Episode 215 features Christian Dyer, a USA rugby player and health & wellness fanatic shares his journey from a sports-focused all-boys school to the peaks of professional rugby. Learn about his disciplined approach to training, smart nutrition, and mental strength, and how these elements combine for peak performance. Christian also discusses the importance of mental health, resilience, and community support in sports, inspiring us to embrace challenges and strive for excellence. This episode is a celebration of the power of connections and mentorship in shaping a successful sports career.
Want to see more of the AP? Subscribe to the AP YouTube channel.
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Check out Christian's stuff:
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Produced by Rise Virtually
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Perfect Sports Supplements
Save 20% off all Perfect Sports Supplements by using the code "AP20" at checkout!
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Other episodes you might enjoy:
World Strongest Man Mitchell Hooper, Taylor Learmont (Little "T" Fitness), Bruce Boudreau (Vancouver Canucks), Rhonda Rajsich (Most Decorated US Racquetball player), Zach Bitter (Ultra Marathon Runner), Zion Clark (Netflix docuseries), Jana Webb (Founder of JOGA), Ben Johns (#1 Pickleball Player in the World)
Check out our Website | Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Tiktok | Spotify | Apple | Google | Youtube
Episode 215 features Christian Dyer, a USA rugby player and health & wellness fanatic shares his journey from a sports-focused all-boys school to the peaks of professional rugby. Learn about his disciplined approach to training, smart nutrition, and mental strength, and how these elements combine for peak performance. Christian also discusses the importance of mental health, resilience, and community support in sports, inspiring us to embrace challenges and strive for excellence. This episode is a celebration of the power of connections and mentorship in shaping a successful sports career.
Want to see more of the AP? Subscribe to the AP YouTube channel.
---
Check out Christian's stuff:
Instagram
TikTok
Youtube
---
Check out Dave's stuff:
Instagram
Twitter
LinkedIn
---
Produced by Rise Virtually
****
Perfect Sports Supplements
Save 20% off all Perfect Sports Supplements by using the code "AP20" at checkout!
***
Other episodes you might enjoy:
World Strongest Man Mitchell Hooper, Taylor Learmont (Little "T" Fitness), Bruce Boudreau (Vancouver Canucks), Rhonda Rajsich (Most Decorated US Racquetball player), Zach Bitter (Ultra Marathon Runner), Zion Clark (Netflix docuseries), Jana Webb (Founder of JOGA), Ben Johns (#1 Pickleball Player in the World)
Check out our Website | Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Tiktok | Spotify | Apple | Google | Youtube
Hey, welcome back to the athletes podcast, this episode 215 featuring Christian Dyer and my boy, aldred State, from Perfect Sports. If you guys haven't had it yet, it's the best pre-workout on the market. The world's strongest man takes it, which means you should probably take it too If you want to be strong. This episode is brought to you by Perfect Sports. We're powered by the best supplements on the market. You should use them too. Use the code AP 20, get 20% off Now.
David Stark:Christian Dyer, usa 7s and 15s rugby players, someone who I'm grateful to be able to call a buddy now. We were chopping it up for just under an hour. I love Christian's charisma, confidence, his ability to cut out the noise and, frankly, the fact that he just goes and gets it done. If you followed him on social media, you know he wakes up early, he gets after it, he eats clean whole foods and then he supplements properly. He's treating his body right, he's a professional athlete and he's going to see success for years to come because he continues to put in that work on a daily basis. If you're a young athlete looking to model your game after someone, christian's probably someone who you'd be interested in following along.
David Stark:This is an episode that features a ton of insights, knowledge, wisdom, bombs. I hope you enjoy. Let us know down below your favorite part and maybe we'll ask one of your questions on an upcoming episode. I read all the YouTube comments. I even read the chirps, the jokes, the laughs, everything in between. I appreciate you, folks, for tuning in. Don't forget about our athlete agreement. If you're watching, just be sure to hit that subscribe button. It takes you literally two seconds, but it means so much to me and it allows us to keep doing this on a weekly basis, bringing you the best content possible with some of the world's most incredible athletes.
David Stark:Without further ado, let's talk to one of those today Christian Dyer, episode 215 of the Athletes Podcast. Here we go. You're the most decorated racquetball player in US history, world's strongest man, from childhood passion to professional athlete, eight-time Ironman champion. So what was it like making your debut in the NHL? What is your biggest piece of advice for the next generation of athletes, from underdogs to national champions? This is the Athletes Podcast, where high performance individuals share their triumphs, defeats and life lessons to educate, entertain and inspire the next generation of athletes. Here we go, christian Dyer, correct, I'm saying it properly? Yeah, perfect.
David Stark:People call me CD, cd, automatic. Okay, you just plug them in and hit play Easy it's easy. You're like the Energizer Bunny in all your content, dude, you're always buzzing. You have a coffee going 24 seven, yeah, I drink copious amounts of coffee that, and Thorne supplements, eh, thorne.
Christian Dyer:I'm now working a little bit with human improvement in Organifi, but yeah, dude the morning routines. I'm locked in now, but my sleep's been killer, which is why I think, like once I've nailed like the recovery aspect of it, everything else in life is better Mental clarity, energy, happiness, just everything.
David Stark:What's the whoopscore at?
Christian Dyer:This morning I was like let's see, it's been a long week of training, but today I got 82% recovery. Nine hours, 11 minutes of sleep.
