Retrospective question for Dante.

cac3071 · Aug 31, 2011

Dante,

I have enjoyed your writings and POV over the years as well as how you have managed to successfully balance becoming a large BB with family, business and life.

My question is two-fold:

#1 Did you always have balance or is this something that you had to learn (I know I sure have when it comes to work).

#2 I ask because I certainly have not achieved what I had hoped BB-wise due to focusing on family and career through my 20s. I have no regrets as my focus was supporting my wife through med school/residency and today we are very comfortable financially (no debt, fully funded 401ks and investments, 529s for the kids…). So now at 33 I am able to look back (thankfully from a great point in life) and think what-if when it comes to BB.

So rewind 20 years -- You meet your wife at say 23, have kids and start True Protein. My question is could you today be a 270 lb BB under this scenario or would the demands and responsibilities of life prevented that from being possible? I think of the posts you have made about force feeding food and training all out and know I would not have had the time/energy to do this while working 60 hours a week and rocking the baby at 3:00am and I wonder what your POV is on this.

Thanks

oreolo · Aug 31, 2011

X2. Always been mighty impressed with the way dc thinks

Ulamalop · Aug 31, 2011

oreolo said:
X2. Always been mighty impressed with the way dc thinks

His writings follow a very consistent and logical approach, he states the thesis of his argument, presents evidence, will even anticipate and address contrary evidence, (the argument and antithesis) leading to a conclusion supporting his original thesis (the synthesis). Sometimes, he is more passionate in his discussion than other times.

newyboy1 · Aug 31, 2011

Would also love too see input on this , I'm
Currently 24, working full time (50 hours a week), just bought my first house which I'm trying to renovate, have a lOvely Gf , but I really do fid it hard to fit everything into a day! This forum doenst help as I spend hours reading back on info!

DOGGCRAPP · Aug 31, 2011

cac3071 said:
Dante,

I have enjoyed your writings and POV over the years as well as how you have managed to successfully balance becoming a large BB with family, business and life.

My question is two-fold:

#1 Did you always have balance or is this something that you had to learn (I know I sure have when it comes to work).

#2 I ask because I certainly have not achieved what I had hoped BB-wise due to focusing on family and career through my 20s. I have no regrets as my focus was supporting my wife through med school/residency and today we are very comfortable financially (no debt, fully funded 401ks and investments, 529s for the kids…). So now at 33 I am able to look back (thankfully from a great point in life) and think what-if when it comes to BB.

So rewind 20 years -- You meet your wife at say 23, have kids and start True Protein. My question is could you today be a 270 lb BB under this scenario or would the demands and responsibilities of life prevented that from being possible? I think of the posts you have made about force feeding food and training all out and know I would not have had the time/energy to do this while working 60 hours a week and rocking the baby at 3:00am and I wonder what your POV is on this.

Thanks

1) Ive always had balance for the most part. In my early 20's I was packing all my food for the day, driving 45 minutes to college, going to one college from 8 to 330pm, training from 345pm to 515pm and then going to another college from 530 to 9pm at nite and then driving back home 45 minutes (and repeat and repeat and repeat)....then I would work an 8 hour shift on saturday and a 12 hour shift on sunday.

2) Ive always been driven. Ive worked some incredibly hard jobs (labor jobs) but always had time for bodybuilding around it. I came out to California thinking I was going to go to work right away in the early 90's from my college studies.....got a rude awakening....awful economy here in the early 90's and for many years I worked backbreaking labor jobs while also writing a bodybuilding magazine on the side....and trained and got all my meals in. (alot of rice and ground hamburger in those lean times)...

