My Morning Routine
⇾ Rhys Athayde,
PHANTOM Founder
Waking up with the celebrity trainer
If you didn’t know Rhys Athayde, you'd no doubt be intimidated. The guy is yoked and cuts a formidable figure when he approaches. But he's too quick with a smile or a laugh to scare you off. Perhaps that's his secret to success. Walk softly and carry big biceps. As a celebrity trainer, Athayde is responsible for keeping professional athletes, models and A-listers in peak condition. After spending all that time on movie sets, he caught the acting bug and so you might be seeing him in front of the camera very soon. Meanwhile, he parlayed his personal coaching skills into the at-home fitness platform PHANTOM. The on-demand service provides access to a wide range of world-class workouts and live-streamed sessions, from HIIT at home to bodyweight workouts—all designed to deliver the same results his clients get from him. To say he's busy is an understatement. I was glad to hear that he's not a morning person. There's something comforting about a successful guy like Athayde hating waking up as much as a regular guy like me.
The Series
Those moments between turning off the alarm and getting into our work routine can be the most defining 60 minutes of our day. Benjamin Franklin set a day's worth of plans by 5 am and Steve Jobs asked a simple question: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" Our rituals are a reflection of us. So we've ventured out to discover how some of our most influential and fruitful peers get started.
My Routine
Professionally, I’m a morning person.
But personally, I'm definitely not a morning person. At all. I'd love to sleep in but I have training sessions and lots of other work to do.
I try to aim for at least six hours of sleep.
More is great, but I don't really need it. It depends on my day, but I'm usually up around six or seven everyday. So it all comes down on when I got to bed the night before.
I always hit the snooze button.
I'll be honest and admit that I'm one of those people that has 10 alarms that go off every 10-15 minutes until I drag myself out of bed.
My nightstand is fully wired.
You can see my commitment to Apple products: The top is littered with my iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods. I usually keep a water bottle on there too. Gotta stay hydrated.
I usually journal to mentally start the day.
I really believe in the importance of writing my goals down first thing every morning. It gives me a chance to set some intentions, it keeps me focused and on track. Consistency is incredibly important, in both fitness and life.
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Then I’m ready to start the day.
I'll hop in the shower, brush my teeth, make some coffee and then I start knocking out emails. I think it's important to tackle them in the morning, but it's not the first thing I do.
I absolutely love coffee.
I usually have it with a bit of oat milk or creamer, but I'm a huge fan of Eleven coffee based in Atlanta. They have a mushroom brew that goes in your coffee that's incredible. It's got a slight caramel flavor but it's packed with superfoods.
I usually skip breakfast.
I intermittent fast almost every day. I've found it really works for me. But if I don't fast I love breakfast burritos, especially with steak or brisket.
Even if I’m not training first thing in the morning, I always observe how my body is feeling.
From there, I usually perform a mix of banded exercises and stretches to get my blood flowing and muscles moving.
Organization is important for me.
On any given day, I've got a lot going on. So I have a to-do list that I try to follow every day, and then I utilize an online calendar to track all my appointments.
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I’d call my grooming routine “sacred.”
I'm pretty strict with my daily routine and do the same thing, with the same products, everyday.
The pandemic hasn’t really changed my routine.
I'd say it's stayed fairly the same throughout the ups and down. However, due to the increase of personal time during COVID, I was able to explore some new products and mix in some new practices to my routine. For that, I'm grateful.
Clockwise, from top left
Special cleansing gel,
$39.50 by Dermalogica
Total Recovery eye cream,
$139 by Beverly Hills MD
Private blend cologne,
$163 by Tom Ford
Shroomie Brew,
$36.50 by Eleven TLC
Hair thickening shampoo,
$19 by hims
Nudescreen mineral veil SPF 30,
$35 by NudeStix
Lip balm mask,
$22 by Laneige
Special
cleansing gel,
$39.50 by
Dermalogica
Nudescreen
mineral veil SPF 30,
$35 by NudeStix
Total Recovery
eye cream,
$139 by Beverly Hills MD
Lip balm mask,
$22 by Laneige
Shroomie Brew,
$36.50 by Eleven TLC
Private blend cologne,
$163 by Tom Ford
Hair
thickening
shampoo,
$19 by hims
Never leave
home without ...
Never leave home without ...
My AirPods. Whether I’m blasting music during my workouts, listening to a podcast or taking a call, they are essential to my everyday life.
3rd generation AirPods, $179 by Apple
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