Derek Teel: Dialed Health Founder & former Pro Downhill & Enduro MTB Racer on Building Strength & Finding Balance in Sport, Life & Business

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Derek Teel is the founder of Dialed Health, an app and platform that provides comprehensive strength and conditioning solutions for cyclists. Derek is a former pro downhill and enduro mountain bike racer and bootstrapped his way through the pandemic to become a tech entrepreneur and influential endurance sports creator who is helping cyclists take a more complete approach to training. Sounds cool and it is--and you’ve been listening to this show long enough to know that the path to get where he is wasn’t a straight line. 

P90x plays an unexpected role in this story and we talk about how Derek came so so close to going large in pro downhill and enduro and why he pivoted to a new career in strength and conditioning, how that led to building a business and brand that is blowing up and why he is focusing on racing one cycling discipline. 

Stand clear--this guy is melting Instagram and that’s not all. He’s also three kids including a fresh set of twins. You can learn more about Derek @dialedhealth and at dialedhealth.com as well as on YouTube where you’ll find inspirational videos and training content.

Be sure to subscribe to the Dialed Health podcast everywhere you listen and keep an ear out, Choose the Hard Way creator Andrew Vontz will be on the other side of the mic with Derek on an episode of his podcast soon to talk strength training, business and life. 

Choose the Hard Way is a podcast about how doing hard things is fun. Please help more people find this podcast. To do that, just hit subscribe and rate the show five stars on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share this episode with someone you care about.

Go to choosethehardway.com to sign up for the newsletter and if there’s someone you think would make a great guest, DM @hardwaypod.

Choose The Hard Way is a Big Truck Production. Anthony Palmer at Palm Tree Pod Co is the producer and editor and Emily Miles is head of digital and marketing. Jeffrey Nebolini is the world-renowned designer behind our brand identity and the Choose the Hard Way logo. The content for this show is created by @vontz.

In This Episode:

Derek Teel Instagram | Website | Podcast | YouTube

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Andrew Vontz LinkedIn

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  • Andrew Vontz 0:00

    Thanks for Thanks for making time to do this. I really appreciate it. I've been following your content for a while. I just caught your conversation with Kobe Pierce. Which I guess what was that? Like two or three weeks ago? Yeah. Yeah, that was a good one, man. I enjoyed it.

    Derek Teel 0:16

    Good. Thank you. Thanks for checking that out. I'm actually doing a podcast for his podcast tomorrow. Are you? Yeah, we did that episode. And it just totally opened up a can. And we we told each other right away that we need to absolutely do it again. So I'll be back on his episode. And hopefully, we can just keep it rolling. Because he's such a wealth of knowledge in the cycling space. And, you know, making sure that your body is trained properly from a holistic perspective, not just like pure on the bike performance and how that all affects each other. It's It's really refreshing to talk to a guy like that, you know?

    Andrew Vontz 0:51

    Yeah, no, totally. I really love his approach. And, you know, his affiliation with Paul check and everything is picked up from Paul check. I really appreciate I first became aware of Paul check. When I wrote about, I was a journalist for more than a decade from like, 98 to about 2009. That's what I was doing full time. And one of the stories I wrote was about Danny way, the skateboarder before he jumped the Great Wall of China. And I met his trainer who was like one of Paul checks for students. No way. And yeah, so I got like, I went down and spent time with Danny at his house and, like, saw his whole training set up and I got to know his trainer, Alex, really well, who I've actually had her on the pub, she lives in Australia now. But she went on to be she was like, she was like on contract and living with Rob Dyrdek, I think for two years and just training him exclusively when he was doing the fantasy factory. But she's just man, she's her level of knowledge is super deep, but that's who Colby reminds me of just like, you know, with cycling versus Oh, yeah, reporting.

    Derek Teel 1:59

    I actually think I've seen her on an episode of fantasy factory. Yeah, she's been on there. And it's funny even bring up Danny way in the Great Wall of China. I was watching highlights from X Games this year. And you know, if you guys haven't watched actually the quarter pipe moto finals, it's absolutely insane. They're gonna like 55 feet off the ground. But it reminded me of the early 2000s. And what a legendary time that was for action sports. So I think the fact that you were involved with that around 1998 is insane. Because I think the next year that's when Travis was drawn to jumped into the San Francisco Bay, like so many things were happening at that time. It was just the golden era of action sports, you know, and that's, that's the stuff I grew up on.

    Andrew Vontz 2:40

    Yeah, totally. And I was lucky enough with what I was doing as a journalist I ended up writing about, like most of those people like I actually spent a couple of days with Travis Pastrana, Kenny Bartram, and special Greg. Dave rode the great divide. They did the whole trail. One summer and I flew out to Steamboat, where when they got to Steamboat, Travis did a rally race and then continued the ride. So I like met them there. And then we rode on the Divide Trail. And then I bailed but I wrote about him. You know, I wrote about Tony Hawk.

    Derek Teel 3:17

    Lake Travis was trying to rode part of the Great Divide, stop, did a rally race and then kept going.

    Andrew Vontz 3:22

    Yeah, he wrote the entire thing he wrote from Canada. Yeah. From Canada to Mexico. Yeah, but he like yeah, he stopped in the middle and like, just did a rally car race. I mean, that guy is that guy's an absolute legend. But yeah, getting to I wrote about Carrie Hart as well. I don't know if you know him. He did the first backflip.

    Derek Teel 3:40

    Oh, yeah, absolutely. He's one of those guys in that timeframe. Total rock star.

    Andrew Vontz 3:44

    Yeah, I went golfing with Cary and Dave Mirra in like 2000 or 2001 for a story. But anyway, yeah, yeah. All right. A little bit of that stuff. Yeah. Yeah, for sure, man. I'm really interested in everything that you're doing. But I know that used to be like a downhill mountain bike pros, right?

    Derek Teel 4:07

    Yeah. Yeah, I grew up racing mountain bikes. And like I said, I grew up on just action sports in general. So anything involving boards or bikes, any of that was just something I was interested in. But bikes kind of stuck. And I got a mountain bike from my dad just a dirt jumper. I don't know if you're familiar with the early 2000s line of Conas, the Kona stuff it's one of those bikes that most mountain bikers that are my age I'm 32 now had at one point where they had a kind of stinky, and that's when free ride was getting Big Red Bull Rampage stuff. And that's really what I wanted to do. But then I actually started racing a little bit more, because I was getting injured so much even as as a young age trying to do for your head stuff. You know, like I was building myself mulch piles in green belts by my house when I was 14, and I was hugging backflips, I literally would put on like hockey gear and like, go just learn these tricks. And it's crazy looking back on because now if I saw a 14 year old doing that, I think they're insane. And so it's cool to almost give myself a little credit for it now, because at the time, I was just trying to try to do something, you know. So I ended up getting into downhill racing because I thought I would be injured less funny enough. And I really did like the racing side of the sport

    Andrew Vontz 5:28

    towards Dirac, yeah.

    Derek Teel 5:30

    That did not prove to be true. And I think there's other influences that kind of pushed me that direction. But yeah, worked my way up to the professional ranks. And that's where I was first introduced to nutritionist and trainers and started paying attention to my health and my performance, and really how it could actually affect my downhill racing. Because up until that point, I knew being physical was important. But it's such a technical focused sport, that I didn't think eating tomatoes would make a difference. You know, like I grew up eating like Reese's puffs and Pop Tarts every day. So I did not think that trying to have a whole food base will round the diet, any of that made, like I didn't think any of that mattered. So it was really intriguing to me. And it was funny, because when I started stepping away from racing, my interest and all that side of this, the sport really grew and grew.

