Meet Radio DJ Dave Styles

Get to know the voices from your favorite radio stations, including their go-to workouts and how they de-stress.

Dave Styles is an on-air DJ for 104.3 MYFM Los Angeles, but he will be the first to tell you he’s just a regular guy, like everyone else. The avid soccer fan (“Go Liverpool!”) has a “love-hate” relationship with fitness, and struggles with his stomach and thyroid. He also loves the TV show “Friends” and ‘90s music. We asked Styles for his go-to workout, and where he finds inspiration.

Over the next few weeks, we’re introducing you to a few celebrity iHeart Radio DJs—who work out at 24 Hour Fitness—to ask about their relationship with fitness and living a healthy lifestyle.

Meet Dave

24Life: What is your relationship with fitness?

Dave Styles (DS): I have a love-hate relationship with fitness. I hate doing it, but I love the feeling I get after it, and especially the next day. I think the absolute hardest thing for someone to do is to go in that first day—that is impossible. Once you get going the second day, the third day, it’s great. But for each specific day if I’m not feeling it, I do take a pre-workout … I have no idea how people get up at 5 o’clock in the morning and go to the gym. I don’t want to do anything at 5 o’clock in the morning. I usually go at 10:00 or 11:00 at night. I think of my whole day as the warm up and stretching as I go about my day and I do my workout at [night].

24Life: What motivates you?

DS: I think my goals in fitness have changed over even the past 10, 15 years. I mean, initially it was: I wanted to get big and get the muscles, and obviously genetics is a big part of it. I think you have to realize that you, know what, I’m never going to have the chest that comes out to here, or the 12-pack and whatever. And I realized maybe that’s not what I want anyway. So, I think my goals are to … be lean and feel good.

I’m a thinner guy. But I’ve always had an issue [with my] stomach. And it used to drive me crazy, made me super insecure all the time and I would go through and I would try all the different pills, the ephedra, all these different things for years. And then because I’m a man, I was very stubborn and I didn’t go to the doctor. I did the Google thing, thinking I’ll figure out what the problem is, no problem. What it turned out to be is that I had a thyroid that was almost not working at all. So, obviously, that was a big part of [it]. Get your thyroid checked!

24Life: What’s your go-to workout or favorite group exercise class?

DS: The BODYPUMP class is probably my favorite. It’s tough, and the first time I did it, I stood in the way back, and then I realized it doesn’t matter because there’s mirrors everywhere anyway. But it’s tough. It’s a full-body workout and right when I thought I was in good shape, that class reminded me that no, I’m not as in as good of shape as I thought. So, BODYPUMP is great. The cycling class is great, too. Those are the two classes that I do.

24Life: How has the staff at your gym helped you in pursuit of your fitness goals?

DS: I’ve worked with a trainer before. I think people get intimidated by the idea of it and they think it’s going to be like some boot camp, some dude yelling at you. But for me, even though for the most part, I know my way around a gym, I think it’s important to learn different things. And when I came in a got together with [my trainer] Chris, I told him, “I want to learn new stuff because obviously, things change. And give me some variety so my body doesn’t plateau and get used to the same stuff.” And it’s for you. It’s not some generic thing that you’re finding online. They’re finding out about what you need to do, what your goals are, what you’re capable of doing.

24Life: How does being active change your life outside the gym?

DS: Working out definitely impacts not only my entire day, but my entire week. And you know, if I’m going to put time in in the gym, I keep in mind throughout the day how hard it is to do these workouts and how much I’m putting myself through. It’s forcing me to make better choices with food especially, because now I’ll think twice before I grab the chili cheese chips or whatever. It’s weird, instead of thinking how yummy it is, I’m thinking about how long, how many minutes on the treadmill is that now? And that’s going to cost me.

24Life: How do you de-stress?

DS: I used to let things stress me out. My secret, I guess, for not getting stressed out is just to get out of my own way. I even have a tattoo that says, “Let it be.” And it’s not necessarily a Beatles thing. Just let it be, quit sweating the small stuff. I can’t control it. My secret to my stress is just to get out of my own way, get out of my own head.

24Life: Any tips for a good night’s sleep?

DS: I pretty much fall asleep naturally, usually watching “Friends” or “Fresh Prince [of Bel-Air]” late at night on Nickelodeon. And the fact that I do work at 3:00 in the afternoon, I don’t have to set an alarm. People are hating me right now for saying that, I’m sorry, but yeah, I don’t have to set an alarm. I just pretty much wake up naturally after seven, eight hours of sleep.

24Life: Where do you find inspiration?

DS: I think I have inspiration for each thing I do. If I’m going to interview somebody, then I look at people like Graham Norton and Jimmy Kimmel and Howard Stern. They’re my silent mentors. When I get up and get dressed for the day—this is going to be so stupid—I will go on Instagram, to those fashion accounts, or David Beckham and see what are they wearing, because I have these clothes, I just don’t know how to put them together. As far as going through bad times, “Friends.” I feel like in its 10 seasons it addressed everything—I think everybody can relate to that show. I know I can, for sure. Like when Joey freaked out when he turned 30. It made it like, OK.

24Life: What’s at the top of your workout playlist?

DS: I have my own ‘90s gym playlist that’s set on my iHeart app. And I just put it in and I listen to it, because I’m stuck in the ‘90s, so listening to some of that ‘90s R&B or ‘90s hip hop gets me in the mood, it gets me awake and gets me moving.

24Life: What are you passionate about?

DS: I am most passionate about working in radio. I think it’s something that challenges me all the time, and it’s something that nobody will ever master. It’s important for me, for listeners to know that I’m the same as them. I sit in traffic. I go to get coffee. I wash my clothes. I Swiffer. I vacuum. We’re all the same, I just happen to have a microphone in front of me so I feel like in a way my duty, while I’m interviewing or while I’m talking about something, [is to be] voicing what other people may be thinking. And if not, they should definitely let me know. I’m just a normal dude.

Recently played on 104.3 MYFM

“Lego House” by Ed Sheeran

“Just The Way You Are” by Bruno Mars

“Mercy” by Shawn Mendes

“Ain’t It Fun” by Paramore

“Grenade” by Bruno Mars

“Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran

“Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” by Kelly Clarkson

Photo credit (top to bottom): kjekol, Thinkstock; ICV Digital Media