Ever wonder what goes into professional fighting or managing a prominent bar? Here’s the best of both worlds brought to you by LAE, an interview with Fred Daemi, General Manager of The Drynk in South Tampa, and previous professional fighter. Health and fitness are crucial to LAE Beauty's #freshhealthysmart lifestyle!
Fred Daemi, Tampa born and USF alum, began martial arts when he was 11 years old and continued into: kickboxing, Thai boxing and MMA, competing the entire time, “it makes you a stronger person mentally and physically”. In his last fight he blew out his knee. It was bent 90 degrees in the wrong direction and he never rehabbed it correctly. He found himself getting back involved in the hospitality/nightlife industry and “being consumed with it”, becoming the general manager of one of the hottest bar/lounges in the Tampa bay area, the Drynk.
Q: What was your workout routine while a professional fighter?
A: Four to six mile run early in the morning, strength and conditioning training, which included: weight training, combine workouts and personal training with a professional to do sport specific training. My fighting training, which was 3-4 hours/day, would be a combination of grappling, wrestling, boxing, kickboxing and judo.
Q: What was your diet while a professional fighter?
A: My diet was very militant. I would eat every 2.5 to 3 hrs and my meals would vary depending on what time of the day it was and whether it was after or before training. Eggs, chicken, tuna, fish, lots of greens, red meat moderately, carbs such as brown rice, plain pasta and sweet potatoes, in addition all of my supplements and other proteins sources like shakes and vitamins.
No one would believe that Daemi is 30 years old, who believes that being involved with fighting and being a personal trainer his whole life led him to looking younger. “Now with my career I do not find much time for exercising… fighting and working out was my ‘balance’ and outlet in life”.
Q: What do you believe the benefits of being fit are?
A: I look back at when I was in the best shape of my life and compared to now, I feel like a completely different person. Being fit is a way of life that helps you think clear, handle stress, be well balanced in all areas of life and keeps you clear minded and feeling energized and ready to tackle any obstacle put before you.
Q: Would you ever visit a tanning/medispa salon, like LAE Beauty?
A: I will hit the tanning bed every now and then. With being so busy, I don’t find myself having time to hit the pool or the beach so sometimes the tanning bed is necessary.
Q: Do you feel like being fit helps you in the nightlife/hospitality industry?
A: I wouldn’t say that I am fit right now. I feel like I really need to get back to being in shape but I still have the confidence and swagger, in my opinion, the looks to be the known as the GM of the hottest place in Tampa. I feel that if you work in the nightlife industry, especially in the Soho district, you have to be confident and obviously good-looking. Some may beg to differ but I feel that it is a part of working in the industry.
Daemi chooses managing a bar when having to chose which profession is harder, saying fighting came natural and that managing a bar has many different tasks in which you have to tackle in limited time.
“I am a fighter at heart and that’s what I do…I fight to make everyday a better and successful day”!
When it comes to drinking, Daemi says, “Drinking is the devil”. He explains how alcohol breaks down protein synthesis and breaks down muscle and eats away lining. Daemi didn’t drink while professionally fighting but in his career with The Drynk, drinking becomes a part of the job duties. Daemi enjoys entertaining guests and taking shots with regulars but when it comes to achieving physical and endurance goals, “Drinking should be excluded”.
Q: What are the best and worst parts of both your professions?
A: Fighting had so many rewards... the feeling of accomplishment when your hand gets raised as the victor when you win, or knock someone out after a hard training camp, pushing your body to the limits and fighting through injuries and the constant mental grind while being so militant in the way you live, eat and daily life. Fighting also had its down sides like: no partying, being very disciplined, no drinking, no sex 8 weeks before a fight, being very strict in your schedule, injuries, etc. Managing at the Drynk is awesome. It’s like a very close nit family and you have the relationships and networking you build with everyone you meet and you set goals and achieving them is awesome. But the long and crazy hours keeps you from certain things like being able to maintain a relationship, having weekends off to travel and overall just consuming a lot of your time. You have to truly love it to do it and I love being the GM of the Drynk!!!!
Our own owners of LAE Beauty Tanning and MediSpa, Kelley & Lauren Anderson, have found their way and support The Drynk as well! Look forward to our spa finding our way to Hyde Park soon!
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