    Andrew Vontz 6:24

    Well, we've got to gotta go back for a minute. So what year is this that you're starting to get into downhill racing? Is it what like? 2006 2007? I'm guessing. Yeah, I

    Derek Teel 6:34

    want to say it was maybe a little earlier, like 2005. And I started racing professionally, around 2000. I think 2009 was my last year in juniors. And then I had my first pro season in 2010. And then I had the biggest injury of hat at that point, funny enough, a torn ACL. And that's when I started kind of going in and out of the sport a little bit. And it was funny, because even before that as a junior, I remember, I'd be on the chairlift at a national round. I was an Angel Fire, actually. And I'm sitting there with the I wrote for Yeti at the time. And Damian Smith, who is still the manager, that team, he, I was talking to him, I was like, man, what do you do after racing? And I remember, it was so weird to me to ask that because as an 18 year old who has a as a potential career in this sport, who like, what, 18 year olds even looking beyond that, you know, like, it's so weird that I would even ask those questions. And I remember his answers. And just thinking, like, for me, I felt like there was something different besides racing out there. And so it was, it was interesting to look back at that as well. And now that I've really made things full circle through doubt, health, and be like, wow, you know, like, I didn't think I could actually even be happy if I wasn't a professional athlete. And now I have a job that feels like it's literally, like, built for me and I have custom built for me, but at the same time, I just couldn't imagine doing something that was more well suited for me. And and has more longevity. So yeah, it's really interesting how all that happened.

    Andrew Vontz 8:16

    Yeah, I bet a few things happen between that chairlift ride and you're doing what you're doing now. And I just I have I'm really curious at the very beginning when you're getting into free ride. And, you know, that was kind of when free ride was being born. Were you in it when the crank videos came out? Because those were the very first videos I ever saw. I had them on VHS, where I was like, you know, guys, like Richie Schley. I'm trying to think of some of the other writers, you know, but yeah,

    Derek Teel 8:46

    we did Simmons. Kyle straight was up and coming. You had racers like Cedric Gracia going out there meeting up with those guys. Yeah, absolutely. So those were an influence. But I was more of the I think right after cranked when all the new world disorder videos came out. That's really what I grew up on was like New World disorder. And I'm trying to think of Oh, the collective Rome. And then race videos by Clay Porter. Those were the ones that really got me when I was up and coming. But those were like the actual pros of that point. And I was just like, again, a 14 year old kid trying to do Superman's on a jump. I built that it's like, you know, four feet tall,

    Andrew Vontz 9:29

    right? New World disorder that's making me think about Josh Bender, which is a name I haven't thought about in a long time. Do you remember him? Yeah,

    Derek Teel 9:36

    yeah, he's actually somewhat local to me. Funny enough. He runs helps run a enduro race. That's only like 70 miles away from where I live. So he's still kind of in the scene, and I think he's still does the judging panel for Red Bull Rampage.

    Andrew Vontz 9:48

    That's wild because that guy went bigger than anybody else in his era. Yeah, I don't remember which norba NAT it was at but he had already like wrote off a building or something and did like a 30. foot drop almost a flat. I feel like you did a lot of stuff. I'm

    Derek Teel 10:03

    pretty sure it was deer valley and I'm pretty sure I was at that race. Okay, do you know what I'm talking about? Yes, it was. It was so big and the landing was so flat. There was almost no hope. But he sent it anyways. And it was off. It was like the big cinderblock wall thing is I was talking about like, Yeah, I mean, yeah, absolutely.

    Andrew Vontz 10:25

    Inspiring a generation of legends to come, including Derrick tail. So that's amazing. I, you know, the only thing I wish is that Shawn Palmer had come along a few years later, because, man, if you'd had Palmer when freeride started to get big, and mountain biking, and I whatever, I'm sure Shawn was doing all kinds of free riding, but I was around as a journalist, I was around the norba circuit at the time when Palmer was showing up in his tour bus and like, had the gold LeMay suit and he was racing downhill. He was racing cross country. I don't think he was probably I don't think he had dialed health. Let's put it that way. Shawn had a he wasn't using performance enhancing drugs, maybe just everything else. Yeah, and Shawn, You're a legend. No disrespect. That's that's all hearsay. But, yeah, he took a different approach to high performance than athletes take today, I think,

    Derek Teel 11:22

    Well, I think it would have been fun to be a little older through that time period to and to actually see things for what they were because you know, even growing up near Lake Tahoe, like I live right at the bottom of the foothills of Lake Tahoe in California. And so to see that golden era of action sports come to that area, Shawn Palmer was a huge part of it to see stuff like the novice series. And even, you know, to see road racing when it was a little bit more popular in the US with a Tour of California, which went right by my hometown. That I think that would have been really exciting. But I think with that said, you know, for what I'm doing now, I can't think of a better time to be in the sport because, you know, even for cyclist, there's not as much debate around whether strength training or taking care of your body off the bike is a good idea. It's more of just how to do it and what to do. And I think even in action sports, I mean, dude, look at guys like, like Nigel Houston Ryan Sheckler, like the OG most winning skateboarders, like those guys are in PT almost daily. And they all have trainers, and they're paying attention, what they eat, they're meditating, they're doing breathing practices. They're using their guns before they go and get on their skateboard. And that's frickin skateboarding, you know? So now it's like you have these more professional levels of racing. It's not even a if you should do it is just how do you do it? How do you implement it? You know, so for me, it's cool, because I love health and fitness from a general industry perspective. And I spent almost 10 years just training in that side of the space. And it like that alone is interesting enough, but my first love is bikes. And so the fact that I can bring them together, and really actually impact people who are struggling to balance the two is like, it is the coolest thing ever, you know, and I even think if Shawn Palmer was around now, he would have a trainer because he's too competitive. You know, you could be like, an absolute party animal. But if you're competitive enough, you're not going to, you're not going to say no to things. They're clearly going to work. And the evidence is there to help which is really cool.

    Andrew Vontz 13:30

    Yeah, for sure. I mean, even at the time, I know Palmer took his training incredibly seriously, like the guy he was going out and he was racing cross country races, and he was doing very well, which was remarkable. I don't know if you've met Sean he's, he's a solidly built human being like, really Jack.

    Derek Teel 13:46

    I've never met him, actually. But you know, it's crazy as my parents bumped into him at a skate show that they drove by in Oregon one time randomly, and I ended up with this autographs hat from them. It was a think skateboards hat. Remember the brand think? Oh, yeah, yeah. So anyways, I have never met him in person, but I would love to man, that would be a legendary mountain bike ride. That'd be fun.

    Andrew Vontz 14:07

    Yeah, I think briefly, he was doing a development team with intense I think that was like the last thing I saw that Palmer was doing. I don't know. Now. I feel like I've got to track him down and try to get him on the show. Because I'd love to talk to that guy. What a legend. Yeah, let's talk. Let's talk more about Derek to what happened when you made the transition from pro athlete to something else. When did you know that your pro career was over? And how did that feel?

