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Every great once in a while, I find someone who literally changes my entire world.

Whether it’s by confirming something I’ve always inherently believed in but didn’t express, or by presenting something so different and convincing that it causes a paradigm-shift in my head, these people have quite an impact.

I recently have been getting surges of inspiration from the people I’ve listed and some others by the quality of information they bring to the table and the depth they provide. So I thought I’d give them an honorable shoutout for all the great work they do as well as fill you in on where a lot of my ideas have stemmed from.

Here are the top 7 people that have had the biggest impact on my health journey:

Thomas DeLauer

Thomas is best known as a YouTuber, but he is also a health coach and author. What he is to me is an unbelievable source of nutritional knowledge.

He is by far, the most passionate and knowledgeable person I’ve ever come across online when it comes to eating real food, being truly healthy, and teaching people along the way. Thomas is someone who previously weighed about 300 lbs and then underwent a transformation that inspired him to change everything and fully take control of his health.

Now, he practices a strict keto (which he calls clean keto) diet that takes a ton of discipline to pull off. I remember when I first came across one of his videos, I was sitting there in disbelief that anyone else cared about the ingredients in their food as much as I did.

He, like me, turns every food item around to read the ingredient list and nutrition facts when he’s grocery shopping. Not only this, but he knows all the newest science coming out about each ingredient.

His knowledge is so extensive and impressive that it’s simply inspirational as a creator myself to watch him at work. He inspires me to be better and more thorough in my pursuit of health. I have learned a great deal about nutrition science from him and he has influenced my diet significantly.

It’s very clear that he’s always reading research papers, which is something I really respect about him. Those things can be hard to read and also just boring, so most people won’t do it. Thomas does a great public service by reading these papers and filling us in on the best practices for great personal health. 

I also saw in a recent video that Thomas now wears Xero Shoes as well. It’s the coolest thing when people you look up to have interests that cross paths with your own, especially with something as specific as minimalist footwear.

Daniel Vitalis

Daniel Vitalis is another enormous inspiration in my life, but in a very different way than most of the others listed here. He is best described as a guy who tries to live as naturally as possible, all across the board.

He is not a trendy health practitioner who follows the keto or paleo diet, has a great body, or an oddly specific fitness routine; he is too rough for that. He is actually an outdoorsy, ancient wisdom, follow-in-my-ancestors-footsteps kind of guy.

Daniel very much embodies my overall philosophy on health, which is that health is about congruency. Congruency meaning you have to live in congruence to the way your ancestors did, or close to it, because you evolved based on their traits and actions.

Because of this, he is much more worried about understanding health concepts rather than trendy diets or fitness routines. Most of what he does is not Instagram-worthy in the slightest. In my opinion, that’s part of the charm. It’s refreshing to listen to someone who’s not trying to sell you something based on their good looks and large following.

Daniel is a podcaster and has been featured on several YouTube channels for his interesting takes on health in the modern world. 

Joe Rogan

For tons of men out there between the ages of 18 and 40, Joe Rogan must be one of the most influential sources of information out there and I am no exception.

I’ve been listening to his podcast for several years now, mainly because Joe brings something different to the table and he reminds me of myself. He’s interested in a wide variety of things which is also a gift and curse that I possess.

He is truly a renaissance man if you ask me. He’s huge into martial arts (taekwondo, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, kick-boxing), he’s a talented bow-hunter, he’s a professional comedian, he’s very up to date on the best health and fitness practices, and more.

He brings on experts, industry leaders, and game changers from literally all walks of life. I won’t even list them all because it could be almost anything.

His podcasts end up covering many different health related topics because of his guests. A few that I can remember that have completely altered the way I think are his episodes with Chris Kresser, Katy Bowman, David Sinclair, Mark Sisson, Pavel Tsatsouline, Firas Zahabi, and more.

An episode with Chris Kresser is actually what made me eventually change my diet from carb and grain-based to gluten-free and minimal on the grains. David Sinclair and Mark Sisson have both shared tons of knowledge about longevity, fasting, eating strategy, and athletic performance that is not shared in any textbook you can pick up.

Joe is also the first person I ever heard talk about the ketogenic diet at length. This is when I would hear the name and instantly think it was just some crazy diet he wanted to try.

I really can’t thank Joe enough for the contributions he’s indirectly had in my life because of his podcast. It has shifted my life multiple times for the better.

Mark Sisson

Speaking of Mark Sisson, he’s another wealth of knowledge on his own.

He started out as a blogger, writing about how you can actually eat healthy versus what the mainstream tells you. He became an early adopter and maybe even pioneer for certain health trends like the paleo, primal, and ketogenic diets and lifestyles.

One of the reasons he is so good to follow is because he is one of the rare people that reads and keeps up with all the latest scientific findings that are published in studies. This doesn’t sound remarkable but it’s not nearly as common as you may think to be listening to someone who has actually read and interpreted the research for themselves.

