Personal
Daniel originally is from the Maritimes (eastern), Canada. For the last 9 years he has lived in the far northern western part of Ontario. Daniel is a personal trainer and sports performance coach. He runs a small, private training studio that specializes in rehabilitation and athletic development. Daniel also likes helping his children with sports and painting.
Road to Strength Sports
Daniel did not start resistance training until 2019, just after his daughter was born; picking up his baby daughter and changing her hurt his back. He had not been allowed to lift weights when he was younger because there was an old belief that weightlifting could stunt a person’s growth. He began strength training more intensely about 3 years ago. Daniel wants to show his children, clients, and community that people (even very small people) are capable of making advances when they dedicate effort to strength training. He advises others that if they want to start getting involved in strength sports that they just do it. Too often, people are intimidated by strength sports and don’t realize that they can develop good friends; also, there are coaches and competitors that can offer great advice and support.
Specific lifts and events
Daniel competes in the 70 kg (154 lbs) weight class. He is happy too that OTSO has this category because, in other competitions, he has had to compete in the 80 kg (176 lbs) category because that was all that was available. In OTSO, Daniel participated remotely in Record Breakers 4 (held at BodyMax Barbell in Scottsville, Kentucky, USA) and Record Breakers 5 (held at the Buffville Gym in Albany, Kentucky, USA), as well as onsite at the True North True Strength competition (held at RT Health Company in Elora, Ontario, Canada). At the True North True Strength competition, he won his age category (30-39) and was the Men’s overall champion in the raw division.
First photo: Standing EZ Curl Bar lift of 152 lbs at the True North True Strength 2026 Open.
Second photo: Massive Trap Bar Deadlift of 500 lbs, also at TNTS 2026.
Third photo: Daniel is the Men’s Overall RAW Winner at TNTS 2026.
These three photos are credited to Kelsey Rochelle Photography. Follow and tag her on Instagram: @kelsey.rochelle.photography.
Daniel’s favorite lift is the Saxon Two-Hands Anyhow lift, for which he holds the world record at 76 kg (168 lbs). He holds 10 world records in OTSO and a national record as well. Outside of OTSO Daniel holds two national records: World Deadlift Council (600 lbs/272 kg Trap Bar deadlift in the 154 lbs category) and the Grip Sport Canada (120 lbs/54 kg) Rogue Anvil in the 162 lbs (74 kg) category. Fellow Strongman competitor, Cameron Nisbett, has the following to say about Daniel:
“Dano is a super friendly, high-energy, enthusiastic, Canadian kettlebell lifter and strongman with a real drive and motivation to pursue unusual but highly impressive feats of strength while maintaining a very light bodyweight and competing in the lightest of strongman weight classes. Also, as an aside, he’s the shortest person I’ve ever seen dunk a basketball in person. Usually that’s one of the first anecdotes I give people about him.”