From Poverty to Celebrity White House Chef and Motivational Speaker | Chef Rush ICONiCAST

Chef Rush is one of the top chefs in the country, embodying the word “excellence.” His accomplishments include serving in the military for 23 years, working as a chef in the White House across four administrations, and becoming a celebrity in his own right.In this special ICONiCast Chef speaks at length with our CEO Todd Abrams about developing his work ethic, his passion for cooking, how he trains, and what it took to get where he is. Chef is larger than life and this entire interview is well worth your attention — but if you don’t have the time right now to listen to the whole thing, we’ve timestamped the top moments below.0:00 - Introduction2:10 - Why Chef does 2,222 pushups a day22 military veterans die to suicide every day.3:30 - BullyingChef was bullied as a kid. Since he’s always been big he wasn’t scared, but he didn’t want to fight. 4:30 - How many pushups has Chef done?Millions.5:15 - Chef’s work ethicHis father put him to work at a very young age, and has always committed to being the hardest worker.7:40 - Chef’s first culinary teacherChef learned cooking from his mother, at a time and place where men didn’t do such things.10:30 - Chef’s daily routineFour hours of sleep.12:30 - Chef’s favorite mealSimple — organic chicken.14:40 - How Chef trainsHard and heavy with more than 15 reps.16:30 - Todd on training with othersAvoiding mediocre mindsets.17:15 - “Destroy it.”Chef’s mantra.18:30 - Becoming a celebrity chefThe current result of a mountain of work, and based on helping others.20:30 - The hard job of cookingWhy Chef strived to earn that title.21:00 - What Presidents eatHigh-quality service to heads of state and homeless alike.22:10 - What drives ChefHelping people and experiencing more of life.24:00 - What Chef’s doing todayTraveling most of the time and speaking to groups.26:40 - Cooking to Cope programHelping people understand how important food is to physical and mental health.28:15 - Chef’s favorite cheat mealThere’s a lot of them.29:40 - Entrepreneurial driveThe most intense drive in the world isn’t enough — you need an amazing team.31:00 - Being his own biggest criticChef knows perfection is impossible but tries to get there every single time.33:15 - Chef’s mentorsNot the typical heroes — people who had to earn their way from the bottom.36:00 - Chef’s book, Call Me Chef, Dammit!The story of Chef’s life, from childhood racism to working in the White House. Available March 1st, 2022.38:00 - What’s next for ChefFollow Chef Rush: https://www.instagram.com/realchefrush/Follow Todd Abrams: https://www.instagram.com/toddabrams/