    Derek Teel 14:31

    You know, like I said earlier, I honestly at the time of transitioning out of it, I felt confident that there was something else out there that was a better fit for me than downhill mountain bike racing. But dude, I genuinely did not think I could be happy if I wasn't a downhill mountain bike racer from my job. And so I think being having injuries like the torn ACL, and a couple other things that came up, they gave me time to Separate enough from it, to where I have that time to think. And I wasn't just continually going through the motions and the habits and, you know, some people get in that group, it's like, if you don't actually remove yourself from your environment enough, you can't think clearly or think differently about something. So it was, it was incredibly hard. Honestly, I felt like I was kind of, I don't know if I was, say, living a lie, but I knew I needed to try something else. And there were other things before I even got into personal training. And you know, one of those was honestly just going to college and getting like general education credits. You know, I'm, I started going to a community college, because basically, my parents had always said, hey, we'll support you racing, don't worry about school, if you want to do it, but hey, if you're not going to race, you got to go to school. And so that's what I ended up doing. And it was just such a front. You know, I like I didn't want to be there. I didn't care about what I was learning it was it felt so stupid. And like, that was the definition of me, just fronting to try and figure stuff out. And so I remember the first time after racing that I really made a plan and executed it was when I decided to become a trainer because I'm, you know, 20 years old, almost 21 I think at this point. There's no reason why I shouldn't be out downhill racing. And I'm not I'm at my parents in their garage, doing p90x videos, thinking like, what, like, what am I doing, but also, I kid you not, I'm doing this p90x video, and I'm looking at the screen and I'm like, Man, this guy's got a pretty cool job. Like, he's literally just doing a bunch of push ups and pull ups and getting people fired up. And I was like, man, maybe I should be a trainer. Like I could do this. And I will say, the one thing I knew about myself at that time was that I was naturally encouraging. I think that was a like a gift I just have from, it's just part of my personality. I've always been that way. I like to I like to motivate people and get people fired up to do something. So even at that time, I saw what he was doing, you know, and it's kind of over the top, but at the same time, I just felt like it could be a good fit. So I started looking into what it would take to be a personal trainer. And I had minimal minimal time in gyms at that point. I think when I went to gyms, I'd spend more time just like in the sauna and like playing racquetball and like, do a couple of reps of bench press and call it a day I was that kind of guy who never used machines, like I didn't know how to do anything. But I was like, Alright, I'm going to become a trainer. It looks like pretty minimal start point, I thought I called all the gyms in my area up and down California and asked like, what is the best training cert for me to go get? And I made a plan to go get it is like a three to six month process. I did my studying, executed it and became a trainer within like, I think it was four months or so from that point. And that's when I was fully committed to just becoming a full time trainer and focusing on having an impact in the general health and fitness industry.

    Andrew Vontz 18:01

    And prior to that, like when you were downhill racing, as you mentioned, you were somebody who was very serious about it. Were you lifting at all and doing any strength and conditioning for downhill or were you just writing? Yeah, I

    Derek Teel 18:11

    was for sure. I didn't even growing up. I was physical. You know, my dad had me doing push ups and pull ups when I was 12 years old. He's a career long CHP officer, SWAT team, FBI, a lot of a lot of awesome stuff. And he basically would have me being very physical take us on crazy hikes running. You know, I grew up doing some triathlons actually, with Nielsen palace. Funny enough. He grew up in my hometown. We both would do Ironman triathlons. And so or iron kids triathlons. And so and then, you know, I'd be on the cross country team. And there were other things too, you know, I would do I would go dig dirt jumps all day. And also, I had a stint in karate, which I strangely took very seriously in Baku and worked my way up to it was like halfway through the junior Black Belt ranking domes to a certified I did kickboxing. So I was always like physical in and out of different sports. And there were these like few things that I was like very disciplined about. One of them was like, building dirt jumps. Like I would literally say 100 More shovel loads before I can leave stuff like that, you know, I'm dude, I'm 12 years old, you know, no one's telling me to go do this. But I wanted dirt jumps, you know, no one was gonna build them. For me. We didn't have bike parks, then, like these kids don't understand. You would spend an entire winter building dirt jobs. And then the first month of summer, your city would come and tear him down and you have to rebuild them. Like that was our journey to like free ride. And so anyways, that's total side tangent, but I would also get freakishly disciplined about karate, and I think that's one of those things, physically training mindset that early on. I just I took it really seriously, like too seriously for for a 12 year old, you know? For instance, there were all All of these, like, causes or moves that you would learn like self defense movements, like, Oh, if someone comes up and grabs your shoulders from the front, this is what you did, how you did how you defend it, essentially. And so there were all these different movements, we would learn through the belt system. And one of the achievements you could have was to know every single one of them by command, like they just say the name of what it is, and then you bust it out. And I was like, one of the only kids at the whole studio that actually took the time to practice enough to be able to do that. And I remember getting this like gold star that was a patch on my pants, you know, it's just stuff like that. It's funny, looking back, and seeing where the discipline came through. And it always came back to this mix of physicality. And then just like some type of, like, very focused effort, so, so yeah, I think those were the sports where it kind of shone through. So when I came into training, I wasn't completely like I knew how to do a push up I could do. This is actually really funny, but I did so many pull ups growing up. I had my high school pull up record for a time it was like 44 Pull Ups. So I remember it's funny because this stuff's almost coming back to me. I haven't talked about it in a while. But yes, I was very familiar with strength training, but more so from a like a bodyweight perspective. I did some focus programs for training for downhill, a lot of dumbbell work. But that was pretty much it.

    Andrew Vontz 21:25

    When you hit 44 Pull Ups, what was your body weight? Do you remember? Oh,

    Derek Teel 21:29

    dude, I wrestled in middle school, eighth grade, like 113. So I came. I mean, I was for sure. Under 140 Gosh, I was probably like 130 pounds. I think it was like my freshman or sophomore year of high school.

    Andrew Vontz 21:46

    Yeah, that's pretty good.

    Derek Teel 21:47

    I was like, it was actually I think that it was broken by like a gymnast girl who was like a buck 10 That did like a ridiculous amount of pull ups, you know. But that was always something I was raised on was just push ups and pull ups. Even now my dad, you know, in his 50s can bust out a set of 25 strict pull ups pretty sick.

    Andrew Vontz 22:08

    Wow. Did you ever pull a bar in the house? Oh, yeah. Always. Was it like doorway pull up bar, like,

    Derek Teel 22:15

    we had a power rack. You know, like, I'll pull up dip station in the garage growing up. It was next to my dad's indoor trainer. Funny enough. And we also had one of those multi grip rock climbing things above the door handle when you walk in the house. And it had like two big pull up grips on the top corners that you could do pull ups from so it was in my face a lot.

    Andrew Vontz 22:39

    Nice. So your dad rode bikes also? Yeah,

    Derek Teel 22:43

    yeah, he was the one who was funny. He got me the mountain bike when I never really asked for it pushed me through the mountain bike direction. And then he was the one who always tried to push me towards endurance. Because he told me he's like, Do you have a natural gift for endurance? Like you should focus on this. He was trying to get me to clip in on my mountain bike forever. I wrote flats because like, um, the Sam Hill generation, which was, you know, flat pedals, when metals foot out, flat out, that was the mentality. And so basically, I didn't listen to him on a lot of those areas, which he brings up a lot now. But he was a huge influence. For sure. In my exposure writing apps. Me I grew up with the Tour de France on in my house for sure. Right. Did

    Andrew Vontz 23:27

    you have any siblings? Yeah, I

    Derek Teel 23:29

    have one older brother, but man, we are so different. wildly different. He's a math teacher in the football, basketball, mainstream sports. So we, you know, this brotherly love, we love each other, but we've never really connected on that type of athletics or sport.

    Andrew Vontz 23:45

    So you guys weren't pushing each other with pull ups or other things like that in the house? No,

    Derek Teel 23:51

    not really. Not. I think it was more my dad, like tell asking us if we did our pushups that day or something like that.

    Andrew Vontz 23:57

    Yeah, that's, that's great. It's awesome to have parents who can help shape the direction you move with your relationship with sport, strength, and all those things, right? Dude, it's

    Derek Teel 24:07

    so important because I think no matter what you tell your kids, they're just going to look at what you do. And so whether it's how you treat your wife or how you treat your own body. I know for me, I recently moved my commercial gym space into my garage. Now that I'm online only and so I have my whole garage built out which is actually what's behind me as a gym. And it's so cool because my kids see me working out I bring them out here. They play on the stuff they grab the five pound dumbbells and it just to normalize it for them I think is great. Like they drink protein shakes with creatine and I tell them the ingredients all the time now and so like there's the fact that that's normal to them makes me super excited, and they're not going to think it's weird to have to go on like to have to make time for exercise or for their body. You know, it's cool like do my four year old does push ups with me and they stretch with me it's they get on the foam roller when I'm foam rolling. So that's kind of my parent rant. But yeah, I have three, three kids under four. So I'm definitely trying to influence them.