There’s are reasons for this too: it’s time-consuming, sometimes very dense, and can be hard to understand what the study is really saying. I sometimes hesitate to make points based on something I read in a study because I fear that I may have interpreted it wrong. This is where people like Mark come in as he has lots of previous experience dealing with this stuff as he used to develop and perfect supplements for companies.

He took that knowledge and started his own line of healthy foods, Primal Kitchen. This brand can be found in any quality grocery store and contains ingredients that are always second to none. If you can get past the price point, you have nothing else to worry about.

Mark is basically the embodiment of what I want to be. He managed to turn a blog into a business venture, he owns his own companies, he eats optimally, has all the knowledge he needs to make proper adjustments, he still plays competitive sports at 68 years old, he has lots of hobbies, and overall looks like he leads the healthiest and happiest life of all the celebrities I can think of. 

Kelly Starrett

Kelly is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, and it’s not hard to tell because it’s all he talks about and it’s clear he’s treated tons of different people.

He is one of the best pain-point problem solvers I’ve ever come across. I’ve used his advice and his book, Becoming a Supple Leopard, to treat countless problems in my own body and I continue to refer to it like an encyclopedia.

He is one of the few people who used to publicly push myofascial release hard as a pain and/or mobility protocol for people before it got more popular which I really appreciate because I am incredibly impatient when I’m injured.

I gravitated so much to him because he just gets to the point. He doesn’t beat around the bush and lie to you that some strange little exercises done in your living room will solve plantar fasciitis, he gets to the point and leads you to the root of your problem. This is where all the solutions are always found so it’s excellent.

Kelly very much restored my belief that you can go through life being injury-proofed and moving like a child as an adult which is one of my ultimate goals. I want to be a “Supple Leopard” forever and he provides the answers for how that can be done.

Like I said, I found him through frustration with other health professionals wasting my time. I bought his book and started watching his videos and my pain changed forever. I also got information from other physical therapists like Elisha from mobilitymastery.com who were influenced by Kelly’s work.

His influence spreads far and wide and wouldn’t you know it, I originally heard about this guy and his book from the Joe Rogan Podcast in an episode with Firas Zahabi (a guy who narrowly missed the cut for this list).

Katy Bowman

Katy is a biomechanist and there aren’t many of those in the public eye. The fact that she is so personable and good at communicating science is what makes her invaluable.

Katy is someone who advocates for things that I would do on my own but wouldn’t tell people about because it’s looked down upon. Things like this include getting rid of furniture for the sake of your posture and mobility, walking on varied surfaces, setting up things in your house to climb on, intentionally making things harder to reach or a longer walk, and so on.

These are things that I have always believed in because I recognize the modern world is not at all conducive to robust human health. When I found Katy, I felt like I had permission to come out and talk about these things more and own them in my personal life when people would notice what I’m doing.

This is something that doesn’t get talked about very often but pursuing these niche things for the sake of your health is almost always looked down upon in real life. It takes a certain amount of acceptance to just do it anyway. When I see people who also wear minimalist shoes, walk barefoot, climb trees, whatever it may be, I do my best to go up and compliment them on their pursuit despite it not being popular because I appreciate people like that who care enough to just do it.

Katy brings the science to back people like me and others that what we’re doing is not stupid or ridiculous and that we should keep pushing the boundaries with how far we can advance our health. I would consider her a hero in the world of alternative health, talking about footwear, posture, lifestyle changes, working setups, and much more in her many fantastic books.

Ray McClanahan

Ray is a naturopathic podiatrist with his own medical practice.

At some point in his education, he came to realize that the surgeries he was performing on people’s feet were not helping them at all and actually harming them in the long term for a short term fix. Through doing lots of research from older doctors of various disciplines, combined with the realization that his mainstream advice was not helping people, he completely changed his approach to podiatry to naturopathic treatment.

I credit Ray through his videos and blog with helping me eliminate plantar fasciitis, a painful bunion, and other foot problems all through non-invasive practices. I highlight the “non-invasive” part because many doctors will want to take it to that point rather quickly if they see the first steps in their protocol haven’t been helping your issue.

For me, that is never an option and I never even have to make doctor visits anymore because of the helpful information that Ray and people like him provide online. I am able to fix almost anything at home because of them and I am so thankful for that.

Ray is a wealth of knowledge about all things involving the toes, foot, and ankles. He also talks extensively about footwear and how detrimental the wrong footwear can be, which again I really appreciate this because few people have the guts to come out and say this when they could instead just tell you that you have weak feet and that you need to wear foot orthotics for the rest of your life, get physical therapy, and take some pain meds.

People who are willing to identify the root cause of your problem and help you solve it through lifestyle adjustments, especially when they are health professionals, are some of the most valuable people we can get our information from. I make sure to listen to these people very closely and spread their message.