David Stark:Geez, nine hours 11 minutes dude, that's legit.
Christian Dyer:Three hours 44 minutes of REM.
David Stark:Whoa dude you. Literally you forexed mine last night. I had a bad sleep, but you know what? We're still here Dude. I'm gonna sleep at 8.33. That's yo, that's dedication. That's that AP JJ Watt sleeping your face off, as Brian Peters would say, 100%, and I love it, Like when it's like 7, 7.15,.
Christian Dyer:I'm like, all right, I'm already. I'm already thinking about getting ready to go to bed.
David Stark:I'm the same way. The girlfriend doesn't love that. I'm looking at Phoenix last night. It's like, you know, 7.30 Friday night. I'm like, hey, I got Christian on the pod tomorrow morning. I'm like I might just call it in early. She's like it's 7.30 on a Friday, Dave, and I'm like, yeah, hey, duty calls. You want to be a high performer? These are the things you got to do, right.
Christian Dyer:You got to be crushing your electrolytes in the morning, more things than you're going to say yes to.
David Stark:Where was that? You were training at that? Was it sports authority in Houston Sports Academy Sports Academy?
Christian Dyer:Dude, it's the most insane facility ever.
David Stark:Dude, I was watching your day in the life and I saw I couldn't believe how many different modalities of recovery were available at your dispensable Everything.
Christian Dyer:Like I'd walk in. I get there around 7.30, red light bed straight away, then I'd cold plunge, then I'd go lift, then they'd make me my smoothie, then I'd hop in the sauna and then couple of days a week I'm in the oxygen chamber Like it was such a. It was such a good system.
David Stark:Tough life, hey, living the pro athlete lifestyle eh.
Christian Dyer:It's not bad at times.
David Stark:I think it's interesting because one of the things that I like to do on this podcast obviously you're a podcast host as well playing a professional sport in rugby. I don't necessarily love glamorizing professional sport. You have a buddy you were training in life in one of your videos, garrett, who's an NFL free agent. There's highs and lows in professional sport and people think of it. They see the day in life by Christian Dyer on Instagram. It looks sick. He's waking up at five, sauna, red light et cetera, but it's not always sunshine and rainbows, right.
Christian Dyer:No, but that is my sunshine. Like the lifestyle aspect of it is something that I've fallen so in love with. Aside from just playing the sport traveling, winning, all that other stuff, Like just the way that I'm able to approach my life through sport has been incredible. And working hard, doing these recovery modalities, living this healthy, high performance lifestyle is something that I thoroughly enjoy, and if you were to take rugby out of my life, I still can do each and every one of those things that I just mentioned.
David Stark:I think that's what's been the most impactful for me. I don't know if you know much about my backstory, but I played everything growing up in high school. Realized that probably wasn't go to the NHL or the PGA tour. Once I graduated, focused on academics, go to uni, realized I'm like, hey, I can still apply all of the benefits, what I learned from the power of sport being an athlete, to everyday life, entrepreneurship, business, et cetera. To your point, dude, waking up in the morning, having a nighttime routine, having a daytime routine, just sets you up for success in life. Doesn't matter whether you're an athlete, an entrepreneur, a first responder, because everyone needs to be performing their best and we're all high performers, right, 100%, and that's the thing is high performance has nothing to do with your job title.
Christian Dyer:Yeah, and it doesn't care what your job title is whether you're the coach, the trainer.
David Stark:You get two shits. Yeah, dude, tell me a bit about your upbringing like rugby players. Maybe not enough knowledge in the sport of, I shouldn't say in the sport. In the US it's an up and coming sport and people are starting to take notice of the athletes. Arguably, some of the best athletes in the world are rugby players. What did you play growing up Like? Did you acquire these skills where you always play in rugby? Did you play other sports? Dude, I was a mutt growing up.
Christian Dyer:I mean typical American. You know childhood where I went from tea ball to baseball, to soccer, to basketball, but football was always at the core. I played that through my entire childhood. So I probably started when I was nine or 10 years old. You know whenever pop Warner gets going in your life, and so the summer and falls were very football oriented. And then come spring I was bouncing around sport to sport, tried lacrosse in fourth grade. Didn't really love it. Fifth grade didn't play a spring sport except some school basketball type of stuff.
Christian Dyer:And then in sixth grade rugby came into my life and someone told my dad about it I think dad's buddy son was playing and they're like, hey, you just got to show Christian what rugby is, just bring them out to practice. And from there I really started to, you know, find love and passion for the sport, despite not being that good at it from the gecko, I just enjoyed the physical component, the freedom that you get as a rugby player. You know all positions, all skills, you're not really limited to just playing offense or playing defense. You have this autonomy with the sport that I found really, really fun and I just I kept going.
Christian Dyer:Fortunately the high school that I went to Jesuit of Sacramento Private Boys High School, where rugby has such a big and rich tradition and history at that school that just gave me that platform to develop and have some really high level coaches at my side. It was a school that supported the rugby program, not just a club that brings in, you know, athletes from all these other schools to go play for this club. So there was real backing behind it and that's what really kickstarted my career in rugby and fortunately was able to represent the USA at the under 16 and under 17 level, which took me over to London when I was a young kid and my eyes were opened up to the realities of rugby worldwide and I started to realize that there was real potential to play this at the next level. And you go one step further you could even make a you know, a living from playing rugby, and that's where it all came from.
