I‘m Dave Reed, aka Dammit David!, and I have lived a “colorful” life. So far.

After dropping out of high school, mostly because I hated reading and writing (or so I thought), I became a slacker for a few years.

In 1992, I moved to Portland, OR to attend culinary school and spent the next few years working as a chef in various kitchens.

Although I enjoy cooking, and working in kitchens taught me a lot about being able to respond to, and manage, chaos, I didn’t enjoy the lifestyle of a chef.  The late nights, early mornings, and weekends weren’t the lifestyle I wanted to subject a family to.

In 2003, I returned to college at ASU, and received a degree in education with an emphasis in middle school mathematics. 

I loved teaching middle schoolers, and if you know anything about them, they can be as chaotic as any kitchen I ever worked the line in, through the craziest dinner rush you can possibly imagine.

After teaching for a few years, my family grew, and with my wife then a physician in the Air Force, I chose to leave the classroom so that one of us could be at home with the family.

When my wife got out of the Air Force, we moved back to Bellevue, NE briefly (where she had done her residency), and I dabbled in graphic arts, learning screen printing.

In 2016, she was offered a job in Craig, CO, where we bought a fixer upper home on a small farm.  

While we were there, I built chicken coops, goat pens, and learned a lot about home repair.  I miss my tractor.

The kids hated living in the bitter cold of northwest Colorado, so we moved to sunnier climes, first to Maui, and then back to my favorite and home state of Arizona.

When we first got home, I was longing for the farm, and with the tools I’d acquired being some of the few possessions that made the trip across the Pacific Ocean – twice – I started a handyman business.

In 2019, my wife and I discovered functional medicine and I went back to school and became a certified functional medicine health coach with the Functional Medicine Coaching Academy.

Shortly after I graduated, we opened a small clinic in Goodyear, AZ, where I gave a presentation that changed my life.  After years of both formal and self education I felt like I found my true calling as a speaker.

Since then, I’ve become an award winning speaker and learned as much as I could about speaking and storytelling.

Although I dropped out of high school, mostly due to failing English – and surprisingly public speaking – I fell in love with reading, writing, and learning.

I’m fascinated by the art of storytelling and how it connects to both marketing, communication, and connection.

I’ve tried and been many things in my life, and I will continue to try and do things, but I’ve never felt more at home than when I’m on a stage giving a speech, telling a story, or making people laugh.

I also value radical honesty above all else.  In a world where we’re constantly fed beautiful – and often fake – curated lives, I put myself out there, Dammit David! stories and all.  And I encourage you to share, connect and do the same.