    Andrew Vontz 25:08

    That's how it is in my house as well. I have a power rack in the garage. I have a My setups not quite as dialed or orderly as yours, but it's pretty nice. My kids love to come in and swing on the TRX. Like that's a big move. Yes. And then we I also have a TRX in the house. Actually in their playroom. It's attached above the door. So you know, that's a good way to be able to go, that's a good idea and like and hanging out with your kids. And then I also have a low anchor point, the playroom on the wall. So I've got my bands anchor down there. So that's any dads moms out there looking to get some wraps. That's a pro tip. I've got a low anchor for the bands. And then I've got a high anchor for the TRX in the playroom

    Derek Teel 25:50

    with the low anchor on the bands. Are you doing handle bands? Are you doing like the RIP stick from TRX or something like that?

    Andrew Vontz 25:58

    I generally I just have a band on there for like doing lifts, chops, things like that nice plank plank rows, that type of thing.

    Derek Teel 26:06

    Nice. And kids grab the band and they rip on it all the time.

    Andrew Vontz 26:11

    Yeah, totally. They also I have to, I've had to give them some instruction about not attempting to pick up the 24k kettlebells or string. Right? It's like we're saying, you know, they can pick them. I'm like, Nah, not right now. That's not what you need to be doing. So with how did you get the idea for dialed health? And when did this become the focus just working in this specific area.

    Derek Teel 26:36

    So when I became a personal trainer, like I said, I felt like I was kind of still almost living a lie because I had gotten out of downhill, which is what I always thought I'd be doing. And so I felt like I had some unfinished business in regards to racing. And I really wanted to settle that score. And it's funny because at the time I was personal training, I got my first trail bike, I got to Santa Cruz Nomad, like the original gravity dropper post, I think this was early 2013. And I was just trail riding, you know, once or twice a week, as I did all my personal training. And that's when enduro was becoming a real sport. And or, you know, it was a big sport before that, but it was becoming like a mainstream mountain bike staple. And so I was really interested in it because I was now doing that type of riding, and it was more physical. And because I felt like I had that unfinished business with racing. I was like, You know what, I want to try this out. So I ended up moving home, I was kind of chasing my now wife, but girlfriend at the time, up and up and down the state. And so I had come home, I was training, I was living back at my parents house. And I was like, You know what, I want to go out and try and enduro race, and I went out and I did pretty dang well, it was like a local race. I think I finished like 10th or something like that, because I was honestly just so out of shape when it came to pedaling. And it was super, a lot of the tracks in California are very, very pedal heavy for Enduro. And so I remember thinking, like, first off, why did that kill me so much, because I'm in really good general fitness. So I got to figure that out. But also, I'm I still have a lot of the bike skill that I have from downhill. And I think this could be an opportunity for me to see if racing career really is once and for all thing for me. So I basically came up, this was like my next real formal plan that I made. And I talked to my parents about it, because I think at the time, I'm 23 years old or something. And I just told him, I was like, Hey, guys, there's the sport, I think I can do well. I want to try two years of going out and pursuing this sport. And if I don't have a legit pro contract, by the end of this two years, I'll move on. And I'll and I'll focus on whatever else. And at the time, doubt health wasn't a thing. But I was just in person training, doing a variety of that I had boot camps on the weekends. I trained small group, I did one on one, I was just like a full on freelance trainer. I'll train anybody and everybody that wants to hire me. And so at that time, I started getting back into enduro, I still had a lot of my old connections. And because I was racing Pro, I was quickly becoming friends with like some of the top enduro racers in the country. And I started getting some podiums at a lot of the Big West Coast races like California enduro series, and really becoming like one of the top competitors in the country for enduro racing. And I wasn't winning. But I was consistently doing well. And at the end of the two years, even though I had conquered a lot of the demons i had with racing, which was like, how to be consistent week in week out. Can I enjoy it? Can I go through a race weekend without too much anxiety to where it's not even fun? Those were things I really wanted to conquer. And so I did those things. But I still wasn't beating the real like top racers, you know, because we have a huge crop of top talent in me Erricka in only a few of those are actually ranking in the world. And those were the guys, you know, I might beat on a stage here there. But I wasn't beating them enough to where I had real sponsorship opportunity to make this a career. And it's tough dude, because I was really close, like I was, I was really close to making it happen. But it didn't. And my commitment, like to my family to myself, it was two years, and then I redirect if it's not going to happen after two years, and after all the previous years, I've done it, I think it's time to move on. And I stuck to it. And that's when I really went full on into dialed health. And I bring up that whole endeavor into enduro because when I was racing with some of the top athletes in America, a lot of them knew I was a personal trainer. So they started asking me about strength training off the bike. And there's a lot of natural conversation that would come up in the transfers on these races, because you know, you sometimes have a three hour climb between stage one and stage two. And so you're just kind of cruising up, you're talking to other athletes. And you know, they bring it up. And I really realized how much of a need there was for the actual strength side of it. And because I felt a lot more confident about what I was doing on the bike, I felt like I understood how you could balance the training, and actually get your best out at races and out on the bike specifically. And so I have made my first online program at the end of that year to sell as a PDF guide. And it was cool because it had links to YouTube. And it was a, it was a pretty well done clean, single program, which is now my offseason enduro program that I currently offer on my website. And that was the first one I launched. And that's how the need for it became clear, essentially, is like I'm out racing at a high level, some of the best racers in the in the country in some of them in the world have no idea what to do off the bike, like literally, is shockingly, like shockingly bad strength programs were things I was hearing. And so it just felt like there's a real need to address. And that's kind of how it started. From there. It was all very mountain bike focus. That's what I was doing at the time. And I made those connections early on through the racing that I did.

    Andrew Vontz 32:16

    what were people doing? Were they just grabbing Muscle and Fitness and doing some bodybuilding stuff?

    Derek Teel 32:21

    Kinda Yeah, I mean, I would almost say almost more, more powerlifting stuff, like a lot of guys want to just find some crazy, like Russian 10 by 10 program and start just crushing themselves. And this is this is the think tough thing for a lot of cyclists. And I see this on the side, like the more endurance side or the full on pro road side of it, is that these guys like to work hard. These guys are tough like they and they also like to train their legs. So when they go to a gym, the natural thing is, oh, I want stronger legs, I should destroy them. And not only that, but I'm willing to a lot more than the average person because I already know what it's like to have my legs blow up from lactic acid and push them to the extreme like, I'm gonna go do deadlifts followed by like so they'll go do heavy deadlifts followed by Bulgarian split squats, followed by leg extensions, and then calf raises. And then I'm gonna do walking lunges until failure. And I'm gonna feel really good about that. And then I'm not gonna be able to ride my bike for a week. And then I'm not going to string chain for another month because of that. And this is like perpetual cycle of like forever soreness, and never actually getting quality strength training. So that's a lot of what would what would be happening. It was like a power lifter adding on a ton of accessory work.

    Andrew Vontz 33:36

    Derek, you mentioned one of the things you wanted to overcome when you went back to enduro racing, after you'd walked away from downhill was that you wanted to get over being anxious during a race weekend. Can you talk a little bit about that I'm always really interested in what an athletes relationship is with like having the optimal level of arousal because some people perform best when they're super anxious. Some people like I had Allison Jackson on twice in the past few months. Her attitude is any race I enter, I'm gonna win the race. And I think she genuinely feels like that. I personally like I've never really felt like that. I've walked into a race. But what was it like for you?

