Meet Dak Vanidestine

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dak Vanidestine. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Dak, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

I get my resilience from learning—at a young age—that mistakes and micro-failures aren’t something to avoid. They’re data. If you stay open to the lesson, each misstep gives you information you didn’t have before, which allows you to adjust, iterate, and move closer to the outcome you actually want.

I use a very simple definition of resilience: the ability to bounce back. Over time, I’ve realized that higher resilience doesn’t just help you endure challenges—it increases your rate of iteration. And more iterations almost always lead to better outcomes, faster. Instead of being paralyzed by setbacks, you recover, refine, and take the next swing with more clarity.

I often think of the quote attributed to Thomas Edison during the invention of the lightbulb—something along the lines of, “I didn’t fail a thousand times; I found a thousand ways that didn’t work.” As this quote indicates, progress isn’t linear, and resilience is what allows you to keep showing up long enough for the work to compound.

That mindset—embracing the process, learning quickly, and bouncing back—shapes how I train, how I lead, and how we’ve built The Daily Grind.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Training has been a constant in my life for as long as I can remember. Early on, whether it was lifting weights or training for sports like track and football, it was simply something I *did*. It was hard, draining, and, if I’m being honest, not always something I wanted to show up for. At the time, it felt purely physical.

As I got older, I began to realize how much of my character had been shaped by those hours of training. The discipline, the patience, the ability to stay committed when motivation faded—those lessons carried far beyond the gym. Training stopped being just about performance and started becoming a framework for how I approached life, work, and relationships.

The Daily Grind is really just an extension of that realization—and an extension of me. The culture of the gym reflects the values I’ve earned through years of training. Our Culture Codes like “Do Hard Things,” “Dare to Be Different,” and “Lead With Empathy” aren’t marketing lines; they’re principles that are woven into the DNA of the space and how we operate day to day.

We officially opened at the end of February 2025 and have been operating lean since day one. For now, I’m the sole owner and operator, which means I’m involved in everything—from coaching and community building to website design and social media. It’s a lot of work, but it also keeps the vision focused and personal, which I believe to be important as a small business that’s just getting started.

One exciting recent milestone is that we’ve finally landed on our logo after more than a year of exploring different directions. We chose what we call “The Ascending Line ( / )”. It represents progress earned through effort and aligns directly with our culture. Growth isn’t linear—it often moves upward through resistance—and that idea is central to what The Daily Grind was built on.

Looking ahead to 2026, we’re placing a stronger emphasis on Hybrid Training, which blends strength and endurance. It’s a style of training that reflects real-world fitness and long-term development. We currently offer Hybrid Training classes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, with more details available on our website. It’s an exciting next chapter for the gym and one that feels very aligned with where both the community and I are headed.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Looking back, three qualities stand out as the most impactful in my journey: risk-taking, a long-term mindset, and leading with empathy.

1. Risk-taking
Starting a business inherently involves risk. You can be as calculated and thoughtful as possible, but outcomes are never guaranteed. The only thing you truly control is the input—your effort, your consistency, your integrity—not how people ultimately respond to it.
My advice around risk-taking is to bet on yourself when the risk is aligned with your values. Ask yourself why you’re taking the risk. Is it purely for money, recognition, or status? Or is it rooted in something deeper—purpose, service, or personal conviction? When the motivation goes beyond surface-level, extrinsic rewards, you’re far more likely to stay committed when things get hard, which they inevitably will.

2. Long-term mindset
This is both a personal belief and one of The Daily Grind’s core culture codes. Anything meaningful—whether it’s personal growth, a business, or a community—takes time. Most businesses don’t fail because the idea is bad; they fail because expectations were misaligned with reality.
Thinking in 3–5 year windows instead of weeks or months helps reduce the emotional volatility of day-to-day challenges. Progress compounds over time, much like training or investing. My advice here is to set the right expectations from the beginning. Expect things to take longer than planned—and even then, hold expectations loosely. Focus relentlessly on the inputs you can control and allow the outcomes to unfold.

3. Leading with empathy
Leading with empathy has allowed me to build deeper, more meaningful relationships—especially with our members. At The Daily Grind, people aren’t numbers in a system or line items on a balance sheet. They’re parents, students, professionals, and individuals with their own stories, struggles, and goals.
Empathy starts with curiosity. Ask questions. Listen more than you speak (two ears, one mouth). Be genuinely receptive to what people share. I believe everyone has something valuable to contribute, and when you create space for that, it strengthens both the individual and the community as a whole.

Together, these three principles—taking values-aligned risks, thinking long term, and leading with empathy—have shaped how I build, how I lead, and how I show up every day.

Tell us what your ideal client would be like?

Building the right community at The Daily Grind has been intentional from day one. More than just offering a place to work out, we wanted to create an environment that actually supports growth—physically, mentally, and socially. To make that intention explicit, we developed what we call our Culture Code. It’s essentially our operating system: how we make decisions, how we train, how we treat one another, and ultimately, who feels at home here.

Our ideal client is someone who resonates with these values:

At the core, the best perk is our community. We believe environment matters. Training alongside people who are committed, supportive, and driven raises everyone’s standard—iron sharpens iron.

They understand that doing hard things is the reward. Progress only happens when we challenge ourselves, and we place more value on the process and the inputs than any single outcome.

They value character above all else. Who you are matters more than what you lift or how fast you move. There’s no ego here—just good people showing up, putting in the work, and supporting one another.

They think long term over short term. Whether in training or in life, meaningful results come from consistency over time. We believe in getting 1% better each day.

They commit to quality. Quality is the result of focus, care, and intention—never rushing or cutting corners. We prioritize doing fewer things well over doing more things poorly.

They lead with empathy. Everyone who walks through our doors has a story and a reason for being here. Curiosity, understanding, and respect are non-negotiables.

They appreciate member autonomy. Our members are treated like owners. From 24-hour access to controlling the music, this is their space as much as it is mine.

They practice good judgment. That means doing the right thing—even when it’s hard—and making decisions that align with our values and support the long-term health of the community.

They keep it simple. We don’t obscure what we’re about. At its core, this is a place to train hard alongside great people. Clarity matters more than complexity.

And finally, they dare to be different. The Daily Grind is different by design. It’s an extension of my story, and we attract people who don’t want a cookie-cutter gym experience but instead value something intentional, personal, and community-driven.

If someone reads this and feels aligned, they’re likely a great fit for The Daily Grind.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thedailygrind.softr.app/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dailygrind_gym/