Shaq has a big appetite. Whether it's his business deals, his bravado on and off the court, or his charitable initiatives, Shaquille O'Neal knows no chill, even in even in his post-NBA life. But a recent visit to the doctor—his first since retiring from the NBA in 2011—made him realize other, more problematic aspects were too big. His weight, for starters, and his chance of issues due to ill health. “When they hit you with that three letter word that starts with D and ends with E, it changes stuff up,” he said on a recent Zoom call. So he decided to get focused and get his health back on track.

The most dominant NBA player of all time gave GQ the rundown his new wellness routine, defeating the “Charles Barkley belly,” how blowing his first million dollars changed his view on business, struggling with eating out just like the rest of us, and the best advice (and the playlist) the Big Aristotle would give to anyone who is beginning their health journey.

GQ: I want to start with a little bit of an icebreaker: If you were on the cover of GQ again, how would you style yourself? Because I know you have a fashion sense.

Shaquille O'Neal: I'd have a nice business suit, with the shirt buttoned down so you could see the top abs. It would be a mixture of fashion and health. My style is business attire to acquire a company. I don't wear loud suits anymore 'cause I got a lot of billionaire friends and they don't spend six, seven thousand on suits and labels—they don't do it. So it's like I was going to meet President Obama—I'd have to have a nice clean suit on so my mother would be proud. 

My son's a model and he be wearing some stuff. Sometimes he goes, "This is fashion." I'm like, "Bro, I'm not wearing suit pants that are two inches too small and no socks." But I'm older and my mother still watches TV, so I always have to represent my family.

 I respect that, “attire to acquire.” One thing I want to dig into is your business mind, because I don't think you get enough credit for that. You're able to have a bunch of business partnerships, but you do it in a way that seems super real. And I think that's special, especially within the Black community. So how do you go about determining what makes sense on a business side?

So, I learned about business from a book called The Dummies' Guide to Starting Your Own Business. When I got my first million dollars, I spent it! Because I had to pay my family back. 

First of all, I gotta get that black-on-black Benz for me. I'm riding through Newark, I'm letting these motherfuckers know, "Hey, I made it." So when I get back to the crib, my dad says “where's mine at”? So the Benz just cost 150k. A million minus 150k? In my mind, I got 850k left. So me and him, we jump in the car and went back to see the car dealer. I saw he had two in the black, and we had him bring the other out for my dad. I write the check. So now I got 700k left. We go home and my mom's a little jealous so we say, "You know what, come get in the car." So my dad and my mom are in his car, I'm in my car, and we get her the smaller one, it's about 100k. I had no financial experience. I was very immature, I knew nothing. So then I go get some ice, suits, whatever, chains. So I do all of that—and a couple of days later I get a call from the bank.

The father of someone I went to school with, Mr. Johnson—he called me into the office and says, "Shaq, I want to have a conversation with you about your money." I was like, "Yeah. What's up?" He said, "You know, 50, 60% of all professional athletes when they're done, they have nothing, and I don't want you to." 

He pulled out a manila envelope and he showed me my finances. So, you know I'm from the hood. Like, you know how you hear all these stories about how people steal money from you? The first name is FICA [Federal Insurance Contribution Act] for 250k, and I go off: "Yo man, who the fuck is FICA? I didn't write no check for 250 for FICA." He started laughing. He said, "Shaq, I want you to read this book." He said, "I know you left school early, but you're about to come into a lot of money. This can help you." It's the Dummies' Guide to Starting Your Own Business. So I get it, and I read it, and I said: "Let me try it.’"  

The first thing I did was start a Subchapter S corporation, because now my family is on salary—I can get that money back. All these cell phones I'm buying? The dope man's phones? We can get all that back during tax time. I was like, "Damn." 

The second thing I did was I created an emblem. Jordan has Jumpman, 'cause that's how he dunks. So when I dunk I used to keep my legs up like Dunk Man. Let me trademark it! That was the second thing I did.  

Then chapter three of the book talks about joint ventureships. And I always had that in mind like, "Damn, this is good." So the way I do business is all about joint ventureships and trusts. For example, let's just say I wanna start a magazine that competes with GQ. I'm looking for the top African-American writers. I'm not writing shit. 

You remind me of my late friend Virgil Abloh, who spoke in the same way about setting up businesses. And when we talk about business, one of the things I say is, "Your health is your first business," your body is your first business. I know coming up on your 50th birthday you wanted to get into “supermodel mode.” What was taking these steps on your fitness and health journey like for you?

I had a new disorder called CBOTBD. Write that down. That's “Charles Barkley Over the Belt Syndrome.” I was waking up and going to work, chilling, eating whatever. I wasn't paying attention. I looked down one day, I was like, "Damn." My belly was way over my belt.  

I kept trying these products to help. There was one product out there, from a baseball guy—I tried his product, it didn't work at all. So I said "You know what? I know there's a lot of you guys that may want to get back into shape and get their young body. Let me go find a company, see who's doing it." I met with a lot of companies and I came across Novex Biotech—I tried their product and I started to see greater boosts of energy, it helped burn the fat—doing all of that stuff. So I said, “Okay, let me help you get this product out. Let's do a joint venture. I'm gonna help you get this product out for people like me and I want to take something that helps.” I'm not the type that just takes your money and puts my name on some stuff just to take your money, no. It has to work because my name is on the line, my integrity is on the line. 

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I don't have Charles Barkley Over the Belt Syndrome any more. I'm getting really good. I'm getting to the point where I'm going to change my mind and turn the knob to full discipline.