    Derek Teel 34:18

    Well, it's awesome that you had her on she was my last podcast guest and she's such a legend. We were talking about how she uses dancing as a warm up and I was breaking down why it's such a good warm up actually. And it was really cool to connect on. Shameless plug but she has she's on my podcast recently in total legend for me with the anxieties. I think, I can't help but feel a little bit nervous for almost anything that I do. Like there's times before filming a workout video where I feel a little bit nervous. But I think it comes down to knowing why I'm doing it and feeling excited about the end result. And so when I'm excited about the end result like for me filming a new program, or doing a podcast like this or leading a group workout or a group ride or actually going out and doing like a race, I really have my why now. And like, for instance, even for me to go do like unbound 200, like I did this year, I'm looking at it from the opportunity of building my brand of being with the community, creating a sense of credibility for myself, when I as a coach, when I talk to athletes about doing this, like, I'm checking all these boxes just by showing up on the start line. And dude, at the end of the day, I like to go out for hard rides. Anyways, I would probably be doing something very similar to this on this Saturday anyways. And I think knowing all of those things, leads me to my why which helps me perform well and like relax. But even knowing all that, dude, I still get nervous. And that is what feels like the sweet spot, before growing up, and not really having a wind up feeling like I have to do this or I'm not going to be happy essentially, with the downhill racing. Like if I don't perform, and I don't move up in this ranking system of downhill racing, then I'm just not going to be happy. Dude, I would get debilitating nervousness to where I couldn't eat. So then my performance is bad. And it's just this compounding snowball of suck. And that is, is something I really wanted to conquer when I came back into enduro racing. So I think, knowing the why was important, but also understanding that if you don't have fun at some point of the process, you're probably not going to perform your best anyways, because you're not going to likely get into that flow state the same way. Now, on the other hand, if you don't have any type of nerves, I think it could be scary because it is like a form of energy, you know, and it's a form of focus to where it's like this instinct to where you have to be hyper aware. And as long as you are staying aware of your surroundings and not getting so tunnel vision that you don't perform, I think it's probably a good thing to have a little bit. But I say I have this tattoo on my neck. What side is it? It's over here that says breathe. And that's actually my first trigger. They try. They that's how I handle anxiety, if I feel it pop up, just on a daily basis anyways, that's like my very first thing if I feel the trigger of anxiety, I know I need to take a deep breath.

    Andrew Vontz 37:31

    When do you feel anxiety? Where do you feel it in your body?

    Derek Teel 37:35

    Mostly my stomach, and then my head. But I'll feel my stomach like it's almost crippling like it wants to pull you forward or like, pull you down. And then a lot of times you just start feeling like your head like things are closing in on you a little bit and then it's a breath thing, then then you don't breathe.

    Andrew Vontz 37:54

    Yeah, you gotta gotta breathe. It's an important, you gotta breathe. Probably the most important part of staying alive. Yeah, you bring up a really interesting point, though, that if you're doing anything that matters to you, typically you are going to feel some level of nervousness. And if you don't, there's you know, that's it's a different type of challenge, potentially. And I know that Demi volunteering said, before the time trial to Tour de France, that she actually didn't feel nervous the day she woke up. And she was like, I actually like I have to get my head on this, which she obviously did, because she she won the race. But yeah, I mean, that's

    Derek Teel 38:33

    it. I almost brought that up as an example. By the way. We're on the same way. Yeah, because that just happened. And she said, I was a little worried that I wasn't nervous. Like I was too chill. I had to amp myself up a little bit.

    Andrew Vontz 38:44

    Yeah. So going way back. And I guess this connects to now as well. But what's the feeling that you get out of riding bikes? Why do you like it?

    Derek Teel 38:54

    It is the ultimate culmination of fitness, adrenaline and nature. It's like the three things I love the most. And it all comes into one. And I think what the coolest thing about writing is that you can lean into certain parts of it more than others at times, you know, there's times where you can go for a ride with almost zero performance, goals or intention. But it's so beautiful that it completely like you get lost in it, you know, I just did a ride into Yosemite Valley. And it was insane. You're looking around and you're feeling the air on your face. And that's a moment where it's just pure nature, or some of the trail rides I've done through Tahoe even are just unbelievable. And so the of the nature side of it, which is and just being outdoors, which I think everyone needs to experience in some way, some way. Then you have the performance aspect. There's days you don't care about any of the visuals, and you're there to do 300 watts for X amount of time, or you're there to do this race in get the fastest time down there. Mountain, or you're there to absolutely blow yourself up on a five hour training ride prepping for unbound. And so that's when the competitive side of it comes out. And then you also have the and I guess that comes with the like, just the pure fitness as well. You know, there are times where I'm like, Yes, I do this for fun, I do this to get outdoors, but it's also my workout, which physiologically is one of the, you know, most proven best things you could do for your body. So that's, that's a huge side of it. And then you have the adrenaline do when you're hitting a 40 foot double on a mountain bike, or when you're doing 50 miles an hour on a road bike, and you're going around a corner, or maybe you're doing that and you almost crashed, but you don't and then you come away from it, that is a feeling probably better than Well, I haven't done enough drugs to actually tell you what that you know, comparatively, would be like, but I could imagine that's probably as good as any drug you could say. It's insanely, like insanely good. Like, it just feels good. It feels like you cheated death a little bit. It's like, the adrenaline is just rad or even, even if it's not a near death moment, or crash moment, like sometimes, just like now what I experienced on the roadbike paceline was some dudes that are all just thrown down, and you just have that good bro energy, and you're just, you're just going for it. That feels that can just feel so good. I get fired up talking about that's how I'm even with strength training, dude. And that's why I love it, too, is that sometimes, you know, I don't feel like going for a ride that day. And, you know, I ride I've written four days a week without fail for years at the minimum and a lot of weeks more, but there are days, I genuinely wake up. And I'm like, Dude, I feel like strength training today. Like I don't feel like writing. And it's a lot of it's because of the what it does to you physiologically, you know, when you do pick up like a heavy trap bar deadlift and put it down. It's a good feeling. And same thing, even if you're just doing a stretch that hits the right spot. It's just a very, very good feeling. It's therapeutic. And it's so good for your body that it's like that result that you always want. So I'm sorry, that was a such a long winded answer as to why I like to ride a bike. But that's that's all there right there.

    Andrew Vontz 42:13

    No, that's a great answer. I love it. And you know, as you mentioned, you, you have three kids, twins are in the picture now. And you're also talking about things like hitting a 40 foot double, which, if that's me, I'm getting off and walking my bike. If we ever, ever hang out in real life, maybe you could show me how to do just a basic double because I'm kind of a wheels on the ground mountain biker. At this point in my trajectory, how's your relationship to risk change, if at all, with, you know, having more children and more responsibility? does that weigh on you or move you in a different direction at all?

    Derek Teel 42:51

    Yeah, I feel it sometimes at random, you know, at random moments. You know, it's interesting, when I, when I went into downhill racing, I mentioned I want to get injured less. And I quickly found out that was not the case. And when I had stopped racing, I also had told myself, I'm like, you know, this is really nice, because or one of the upsides is that I probably get injured a lot less. And I remember literally the summer that I first stopped racing. This was before the trainer, I was skateboarding at a skate park did a flat ground kickflip. And I broke my finger so bad that they had to graft bone out of my wrist and put metal bars and will always do my finger. Like you could see how this knuckle is all distorted still, like I could never fit a ring on that finger. And I have arthritis in it almost daily. Like it's, it's crazy. It's one of the worst injuries I've had, but it's my finger. And so I remember doing that. And I was like I just did a kickflip I've done 2000 kick flips in my life. And I was like I am never again going to let the fear of injury stop me from doing something that I want to do. Because it could happen stepping off a curb, it could happen during a kickflip it can happen during a 40 foot double on the mountain bike. And so that was one thing that moving forward. I was like, Dude, I can't I can't live like that. And now with that said, I have moved more into the endurance side of the sport because that's genuinely I think where my interest has fallen in the performance and and I just I like to pedal dude, I just love like I did Everest on my my trail bike was like the first big endurance feat that I did. And that really sealed the deal of being like, Dude, it's all about pedaling. I just love love pedaling now. And so I've spent more time on the road bike on the gravel bike on my cross country mountain bike, I really ride gravity focus stuff as much. And it's just a funny byproduct that you really don't get injured as much stuff still does happen. I've had a few crashes and I'm trying to be as careful as possible. But I have had people say, Oh, are you doing this because you've had kids now because the timing has been very similar as I've made this transition, and that that wasn't the case. But I'll tell you now that I'm experiencing it. It's really nice. It feels great to not be injured as much as I used to be. And I know stuff can still happen, cuz everything I love, it has potential for injury. But it's really nice. So it wasn't like a motivation. But I do enjoy that side of it, if that makes sense.

