Meet Daven Gates | Soldier/Home Cook/Content Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Daven Gates and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Daven, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The most important factor behind the success of my brand has to be consistency. Everything I do in life that has been fruitful has been a result of me being consistent. I decided last year that I wanted to venture into creating food content. I had no guidance and no blueprint, I just knew that as long as I pushed out good content consistently, eventually people would begin to be drawn to it. Most of the time in the beginning, my videos would flop and not do well but I didn’t let it discourage me. Consistency allows you to measure results. You have to try something in a consistent manner to actually see if it works or not. Consistency has helped me establish a reputation on social media and has helped me to become relevant. That reputation of high quality food and food content has led to high engagement, increased product sales, and a loyal community of followers that always want to support everything that I do.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am currently an active duty US Army Soldier. I have been serving for the past 8 years. What sets me apart from others is first and foremost my discipline but also my drive, determination, and dedication to accomplish anything I set my sights on. I joined the military and excelled at everything thrown my way. When I couldn’t do the physical aspect anymore, I made sure to excel at my everyday job as a paralegal specialist. After a 12 hour work day, I still manage to make it home, spend time with my family, and begin my second job as a home cook/social media public figure. No days are easy and there is often barely enough time to do everything I want to do. I still make time for what I love and work harder to be successful. The challenges I face daily are work-life balance and adjusting to meet the needs of my family. I have learned that the best way to achieve this is to separate the personal from the professional aspect of my life and alway focus on my end goal. I would love one day to live in my passion, which is cooking. I would love to be on tv and be a household name. I know that if I work hard enough for it and remain humble, my time will come very soon. I know this sounds cliche, but you never really believe it until it’s you, but you can do anything you set your mind to. There will always be limitations, but if you believe in yourself and what you have to offer to the world, you can achieve greatness. Figure out what success means to you and focus on that and not on the person to the left or right of you, I have overcome major setbacks and adversity. I dug deep, stayed resilient, and work hard everyday to get what I want. No-one can take that away from me.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Museums, The theatre, and the food market. I would also go to a local basketball or football game and eat at some of my favorite restaurants of course.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout to the man above. In 2018 I got injured and ended up leading to me having bilateral surgeries on my legs in 2020. I could no longer, run, play sports, or do any physical activity. I was really down and depressed because I could no longer do the things I loved to do as an outlet. It was then that I was brought back to the kitchen to explore my true passion in cooking. Something I stopped making time for. Me getting back in the kitchen has led to some truly life changing experiences. If it wasn’t for God sidelining me and putting me in position to change gears, who knows what I would be doing today.

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