David Stark:Not a lot else to focus on when you're at an all-boys school.
Christian Dyer:You know, jujuit was one of the the best four years of my life where, yeah, school was obviously a priority and my father was pretty strict on me with getting you know good grades, but it was a, it was a fraternity at school and it was really, really rooted in sports and and I loved it every single, every single moment of it.
David Stark:Do you think those all-boys, like schools, like I, end up developing better athletes because they aren't as distracted by, we'll say, the other sex? For instance, like I think of a Saint Michael's, saint George's, up here in BC. You played against him in rugby. I'm sure Down there, like you guys, have some studs coming out there because all they were focusing on was school and athletics.
Christian Dyer:Dude, our high school has produced some of the best USA Eagles, best players that have gone on to the best, you know, rugby universities, but I definitely am a proponent of all-boys high schools, private education. You know if you're fortunate and privileged enough to be able to attend a school like that, but we were at school from 6 am doing morning workouts, then we're at school, then we're spending another three hours at school just playing our sport and so you're just consumed in this environment of proper education and high-level sports. And you know I think Malcolm Gladwell needs to do an outlier addition on private versus public school. You know sport outcomes, but I definitely think going to a private boys school where sports was a huge, huge component of those four years, laid the foundation for me to develop as a person, as a student, as an athlete, and just understand that that work, you know, work hard, play hard mentality.
David Stark:Was it a Muhammad Ali that said the tough part isn't the training, it's avoiding the parties and the gals on the weekends and evenings.
Christian Dyer:Yeah, that guy also, I don't know, he said some things. I think it was the other, him or Tyson, who was like I don't count my sit-ups until they start hurting. But I mean, yeah, we had a sister school where you know, we mingled with them proms, homecomings, all that type of stuff. But from an early age I was one of those guys that typically said no to a lot of the partying. I was always the DD of the friend group. You know, once or twice a year I had my fair share of fun nights, but I was always pretty locked in and I think me saying no to things on Thursday, friday nights where you know I'm going to go train or I'm going to go work out. They're tough decisions in the moment, but you look back on it and you realize those are the moments that allowed me to get to where I'm at today.
David Stark:Dude, I hope that young athletes, the 16, 15, 17 year olds that are listening to this conversation right now take that in and really just like soak it up, because I went through it, dude, I know exactly how you felt. We're like the exact same age, so it's curious because, well, yeah, we're roughly the same age, born in the same year, and I have a theory that the 97 birth class is probably the best athletes ever per annual basis.
Christian Dyer:Dude, I'm like I think there's something there.
David Stark:I've probably said it over the past four years in a bit, but there's something there we're going to. We'll dig deep over the next couple of years and show it off, but I think honestly there's something to be said for being an athlete who's willing to say no and being able to say no to friends, say no to family, say no to extracurricular activities and don't get me wrong, there's a time and place for those things. But you've got to be able to know that if you're supposed to train from Monday to Friday at 7pm, I don't care whether your friends are going on the movies. You've got to go train, right, and whatever that is.
David Stark:Maybe if that's just the stretching, maybe that's just the phone rolling and I keep reverting back to that conversation between you and Brian on the chase but man, mr Peters knows exactly what it took. That guy jumped through every NFL football organization institution across North America to get to that level. I don't know. Do you think that it's something that you see others going through and, like this generation, maybe not understanding the value of just putting in that work and being short term gratified?
Christian Dyer:Yeah, I think, as, as years go on, there's a smaller and smaller population of kids who get it or who want it enough. And with everything in our world where we can get things instantaneous like this, you know we go on our phones and boom, you got a like or boom, you can look up information or you're seeing people on social media that have it and you think you're entitled to think that you deserve it. Now, when in reality, the guys who have it and who are living that lifestyle that all these people are dreaming of, it took them a decade, sometimes two decades, to get to where they're at. And you know, growing up, a fuel, you know a fuel source for me was just the fear of failure, and that drove me to ends that you look back on your like geez, I was so scared not to get where I wanted to get. I was so scared not to play at Cal Berkeley. I was so scared to not play for the USA Eagles because I was always telling people that's what I wanted to do, and the fear of me not living up to, to those words that I'm telling people that I want to go do, drove me to those ends. To stay in on Friday nights to do the extras when no one's looking. But now, as I've matured, I've kind of pivoted from the fear of failure to now I'm so, I'm so excited for, for these opportunities and I have such a more optimistic outlook that I'm just chasing a lifestyle and I'm chasing what can I do through my platform, through my sport and everything I'm doing to help that next generation of kids. So it's from fear of failure to now. It's geez, like what's next? What can I go reach? What goals can I set after I reach the next goal? And just continuously evolving where I want to go and who I want to become.
Christian Dyer:If I were to put it on one thing, it was working with a sports psychologist. It wasn't just on me where I flipped the page. I turned 25 or 24 and then I'm like, oh, I'm not fearful of failure anymore, I'm now chasing opportunities and outcomes and success. It was probably 12 months of working with a psychologist and just unfolding some of these childhood memories and even childhood traumas where that fear of failure originated. And I've just changed my outlook on sport. I've changed my outlook on life. I've realized that I'm never going to have a perfect game, so I got to stop trying to have a perfect game. There's going to be moments where I miss, and I'm okay with that now, but as long as I continue chasing progress over perfection, I'm in a good spot.