As for that scenario you presented....to be completely honest...I would not have had kids so young myself because I wanted to accomplish alot of goals personally. Unlike alot of bodybuilders I knew the order of ranking was
(taking into account that everyone has relationships with gf/wife)
1) Career
2) training dieting
3) competing

I always had my eye on the prize which was being an entrepeneur and businessman first, training and dieting was my hobby and competing is only allowed if there is some time for it and it doesnt screw up #1 at all. Unfortunately if i counted the number of bodybuilders that think they are going to come into some huge amount of cash and glory if they JUST COULD WIN bodybuilding contests...it would be a laughable gigantic number. Couldnt even tell you the number of guys i was interviewing (when I had that magazine) that were living in a studio apt living from day to day scrounging by (or borrowing or ripping off people or selling juice to survive) that were lauded in the mainstream magazines as "a bodybuilder that had his stuff together and was affluent"....

Even today I got my hands on so many things its ridiculous
-A custom manufacturing company
-A retail company (Trueprotein)
with well over 20 employees in those 2 companies
-some grocery store products that are mainstream
-investments in the movie industry (we finance the launch and make back 150% i.e. 30k gets back 45k in 3 months etc)
-still looking at a 7/11 with four gas lines financials and might buy that
-tire shredding and disposal (still in process)
-real estate deals (have bids in on two prop's but because of the double dip im kind of waiting the whole process out and these were just steals)
-wife makes her own fitware and caps and resells and I get her the raw materials for those
-I can supply granite, marble, cabinetry, tile, computer parts, electronics, blow moulding, and plastics in large supply due to the connections Ive made acquiring large scale raw ingredients but I havent really pushed into that yet because of time limits
-got a new 6 figure website being built
-got another 25 thousand square foot manufacturing facility being built out

and I still train 5-6 times a week, and 45-60mins of cardio right after first thing in the morning and get all my meals in.....and every nite I go to the ocean, a park, or the mall or the pool or someplace with my young daughters.... I really think its what you want to personally accomplish in life and perseverance (I got knocked down hardcore a couple times....one time it took me about 3-4 years to pick myself back up....Ive definitely have been humbled).

DOGGCRAPP · Aug 31, 2011

Both my business partner and I learned the hard way though of when to let off the accelerator work wise.....About 4-5 years ago I was working so hard with Trueprotein I ended up exhausted and got shingles....(really messed up my shoulder and tricep of my right arm nervewise to this day) and a year later my business partner ended up with shingles too from working way too hard thru stressfull situations.......we both took a second look at how we were doing things at that point and definitely changed things up....We both started delegating work to other people and stopped being control freaks with our hands on everything.

Racepicks · Aug 31, 2011

I guess my Wife is right, I am a lazy bastard! I remember someone saying if you took a millionaire's money and gave it to a guy who's broke, in 10 years the Millionaire would be rich again and the Broke dude would be broke again. Much respect to you Dante.:headbang:

Ironraider · Aug 31, 2011

Bro...I love reading your stuff...just real. Great story of hard work perseverance and staying focused. Of course, some times the focus or goals change...but it is obvious you have the entrepreneurial spirit, which is the back bone of this great country.

Congrats on your successes...and your wonderful family. I have four daughters...youngest are 5 and 3...and they really know how to help me keep everything in prospective.

Thanks for posting D...and the OP for asking!

Jason Chano · Aug 31, 2011

This man is one of the very top theoreticians, writers, and (most importantly) practitioners that the iron game has ever seen. I learn something of value every time Dante posts and I am very thankful for the wisdom that he has imparted through his posts on various boards over the years. This just seemed like an appropriate thread to state such.

A sincere thank you, sir.

hotfigure · Aug 31, 2011

Dusty is in the trenches as we speak fighting the fight between business, bodybuilding, marketing, family, and friends. I cannot explain how hard it is to balance everything but we are constantly looking at all he does and looking for better ways to get it all done perfectly and leaving time for us.

