Dan Gottlieb is an OSHA Certified Posture Specialist and founder of SPROGA, currently based in upstate New York. He has helped employees at companies like WeWork, LinkedIn, Spotify and Cureatr customize their office work spaces up for optimal comfort, health and productivity. Dan works with athletes and office workers alike to educate them on biomechanics and injury prevention. Read on for our full interview with Dan.

Tell us briefly about your work, inspirations, passions and philosophy on health and fitness.

I've been teaching fitness classes for over 20 years all over the globe. I find the most important connection to be that if you love what you do, it’s never considered working. I took that to heart when I was considering a career post college. It was never about the money. Even if I was making only $500 a week, if I could play basketball it would be great.

Philosophically, I believe preventative measures outweigh the afterthought of an injury. Being well prepared and well informed is my philosophy and my practice. If you fall, you don't want to break into a million pieces. Don't wait until the tank is empty before you fill it up. Take a pause while the tank is half full, recover and use that energy that you have to either complete the task or go through an exercise that will recharge the battery. Procrastinating is not the healthiest way to operate. With a sound mind, you're more clear headed.

We're all about movement at Venn. What does a typical day for you look like through the lens of movement?

A typical day for me in the Catskill mountains of NY consists of getting up at 6am, feeding the dogs, taking them for a walk, driving down to the tennis courts, playing in a friendly match or working on my serve. Lately I've been working on one-on-one sessions in person that are typically on the weekend. Most of my clients travel from the city to upstate and I've been fortunate to start my one-on-one practice up again. I've also been preparing the wood for winter with a lot of chopping, as well as doing a lot of barbecuing.

“When you’re in pain, doing nothing is the worst thing you can do.”

I use my Air Chair with clients while teaching them fundamentals of biomechanics and sitting. I use it personally as an alternative to a standard chair.

What are your favorite Venn Air Chair positions and moves?

Practicing sitting and practicing standing with the chair.

At Venn, we zig when others zag. What's something in work or life that you approach differently—philosophically, physically, emotionally—than others?

One thing I approach differently is pain. Recently, I was talking with a friend of mine with plantar fasciitis. He was focusing only the pain of the foot; a local point of view. That’s one way to view a problem. But my point of view is more of a global view. If there’s something going on with the foot/ankle, we should look at the knee, at the spine, etc. One thing you can do for plantar fasciitis is to get more mobility in the foot, splaying your toes, rotating your ankle, putting fingers between your toes, using Yoga Toes and experiencing that sensation. You can have a different experience.

I went through this experience personally with my back injuries. Fear of the pain became a paralysis and the injury became more of a story than it actually was. When you’re in pain, doing nothing is the worst thing you can do. Even more so for injuries involving the back specifically. You have to go through a different experience to gauge what is more painful. It’s a meditation but also a means to resolve wounds that need healing.

Venn Ambassador Spotlight: Dan Gottlieb, Ergonomist and Fitness Instructor