David Stark:February, Mental Health Awareness Month. Obviously, Bell, let's Talk Day just happened. What psychology going to a psychologist maybe looked at as a I don't want to say negative, but there was a stigma associated with it for athletes. Any issues with that? Have your teammates been supportive of that? Was that something that you even considered?
Christian Dyer:High school, none wouldn't have considered it. College, none wouldn't consider it. It's once I turn pro and international when I realize that when you're playing sport at a high level, it's really 90, 95% mental, 10 or 5 or 10% physical. Everybody has the physical attributes that are required to play sport at a high level. But can you perform under pressure? Can you disassociate your identity from your sport and can you just live a lifestyle that's sustainable?
Christian Dyer:The best athletes, these goats that we talk about, they play sport for a decade, maybe more, because they understand that sport has to be a longevity driven outcome. You can't go all in for one week, one year, one game. You have to think of it a little longer, from a different perspective, and that's what I did. I just changed my outlook. If you're not seeing a sports psychologist, if you're not talking to mentors, people that know something, know more than you in an industry, well then you're shooting yourself in the foot and I think you have to go seek out help, because you're not an expert in everything, and I think it speaks more to who you are as a person to be vulnerable enough to ask for help than it is to put all these emotions and feelings inside and think that we can fix it ourselves.
David Stark:Dude, why is it beyond your years? I don't have many mid-20s guys coming on here and talking about the importance of mental wellness, going to speak to a psych. I think that's also one of the things that the cold exposure does to us is build that mental resilience. I know Brian brought it up as much as Daddy Heverman's out here, providing us protocols to keep us in shape and healthy. I think man sitting in a cold punch for three minutes, that gets rid of all of those thoughts pretty damn quick.
Christian Dyer:Because it's three minutes of time where all you're focusing on is now is in that cold water and it's you and your thoughts and that's the thing about cold. Like I don't have a cold punch on my house here I would, but I'm limited to studio space so I'll jump in cold shower first thing in the morning. But that constant debate between yourself, from when you wake up cozy and warm in your bed to try to go get in cold water, those are the little battles that if you can consistently start winning, you start building a level of self-confidence that you never knew existed because you're doing the things that you tell yourself you're going to do. I always tell people, the more you let yourself down on compromising on those things that you know you need to do but you don't do it, how are you going to go look at yourself in the mirror and be proud and respect yourself if you can't even hold your own self-accountable?
David Stark:Imagine that moment when you wake up, you're like man, I got a podcast in an hour, I'm going to jump in the shower and I'm going to turn that thing straight to cold. And that's what I had to do this one. I didn't want to do that, but I knew that. Hey, if I want to be energized, I want to have my cup of coffee in the morning, which I have. There you go I actually have some switch supplements on switch, which has been legit.
Christian Dyer:But either way, what are you putting your coffee?
David Stark:I just got sent. It's called switch supplements. They have this on switch. I'll send you a screenshot with some of the ingredients. Pretty legit, but normally I'm just a black coffee kind of guy in the morning. Yeah, honestly, I think that there's. We've got some cacao mix from Athletes Apothecary as well. It's a mushroom blend. That's been good, but dude supplements, that's a whole other story and I think, unless you're focusing on the big rocks which I've heard you talk about, you know your sleep, your hydration, your food. Adding in that cacao mix or your greens or whatever the other supplement is you're taking is not going to make you the best person, the best athlete, the best human you can be.
Christian Dyer:It's not. It just puts band-aids on things that aren't long term Right.
David Stark:Yeah, you see what's been the biggest bang for your buck as far as like a supplementation. Since we're on that, what's I mean? Cold exposure, heat exposure. We know sauna after the workouts the best thing in the world. We know that maybe going in the cold beforehand makes for a great workout. But outside of those two, what's been your biggest mover?
Christian Dyer:Yeah.
Christian Dyer:So I think, if we look at especially American population as a whole, there's probably three supplements that I think everyone should be on. That's a magnesium supplement, that's a vitamin D3 supplement, even though we're out in the sun and I'm out in the sun hours on, hours a day, right, but my D3 levels are still low. Yeah, so I take a high dose D3 supplement. It's 10,000 IU D3 with, I want to say, 125 or 150 milligrams of K, and then a high dosage fish oil, so that's EPA and DHA, and so those are three that I take. That's non-negotiable, every single day.
Christian Dyer:I also take a methylated B vitamin, and when I say methylated, basically there's no nutrients that we take in as a human being that our body uses in the form that we ingest it in. And so say, we take a vitamin B12, typically it's a synthetic form and then our body has to convert it. That's about it. That's a good stat. But magnesium, magnesium, d3, fish oil, creatine non-negotiable. And then the methylated B vitamins are really what I'm taking, and the reason I know all this is I work with a great company called Bloke's Shout out Bloke's by Josh Whalen. But we do my blood testing four times a year, so I know exactly what my body needs, what it doesn't need, and I'm supplementing for deficiencies. Rather than taking a supplement because your neighbor or your teammate says, hey, this is the real deal. Now I'm going to put in my body what it actually needs.
David Stark:Those three that you mentioned, though those are like the podium. I'd say. Omega three is the magnesiums. People underestimate what an omega three magnesium and that, like even creatine, everyone should be taking creatine. Girls too. Yes, I can't stress it enough. For females, the importance is not just going to make your muscles big, it's also going to help cognitive function, it's going to help physical performance, Like, oh, thank you for bringing that up. I can't thank you enough.
