About David Tao
BarBend's Co-Founder and CEO, David is a veteran of the health & fitness industry, with nearly a decade of experience building and running editorial teams in the space. He also serves as a color commentator for both National and International weightlifting competitions, many through USA Weightlifting.
David graduated from Harvard University and served for several years as Editorial Director/Chief Content Officer of Greatist.com. In addition to his work in the health & fitness industry, David has been a writer for Fortune and Fortune.com, as well as a contributor to Forbes.com, Slate, and numerous other outlets across the web and in print. He's especially passionate about the intersection of strength sports and quality, professional media coverage — overlapping interests shared by the BarBend editorial team and which drive their content strategy each and every day.
Watch Video About David on YouTube
David is a proud Kentucky native. In his free time, David is a voiceover actor and can be heard in animated films, independent shorts, music videos, commercials, and podcasts.
Apparel
BodyBuilding News
Crossfit News
- Jeffrey Adler Is Canada’s Great CrossFit Games Hope
- Brent Fikowski’s Training Plan, Recovery, and Competition Tips
Nutrition
Podcasts
- Balancing Life As an Athlete and Coach (w/Zachary Huse)
- Should CrossFitters Switch to Strongman? (with Hanna Coldiron)
- From Gymnastics to Kettlebells to Weightlifting (with Rebecca Rouse)
- Secrets of Giants (with Alyssa Ages)
- How to Understand the Weightlifter’s Mindset (with Dr. A’Naja Newsome)
- The True Fitness OG (with Bobby Maximus)
- A Lifetime of Fitness with Special Guest Ice-T
- Fueling Strength and Marathons (with Dan Churchill)
- Tough Science of Tracking Strength (with Chris Chapman)
- Training with Arnold Schwarzenegger (with Ebenezer Samuel)
- Pro Basketball to Fitness Philosopher (with Luka Hocevar)
- The Most Honest Man in Strongman (with Evan Singleton)
- Coaching the 2-Time Fittest Man on Earth® (with Adam Neiffer)
- The Secret History of Irish Stone Lifting (w/Dr. Conor Heffernan)
- The NEW World’s Strongest Man (with Mitchell Hooper)
- Treat Your Training Like a Stock Portfolio (w/Graciano Rubio)
- Heaviest Deadlifter in History (with Victoria Long)
- Built to Move (with Dr. Kelly Starrett)
- Don Saladino: How to Get Hollywood Ready
- The Massive Weightlifting Story You Never Heard About (with Seb Ostrowicz)
- Hip Hop Wellness Explorer (w/stic from Dead Prez)
- Deadlifting in the Wilderness (w/Clay Cooper)
- Crazy True Story of Obstacle Course Racing (w/Matt B. Davis)
- The Biomechanics Crash Course (with Eoin Everard)
- What It Takes to Be a Bodybuilding Pro (with IFBB Pro Clare Morrow)
- Hard Work Pays Off (w/ Mat Fraser)
- Grammy-Nominated Fitness Fanatic (with Kitt Wakeley)
- Infiltrating a Fitness Cult (w/Alix Best)
- Pro Strongman to Rock Bottom & Back Again (with Travis Ortmayer)
- Strength Myths and REAL Protein Requirements (w/ Dr. Jim Stoppani)
- The World’s Most Unconventional Lifter? (with Nathan Morris)
- Is Bodybuilding Sport or Show? (with Roger Lockridge)
- Coss Marte: From Solitary Confinement to CONBODY Empire
- Fitness As “Info-tainment” (with Tony Horton)
- Should Strength Athletes Try Bobsled? (with Paul Rabic)
- Why Superheavy Lifters Must Train Differently (with Alejandro Medina)
- How to Build a Fitness Following (with Andrew Coates)
- Jen Thompson: A Powerlifting Legend’s Training Routine
- Is America Getting Less Fit? (with Kenny Santucci)
- Pro Strongwoman in Under 3 Years (with Inez Carrasquillo)
- Jordan Syatt: World Record Deadlifts and the Great Calorie Debate
- The Best Fitness City in America? (with Angela Gargano)
- Are Lifters Funny? (With Tommy DeFea of Massenomics)
- Why the World’s Strongest People Aren’t Always Role Models (w/Joe Sullivan)
