WHO IS “DOUG”?
And why is he on the team?
Doug (aka – “Dougie Fresh”) was one of my first “fitness” colleagues starting way back in 2008. In fact, we were the original, official cohort TRX group fitness trainers (in the world) trained right here in the original San Francisco headquarters. Heeey!Different from our other colleagues, Doug and I shared the reality that motivating folks to live healthy was something we did on the weekend (or in the wee-early mornings) while growing our main career paths in sales and design. We were driven by our own personal transformations, and wanted to inspire others that they too, can “have their cake and eat it too.” Or in other words, create a healthy lifestyle while working full-time.
What’s so fly about Doug, is that he’s fun, HARD CORE motivational, spontaneously goofy, honest, real, and plain ol’ GOOD PEOPLE. Not to mention a bad-a$$ cook. Like…not home cook style, but kind of gourmet. (Single ladies…watch out!)
After training with the TRX side-by-side with Doug for years, Graham and I learned he only lived about 3 blocks from us. Our fitness encounters soon blossomed into foodie friends.
Doug will be helping us to harness our “inner fitness,” sharing tips and tricks for weekend warriors, schooling us on healthy meal prepping for the busy worker (finally, from another guy’s perspective), and leading the pack with the “YES, men can cook” campaign.
We are so honored and excited to have this fly guy on the team!
THE INTERVIEW
What’s your name?
Douglas Li
No, we mean the name that all your close folks call you?
Doug, Dougie, Dougie Fresh (that last one’s reserved for Steph!)
So we’ve heard you got soul and passion in the kitchen, AND outdoors (like swimming from the beach to Alcatraz). Tell us a little be about working a 9-5, and being a coach. How does food come in to the scene?
Cooking is my creative outlet. There’s something really satisfying about cooking with really good ingredients, then sharing that with friends (or just eating it after a really long workout). I’m fortunate that I work from home most of the time – so those are the days I usually cook. For the two days a week I’m on the road, I typically like to pack food.
As for training and coaching… I think it has a lot to do with educating. Any idiot can give you a workout that will make you sweat. But, how many of them can actually teach you something to use for your day to day? My role as a coach is really more about education and passing on knowledge relevant to my athletes, rather than hearing myself talk.
How doesn’t food come in to the scene? It is theorized that food is the reason we evolved at all. From the size of our brains to our social nature, food really is at the core of being human. Go to any place on Earth and the unifying welcoming gesture, regardless of socio-economic status, is… a meal! It’s only recently that we’ve lost touch with food, but I am hopeful that we can change this.
What else do you love? We obviously wear multiple passion hats over here at Wake the Wolves™ and hate the “you must live in one bucket” perspective on life, so tell us some of your other hidden passions/hobbies/obsessions?
Even though I have no formal training on the matter, I LOVE design. Whether it’s architecture, UI/UX, packaging, or just thinking about the space you live in, design is such an important facet of where we are headed. Things not only have to look good and be functional – they also have to be designed for human use.
Another passion would be the performing arts. I used to do theater (including musical theater) in high school and there really is no greater rush than performing in front of people. It’s great watching people share their talents and their perspectives, I’ll take inspiration anywhere I can get it!
What fuels you on the daily? What gives you the juice to wake up and do the “damn thang” every day? Any foods? Particular daily rituals?
If there’s one thing here it has to be coffee. In the Bay Area it was Four Barrel and now in Portland it’s Coava.
As for rituals, making my bed first thing in the morning while listening to NPR followed by the Dan Patrick Show are my usual morning routines. Also, workouts… my friends can tell when I haven’t worked out in a while because my fuse gets short.
Top 3 favorite restaurants/cafes (anywhere in the World). Go!
- Benu – San Francisco
- Dim Sum in Hong Kong with my family
- Suppenkuche – San Francisco (been going here since 2001, so it’s really about the memories I’ve had here, but the venison is delicious!)
We are all perfectly imperfect, so can you reveal to us any challenges/struggles you have in living healthy (especially while running a business)? I mean, I’m sure we can relate.
Man, I have quite a few vices. After hearing about Tony Gwynn’s death in June 2014, I quit chewing tobacco cold turkey.
And my passion for good food gets me into trouble too. I try to employ a 90/10 rule though – 90% of my food is fuel, 10% is what I want.
What’d you eat for breakfast today?
Steel cut oatmeal, a grapefruit and coffee.
Music is AWESOME, right? Ok so any thing on replay that your dying to share?
Any Robin Skouteris mix on SoundCloud usually does the trick. I’m also looking forward to Mark Ronson to drop his new album.
Wrapping it up. If you had a chance to school a younger Doug on living healthy, what 3 tips would you give him?
- Don’t worry about girls liking you based on your looks. The ones worth your time will be more concerned about your ability to make them laugh and your character.
- Take risks, make mistakes.
- Tell people you love them. Better to be awkward than have the people that mean a lot to you, never know.
Any quick shout-out intro to our readers that you want to share?
Yes! Whattup everyone. I’m Doug – the high school fat kid (no, kidding I used to be a 38 waist) that some how ended up playing rugby in college and doing an Ironman triathlon by 27. My “9-5” (thanks Dolly) is working in sales for a financial services company; the rest of the time I eat out and cook with the voracity of a native Hong Konger raised in the Bay Area.
When I’m not working or eating, you can find me chasing fun in the PNW (that’s the Pacific Northwest for all you amateurs). Training for triathlon and educating trainers about TRX Training are common weekend activities.
All in all, I’m a regular joe that just hopes to have an impact on the people I encounter daily. Get ready!
Kale. All Day. Err Day.