    Andrew Vontz 45:18

    Yeah, completely. Before I forget, I wanted to ask this question. Have you ever gone head to head either in enduro or in another discipline with Jonathan from TrainerRoad? Because you're kind of geographically you're proximate? You both have, you know, a lot of skill in the Enduro downhill arena. Have you ever gone head to head

    Derek Teel 45:37

    so we he's more of an a cross country racer to be on?

    Andrew Vontz 45:41

    Yeah, but but he comes from a motocross background, so I'm sure that I love.

    Derek Teel 45:45

    I love how you're not cutting him slack. This is awesome, too, because I'm talking to Jonathan Lee on Tuesday. So we just did a an enduro or excuse me, a gravel race, but we haven't done a mountain bike race together. And the reason the gravel race was skewed was because he was on his mountain bike, and I was on a gravel bike. So I definitely had an advantage.

    Andrew Vontz 46:09

    He chose to be on a mountain bike, though I'm assuming he has plenty of bikes.

    Derek Teel 46:13

    I don't know if he owns a gravel bike. But I'll tell you, he told his Instagram audience that he's going to do unbound next year, and I screenshotted it. So He better get out there and do about 200. And I know he's not going to be on a mountain bike for that. So Jonathan, I'm calling you out. But yeah, we have done that race. And I came out ahead. But again, it was the bike. The bike skewed it, you know, so you couldn't you couldn't really say

    Andrew Vontz 46:36

    that's his choice. Yeah, I want to see you guys go ahead ahead. And an enduro or cross country race that's technical. And like, we'll see.

    Derek Teel 46:45

    Maybe we will I think I might try and do downieville next year. I kind of had some FOMO not being there this year. That felt like one of those races. I was like, This feels like I should you know, this was a good one for me. So yeah. might be out there. Maybe we'll have the opportunity to we'll see.

    Andrew Vontz 47:00

    Yeah, well, it starts here. It starts today, the challenge has been issued, the gauntlet has been thrown. Jonathan, if you're listening, or even if you're not, I'm gonna reach out to you. I want to make this this test of wills and skills happen. Shot. Yeah. So Derek to go in a different direction. You know, as you've dialed up dialed health contents been a huge part of what you've done. And I've heard you talk about just like ramping that up and kind of what your thoughts were about some of the content that you made initially, versus how it was received, and then the direction you've taken it? Could you talk about at the outset? What was your intention? And what did you think would work?

    Derek Teel 47:41

    We'll have content specifically, the goal has been to build out health as a brand and leave myself open to opportunities that are bigger than just me or my name. And so I started doubt health on all social platforms. And I will say, to go way back to the first thing that I did that was successful that I abandoned was it were these things called trainer Tuesdays. And this was before I actually was, this was the start of Donald health. But before it was specifically strength training for cyclists, I ended up doing these funny videos where I would have like a remake of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, or Dirty Dancing, or Nacho Libre, I would do these like skits. And it would somehow segue into a lesson about training or nutrition, like training or nutrition, essentially. And there are these like five minute videos that started catching when in my hometown, and on Facebook at the time, some of them got over 10,000 views, which for me, I was like, it was crazy, because it was bringing in enough business for me to transition to running my own business full time, just with in person work. So this was all before Donald health was strength training for cyclists. I was enduro racing at the time. But it was funny because I realized, I started being successful with the funny parts of the content. And people saw that as the value of posted the actual training information. And then I also started doing videos that I just like that got a little weird, you know, because I'm trying to be like, like more eye catching and do crazier stuff. And it got to a point I was like, You know what, just because you're successful at something, doesn't mean that it's the right thing to do for you. Like you can go and be successful in areas that aren't true to who you are. They don't line up with your morals. And it's just because of that reason, it's not a bad idea. So just because you can doesn't mean you should. And it's crazy because I literally just stopped the videos because I was like, You know what, this is successful, but this is going the wrong direction. And I'm not into this and so so it's funny because we actually ended up making this one video we never put out where we filmed it in this gym. I was training out of it like midnight, and it was supposed to be this take on like BDSM and like we had like bands and I was hanging from these bands and I was like screaming it dude, literally, it sounds almost weirder than it was because I'm like the least perverted guy you've ever met. But I remember thinking I was like, why am I even doing this? This is like too much, you know, like, this is too far outside of like, it's funny, but it shouldn't be coming from me is how I felt. And thankfully, I've unlisted all those videos off of YouTube. But yeah, basically, that was the first thing where I was like, Whoa, like, I'm doing well with content, but I need to like be intentional about where I'm taking this right. So then I basically start making things more dedicated strength training for cycling. Because I see the the specificity of content online is so important. Like, everybody wants to has this huge net, and this huge audience, and you can, for certain types of industry, you know, like, there are some things like cooking, for example, that almost every type of person loves, that can blow up. And you can have a very, very wide audience who all just kind of like to cook a little bit. But with with strength training, it's such a flooded market. And there's so many niche communities that if you don't stand out in any of them, you're not going to get a head start. And you're not going to actually gain enough of an audience to like move forward, because it's too broad. And It's too, too generic. So I was like, I need to make this very specific strength training for cyclists. And when I started making content directly for that, I started really, instead of like asking people who do like this, do you that I just honestly started looking at analytics, because I was like, those are going to tell me what I need to know. And I started realizing that the more specific I was toward even like the drop our audience, which is like my primary focus now, and I'm about to bring back more mountain bike content, but really focusing on like endurance, strength training for cyclists, your cyclists, gravel, cyclists, road cyclists, that's when things started making more sense. And it was when I realized that my audience are cyclist. And it's not people from that general health and fitness industry, because it's weird. I'm like, I'm a trainer, who is from the general health and fitness industry. And that's the content that I produce. But it's all for cyclists. So I had to be very direct with it. And when I started building out content that started with good writing clips, it was enough to stop people from scrolling. And then if I could tie it into the workout that they needed to fix their back pain, or they get stronger climbing legs, or to build a stronger core, so they can power transfer better, that's when the content started being more successful. And that's also when I realized I was like, dude, not only am I being more successful with the content, but it's actually supporting the thing that I want to grow, which is dialed health. And so that's basically how I've kind of navigated it over the years and just try to be adaptable, really, because, you know, some years, you know, reels are big, some years, other styles of posts are big, sometimes the photos are big, sometimes other types of content get pushed by the algorithm. So you just have to be No, you have to know that you need to flow with that. And you can't get too stuck on the way you want to do it. And you have to do it the way that your audience wants to receive it.

    Andrew Vontz 53:05

    Totally and within the context of your what you're trying to do with your business, what you want to do as an athlete, and then how it fits into your family life. How do you think about things like going to do unbound or, you know, doing a double Everest, which require a massive time commitment, and a huge training load?