This side of you is one of the main reasons that Dusty considers you not only a friend but also a mentor. One day we will get it all balanced but until then we will just keep working!

tmuscle · Sep 1, 2011

DOGGCRAPP said:
1) Ive always had balance for the most part. In my early 20's I was packing all my food for the day, driving 45 minutes to college, going to one college from 8 to 330pm, training from 345pm to 515pm and then going to another college from 530 to 9pm at nite and then driving back home 45 minutes (and repeat and repeat and repeat)....then I would work an 8 hour shift on saturday and a 12 hour shift on sunday.

2) Ive always been driven. Ive worked some incredibly hard jobs (labor jobs) but always had time for bodybuilding around it. I came out to California thinking I was going to go to work right away in the early 90's from my college studies.....got a rude awakening....awful economy here in the early 90's and for many years I worked backbreaking labor jobs while also writing a bodybuilding magazine on the side....and trained and got all my meals in. (alot of rice and ground hamburger in those lean times)...

As for that scenario you presented....to be completely honest...I would not have had kids so young myself because I wanted to accomplish alot of goals personally. Unlike alot of bodybuilders I knew the order of ranking was
(taking into account that everyone has relationships with gf/wife)
1) Career
2) training dieting
3) competing

I always had my eye on the prize which was being an entrepeneur and businessman first, training and dieting was my hobby and competing is only allowed if there is some time for it and it doesnt screw up #1 at all. Unfortunately if i counted the number of bodybuilders that think they are going to come into some huge amount of cash and glory if they JUST COULD WIN bodybuilding contests...it would be a laughable gigantic number. Couldnt even tell you the number of guys i was interviewing (when I had that magazine) that were living in a studio apt living from day to day scrounging by (or borrowing or ripping off people or selling juice to survive) that were lauded in the mainstream magazines as "a bodybuilder that had his stuff together and was affluent"....

Even today I got my hands on so many things its ridiculous
-A custom manufacturing company
-A retail company (Trueprotein)
with well over 20 employees in those 2 companies
-some grocery store products that are mainstream
-investments in the movie industry (we finance the launch and make back 150% i.e. 30k gets back 45k in 3 months etc)
-still looking at a 7/11 with four gas lines financials and might buy that
-tire shredding and disposal (still in process)
-real estate deals (have bids in on two prop's but because of the double dip im kind of waiting the whole process out and these were just steals)
-wife makes her own fitware and caps and resells and I get her the raw materials for those
-I can supply granite, marble, cabinetry, tile, computer parts, electronics, blow moulding, and plastics in large supply due to the connections Ive made acquiring large scale raw ingredients but I havent really pushed into that yet because of time limits
-got a new 6 figure website being built
-got another 25 thousand square foot manufacturing facility being built out

and I still train 5-6 times a week, and 45-60mins of cardio right after first thing in the morning and get all my meals in.....and every nite I go to the ocean, a park, or the mall or the pool or someplace with my young daughters.... I really think its what you want to personally accomplish in life and perseverance (I got knocked down hardcore a couple times....one time it took me about 3-4 years to pick myself back up....Ive definitely have been humbled).

So when are we gonna see you on the cover of entrepeneur magazine mr. buffett?

Moen · Sep 1, 2011

I'm definitely one lazy fucker compared to Dante

I didn't even attend 95% of my classes in college. Just slept about 12h a day, trained and sat on my computer reading stuff completely unrelated to my education. I would be the broke guy in the above scenario haha

Lenny · Sep 1, 2011

DOGGCRAPP said:
1) Ive always had balance for the most part. In my early 20's I was packing all my food for the day, driving 45 minutes to college, going to one college from 8 to 330pm, training from 345pm to 515pm and then going to another college from 530 to 9pm at nite and then driving back home 45 minutes (and repeat and repeat and repeat)....then I would work an 8 hour shift on saturday and a 12 hour shift on sunday.

2) Ive always been driven. Ive worked some incredibly hard jobs (labor jobs) but always had time for bodybuilding around it. I came out to California thinking I was going to go to work right away in the early 90's from my college studies.....got a rude awakening....awful economy here in the early 90's and for many years I worked backbreaking labor jobs while also writing a bodybuilding magazine on the side....and trained and got all my meals in. (alot of rice and ground hamburger in those lean times)...