David Stark:Anyways, I'm recording this midday. This is obviously something you guys might be listening to during the morning, evening or midday routines, Whenever you're going to the gym. Sometimes you need a little extra push, a little extra energy, a little something to kickstart the engine, get things rolling. This is where I use altered state. My favorite flavor so far is Rocket Pop. I love it. It's the best. The cherry blossom bomb is also bomb, for lack of a better term. It's crazy, though. The new tropics in this I know I brought it up last week. They're phenomenal. The three types of caffeine in here are sensational, as well as the increased blood flow, the metabolism boost, the cognitive performance.
David Stark:You can't get all of this in any other pre-workouts that are out there on the market, but Perfect Sports does it Use the code AP20 to save 20%? And let me know what you think down below, whether it's the protein the number one on the market, or the pre-workout or the Hydro Splash, Let me know. I love Perfect Sports and I'm proud to be able to work with them. Hopefully you folks are getting them in your system as well. Hope you have a great rest of your day. Enjoy the episode. We've covered the big rocks. Did you learn all this at Cal Berkeley? How have you been able to develop the mind muscle? Most people look at athletes. They think we're jocks and they don't think that you're going to be able to talk about methylated supplements and why they're able to digest in your system better.
Christian Dyer:I studied political science at UC Berkeley. I didn't study human biology, but I read tons of books. I listen to podcasts from the experts every day. At the core, I always suffered from brain fog and headaches and not feeling my best. I think you're always most powerfully positioned to serve the person you once were. Having not felt 100%, I started to figure out answers on my own, which is why I have kind of a wide array of knowledge in some of these fields. I'm not an expert in any means, but I'm always an enthusiast, trying to learn more ways that I can optimize myself from a physical, a mental, emotional and social standpoint. That's why I know a bit of a lot in different fields. I'm super, super interested and passionate about the human body and the ways that we can feel better and look better in my life right now is how can I perform the best on the field?
David Stark:Any difference playing at the international level compared to locally within the US? Any differences? I know you were traveling over to Dubai 100%.
Christian Dyer:I mean number one. Just the speed and the intensity level was heightened because you're going up against the best of an entire country or nation Right there, and then obviously it's a bigger stage and you're representing your country and I think there's more emotions involved. You know people like, oh, you got to treat every game the same. But let's be honest, when you're playing in front of 60,000 people versus 2000 people, there is a difference. You know your environment changes and there's gonna be more pressure. There's gonna be, you know, more emotions involved.
Christian Dyer:But everyone at the international level Is good and there's really no weak links and teams these days. And I think, if we're gonna get into a little bit of the tactical aspect of the conversation, there's a more emphasis on the kicking game. It's a little more strategic and it's funny. You know, some nations in the northern hemisphere will have a huge kicking game where Teams in the southern hemisphere they're gonna play a fast, what you know, side to side type of rugby. But to answer your question, yeah, there's a big difference and it really comes down to the speed and the intensity of the game.
David Stark:You have a preference between sevens and 15s, I'm done with sevens, are you? I'm all for teens? Yeah, okay, okay, good to know I should have done it should, if I were that open forehand. But Are you ever intimidated when you get out on that field? I know you're about six, one, six, two, two, ten, roughly, if those numbers are correct. Like Ever get out there, see some big boys and think, holy, dynamin for today?
Christian Dyer:I don't know if I say I'm in for it, but I definitely looked across a field. I'm like geez, that guy's big. I probably don't want to run into him, but those are the moments that I honestly love the most. When I, when I, got my back against the wall and we're playing a country or team that, statistically speaking, is better than us, that's, that's the moments I love. You know, the challenge is exciting. I'm in. It just continues to build your confidence in your experience, in your maturity in life, and that's where growth happens is just being in tough, hard situations Is that like running that marathon on December 10th with Andrew Stallings?
Christian Dyer:Man, that was tough. That was one of the harder things I've ever done.
David Stark:What part of it? Say it again what part of it specifically?
Christian Dyer:Holding my pace at two hundred and fifteen pounds for twenty six point two miles. You know, everything in my body was like dude, you don't need to run this fast, slow down like there's no point. But I was like no, my egos to my egos too big and I and I'm too competitive to allow that voice to win. So I was in a dark place for about an hour just chugging through it. But that was one of the most rewarding things I've ever done meeting people along the run, the energy, the vibe, it was so contagious. So, yeah, definitely proud moment.
David Stark:as someone who doesn't track like your macros, you eat intuitively. How do you manage to stay at your same size during this training? I know you're adding three plus running sessions to your typical training schedule in the off season, like what Were you doing to be like where you throw them back some extra cows? That's a great question, because I thought I would lose more weight Than than I did.
Christian Dyer:I definitely up calories. Yeah, like you said, I don't. I don't track calories, don't track macros. I'm pretty cognizant, cognizant of what goes into my body, really really hyper focused on the ingredients and types of food that's going in. But I just loaded up a little more carbohydrates around Trainings and runs, made sure that I was ingesting adequate amount of protein, you know, one gram per pound of body weight, and I just honestly stuck with the same thing. You know it's not hard. You know what you need to put into your body and when you're working harder than usual, you gotta put a little bit more in your body. You know, I think people just have a bad relationship with food and they're so hyper, fixated on the way, on the scale and whatnot. It's Eat clean, eat enough quality foods, hydrate well, take care of your body, sleep well. It's that's what I focused on.