- How Your Metabolism Really Works (with Josh Clemente)
- The Actual Secrets of Powerlifting Programs (w/Daniel DeBrocke)
- What’s the Future of Strength Content? (w/Andrew Gutman)
- The World’s Most Underrated Strength Sport (with Juan Pellot)
- Scott Stallings: Combining Pro Golf and CrossFit (Podcast)
- How Mini-Cuts Unlock Muscle-Building Potential (w/ Tom MacCormick)
- From Quad Racing to The CrossFit Games (w/ Emma McQuaid)
- From Running Marathons to World’s Strongest Man (w/Mitchell Hooper)
- What’s the Best Background for CrossFit? (w/Lucy Campbell)
- Can Statistics Make CrossFit More Fair? (w/Tyler Watkins)
- Zack Telander: Weightlifting Vs. CrossFit (and Lifting in America)
- CrossFit’s Next Super Team (w/Khan Porter)
- How to Give Weightlifting Mass Appeal (w/JP Nicoletta)
- How to Break Into Fitness Journalism (with Andrew Gutman)
- Strongman’s Inside Man (w/Matt Rhodes)
- Fitness Memes As Full Time Work (with Chalk Llamas)
- From World’s Strongest Alternate to Podium Contender (w/ Gabe Peña)
- Dr. Bo Babenko: Injury Myths and Misconceptions (Podcast)
- How to ACTUALLY Fuel Performance (with Dan Churchill)
- Tackling 600Sixty with Fergus Crawley
- How a Mouthpiece Can Change Your Recovery (w/ Dr. Dena Garner, Brought to You By AIRWAAV)
- Feeding the Frasers with Sammy Moniz
- Bodybuilding Over 50 (with Kevin Malone)
- America’s Strongest Veteran (w/ Nicolai Myers)
- 4 Years from Weightlifting Newb to American Record Contender (w/Mary Theisen-Lappen)
- How I Switched from Powerlifting to Bodybuilding (with Amanda Kohatsu)
- Margaux Alvarez: The CrossFit Games, Wine, and Long Drive Competitions (Podcast)
- Bouncing Back from Triceps Rupture and Testicular Cancer (w/Rob Kearney)
- 2021’s Biggest Strength Stories (Podcast)
- 17 Year-Old Weightlifting World Champion (with Hampton Morris)
- Heather Connor: What We’re Getting Wrong About Injuries
- The First Time He Deadlifted, He Pulled 500 Pounds (with Andy Huang)
- How Long It Takes to Become World’s Strongest Woman (w/Donna Moore)
- Why We Lie to Ourselves About Fitness (w/ James FitzGerald)
- Jen Widerstrom: From “American Gladiators” to Go-To Trainer (Podcast)
- The Secret to Strength Commentary (w/Big Loz)
- Can Britain’s Strongest Man Repeat? (w/ Adam Bishop)
- CrossFit’s Statistics Mastermind (w/ Chad Schroeder)
- He’s Strongman’s T-Rex (with Evan Singleton)
- At 71, He’s Deadlifting Over 500 Pounds (w/Rudy Kadlub)
- Bringing Back Old Timey Strength (w/Mike Aidala)
- Sick Angles for the World’s Best Weightlifters (w/ Steve Galvan)
- Kristen Holmes: How to Optimize Your Sleep (Presented by WHOOP)
- What You Probably Don’t Know About Adaptive Fitness (w/ Alec Zirkenbach)
- Metabolism and Muscle with Dr. Ben Bikman
- Dan John: 10,000 Kettlebell Swings and Strength Origins (Podcast)
- Heaviest Bench of All Time (w/Jimmy Kolb)
- He’s the Visegrip Viking (w/Odd Haugen)
- It’s the Biggest Week in Strength History (w/Andrew Gutman)
- From a Broken Neck to CrossFit Journalism (w/ Spenser Mestel)
- Are You Fit Enough for the Marines? (w/Joel Del Rosario)
- How to Train for Elite Explosiveness (w/Kelsey Kiel)
- The Keys to Elite Overhead Strength (w/ Nicolas Cambi)
- Layne Norton: Real Science of Building Muscle (Podcast)
- The Massenomics Mafia (w/Tommy DeFea)
- Putting the Powerlifting World on Notice (w/Hunter Henderson)
- To the Paris Olympics and Beyond (w/Meredith Alwine)
- This City Could Be America’s New Fitness Capital (w/Justin Cotler)
- Are You Strong Enough for a Racing Pit Crew? (w/ Christmas Abbott)
- Get This Strong to Build a Log Cabin (w/Brian Alsruhe)
- These Are the World’s Best Gyms (with Kris Gethin)
- Martins Licis Talks 2021 Competition Plans and His Strongman Future (Podcast)
- The Worst Part of Strength on the Internet (with Jessica Fithen)
- Who’s Stronger: Weightlifters or Powerlifters? (with Travis Mash)