As for that scenario you presented....to be completely honest...I would not have had kids so young myself because I wanted to accomplish alot of goals personally. Unlike alot of bodybuilders I knew the order of ranking was
(taking into account that everyone has relationships with gf/wife)
1) Career
2) training dieting
3) competing

I always had my eye on the prize which was being an entrepeneur and businessman first, training and dieting was my hobby and competing is only allowed if there is some time for it and it doesnt screw up #1 at all. Unfortunately if i counted the number of bodybuilders that think they are going to come into some huge amount of cash and glory if they JUST COULD WIN bodybuilding contests...it would be a laughable gigantic number. Couldnt even tell you the number of guys i was interviewing (when I had that magazine) that were living in a studio apt living from day to day scrounging by (or borrowing or ripping off people or selling juice to survive) that were lauded in the mainstream magazines as "a bodybuilder that had his stuff together and was affluent"....

Even today I got my hands on so many things its ridiculous
-A custom manufacturing company
-A retail company (Trueprotein)
with well over 20 employees in those 2 companies
-some grocery store products that are mainstream
-investments in the movie industry (we finance the launch and make back 150% i.e. 30k gets back 45k in 3 months etc)
-still looking at a 7/11 with four gas lines financials and might buy that
-tire shredding and disposal (still in process)
-real estate deals (have bids in on two prop's but because of the double dip im kind of waiting the whole process out and these were just steals)
-wife makes her own fitware and caps and resells and I get her the raw materials for those
-I can supply granite, marble, cabinetry, tile, computer parts, electronics, blow moulding, and plastics in large supply due to the connections Ive made acquiring large scale raw ingredients but I havent really pushed into that yet because of time limits
-got a new 6 figure website being built
-got another 25 thousand square foot manufacturing facility being built out

and I still train 5-6 times a week, and 45-60mins of cardio right after first thing in the morning and get all my meals in.....and every nite I go to the ocean, a park, or the mall or the pool or someplace with my young daughters.... I really think its what you want to personally accomplish in life and perseverance (I got knocked down hardcore a couple times....one time it took me about 3-4 years to pick myself back up....Ive definitely have been humbled).

Props DC:headbang: You sir have a great mind and great work ethic, it shows:headbang:

cac3071 · Sep 1, 2011

Good stuff Dante. So from a time managment POV what does a typical day look like for you and do you have any advice for those of us with business, family committments trying to juggle 1000 things at once? My wife puts in allot of hours with overnight call, unpredictable schedule (i.e surgery that should be an hour takes four) so I drop off and pick up from daycare every day and would appreciate any insight you have on ways to better manage time.

renewlyf · Sep 1, 2011

That was inspiring stuff Dante!!
Thank You
Now I better get back to work

MR. BMJ · Sep 1, 2011

Dante is a great guy, and always has been. He's definately a leader and one to help others and share his experiences in the process. Glad he still finds time to converse with people in our 'sub-culture.'

Juiceboy44 · Sep 1, 2011

Damn Dante, you remind me of the movie Limitless where the dude takes that clear pill and becomes a well efficient money making machine

Congrats to you on your sucess, its great having bros like you around to share knowleadge and assist others even with so much stuff going on in your life.

BigNShredded · Sep 1, 2011

DOGGCRAPP said:
1) Ive always had balance for the most part. In my early 20's I was packing all my food for the day, driving 45 minutes to college, going to one college from 8 to 330pm, training from 345pm to 515pm and then going to another college from 530 to 9pm at nite and then driving back home 45 minutes (and repeat and repeat and repeat)....then I would work an 8 hour shift on saturday and a 12 hour shift on sunday.

