just like, show up to the gym. Be there every single day. Who cares what happens? Try out all the machines. Don't even get a trainer. Don't even do it. And after like two weeks of going to that gym, I remember this because it's [00:41:00] such a vivid memory. It's like, it's vivid in my, in my memory.

I remember going to the change room, and then I was putting on my pants, putting on my belt, and my belt went in like two notches. And I was like, this isn't, this ain't right. Like, this is not supposed to happen. And that was kind of like my first sign when I was like, Oh shoot, like this, this stuff is actually pretty cool.

Like weight training is kind of cool. Like this is, this is getting me results. And, and I actually kind of like, like what I'm doing. So that was like my first kind of like foray into this whole like fitness field. And then I was like pretty obsessed about fitness after that. I was obsessed about fat loss.

I just didn't know at that time I was like working this job and I just didn't know, like, what is it that I really wanted to do? Cause I was like, okay, I'm into like fitness now. Now what, now what? And then, and then something happened in my life, which, uh, which I consider to be probably like the best or the worst and also the best thing that happened.

So we're, we're in this family room with me and I have, uh, My three siblings. Uh, my [00:42:00] sister and two brothers. We're in the family room, and we get this call. And the call is from my dad. And our dad's like, you guys gotta come, cause we're in Toronto, or Stouffville. There's like this subset of Toronto. And he was like, you gotta, you gotta come to Niagara right now.

Something's not right with your mom. And then when you get that call, you're just like, what the f Like, you don't even There's so many thoughts that go in on your mind. So we end up going there. And then we end up, uh, they have to operate on her because there's something happening with her stomach. And while they're operating on her, they end up leaving an infection in her.

This causes her to have a heart attack. Now she has to get on dialysis, uh, treatment. And they can't do it there. They have to go to this place. Other places, a place called Hamilton, where the [00:43:00] hospital is a lot more, a lot more robust. They have that treatment. So, for the next six months, she's in the ICU.

We're going back and forth, because Hamilton is like an hour, an hour and a half away from where we live. We're going back and forth. And we, and then, you know what? We do that for six months, and we actually think that she's going to make it. You know, like, we get the word from the doctor. She's She's, she's doing well.

We put her in the next level down from ICU. And then we're like, okay, cool. I remember, I remember that day. I remember just seeing my mom and I was, I look at her in the eyes and then I say bye to her and she couldn't even talk cause she had this like tube in her throat. I remember this, her face. And then I leave the hospital.

And then the next day, they let us know that overnight she got [00:44:00] pneumonia. And now she's on life support. There's like this 001 chance that she's not gonna be a vegetable. And we have to, as a family, make a choice. Do we keep her on, or

do we deal with the fact that We're not going to have this. We're going to have Mom, but she's just not going to be there. And then, uh, as a family, we decide that we don't want her to live life that way. And then Mom passes away. And during that time, I didn't know what, like, depression was. But that was probably as close to depression I ever went through.

I cried every single day of my life. Every single day. Every single day of that time. And this was actually during a time where I was just like, What am I doing with my life? Like, what the hell? [00:45:00] And then I remember, there was like this voice that came into my brain, that came into my mind. I've never heard it before.

And mind you, during that time, while we were going through this whole hospital ordeal, I was spending so much time in like the hospital church. And I was just praying to God. Because I was like, please God. Please, bring my mom back. And, uh, and then, while I'm going through this like, depression, there's this voice that comes into my mind, it's like, Dan, you can either let this burn you up, or you can use this emotion as fuel.

And I was like, incredulous at this voice, I was like, What the fuck are you talking about? Like, my mom just died, what do you mean? And And then it just like asked me the same question and it kept on asking me this question like day after day until I answered until I answered the question and [00:46:00] my answer was like and what I learned from that particular event was that Emotion is actually emotion is energy And then I was like, I'm I'm gonna use this and I'm gonna use this to fuel like my life and And She passed when she was like in her mid 50s And I was like if I was like 24 at the time I was like 30 more years like if that's the case like shit.

I better be doing something that I like I better be doing something I'm passionate about So it was at that time. I ended up quitting my job that I hated I was like screw this I'm not gonna I'm not gonna continue on with you guys anymore And I decided to go into fitness, which at the time, mind you, this is 20 years ago.

This is before Instagram. This is before social media. When, when people thought about personal trainers, they saw it as like the side job, right? They didn't see it as like what it is right now. They saw it as like, even [00:47:00] when I told like my friends and my family, they're like, what are you doing, Dan? Right?

Because it was known as like this thing that you do as like a side hustle that makes you extra money, not something that you do as a career. But I was just like, no, if there's anything that I want, it's number one, I want to help people. That's number one. Number two, I want to do something I'm actually interested in.

So that's gonna be fitness. And then, and then from there, I never looked back at that point. I, I took it, I took the ball and I ran with it. And, and that was kind of like this, that's why I call it like the worst best thing that ever happened to me. It's like, would I trade it to have like my mom here again?

Absolutely. I actually would. Uh, but if she's not going to be here, then I need to use that energy for something. And that's what I put it towards. I put it towards me and, uh, towards this mission that I'm on right now. Yeah. Yeah.