From Prison to Training UFC Champions | Phil Daru (Daru Strong) | Forged Into Man

Phil Daru (@DaruStrong) is a 5× World MMA Awards Trainer of the Year, former Head Strength & Conditioning Coach at American Top Team, and one of the most respected performance coaches in combat sports. But before the championships, elite fighters, and global brand, Phil had to survive his own fire. In this episode of Forged Into Man, Phil sits down with David Adam Kurz for a raw conversation about growing up as one of six kids in South Florida, living without electricity or running water, and the moment at 16 that could have sent him to prison for 60 years. Phil shares why he walked away from a Division I football scholarship to take care of his sick parents, how his own MMA career ended at just 21 after a neurologist warned him about the long-term consequences of continuing to fight, and how those experiences ultimately shaped the man and coach he became. They also discuss Phil's journey training some of combat sports' biggest names, including Dustin Poirier, Joanna Jędrzejczyk, Colby Covington, Tyron Woodley, and Junior dos Santos; building Daru Strong Performance from a storage unit into a global brand; and the philosophy behind Science. Discipline. Faith. This isn't a conversation about workouts. It's about adversity, responsibility, discipline, faith, purpose, and what it takes to become the man you were meant to be. Forged Into Man explores the stories, failures, sacrifices, and defining moments that forge men into who they are called to become. New episodes weekly. Learn more or apply to be a guest at ForgedIntoMan.com.