So what are you eating on the day-to-day? 

A healthy breakfast—fruit and fruit and fruit—then chicken and fish. I eat a healthy breakfast just to hold me for the day. Three turkey sausages and about four or five egg whites. Meal two is gonna be some fruit. Meal three is gonna be a shake and fruit. Meal four is probably gonna be a light salad and then meal five is gonna be chicken, fish, or steak.

But that's not the problem, the problem is when I'm on the road and I can't get to that. I'm a creature of habit: I love sandwiches; I love wraps; I love burgers. With the full discipline to where I'm not doing that, I'm gonna have the body of a 19-year-old. Right now I got a 4.9-pack, which is really good. I can comfortably take my shirt off at the beach—I don't have no dad bod. I'm looking real nice. But once I turn that knob and get to full discipline then I'm gonna be looking super shredded. I just have to get there again. 

So what are the workouts looking like?

Just cardio—30-40 minutes—then chest, arms, biceps, triceps. A simple old man workout. I can't do all that CrossFit stuff.

The cardio work you do—you're not running, are you? What are you, on an elliptical?

Well, I tried to run the other day and I'm like, "How was I the greatest athlete in the world?" I just lost everything. So: The elliptical.

Speaking of that, I would argue that you were the most dominant force the NBA has ever seen. Playing against my hometown Nets, you broke the backboard, which I'll never forget. What was the time when you were playing where you realized "Yo, I can pretty much do whatever I want?"

I've seen that people are enamored with titles, right? But I never wanted to be the best ever. I don't want to say it's too much competition, but there are too many names floating around, right? Even now: Kobe, Jordan, LeBron. 

Now, most dominant, my category, is only one or two people. I'm fine with that. It's either me or Wilt. I already passed Wilt in championships. When I signed a two-year deal with Boston, I was chasing that fifth ring to catch up with Kobe, but I was also chasing points to catch up with Wilt. lf I had passed Wilt, I would have got on TV arrogantly and say, "I am the most dominant person ever. I don't wanna hear nobody else's name, period." Boom, boom, boom. "Nobody did what I did, nobody did it like I do. Forget Wilt." But because I didn't pass him, I have to allow people to still say his name. When you say the best, there are 20 people—Dr. J, Magic, Kareem, Bill. It goes on. But when you say most dominant, there's only two, so I'm happy.

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My vote's for you. I read that you just went to the doctor for the first time in a long time. How did that change your views on health?

Let me clarify. When you play, you go to the doctor to get checked and a physical, right? But I ain't played in 11, years so if I'm not playing, what would I go to the doctor for, right? 

So when I went back to the doctor there was some stuff I never even knew. They give you those certain words: "Hey man, you got sleep apnea. Sleep apnea can cause hypertension or strokes, you could die." I said, "What?" "You could die." So now I've got to sleep with a sleep machine. 

Then, “All those painkillers you were taking, bro? Your kidneys are kind of weak. No more painkillers.” I was dependent upon painkillers—not addicted. Certain days when I couldn't move, I just popped one or two, just to get me going. But I'm off that now. 

I had to really get checked out. When they hit you with that three letter word that starts with D and ends with E, it changes stuff up.

What's your recovery routine like? What do you do to actually feel better?

Hot tub. I got this hot tub. I've got this machine that I put on my legs, a Normatec. That's what I do. Whenever I get tired, or my legs start to swell after I fly, I just sit in my Normatec and I get in the hot tub and I just try to stretch. I'm not even a real stretcher. I just go down, go to the left, go to the right, floor, try to touch my toes. Basics.

You’re big on helping people recover too—you’ve gone viral for your charity. Whether it's a Boys and Girls Club, it's why you started your sneaker line, it's what you do for improving children's health. I know for you it's not going viral, but I'm just interested to know: Why is giving back so important to you? Because it's not for everyone.

I don't really consider it giving back. One, it is what my mother always taught me to do. It's just helping people in need. I didn't feel it was necessary for me to continue to sell my shoes for $150. My contract is already guaranteed, right? That's the money part. I'm getting paid. So you sell a certain amount, you get residuals but like, O.K., I already got the big check, right? If I sell a lot of expensive shoes, it would be another big check, but I'm not going to do that to nobody's baby. So I'm gonna still continue to get paid, but I'm gonna make it to where these babies can afford their shoes. I always just wanted to have fair pricing for people, 'cause I couldn't even go to my Dad's office and ask him for $100 for no shoes. “Boy, are you crazy? You know how many chickens and steak dinners and you know how many school supplies I can get you with $100?”

I know you're also worldwide in terms of your music, as “DJ Diesel.”For a quick, 5-song workout playlist, what are you giving me? 

“Skywalker” by Miguel 

“Eazy” by The Game and Kanye West

“Brooklyn We Go Hard” by Jay Z featuring Santigold

“I Believe I Can Fly,” off the Space Jam Soundtrack

“Protect Ya Neck” Wu Tang Clan

You also go by The Big Aristotle, so I need some wisdom: Anybody that wants to get inspired on their fitness journey, what do you tell them?

 I tell them to imagine how you wanna look, then get all the necessary information, and really understand and focus. It's all about the diet. Because even now, if I do 500 sit-ups a day, my six pack ain't right like how I want it, 'cause it's all about the diet. So diet, preparation, focus, and belief. You just have to stick to your routine. That's it.

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Joe Holder is a GQ Columnist.InstagramXRelated Stories for GQShaquille O'NealReal Life DietNBAWorking OutHealth