    Derek Teel 53:26

    Well, that's taken a lot of time to figure out since I've transitioned more to the endurance side of the sport, and I feel like this is a place where I'm really going to stay. Because it's tough man, you know, you could go out and do have a good race result. And you get bit by the bug and the thought of I need to do this a little bit more like oh, maybe I could kind of like compete with this pro or that Pro or Ooh, maybe I could be a little bit better. And it's really distracting. You know, I think that there's a lot of high level local, like domestic athletes that are just so distracted by their success that it holds them back from doing other things that they should be. And I didn't want to fall I didn't want to be that person. Like I knew I had to like almost like let this side of it go. Because on one hand, I'm trying to train myself to get the best performance I can. Because I want all of my members to know that I'm in it with them. You know, everybody that uses my programs, they know like I'm doing the same strength training I'm writing as much as I can I'm trying to actively improve my nutrition and lifestyle habits just like I'm telling them to do there's not one thing I'll ever ask of somebody that I'm not willing to do or haven't done myself period and that's that's where the importance of things like the double levers came in. I'm like I'm telling people to go push themselves but like when when was the last time I actually questioned whether or not I could do something like genuinely because I had done the mountain bike Everest which was a huge step forward at that time and I've done another road bike Everest, but me going out to double Everest was going to be a three BK PR invert. And so like, I don't, I don't even know if I can do it. But also, when you talk about something for long enough, and you say on this day, at this time I'm doing this, it's a lot of accountability. And I think that's honestly what got me through. But those are all things that have felt necessary to add credibility to myself as a brand. So even though it does take time away from family, and it's a lot of lot of like money and financial risk to like I've, you know, up until very recently, I've paid for the majority of these projects. And I'm just now getting enough sponsor support to actually do things that I really want to do. And hopefully, I'm trying to put things in place to get more support, because there's so much more I want to do for the upcoming years. And I also know how much this stuff costs now, which is crazy. And then dude, it's such a toll, when you do a 24 hour effort. It's not like you just come home and you're ready to play with your kids. You know, you can, you're, you're a frickin zombie. And that's some of the, that's some of the hardest parts about it too, is that you carve out the limited time that you have, but that the before prep and the aftermath is so time consuming as well, that you're trying to do that while you're trying to watch your kids. So your wife can go and live her life as well. And that's some that's like some of the hardest moments, but I'm really proud that I've taken the time to do it. You know, like with the double ever stood, I had one and a half year old twins and a three year old. And thankfully, we have family support, and I have a flexible schedule that do there's a lot of stuff I need to do, I can't just like go peace out and ride all day, I wouldn't have a business, you know, I wouldn't make it be able to make and post content, like, you know, it's a, it's hard to really put the reins in on yourself and be like, Dude, you know, like, I want to do this thing. But here's the real reality of what it's going to take. And I think doing these things in the last few years has really given me a better grasp on it. Even with like developing an app, and like all that business stuff. It's like, when you get deep enough into something you understand the reality. But the last thing I'll say to answer this question is like the whole racing side of it, I love riding all the bikes. And you know, honestly, I'm pretty good at most bikes in general. And like good enough to where again, it's kind of distracting to where you can have enough success to where you're like, oh, maybe I should do a little bit more of this. And like all of a sudden you go down this rabbit hole of prioritizing something that's not as important as it should be compared to the other things in your life. So I've had to really ask myself, like, where is the value for me racing. And also, I've had to put barriers on like what I do race, I can't go race XE and cyclocross and do a random enduro race, go to downieville Do all these gravel races and then go race crits and then go do this like stage race in Europe that looks really like I can't go do all this stuff. You know, not even a pro could do stuff like that. And I can't compare my racing schedule to a pros racing schedule. So you have to, you have to start like reeling it in on okay, what's the thing you really want to do? You can't do it all. Or you go crazy, because I've tried. And so for this year, I was like, I'm only racing gravel. That's it. I'm only racing gravel, that's going to create some huge boundaries. That's my favorite type of racing right now. And it's also great for the community. And I also do well enough to add credibility and to get good content. So for me to go to a race, it's not about getting on the podium. It's about showing up showing my preparation, being with the community at races, and doing my best and then making sure I have content around that. And the combination of those things really supports my business and dude, at the end of the day, I'm genuinely having so much fun gravel racing, that that's another part of it, too. It's something I really do for fun. And there's time when we're the work side of it can overshadow just the pure fun. But even out there sometimes when I'm writing, I've gotten better at being present during gravel races and looking around, and just being like, Dude, this is sick. You know, like I, the race idea with Jonathan Lee was in Carson City in Nevada, and you're looking at the backside of Lake Tahoe, some of the mountains, and I'm coming down this fire road, I'm doing like 35 miles an hour in the drops for a couple of miles. And I'm just dead straight looking at this mountain range, and it's got snow on it. And I'm looking at the thing and I'm like, Dude, this is pretty badass. Like I'm out here in the high desert haulin ass on my bike looking at this insane view. Like, I'm proud of this moment, you know what I mean? And also, like, even outracing unbound. You know, I want my kids to be like, Dude, my dad is doing a 200 mile race across Kansas on his bike. Like, it's just cool, you know, at least it is to me, maybe they think I'm an absolute idiot or they will, who knows? But I think those are all like the reasons that making the timeframe Seeing is worth it for me. But I, I've had to put a lot of boundaries around, making it feel like it's the right thing to do. Because it's again, it's just easy to get carried away with stuff.

    Andrew Vontz 1:00:11

    So when you think about where you're taking your business model, your content where you're headed as an athlete, who are other people doing similar things that you look at as a model? Or do you have mentors that are doing something similar that kind of guide what you do? Or are you making it up as you go?

    Derek Teel 1:00:30

    Well, a big mentor of mine has been TrainerRoad, that's actually been a business. And I've had a great relationship from Jonathan Lee, or with Jonathan Lee, from admiring what they've done and built, and the platform and the products, the content around it. That has been a really big motivation. For me, probably the biggest one that I've looked to over and over again, for direction. But with that said, it's changed a lot recently. And this is within the last, I'd say six months to probably really the last six months. Because a year and a half ago, I launched my app. And I spent up to almost a year developing the app based off of my subscription on the website. And my goal has been to build the platform of Donald health. And actually, in the beginning, my intention was like a long term plan to be able to remove myself from the platform, have other trainers inserted into it, and just manage it. And I mean, it sounds like a really good long term plan, it kind of makes sense. I already had trainers I'm working with that we're doing collaborative programs that live on the website. And so I was like, this could be a thing that can really work. And on a smaller scale, be something like a product like TrainerRoad, but maybe even more like peloton or something where you have these coaches in the actual platform. And so, in the year of development for the app, the launch of the app, and then another year of actually trying to fix everything that's wrong with it. I've realized that, and I know you know way more about this than I do with everything you've done at Strava. But developing it you become a tech company, like having this app and this platform, that has to be your number one focus and to have such a lean team, and lean budget. And to make this thing a reality. I'm like, It's not that I don't think I could do it if I wanted to do it. But I don't think that's like what I want to do. You know, like I said earlier, I know my natural gift is encouragement. And I have all these life skills I've built up through cycling, that come through without like me as a coach for DOD health. And I also have this very unique background of, you know, 10 years of personal training experience and 10 years of professional race experience that have come together, that has given me a good grasp on what riders really need to do. And I'm also currently doing it. So I was like, it feels wrong for me to focus on building a platform and removing myself as the trainer when I think the majority of my value comes from being the coach himself. And there's other ways I could scale the business that I've started to realize that but I've really shifted what I think I should do going forward for the long term and moving it away from building and developing a platform to making sure I'm 100% focused on the coaching, and also the community behind it as well. Because for a valuable brand, especially a subscription based service, having like the community aspect out is huge. And then when you're trying to integrate ways for a community connect on your own app and platform, the cost and the actual ability to do it successfully, so difficult, that I think leveraging other platforms is going to be the way to go. It's again, this is one of those decisions where I'm like, man, it's very hard to do, because you don't want to feel like you're giving up. But it's like a true pivot, like I've been in this long enough to understand what the reality is of developing this thing is. So I bring up all of that. I know you didn't ask for that behind the scenes business information. But those are things I'm dealing with now. Where I'm like, Okay, how do I improve the coaching aspect of it? How do I focus and make more time for it? Because there is so like, there's just so much I don't do that I want to and that I could, because I'm trying to develop this app. And so what's the next step for me there, and thankfully, I can't talk about it yet. But I think I've gotten some really good clarity and a really good path going forward. Very recently. So I'm excited man. It's like the coaching side of it is going to be huge, but it's definitely not going to be the trainer road model of focusing on the platform. It's going to be really focusing on myself as a coach and building the data health community.

