IN between one of the seminars he was conducting in Quezon City, wellness coach Chad Davis already managed to show his impressive vitality and vigor courtesy of underrated health keys, including eggs, vegetables and plenty of sunshine.
According to the 48-year-old Australian health guru, most Filipinos today are not as healthy they should be, owing to their preference for fast food and other artificially made meals.
Davis said the more disheartening fact in it is that good nutrition is not expensive and people are not maximizing it.
“It is a simple thing. If the president were to order people to eat more eggs, have more malunggay, every Filipinos life improves than the ones who hide from the sun. Malunggay is growing, but it is not consumed. They eat packet noodles instead and Oreo. That is why the solution is quite easy. The sun is for free. If you increase malunggay, sun exposure and eggs, your health will improve exponentially.”
“All of this is garbage. Nobody should eat that s__t,” Davis said, pointing to the junk food in the racks in the convenience stores.
The healthy lifestyle
Davis, who services over a thousand clients locally and abroad, runs a program called Primed For Your Life and a blog site of a similar name, which aim to encourage and provide steps to a healthy living and mind-set.
The program and blog site wants to “prime individuals into living a better life and to set them up for success.” The company has been catering to individuals, families and corporate employees since its start in 2013 and has modified programs, dietary needs and lifestyle to suit every individual.
“The reason I called it Primed For Your Life is because it is individual to everyone. For instance, even if you have a twin sister, your prescription is different. Also, you may have different goals. It is your life and how can you make the most out of it? How can you maximize your potential? How can you optimize your life?” Davis said.
According to Davis, he wants to impact a huge number of people and does not worry about a copyright to his methods of teaching health and wellness, even offering his services free of charge to some individuals.
“We are priming you and it is actually a moving target. Because when your brain improves, so does your goals. The endgame is helping people. We want you to be influenced by prime and then you help your mom or your dad,” he said. “I have influenced a lady who has now influenced 5,000 people or more.”
Finding his place in the world
Ironically, Davis does not have any culinary or food technology degree under his belt, nor any formal training in athletics or sports science.
Coming from an accountancy and economics background, he entered the hospitality industry with a working knowledge in managing business.
Before coming to the Philippines 17 years ago, Davis worked as general manager of The Lake’s Resort in Adelaide, Australia, and also ran his own restaurant called Indigo Bistro, which served modern-day Australian cuisine. Davis also worked as food-and-beverage director at the Edsa Shangri-La.
“I love hospitality. I love meeting people. So I love interacting, making people laugh, all that type of thing. But now, I can do the same but I can help them live longer. So it is much more rewarding now. I have my own time, as well. I have got my own business. I go to different countries to help people. It is a great job I have got now,” he said.
The cooking only came in later. According to Davis, he considers his ability to connect with people as one of his foremost assets.
“I found something I enjoyed so I pursued it. I knew I was good with people, talking to people, it’s my personality, so I developed that side, but when I had my restaurant I had to learn how to cook. My main focus was service-oriented but I made sure I learned how to cook,” Davis said.
Healthy recipes and tweaked Filipino dishes are also found on Davis’s web site. According to the Aussie health buff, he like his version of kinilaw with an overdose of radish, onions and garlic, and the Korean Kimbap with squash instead of rice. He also encourages clients to post their own healthy-food recreations.
Aside from providing month-long programs for companies, like outsourcing firm TaskUs and Davao-based fruit dealer NEH Philippines, Davis caters to athletes, like Philippine Basketball Association player Sean Anthony and mixed-martial arts fighter Jenel Lausa.
Some misconceptions
Davis pointed out that his edge in the industry is the ability to individualize his program and listen attentively to how clients can be molded into their best version. Even the payment system is customized and negotiable, Davis said, so the money matters does not contribute to additional stress on the part of the client.
“I have got no concrete training. My training is on the job. I have got mentoring from smart doctors worldwide and I learn from my clients. I am very good in talking and listening. My prices are designed on what the person can afford. Imagine if I charged you so much and I convinced you but you are worried about money. That does not fit what I am trying to do,” Davis said.
He added: “What happens is in medicine, they pigeonhole you. It is not individualized. It is generalized.”
Davis’s Primed blog site features a slew of testimonials on medical conditions that have been reversed, thanks to proper food intake, exercise and lifestyle, including diabetes, hypertension, ADHD, asthma and many more.
According to Davis, the most common misconception is avoiding the sun, calling the desire of some Filipinos to have whiter skin as “ridiculous.”
“Vitamin D is essential. If you think you can be white and stay out of the sun and live long, it would not work. Is the sun in Boracay the same as the sun in Manila? You cannot burn here in Manila, because the sun is poor because of the pollution. Did your grandparents hide from the sun in midday? It is to sell more sunscreens, umbrellas and whitening lotions? Filipinos are brown, the notion to be white is ridiculous. Seriously, the people who do that are shortening their lifespan,” Davis said.
Describing himself as having a routine of a doctor who is always on call, Davis calls it fantastic to have his livelihood and something that keeps him alive rolled into one.
Image credits: Jimbo Albano