Matt Deis, bass player of All That Remains has been touring since he was 20 and spent most of his life as what he calls “a fat piece of shit.”
He’s also 40 now, married to a certified nutritionist and fitness coach, and completely transformed from the guy who used to drink all day and wonder why he couldn’t sleep.
Behind the bass, Matt learned the hard way about proper form, kitchen scales, and why back surgery at 30 is way too young.
In this Gym Rock Crew Interview, Matt breaks down how his wife changed everything, why he blew out three vertebrae doing CrossFit and the 80/20 rule on tour.
The kitchen scale keeps you honest
Matt’s wife is a gym rat and health nut with certifications in training and nutrition.
Everything in their life revolves around the kitchen scale.
He talks about how he ate and drank whatever he wanted until he was 37, had no direction at the gym, and how meeting his wife gave him the structure he needed.
If you’re not losing weight, it’s not genetics. It’s your fault. You control what goes in your mouth.
At home it’s strict measurements, food logging, and five days a week of push-pull-legs splits.
On tour? The 80/20 rule.
Tour is a calorie guessing game
When you’re not cooking for yourself, you’re in a gray area of 500 to 1,000 calories a day.
Matt shares how restaurants cook everything in unknown amounts of oil and butter, and his strategy for cutting calories at every meal.
He talks about why you need to make up for the mystery calories with extra cardio on your off days.
Back surgery at 30
Ten years ago, Matt got on a health kick and started training at a CrossFit gym with a friend.
He went in unprepared with no understanding of Olympic lifts.
He blew out three vertebrae in his spine and needed surgery.
It stopped his music career for two years.
He shares why improper form can destroy your livelihood as a musician, why learning to lift properly early matters, and his warning about doing as many deadlifts as possible in a minute versus three really good ones.
If music is your income and you hurt your back being stupid, that’s money out of your wallet.
Basic hygiene beats everything
Matt rarely gets sick, but it’s not magic.
He talks about the early years of touring where everyone would rot in vans and shower every couple days, why fist bumps beat handshakes, and why wearing a mask on planes isn’t a bad idea.
Plus his take on how the music industry is finally moving away from celebrating drinking culture, why he cuts himself off from caffeine after 2-3 PM, and how making correct choices during the day helps you actually sleep at night.
Connecticut style pizza and Italian pastries
Matt has a sweet tooth.
He shares his favorite treat in the interview.
He’s not a believer in cheat meals or cheat days because it messes up progress, but when he does mess up, he messes up extravagantly.
The problem? Getting back on track after a high sugar day is brutal. Your body craves it for days.
This conversation with Matt gets real.
We talk about 70s Schwarzenegger, why he wishes he could’ve been a professional wrestler, the physiotherapist traveling with them on tour, sourdough bread as a bodybuilding staple, and why tour buses are a nightmare for sleep!
Matt doesn’t hold back about the mistakes he made, the surgery that cost him two years, and why investing in your health early pays off if you want a long career.
Click here to watch the full interview
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