2) Ive always been driven. Ive worked some incredibly hard jobs (labor jobs) but always had time for bodybuilding around it. I came out to California thinking I was going to go to work right away in the early 90's from my college studies.....got a rude awakening....awful economy here in the early 90's and for many years I worked backbreaking labor jobs while also writing a bodybuilding magazine on the side....and trained and got all my meals in. (alot of rice and ground hamburger in those lean times)...

As for that scenario you presented....to be completely honest...I would not have had kids so young myself because I wanted to accomplish alot of goals personally. Unlike alot of bodybuilders I knew the order of ranking was
(taking into account that everyone has relationships with gf/wife)
1) Career
2) training dieting
3) competing

I always had my eye on the prize which was being an entrepeneur and businessman first, training and dieting was my hobby and competing is only allowed if there is some time for it and it doesnt screw up #1 at all. Unfortunately if i counted the number of bodybuilders that think they are going to come into some huge amount of cash and glory if they JUST COULD WIN bodybuilding contests...it would be a laughable gigantic number. Couldnt even tell you the number of guys i was interviewing (when I had that magazine) that were living in a studio apt living from day to day scrounging by (or borrowing or ripping off people or selling juice to survive) that were lauded in the mainstream magazines as "a bodybuilder that had his stuff together and was affluent"....

Even today I got my hands on so many things its ridiculous
-A custom manufacturing company
-A retail company (Trueprotein)
with well over 20 employees in those 2 companies
-some grocery store products that are mainstream
-investments in the movie industry (we finance the launch and make back 150% i.e. 30k gets back 45k in 3 months etc)
-still looking at a 7/11 with four gas lines financials and might buy that
-tire shredding and disposal (still in process)
-real estate deals (have bids in on two prop's but because of the double dip im kind of waiting the whole process out and these were just steals)
-wife makes her own fitware and caps and resells and I get her the raw materials for those
-I can supply granite, marble, cabinetry, tile, computer parts, electronics, blow moulding, and plastics in large supply due to the connections Ive made acquiring large scale raw ingredients but I havent really pushed into that yet because of time limits
-got a new 6 figure website being built
-got another 25 thousand square foot manufacturing facility being built out

and I still train 5-6 times a week, and 45-60mins of cardio right after first thing in the morning and get all my meals in.....and every nite I go to the ocean, a park, or the mall or the pool or someplace with my young daughters.... I really think its what you want to personally accomplish in life and perseverance (I got knocked down hardcore a couple times....one time it took me about 3-4 years to pick myself back up....Ive definitely have been humbled).

PLUS you still have ample time to post on the bodybuilding forums that you make so much money from!

I like you and think that you've contributed a ton over the years, but I have to ask--from one egomaniac to another--did you REALLY have to compile that gigantic "list" of financial conquests?

Dusty Hanshaw · Sep 1, 2011

BigNShredded said:
PLUS you still have ample time to post on the bodybuilding forums that you make so much money from!

I like you and think that you've contributed a ton over the years, but I have to ask--from one egomaniac to another--did you REALLY have to compile that gigantic "list" of financial conquests?

These posts are the type that ruin threads. He did not get on here to tell everyone how much money he makes. You just chose to take it that way and obviously you do not know him because he is far from an egomaniac.

This thread was started by someone else and he answered. If you have ever read his posts as you say you have then you know that he writes with passion and often goes to great lengths when answering a question...This could very well be one of the first posts I have seen him type that had anything to do with him and that is because the question was about him.

osiris · Sep 1, 2011

BigNShredded said:
PLUS you still have ample time to post on the bodybuilding forums that you make so much money from!

I like you and think that you've contributed a ton over the years, but I have to ask--from one egomaniac to another--did you REALLY have to compile that gigantic "list" of financial conquests?

I will agree that you are an egomaniac. The huge,difference between you and dante is that he has been wildly successful while you have succeeded at providing some of with entertainment snd not much else,!

Dante, thank you for sharing your life with us. I always enjoy your posts no matter what they are about

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