At six-foot-four and a cut 200 pounds, Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds is obviously in great shape. His band wins Grammys and packs stadiums worldwide, and he marauds around those massive stages like a linebacker. With a physique like that you might assume he was putting hours in the weight room for the purpose of looking shredded—who could blame him? But the 35-year-old’s desire for fitness is much more practical: Despite growing up eating a fairly ascetic diet, Reynolds developed serious autoimmune diseases in his early 20s. He says he’s only become more strict what he eats as a means of mitigating his illness while minimizing his reliance on medication. Getting ripped may be a pleasant side effect of these choices, but, he shares with GQ, it was never the point.
For Real-Life Diet, GQ talks to athletes, celebrities, and other high performers about their diet, exercise routines, and pursuit of wellness. Keep in mind that what works for them might not necessarily be healthy for you.
GQ: You grew up LDS [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the Mormon Church]. How did that affect how you ate as a kid?
Dan Reynolds: My diet growing up was very conservative. We ate meat sparingly, and typically it was moderation in everything, but clean, regimented. No smoking, no drugs, anything like that. A conservative, Christian upbringing, in that regard, but you throw in coffee, too.
Did you realize at the time how unique it was? Or were you just around other kids your age who had similar parents and similar beliefs, so it felt normal?
A little bit of both. The interesting dichotomy of Las Vegas is it’s Sin City, but there’s also a lot of Mormons. I have seven brothers, and I’m the seventh son, so I looked up to them, and all of them are living very Mormon lives. But I went to public school, so the majority of my peers were drinking and smoking from a pretty young age. I think I saw both sides of it.
You developed medical issues very young despite the clean lifestyle. That must have been frustrating.
It was really frustrating. When I was on my mission in Nebraska, 20 years old, I got diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. It’s obviously genetic—my brother had ulcerative colitis and had to get a portion of his colon removed on his mission in the Philippines. But also it’s a super stressful time. You’re being made fun of all day and sucker-punched, having Slurpees thrown at you, doors slammed in your face, and you call home twice a year on Mother’s Day and Christmas. I was angry with God, I was angry with everything. I’m doing everything quote-unquote you’re supposed to do, and yet my body’s not working.
I got home, got married, had a kid at 23, and then was additionally diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, which also two of my brothers have. It’s a spinal autoimmune disease where your body attacks the joints, because it perceives them as a disease. If you don’t address it, your bones can fuse and you can die. I was prescribed biologics, Humira, which is an autoimmune suppressant, but then I was out on the road touring, and one of the side effects of that is you get sick and it’s really hard to get better. I’d get sinus infections, and then you can’t sing. I was at this juxtaposition of, like, this will fix my back, but it will ruin my career. Something had to give, and that’s when I really started to dig into health and diet, and revamp everything.
How do you clean up an already clean diet?
I cut out basically all processed foods, sugar—except fruit; I eat a lot of fruit—and add a lot of vegetables, a lot of complex carbs. I try not to eat red meat. Lamb is fine, chicken is fine. But no dairy. But all that being said, I don’t do it a hundred percent. I do it probably 95 percent, or else I‘d lose my mind. And I notice if I maintain that, and I work out every day to flood all my joints—specifically my hips—with blood, that activity and diet together has kept me in remission for about seven years.
You’ve said that fitness came late in life to you. How was that adjustment?
It was definitely out of necessity. I did not grow up in the gym. I did not grow up in athletics, either.
Well, you were an Eagle Scout. That’s got to count for something.
I wish I could tell you it was my choice. Technically, my mom didn’t put a gun to my head, but all my brothers were Eagle Scouts, and it was, like, this is what you do in the Reynolds family. So yeah, I am an Eagle Scout.
But now I do a lot of Olympic lifting: a lot of legs and hips and stuff that you don’t really want to do. It’s a lot of full-body, a lot of ass and legs and hamstrings and core. Everything’s supporting my spine, so there’s no inflammation of the spine.
Are you doing this all by feel, or did you get medical advice on how to train with your disease?
It’s my rheumatologist, Susan Baker. It’s great to feel fit and celebrate the body. I grew up wearing Mormon garments my entire life, so I never could go shirtless anywhere. But I’m proud of my health. I don’t enjoy going to the gym at all. For me, it’s either go to the gym or be in pain and don’t have a career and have my spine fuse and die. It sounds extreme, but that’s the truth for me.
What’s your daily routine like?
I love coffee. I always start the day out with a little bit of caffeine, whether it’s coffee or pre-workout, and oatmeal with a bunch of berries and some sort of fat or almond butter. An hour and half, two hours later, I’ll have a protein shake or a protein bar, and then another hour and half, two hours later I’ll have chicken and rice, vegetables, and then another two hours later, it’s another meal of some sort of vegetable, some sort of protein like lamb—I love lamb, because it’s anti-inflammatory but it feels like I’m eating steak.
I know a lot of people are all about fasting and the clarity of mind that comes from that. I’ve done that for a little bit, but I felt so cranky in the mornings. I do feel more clarity from [fasting], but I feel like if I never eat heavy, then I’m never that tired. It gives me sustained energy and I feel it ramps up my metabolism and gives me all the energy I need.
How does what you eat pre-show differ from your everyday diet?
I always stop eating at 5 p.m., because I’ve found vocally it makes a huge difference. I’m prone to acid reflux, so if I stop eating at 5, and then I end up going to bed at 9, 10, 11, my food is really digested and my voice is infinitely better the next day. Especially on the road, I have to do that. But I try to do it at home, as well, because I’m trying to record every day.
Writing every day is more of an OCD thing, if I’m being honest but I’ve done it since I was 13. I started as therapy, like a journal entry. My greatest joy is sitting down and there being nothing, and then creating a new something. Over the years I’ve made thousands of songs—the majority have never been heard.
You’re recently moved to Hollywood. How has living in California affected your diet?
Well, I’m in Los Feliz. I hate that I’m next to Erewhon. It’s so expensive, but the food is so good. So no shout out to Erewhon, because the prices are ridiculous, but the food is quite good, so I guess I’m shouting it out? But don’t write about it. [Laughs.] I think there are just so many options for clean food here. Like Lemonade. There’s places you can go and get real food, put on a plate, and it’s not all battered and processed.
You’re not exactly an old man, but the next generation of rock musicians. Some, like Yungblud, you’re even working with. Are they asking you what you’re doing for health? Or is it something you have to come to with time?
I’ve had quite a few in the industry reach out—especially people who have autoimmune diseases. It’s pretty prevalent. Hey, what have you done, how are you in remission from this, what are you doing for your workout, what’s your diet. I think this next generation really cares about overall health—not fitness, necessarily, but just the idea of inflammation being down. People are drinking less and doing more mushrooms. The culture is changing. It’s definitely a conversation I’m having all the time, especially with musicians who are really serious. I know everybody loves the idea of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, but it’s just not sustainable. It’s why a lot of bands crash and burn. But there’s something beautiful about it, too. Everybody’s going to pursue their own path, and there’s a story to be told from all of it.
The one I choose is to not be in pain. It’s as simple as that. I’ve got four kids, and I want to be able to live long and be a good dad and do my job on the road. It requires me to live like a Mormon, even when I’m not a Mormon. Congratulations, mom, you got your wish.
This interview has been edited and condensed.