    Andrew Vontz 1:04:37

    Yeah, I'm being an entrepreneur is just solving problems continually. That's really, that's really what the job is at the end of the day. So that's awesome. Like you're de risking things. You're discovering what works you're discovering what actually brings you happiness, which that's just such a critical part of business and life and honestly, it's one that most people completely nickel lacked. And it certainly is a privilege to be in a position where you can choose to do something with your time and the way you make money that brings you happiness. But I think that that's a very worthy aim. And, you know, maybe one of the highest order things we should all really shoot for in life, because we spend so much time working. Ideally, it should be something that brings other people happiness through the service, or goods we provide and brings us and the people around us happiness and joy. Because if it doesn't, over time, that's going to suck.

    Derek Teel 1:05:30

    Yeah, yeah. Right. I think it's interesting too, because on one hand, I've been, I have, I can literally look back at the last like seven years, since really becoming an independent personal trainer, and not working for another company, that I have absolutely done everything I can to make this a reality. And I've pivoted like through COVID, I took my business from in person to online, you know, I lost 80% of my income, like, dude, create, like crazy stuff at the time of having twins, taking risks, taking loans out to open up a training studio, booking stuff, changing schedules, losing clientele, moving across town to, you know, starting the app itself, which is an insane investment. And so, and then, well, I'm not going to keep going down that path. But it's just you have to pivot. And you have to, you have to give yourself credit for being so intentional about that pursuit. But at the same time, I think if you aren't in a position to where you feel like you can, quote unquote, custom build your job, I think it's good to look at the value you are providing for the world. You know, there are things that make people wildly happy, that might seem like nothing to you. And they're these necessity, like necessary things that I don't know. Like, I guess what I'm getting at is like finding purpose in your job, even if you're, if you feel stuck somewhere that you don't want to be in is so important. And it's not that you need to give yourself credit for something that's not real. But I'll give you an example. Like if you're a barista at a coffee shop, going to a coffee shop and getting my coffee daily and doing some emails. That's one of my favorite parts of the day. It's coffee is my favorite thing ever. And when I get a good coffee, it makes me genuinely so happy. That's huge value for my life. It's very positive. My garbage man that waves to me every morning that always comes back when I forget to take my garbage truck or my garbage down. And he's waves on my little kids. I freaking love that guy. Like, and also we have a lot of garbage. So you know, I have three babies. So there's things like that, that have a huge impact that you would think oh my gosh, this is not like a cool job. This isn't like wasn't my dream. But to find the purpose in it. Now, if you need to bridge the gap and use that as fuel to get somewhere you want to be I think it's super important to keep in mind.

    Andrew Vontz 1:07:57

    Yeah, I couldn't agree more. One of the favorite jobs that I've personally I had is mowing lawns, like I ran a lawn service in high school in college. I'd love doing it. I it brought people happiness and joy to see the Hey, like my lawn looks nice. And today, I still love mowing my lawn. It's you know, a lot of people were like, whatever I don't, that's not a good use of my time for me, like it brings me joy to do it and to look out and like see my yard and think, you know, I'm at a point in my life where I'm lucky enough to have a yard, right and a place that I love. And it looks nice, because I got to spend some time doing this. So

    Derek Teel 1:08:33

    yeah, and it's kind of the dude, it's like the start moving forward mentality that I have. It's the motto of my business, it's like for you to show up and do your best work no matter where it is. I mean, you see these stories about like someone who started McDonald's just working the cashier thing, but they do their job. Well, they show up on time. And they are reliable, and they're friendly. And they go a little bit above and beyond. And they get a promotion. And pretty soon they're running that McDonald's, and then they buy their own franchise of McDonald's or whatever it is. When you do a good job at whatever it is you do. I personally believe that that's such a rarity these days, especially that you are going to stand out and you're going to be you're going to get opportunities, especially when you're looking for him and like that's when we start moving forward. It's like okay, I don't know what is in store for me 10 years down the road, or I have this huge lofty goal that feels so out of reach. I have no idea how to get there and bridge the gap. Instead of letting that defeat you and say, Okay, I'm not going to do anything at all. I know for a fact in your head, there's something that you know you could do today. There's something that you've been putting off. There is something that even if it feels unrelated, that you know you could execute it and get it done that day. And the thing that's so important about doing it is that you check it off your list and it opens up your brain to think about the next thing or you learn something through the process of getting that done. That is an experience you didn't have before. And because of that you're wiser. And you can see things differently beyond that point, you could see opportunities that were there, but you just couldn't grasp it because you have this thing in front of you. So step by step, you have to start moving forward and make that decision every single day, even if you don't know how this thing is going to get you to the next point, like I never knew I'd have this full circle. Job of dialed health and strength training for cyclists when I left to become a strength coach and quit downhill racing, I thought that was it. And again, who knows where I would be if I didn't let go of the Enduro racing endeavor. And I just kept going, because I'm so close, and I was so close. You know, I kept doing the next thing, even though I didn't know where I'd end up. And I'm really happy with that. It's now and honestly, it gives me so much confidence as an entrepreneur going forward to be like, Dude, I, I think I know, kind of the direction I'm going. But if it doesn't work out that way, I'm sure it's because there's something better in store that I can't even envision right now because of my current experience. And my current like wisdom level or something. So you got to start moving forward, that whatever that thing is on your mind, right now you got to just get it done. So you can move forward. And and the last thing I'll say on this is that this is like how you develop confidence as well. I don't know, do you listen to Ed Milot motivational speaker, I haven't. Because one of my favorite dudes, he will get you fired up to just get stuff done. But he's also very introspective. And, you know, he'll talk about your feelings a little bit. But he also will say, hey, you know, get your ass up and get some work done, which is, I think the perfect balance. So he basically says the way to create confidence is to keep the promises that you make your to yourself. So whether that's saying, I'm not going to have alcohol today, or I'm going to wake up and not hit my snooze button tomorrow, these little things are how you actually build up enough confidence to feel like you can go and do the big thing that you're maybe not trying to do like it gets you one step closer. And it makes you believe yourself that you'll do something when you say you can do it because I know I've been in positions in my life where I want to do something, but I don't really think I'm gonna do it because I never really do I never really follow through. But if you're the type of person that says I'm drawing a line in the sand, tomorrow, I'm not going to have any alcohol. Tomorrow, I'm going to track all of my food tomorrow, I'm going to do the two hour ride that I have planned. And I'm going to wake up extra early to get it done. When you execute on those things. It may seem small, but then it makes you feel empowered to do the next thing. And that's what it's all about. It's this start with before it's due the next thing and build up that self confidence by executing the small things. Well,

    Andrew Vontz 1:12:46

    Derek, that's how you're gonna go ahead and be Jonathan Lee at unbound. 24. So you heard it here first. Derek is going to be Jonathan Lee at unbound 2024. And Derek, I'm really grateful to get to spend some time with you today and hear more about your journey. So thanks for being here. Really appreciate it.

    Derek Teel 1:13:07

    Thanks for having me, man. It's an honor. You've had some incredible guests on so I'm really, really stoked to be here. Thank you.



Andrew Vontz94