- The Toughest Strength Test? (w/ Kim Fox)
- This Fitness Community Will Not Be Ignored (with Will Lanier)
- The Fight to Save Weightlifting (with Sarah Davies)
- The Fitness Professor with Michael Easter
- When Fitness and Social Justice Clashed (with Alyssa Royse)
- He’s the Texas Titan (with Gabriel Peña)
- “Exercised” and How to Get Society More Physically Active (with Dr. Daniel Lieberman)
- Fitness World’s Racing Mastermind (with Mo Fürste)
- Adult Fitness Summer Camp with Dave Durante (Podcast)
- Asking Congress for Gym Relief (w/CrossFit’s Brett Ewer)
- Inside the CrossFit Games Bubble (w/ Adam Neiffer)
- From Bodybuilding to ‘Ramy’ and ‘Ms. Marvel’ (with Laith Nakli)
- What You Don’t Know About the CrossFit Games Grind (with Amanda Barnhart)
- Throwing Down the Hammer (with Steph Hammerman)
- What Changed About Women and Strength (with Liz Plosser)
- How to Breathe Fire (with Bill Grundler)
- From A Stopped Heart to Weightlifting Rebirth (Jon North)
- History’s Strongest Women (with Haley Shapley)
- Doughnuts to Power Your Deadlifts (with Amanda Kohatsu)
- Can You Graduate from Squat University? (with Dr. Aaron Horschig)
- Bear Crawled a Marathon (with Devon Lévesque)
- Dr. Jordan Shallow: Your Warmup Is Broken
- Fittest One Arm Man on Earth (with Logan Aldridge)
- A Gym That Fits In Your Suitcase (with Albert Matheny)
- The 2nd Fittest Man On Earth (Samuel Kwant)
- Doing the Impossible in Powerlifting (With Taylor Atwood)
- Why It’s Harder to Fight Doping in Paralympic Sport (with Ali Jawad)
- First Woman to Clean & Jerk 300 Pounds (with Karyn Marshall)
- 61 Year Old Squats 700 Pounds for 3 (With Powerlifting Legend David Ricks)
- The Army’s Strongest Man (with Anthony Fuhrman)
- He’s Called CrossFit Thor (with Griffin Roelle)
- CrossFit’s Next Superstar In Waiting (Kristine Best)
- He’s the Original “Korean Hulk” (with Powerlifter Rich Yun)
- Sebastian Oreb: Inside the Mind of Australian Strength Coach
- James Newbury: CrossFit Elite On Virtual 2020 CrossFit Games (Podcast)
- Andrea Thompson: Strongman Evolution and the World’s Strongest Woman (Podcast)
- Cheryl Haworth: Olympic Bronze At Age 17 (Podcast)
- Jourdan Delacruz: Weightlifting’s Next Wave (Podcast)
- Conor Heffernan: Strength History’s Biggest Moments (Podcast)
- Pedro Meloni: The Future of Weightlifting Events in a Pandemic (Podcast)
- Steph Chung: Community, CrossFit, and Competition Goals (Podcast)
- Danny Lehr: The Story Behind Caffeine and Kilos (Podcast)
- Marcus Martinez: What Kettlebells Can and Can’t Do For You (Podcast)
- Goodbye, Jake Boly: BarBend’s Fitness Editor Takes A Bow (Podcast)
- Zack George: The UK’s Fittest Man (Podcast)
- Joe Vennare: These Companies Are the Future of Fitness (Podcast)
- Blaine McConnell: World’s Strongest Bobsledder (Podcast)
- Jonathan Goodman: Uniting Trainers Online (Podcast)
- Garrison Redd: Para Powerlifting’s Next Big Thing? (Podcast)
- Ashley Svendbye: Can Powerlifters and Weightlifters Get Along? (Podcast)
- Teddy Willsey: Move Better for Life (Podcast)
- Bethany Shadburne: Training for the CrossFit Games At Home (Podcast)
- Scott Herman: The OG Fitness Influencer? (Podcast)
- Armen Hammer: What Comes Next for CrossFit? (Podcast)
- Syn Martinez: Race, CrossFit, and Inclusivity in Fitness (Podcast)
- Ebenezer Samuel: Superheroes & Men’s Health Fitness Director (Podcast)
- Phil Andrews: International Weightlifting and the McLaren Report (Podcast)
- Bill Esch: America’s Kettlebell Warrior (Podcast)
- Jay Maryniak: What Trainers Don’t Tell You (Podcast)
- Charlie Dickson: The Next Wave for Powerlifting (Podcast)
- Jason Khalipa: Fitness Beyond COVID-19
- Angela Gargano: Real Life Ninjas and the Pull-up Revolution (Podcast)
- David Meltzer: Pro Sports Recovery & Fitness on the Road (Podcast)
- Meg Reardon: Training for the CrossFit Games (While Injured!)