David Stark:I think most people are focused on the food aspect because they are struggling with it and, to your point, like your best served, helping that person. You once were, and most people aren't eating as clean as you are, eliminating all that processed food.
David Stark:So they're still struggling with it and they're like man. I listen to Christian on the athletes podcast and he told me if I eat clean, I don't have to track, I don't have to worry about any of those calories. But in reality they haven't done all of that work previously to eliminate what's necessary.
Christian Dyer:Let's be real. If there's a few things that people need to focus on, it's get rid of anything processed. If your grandma doesn't recognize it, don't put it in your body. Get rid of added sugars, get rid of seed and vegetable oils, and eat things that come from like one or two ingredients only, and I'm a huge, huge advocate for quality over quantity. And A hundred calories in in beef is a hell of a lot different than a hundred calories of a bag of chips, and so people always talk about calories in versus calories out, which I completely disagree with, because your body Interacts with those calories in very, very different ways.
Christian Dyer:Some, some forms of foods are going to spike insulin, which is going to cause you not to be able to burn fat. It's going to give you a huge energy spike and a huge energy dip. So now, those are the little things I'm focused on right now is the types of food coming in. I'm back ending carbohydrates for later in the day. I'm having more protein and fats in the earlier parts of the day. You know, it's a lot of grass fed ground beef. It's a lot of organic chicken, wild caught fish, tons of fruit, tons of raw honey, little bit of organic vegetables, tons of berries and some good quality dairy, and those are really the only things that I put into my body and I don't track. I eat a lot and I never, never, gain unnecessary weight.
David Stark:Perks of a good metabolism and hard work. Right, you're also in a great location to do it. When I was down in Austin when I interviewed Rebecca Fusilié chatted with Dom Fusco down in Austin like who I think you know, man, you guys have so many different shops, they're all like. I couldn't believe the amount of options that were available from a health standpoint that we don't have here in Canada.
Christian Dyer:Yeah, yeah. But you don't have to go, you don't have to, like any old grocery store is going to have gone. The perimeters of the store I was more meaning for that's the simplest thing.
David Stark:Yes, that is the hack If you stay on the outside of the grocery store, as you will never be swayed in the wrong direction. But I was more meaning, even as like your outdoor dining options for in.
Christian Dyer:Austin. Oh, yeah, yeah.
David Stark:You guys have crazy available like that are all cooked in bone like beef broth, like I was like, or a tallow I was like man we don't have that in Canada.
Christian Dyer:I know, I know and I think it's growing. I think you know more parts of the world are becoming more aware of some of the. You know how detrimental some of these ingredients are for both our body and our mind. And but if you could just honestly stick to what I just mentioned, it could change your life night and day. And a lot of people think of eating with a with an outcome of let me gain muscle or let me lose fat, when I think you need to change the perspective of how can I feel good and that's as much physical as it is mental how can I eat good so I'm sleeping better? How can I eat better so my joints aren't aching? And how can I eat just to fuel myself for life? You know we're so fixated on lifting and eating the right amount of calories and whatnot for this desired outcome of how our body looks, and that's not sustainable. And so our relationship with working out and eating needs to be for longevity and overall vitality than it does what you're looking in the mirror.
David Stark:Retweet. Man couldn't agree with you more. And, dude, that's coming from someone who has a six pack, who is able to go out and do those things right, like a lot of people hear that and they're like, oh man, maybe that's just an excuse for some guy who's not in the best shape, like you're, probably in the top 1% from an athletic, physical standpoint. And you're saying that because you understand the benefits physically, mentally, emotionally that come from fueling and putting your body through the right work and giving it the right fuel it needs. You mentioned, you know, other parts of the world, waking up to it. Where has been the favorite place that the sport of rugby has brought you in this world?
Christian Dyer:So my favorite place that I've ever been to is, without rugby's, italy. I haven't played in Italy yet, but I love that country. So I'd say rugby specific, it's either waking up in Cape Town or dude. We were just in Portugal last summer. That was pretty cool, waking up, walking out of the balcony looking at the bay. But I love London Like I have amazing friends there from UC Berkeley, so that's always a fun place to go because as much as it is rugby, it's about reconnecting with old teammates in college. So Cape Town, lisbon, Portugal and London UK are my three favorites, don't.
David Stark:If you weren't playing rugby, what sport would you be playing right now?
Christian Dyer:Man, I'd probably be a professional pickleballer. Fuck, yeah. Yeah, I'm trying. I'm playing as much as I can. I need a little bit of work. I could probably use a coach, but I love pickleball. But yeah, if I wasn't playing rugby, I probably wouldn't be playing sports in another field, I'd probably be working.
David Stark:Yeah, the sport of pickleball man. There's something about it that I cross between table tennis, tennis, squash.
Christian Dyer:Is it big up in Canada?
David Stark:It's growing. It's growing for sure. We had Ben Johns on the pod. Obviously when you get the number one player in the world on, that gets a bit of attention.
