Trust your gut!
Dan Churchill
personal optimization
New York, NY
Dan Churchill is the Executive Chef at Charley St, a critically acclaimed, Australian inspired, impact driven NYC café, providing consumers with an elevated food & beverage experience. Born on the beaches of Sydney, Australia, Dan currently resides in New York City. With a Masters in Exercise Science (strength & conditioning), Dan blends his expertise in fitness and wellness with his passion for healthy cooking and has become the face of nutrition-based-performance. Dan is the author of three books and has appeared on notable programs such as ABC’s Good Morning America and the TODAY show. He has his own series on the Discovery Network called Feast with Friends, as well as his own production company called The Epic Table. His podcast of the same name focusing on performance, health and food launched in June of 2019.
- OWNER AND EXECUTIVE CHEF AT CHARLEY ST CAFE, NYC
- MASTERS IN EXERCISE SCIENCE
- HOST, THE EPIC TABLE PODCAST
- 3X PUBLISHED AUTHOR
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10 MINUTES WITH DAN
Q: WHAT PIECE OF ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR TWENTY-YEAR OLD SELF?
Q: WITH ANY NEW MODALITY YOU GET INTO, HOW DO YOU APPROACH IT IN ORDER TO MASTER?
Many people would say practice which is super obvious, but the part of exercise that I really love is the challenge and creativity of it; I know that these things make me want to practice something. For example, when learning a new move like ski erg, muscle-ups, etc. something that I love is interval training, and practicing to increase my threshold. I try to find the reasoning behind each move that will intrinsically inspire me to get into a practice state.
Q: WHAT LESSONS HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM FITNESS THAT HAVE SERVED YOU THROUGHOUT YOUR LIFE?
The biggest one that comes to mind is that you're number one and if you don't look after your own health no one else will. At the end of the day you're the one actioning it all. I love and live by the saying control the controllable, both in fitness and in life. You have to be the one actioning your own goals and controlling the things you can control during your day (since life will always throw curveballs at you!)
Q: WHAT'S THE ONE WORKOUT YOU ALWAYS DREAD? WHAT'S THE ONE WORKOUT YOU ALWAYS LOOK FORWARD TO? WHY?
There's nothing I truly dread, but I love to sweat, so any workout that's MetCon style I really look forward to. If there was a situation in which I had to climb without a harness thought, I might dread that!
Q: WHAT IDEA, PERSON OR BOOK HAS BEEN THE MOST INFLUENTIAL IN YOUR LIFE? WHY?
Right now I'm reading a book called The River of Doubt by Candice Millard, which tells the story of Theodore Roosevelt after his failure to be reelected and subsequent travels in the Amazon. It put into perspective some of his feats and the team he had around him, and it helps you put things into perspective and relate your life's outcomes to the decisions you make. Roosevelt had such an influence on his time and we're still seeing the effects of his work all these years later.
Q: WHAT'S ON YOUR FITNESS BUCKET LIST?
Doing an IronMan, qualifying in a CrossFit setting, circumnavigate Australia.
Q: DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE FAILURE? HOW HAS THAT SET YOU UP FOR LATER SUCCESS?
Figuring out my mission and how to adapt to living in the States. One of the biggest lessons and challenges was learning my audience. I've made mistakes when it comes to answering media or my community's questions in the way that we would in Australia (being incredibly humble, etc.) while those in America love a more direct response.
Q: WHY DO YOU PRIORITIZE FITNESS IN YOUR LIFE?
Fitness is crucial for me to be productive, sane, and support those around me.
