Meet Daniel Hershey | Strength & Conditioning Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Daniel Hershey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Daniel, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
The initial idea and thought to starting my own business was solely out of the passion and general interest in the strength and conditioning field. Timing wise, my wife and I had just moved back to the US from Japan after having our first child. We decided it was time to give it a go and thought we could do something a little better than it was currently being done.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The business, Dirty South Strength & Conditioning, is an instruction based strength & conditioning facility. We have a variety of small group training options as well as personal training where everything is led by a coach. I think honestly what sets us apart from others is our approach and the culmination of knowledge and experience our staff brings to the table.
I’m generally most excited about what’s next. I like to tweak and tinker with all aspects of the business and try to continually make things a little better.
The largest challenge for myself has been in scaling the business in a way to get out of the day to day coaching everything role to a position where I can work on the business itself. I’m still working on improving that.
As a business, I’d like to be known as the best, the go to place for health and fitness. I’d like to make people aware they can always start where they are today. Something is better than nothing. Action is always better than inaction.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’d obviously take them to have some fun and go workout. We’d have to see a local sporting event, Braves Games or Atlanta United Game. Do a day trip to Six Flags or Whitewater, depending on the time of year. There are hundreds of miles of golf cart paths here, so I’d probably have to expose them to that, it’s rather unique. Go for a Hike on Line Creek or travel a little bit to shoot the hooch. I like all kinds of food, so I’d try and hit a little bit of everything: sushi, burgers, Mexican, Thai. The staples.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

My parents who did and have done everything for me: Kim and Jeff
My college strength and conditioning coach who helped harness the passion: Justin S
My first S&C job boss(s) who shaped me as a coach. Sasha D and Jordan T
My wife, who chose to do this journey of life and business: Sarabeth

As a coach, everyone I have worked with has shaped the way things get done today, for better or worse. Every certification, continuing education course, book I’ve read- has had at least in some capacity molded the approach taken today.

My favorite certification has been the Precision Nutrition Master Health Coaching Certification. My favorite book is still How to Win Friends and Influence People. My favorite organization to be associated with has been CrossFit.

I’d like to thank all my coaches, all my training partners and everyone who has asked for more.

Website: www.dirtysouthstrength.com

Instagram: @dssc.fayette

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dssc.fayette

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/dirty-south-strength-and-conditioning-fayetteville

Youtube: @TeamDSSC

Image Credits
Photo Credit: The Melvin Sam