- Adee Cazayoux: What Athletes Get Wrong About Nutrition (Podcast)
- Kalle Beck: Training Strongman from Home (Podcast)
- Justin Bergh: The Future of The CrossFit Games (Podcast)
- Matt O’Keefe: A CrossFit Community Playmaker (Podcast)
- Joe Yoon: Better Stretching and Mobility (Podcast)
- Chad Vaughn: At-Home Training for Weightlifters
- Jake Boly: Building Muscle and Strength At Home (Podcast)
- Brian Alsruhe: Lifting Through Rock Bottom (Podcast)
- Chris Duffin: Squatting 1,000 Pounds and More Impossible Feats
- Rowan Minnion: Dealing with Influencers PLUS How to Recover Better for Strength
- Eric Leija: How the Primal Swoledier Makes His Workouts
- Kari Pearce: America’s Fittest Woman Discusses The CrossFit Games
- Rich Froning: CrossFit Games Changes and How Long He’ll Compete
- Joe Sullivan: Bending Bars & What Powerlifters Won’t Tell You
- Kris Gethin: How to Thrive As a Multi-Sport Bodybuilder
- JC Deen: Why It’s Easy to Get Fed Up With Fitness
- Dr. Mike T. Nelson: The Truth About Changing Your Metabolism
- Josh Bridges: Mental Toughness, Dave Castro, and His Competition Future
- Rob Kearney: Competing Against Giants and Being An Openly Gay Strongman
- Kenny Santucci: How to Learn Forever and Strong New York
- James FitzGerald: 1st Men’s CrossFit Games Champ Talks Optimal Performance
- Chad Wesley Smith: 900 Pound Squats and the Ultimate Strength Debate
- Sarah Furman: Finding Unconventional Strength
- Russel Orhii: Powerlifting’s Next Big Thing
- Adam Bornstein: The Mastermind Behind Lebron & Arnold’s Supplements
- Nick Shaw: Building a Nutrition Empire
- Heber Cannon: Fitness Life with a Buttery Bro
- Craig Lindell: Can We Fix Physical Therapy?
- Jake Boly: The Ultimate Guide to Powerbuilding
- Phil Andrews: What’s Next for USA Weightlifting
- The Life and Times of Silent Mike
- Sean Waxman: Where Does Weightlifting Go From Here?
- Cole Sager: Can He Change Your Life?
- Steve Cotter: Kettlebell Culture and Upping Your Mental Game
- Tom Boyden: Tricking, Jujimufu, and the New Age of Fitness Media
- Greg Nuckols: A Better Way to Approach Strength Research
- Emily Abbate: What We Need in Fitness Journalism
- From NASA to Fitness with Brandon Heavey
- James Newbury: What It Takes to Succeed in CrossFit
- Podcast: Tony Gentilcore on What’s Really Important in Strength
- Podcast: Fitness, Change, and Sacrifice with FITAID’s Aaron Hinde
- Podcast: Alexandra LaChance Goes from the CrossFit Games to Weightlifting National Champion
- Podcast: Mental Strength with Liz Adams
Powerlifting News
- 1047 Pound Squat DOUBLE! (And Nick Walker Is Back) — Strength Weekly 3/29
- Eddie Hall and Mitchell Hooper Prepare to Fight (Plus: a 44 Pound Coffee Mug!) — Strength Weekly 2/1
Strongman News
- 1047 Pound Squat DOUBLE! (And Nick Walker Is Back) — Strength Weekly 3/29
- Eddie Hall and Mitchell Hooper Prepare to Fight (Plus: a 44 Pound Coffee Mug!) — Strength Weekly 2/1
- The Heaviest Log Presses of All Time (Men’s and Women’s Strongman)
- Strongman Tom Stoltman Lifts World Record 286kg/630lb Atlas Stone Over Bar
- BREAKING: Eddie Hall Makes History, Becomes First Man to Deadlift 500kg
- Here’s How Top Strongman Athletes Stack Up in Height
Training Guides
- 5 Best Prehab Exercises for Strength Athletes (with Joe Yoon)
- We Tried the Primal Swoledier’s Kettlebell Flows!
- The 5 Most Beautiful Outdoor CrossFit Boxes in the World
Uncategorized
Weightlifting News
- 1047 Pound Squat DOUBLE! (And Nick Walker Is Back) — Strength Weekly 3/29
- Kendrick Farris Goes Vegan in Prep for Rio Olympics
- The Heaviest Clean & Jerks Ever Filmed
- The 6 Heaviest Snatches Ever Caught On Film