Take a look at the top CrossFit athletes of the last dozen years, and it's hard not to notice that every single CrossFit Games podium has been swept by white men (see: Rich Froning, Mat Fraser). Chandler Smith, an Army veteran and Black athlete, wants to change that. He placed sixth at the 2020 CrossFit Games (an effort that included a 615-pound deadlift), and is now working with the sought-after coach Ben Bergeron to take his already-intense training to the next level.

“Being a competitive athlete in this space is very important to me,” he said. “I recognize that if I wasn’t not doing it, then there might not be a voice for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within CrossFit. I am uniquely qualified to talk to a large group of people, and that’s what gets me going every day.”

GQ recently caught up with the Puma-sponsored athlete to learn more about what he eats in a typical day (or maybe more of what he doesn’t eat), just how much goes into performing at this high of a level, and his go-to sneaker for almost every workout.

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: How do your mornings start?

Chandler Smith: Most days I’m up at 7:30. The exceptions for that are on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I'll wake up 6:45 because I go swimming in the mornings on those days.  I'll do those swimming sessions fasted, but on the other days the first thing I do is work to get breakfast started. Or, I say work, but that's a gross exaggeration: I make a bagel and eggs. Then the next thing I eat will be a carbohydrate source during the middle of my first workout session.

How long is the first workout?

The first workout session is normally from 9 to 11:00 or 11:30. So during that I'll have either a carbohydrate powder—I’ve been using one from Karbolyn—or apple sauce, just in an effort to keep the energy levels up and myself fueled for the afternoon session. After that, I’ll shake up some protein powder or have some beef jerky depending on what I’m feeling.

Will you eat lunch between the two, or that’s it?

Lunch is definitely a thing. It rotates between ground beef, rice, and Brussels sprouts, or something like chicken and potatoes with mixed frozen veggies. It’s not a lot of variety, but it’s enough to keep me interested.

Once I’m home from the second training session I’ll look for some more carbs, really whatever’s around the house. Last week it was mango sorbet. I know this makes me sound boring, but then dinner is whatever I didn’t have for lunch. I make a lot of salmon and rice. I also have a turkey burger recipe that’s great.

Dessert?

I normally have yogurt before bed.

Barely counts! It sounds like you’re pretty diligent with what you put in your body—which isn’t surprising considering your physique.

The funny part is that I didn’t really focus on my nutrition before moving to Boston. I came here to visit in the summer of 2020 and trained with a bunch of athletes. During that time, I was like, Man, this is the healthiest I've eaten in a good long while. And everyone around me was pretty surprised that I was a pro athlete but not really focused on my diet. Before, I was eating a lot of fast food, which calorically speaking, I was able to justify. I remember there was one time that I bought seven pints of Ben and Jerry’s because they were half price at the grocery store, and my roommate was like “that’s just not going to fly anymore.”

How does it feel to be eating better now?

It’s good. I wrestled when I was younger and that definitely breeds a bad relationship with food. I didn't ever want to be someone who dieted again after all the weight cutting. But, I realized that being a professional means that it's something that you’re focused on 24/7. And that also includes what you put in your body. So here I am, newly focused on that.

Do you notice a difference?

That’s the funny part! I really have not, but I trust the process. 

What are some other small changes you’ve made since you’ve been eating healthy?

Something that's been huge for me is not having juice or sodas around. I didn't necessarily crush sodas before, but I’d have them fairly regularly. And orange juice? Man. Having orange juice is like having eight oranges in a row. So I've stopped with that. Instead of using a lot of butter in my cooking, I’ll use a spray of olive oil or something like that. I’ll have a bagel instead of a muffin. I don’t think I’ve completely changed everything, but I do believe that everything when practiced can be improved upon.

To go back to your workouts, what’s the difference between the two training sessions?

Within CrossFit we are asked to do combinations of movements or exercises that come from what can broadly be defined as three different areas: Monostructural, weight lifting, and gymnastics work. So the morning session normally focuses on improving those modalities in isolation, and within each session, there's multiple workouts that occur.

The afternoon session is what I think most people typically consider “CrossFit"—the breathing real hard, ended up on your back and being dramatic, all that stuff.

If you had to pick one shoe to do all of that, what are you reaching for?

If I’m picking one sneaker, it’s the Puma Fuse. The sole’s a little softer than what I've had in the past. So that means I can do a lot more running workouts in them without having foot pain, but can still lift in them too.

Now that you’ve retired from the Army, how does it feel really to put all your energy into this as a career?

There’s a huge lifestyle change. All I've known in my adult life is the Army. I graduated high school, went to West Point, and then spent 10 years in the Army or doing Army-adjacent things. The lifestyle that you live within the organization and the norms are very different from the “real world.” In my life I have five controllables. Those are sleep recovery, nutrition, training, and mindset. I never had full control of some of these things before because of my service. Now that I do, I have the opportunity to maximize my inputs and outputs. 

Is it a lot of pressure to be one of the few men of color competing at this level?

I could be viewed as a negative, but one of my favorite things I've been saying out here is like, "pressure is a privilege." You gotta do the best with what you have.

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Where does your mind go when you’re pushing your limits physically?

First, I think that I gain strength from these things—and that I’ve done way worse. In training, you push yourself super hard so that in competition, there isn't anything that you haven't seen before. I have an extremely high threshold for what my body is capable of handling. So as long as I remember that no one's actively trying to hurt me, which has maybe been the case in other situations, then it can't be that bad.

The other thing I think about is going back to what we spoke about before, it's an extreme privilege to be able to represent various groups. There's not a lot of African Americans in CrossFit. There's not a lot of people of color in general. There are not a lot of veterans right now. Like all these groups, they have people who are interested in me being successful. So the best thing I can do to honor what those people have taught me over the course of my life is to give back through my representation and continue to work hard to share their stories as well as the lessons I've learned along the way, by expressing my fitness at the highest level.

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