David Stark:Man, I love it, like my cousin. They're family. They're down in LA. They've got a pickleball court in their backyard. We rip that every time we're down there. It's the dream. Yeah, I can't wait. We'll have to get a match in. I'm gonna be down in Texas at some point. We'll get a workout in, We'll get some sonical therapy. But, man, pickleball, racket sports in general actually, I've been known for extending lifespan. I'll have to reference the study and put in the link. But, dude, I posted about it on LinkedIn last week around how beneficial racket sports are for mentally. Yeah, ridiculous, I have to find that study. Anyways, do you play anything else to stay on top of your game? I know you're doing some drills where you're catching stuff to ensure your hand-eye coordination is better, but how are you adding or incorporating training that isn't rugby specific that helps your game?
Christian Dyer:If at all. That's a good question. Pickleball definitely up there. I try to golf as much as I can. Ok, what's the cap at Dude? I'm lucky if I'm shooting in the 90s.
David Stark:That's OK. That's OK. You're getting out there. How long have you been playing for?
Christian Dyer:My whole life.
David Stark:OK, I can't say that.
Christian Dyer:I'm religious about golf, you know I go as much as I can, which in season gets tough, but there's no replica for playing your sport. So as much as I try to augment some of my rugby specific training with other forms of mental and physical training, it's always going to be focused on having a rugby ball in my hand because you can't replicate it and that's just the way it is.
David Stark:I did find. The study published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine examined the link between six different types of exercise and risk of early death. Research looked at racket sports, swimming, aerobics, cycling, running and soccer. Study volunteers included 80,306 people who ranged in the age of 30 to 98. Over the course of the study's nine years, those who regularly played racket sports were 47% less likely to die of any cause and 56% less likely to die of cardiovascular disease. I love that Dude. Take that in.
Christian Dyer:Oh, dude, that's huge. And you also got to take in the component of community, being social, seeing friends on a weekly basis does more for you than people give credit to. And it doesn't mean you have to go all out, burn 1,000 calories in an hour, playing singles for an hour. Go out for 20, 30 minutes with friends, reconnect, say hi, check in with people, see how someone's actually doing, Not just hey, what's up. It's like hey, how are you? How's life, you happy, How's a family? That does more good than people think.
David Stark:Bro, for those watching on YouTube, they see my reaction. They see me nodding along. I could not agree more. I probably neglected that for the past couple of years and health, mental, everything went down from that and I didn't associate it, Just thought we're traveling, moving around. But, dude, having that sense of community, having those boys that you can go hang out with, those girls, whatever it is, can't be underestimated.
Christian Dyer:It's we all as humans. We all want human connection, but it's almost like we don't prioritize it enough. And I'll tell you what Friday night's like. We talked about going to bed at 7.30 or 8.00. Whenever we actually think about going to bed, my ideal Friday night or weekend is let's go get a workout in, let's go get a run in, let's go do a sauna. Cold plunge. Surrounding myself with people that genuinely like that as well is something that gives me the biggest boost of energy and happiness in the world.
David Stark:It's Friday night's under the bar instead of at the bar now.
Christian Dyer:I did the bar's cool after a big win. Obviously, you got to celebrate with the boys, but Friday night I'm in, I'm hanging out If I could do something active or I'm sweating, having fun, pushing my body to limits with other people as well. Man, that's gold ticket for me.
Christian Dyer:Who were those people that you grew up watching, idolizing, wanting to emulate your game after, yeah, we're talking rugby Dude any athlete so Christian McCaffrey has always been one of the biggest inspirations for me. Everything about that guy I respect Player over in England, captain for England, owen Farrell definitely someone I look up to from a rugby standpoint. There's a guy named Blaine Scully, former USA captain international. One of the most decorated American rugby players of all time Went to my high school. I've known him since I was eight or nine. That was always a huge inspiration and then really my Superman was always my father. The way he approaches life, family work, his discipline to his craft and the way that he makes others feel very, very good about themselves before himself has done wonders for me, and so I'd say Pops is always going to be the number one idol.
David Stark:I love it when people bring up their parents too, because it's an opportunity to highlight, kind of those individuals who instilled it from the very beginning. How integral were your parents throughout that process? Was there one in particular that was more involved? That was prioritizing specific things? Give me the lowdown.
Christian Dyer:Yeah. So both mom and dad, unbelievable parents, definitely give them the best parent award that they deserve that. And I'd say my dad and I have an incredible, incredible and unique relationship. He was in the military, so my childhood growing up was very structured, as simple as I couldn't leave the house without having my hair done, or if I didn't wake up early. Early in the morning he's in my room pouring cold water on my face.
Christian Dyer:If I didn't take the trash out on trash day, the trash is in my bed. If I had a sleepover at a friend's house on Friday night, saturday morning 7 am, he's picking me up to go to work, to clean up job sites, and so from an early, early age I really understood structure, discipline, work hard first, then you can play second, and that carried out through school, through sport, through life, and that was really the basis and the foundation of who I am today. And I got a lot of my sense of care and relationships and taking care of others from my mom, who's just the most outward thinking person ever, always wants to host people over, always wants to make people feel happy and connected and great about themselves, and so combination of mom and dad, yeah, I attribute a lot of who I am today to them.
David Stark:It's always interesting to hear the backstory and now it makes a bit more sense as to why you're able to stick to a routine, follow a bit of a rhythm, because you had dad pour in cold water, doing cold exposure therapy from a young age with you.
Christian Dyer:It was torture when I was a kid. I hated it, I hated getting up. But yeah, it was just like, dude, we got to get out, we got to go to work, you sleep and you're wasting time. And he was even my basketball coach growing up and he would be shooting hoops with me out in the driveway. We lived on a ranch for five years and our driveway was a 4,000 foot airplane runway. He'd be on a dirt bike while I'm doing laps and he'd speed up and he's like come on, you got to catch me, you got to catch me. I'm like, holy shit, I'm out of breath trying to catch him. But just like it was grind, grind, grind, like that guy told me, is like if you jump rope for 10 minutes a day, you'll be able to dunk. And I'm now looking back. I'm like he's so full of shit but I believed it and I trust him so wholeheartedly that I would be jump roping for 15 minutes every day trying to dunk. But it was just that. That's the relationship we had.
David Stark:Dude, I bet you probably could. I don't know, were you jumping rope 15 times a day? You were probably dunk at that point. Dude, I got small hands.
Christian Dyer:I can't palm a ball. Oh, I could get there, but the ball would be slipping out of my hands.
David Stark:Didn't bless you with the big palms. That's okay.
Christian Dyer:Hey, you know you can't have everything. I didn't give me that.
David Stark:Yeah, you can't have everything right. It's tough to be perfect. It seems like you got a lot of things covered. I'd say for sure that is the case. You know, christian, I feel like we could chop it up for hours. Anything you want to highlight right now? Obviously you are beginning this season. You had an incredible first. Past couple of seasons You've been representing your country. I'm sure it's amazing. Being able to toss that flag on the Mount of National pride the US has is something special. But I want to always give space here at the end of this episode. The usually way we wrap up is we ask our guests their biggest piece of advice for the next generation of athletes. Obviously, our goal is to educate, entertain, inspire similar to what your mission is. But I want to give you space here today to highlight anyone else, any other specific area for Christian Dyer here before we let you go with your day.
Christian Dyer:Yeah, good topic, good way to end it off. Two pieces I'd say. A quote that I really live by is whether you think you can or you think you can't. You're right, self-doubt is the number one cause of failure, because you never even give yourself the opportunity to go achieve a dream.
Christian Dyer:And number two I used to have very, very metric driven goals, especially when it comes to sport, so that could be scoring the most tries, the most line breaks, the biggest hits, whatever it may be, and I've now kind of created goals on a lifestyle and it's I want to be the player that everyone wants to play with, and I think that's the biggest form of respect that I could get is having players from not only my team, the teams around the MLR, but also international.
Christian Dyer:If I could be recognized as someone from another country that they want to play with me, they want me on their team.
Christian Dyer:I think it goes so far beyond just the sport itself and the way I look at it is I want to be the best teammate I can be. I want to be the best son to my mom and dad, the best brother to my sister and my brother, and it's so much more about who I am as a person and the lifestyle that I live and the lifestyle that I preach, then it is these metric driven goals. And so for all these up and coming stars, in whatever sport you play, just starting visioning the lifestyle that you really want to live and the influence that you have on your teammates and your peers and your family, because that's what's really going to matter. That means more than if you're scoring points, if you're on the bench it's important, but those are all temporary goals and so if you can think a little further and a little bigger than just yourself, you're going to have more of an impact in this world than you think you can.
David Stark:We all need to soak up a little bit more of what Christian Dyer has to say. Dude, that was awesome. I'm honored to be able to chat with you today, excited for our next cold we did it brother, Our pickleball match our cold exposure therapy. Whatever it is, We'll grab a coffee next time.
Christian Dyer:We'll make a day out of it.
David Stark:Yeah, 100%, and yo, we got to highlight the chase too. You mentioned your brothers, your sisters, your brother and your sister story. I'm sure you were chasing them around growing up. Let's talk about the chase briefly, highlight where people can find it, who you're highlighting on that show, and let's give it the little AP bump it deserves.
Christian Dyer:All right, little self-advertisement here Got my own podcast, the Chase. You can find it on Spotify, apple Podcasts and YouTube, and at the premise it's about chasing a dream, and so I'm bringing on guys from, just, say, the UFC, to Olympic medalists, to NFL players, nba players, and we're sharing their journeys chasing a dream and the lessons that they've learned on their own journey, and I think it just takes one conversation that you hear to completely change your life or give you the kickstart or the momentum that you've been looking for. And so if I could be a light in just one person's life in this world, well that's a win for me and our goal, with, obviously, the help of you here, with your own podcast. That's what we're doing together and we're just continuing to spread the good word, because I think there's a lack of it in today's society.
David Stark:Could not agree more, and I think it's also fitting we probably highlight Andrew Stallings from Athleto.
Christian Dyer:Group. Shout out Andrew.
David Stark:You want to maybe give one or two little cold notes on how that guy helped you, whether it was marathon training, brand deals, etc.
Christian Dyer:Yeah, yeah, andrew Stallings, ceo, founder of the Othello Group. That guy is my manager, my mentor, my brother, my friend, my ride or die. He's opened up doors that I never knew existed for me. As much as they are an athlete agency, they're in full in-house suite where they take dreams and visions and they turn it into reality from marketing to management to connecting to storytelling, getting books out, getting movies or documentaries out. That guy is awesome.
David Stark:Hey, you're awesome too, man, don't forget it.
Christian Dyer:Appreciate your time, appreciate your time.
David Stark:To stay back. Keep your heart afloat.