Fitness
How ‘Every Daily Act Can Be an Act of Conservation,’ Per Dax Dasilva
It’s early spring, following an icy, subzero winter season across Eastern Canada. Everything moves slowly this time of year—nature, humans, business—but Dax Dasilva is moving with urgency, more resolute than ever. The tech CEO and environmental activist founded Lightspeed, a Montreal-based digital commerce platform, and Age of Union, a non-profit environmental alliance squarely aimed at protecting threatened species and ecosystems. Dasilva is intent on protecting our planet as our impacts become increasingly unsustainable.
“According to the United Nations, we’re in the Decade of Action,” Dasilva says, “and it ‘calls for accelerating sustainable solutions to all the world’s biggest challenges—ranging from poverty and gender to climate change, inequality and closing the financial gap.’ There’s a big global initiative to protect 30 percent of the planet’s land and sea by 2030, and we’re embracing this at full speed.”
Brian Wilson of Nature Conservancy Canada and Dax Dasilva on the Saint Lawrence River. Emma Dora Silverstone-Segal
Global change starts in our oceans
Dasilva isn’t in Canada at the moment. He’s off the coast of France, aboard Sea Shepherd’s Age of Union sea vessel—named after Dasilva’s nonprofit alliance and part of his initial $40 million pledge to support changemakers working to protect threatened species and ecosystems. The ship’s current mission? To protect marine biodiversity worldwide as part of Sea Shepherd’s Conservation Society fleet. “Right now, we’re actively pursuing and exposing illegal fishing campaigns that are killing dolphins,” says Dasilva.
“I don’t think most of the coastal communities even know that there are dolphins out here,” Dasilva adds. “These fishing vessels cast out kilometers-long drift nets, then discard 95 percent of the life they pull up—sharks, dolphins, whales, and other large marine animals.” The crew is documenting dolphin bycatch—where just off of France’s West Coast, 10,000 dolphins die every year by large industrial trawlers and drift nets.
“We just don’t see the magnitude of the destruction that happens out in the ocean—and that’s where 70 percent of our oxygen comes from,” Dasilva says. “Literally two out of three breaths. Once people become aware of what’s happening with this kind of indiscriminate fishing, change is very possible,” he emphasizes.
Through documentary filmmaking and social media campaigns, his team has a clear vision to seek better fishing practices and help restore sea life populations.
“If the people care, governments will care. So, the work we’re doing with Sea Shepherd is to influence people’s hearts and ultimately to influence the government.”
The making of a changemaker
It seems incongruent to hear a man who embodies a global tech industry on the New York Stock Exchange challenging urban growth and development, but Dasilva has long been a fierce advocate for planetary health and environmental sustainability. In the summer of 1993, he joined the War in the Woods protest, where 12,000 people rushed to Vancouver Island to fight forest logging.
“The cathedral of trees at Clayoquot Sound represents millions, probably billions of heartbeats, when you consider all of the ecosystems the trees support at every level,” says Dasilva. “We won the protection of those forests. That win stuck with me my entire life—how fragile it all is, and how important it is to protect.”
So, what are we doing fundamentally wrong? According to Dasilva, a global population of eight billion people wooed by Western consumer habits equals deforestation, excess cattle ranching, rampant pollution, and miles-long ocean drift nets.
“We need to bring our expectations within what the planet can provide, because it’s a finite resource,” he says. “In the meantime, it’s critical that we protect those key ecosystems until we have that part figured out. Every daily act can be an act of conservation.”
Looking at conservation through the lens of tech
Raised in Vancouver, Dasilva got his first Mac computer when he was 12, and began building program interfaces. An apprenticeship for a Mac developer and years of experience in Mac consumer tech support led to the first iteration of his own e-commerce platform.
“In all honesty, when I started Lightspeed in 2005, I didn’t set out to build a global powerhouse…I just wanted to win an Apple Design Award from Steve Jobs,” he says, half-jokingly.
Today, Lightspeed is a global leader in point-of-sale e-commerce solutions. “The ambition was always to use design to re-empower small businesses and put control back in the hands of business owners,” says Dasilva. “You do that when you simplify the complex.”
After 17 years as CEO, Lightspeed recently announced Dasilva’s succession plan to move from CEO to leading the board as executive chair. “At its core, Lightspeed has a really great social mission. We empower those community businesses with technology that helps level the playing field against big box e-comm giants,” he says.
The new role is a social cause sidestep from Dasilva’s chief executive duties. He’ll remain visible and contribute to high-level strategy, along with some of the bigger ambitions for the company. “As Lightspeed continues to grow in influence, we can be a great example for others,” he says. “Given our history and our LGBTQ+ roots, we have the foundation to build one of the most diverse, equitable, and inclusive companies in the world.”
The transition also represents Dasilva’s evolution from tech CEO to conservationist force. In 2019, he released his book, Age of Union, a manifesto for igniting today’s changemaker—those ready to take action for our planet and its inhabitants. “I wanted to create a true alliance for the most inspiring changemaker-led projects around the world,” says Dasilva. This came to fruition in the fall of 2021 when Dasilva launched the non-profit of the same name, Age of Union, seeding it with $40 million to back conservation efforts around the globe.
This all-hands-on-deck enthusiasm is driven by Dasilva’s superpower—his leadership capacity to direct a multitude of preservation pursuits all at once. At the moment, Age of Union is involved with seven projects including a $14.5 million donation to the BC Parks Foundation—the largest private donation in BC conservation history—to protect wild ecosystems that are home to hundreds of threatened species. The first two properties purchased with this gift are BC’s Pitt River Watershed, a 733-acre salmon river sanctuary on the doorstep of the Vancouver metropolis, and the French Creek Estuary—a critical, 23-acre eagle sanctuary on Vancouver Island.
1,000 resident and 50,000 migratory eagles protected by the French Creek Estuary eagle sanctuary. Courtesy Image
“These two properties are critically important in terms of BC Parks’ list of most threatened ecosystems,” explains Dasilva. “Both were slated for development until we helped to purchase the land. The watershed is deemed to be a sensitive ecosystem for eagles, wild salmon, grizzly bears, wolverines, cougars, and elk. And the French Creek Estuary is a migratory path to 50,000 eagles.”
As for what’s next for Dasilva, he feels he’s just scratching the tip of the iceberg. “I want to show people that there’s hope for change,” he says. “The Sea Shepherd virtually ended whaling, which seemed unimaginable when first taking on commercial whalers in 2002. Now the world can see real hope where there is action. Same with the ozone layer. We thought it couldn’t be fixed. But with international efforts to reduce and stop the release of CFCs [chlorofluorocarbons], we’ve been able to make amends. We’re committed to transforming that doom and gloom narrative into one we can get excited about—where humanity lives in harmony with nature.”
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The key to 360-degree muscle: 90-degree eccentric isometrics. It might seem like we’re throwing a lot of geometry at you, but the concept behind time under tension (TUT) is simple, says Joel Seedman, PhD, owner of Advanced Human Performance: “Perform the lowering phase of a movement in a slow, controlled fashion, usually 3 to 5 seconds; pause in the stretched position, typically around 90 degrees; then perform the lifting phase in a powerful yet controlled fashion.” Believe us, a time-under-tension workout can humble even seasoned lifters…Eccentric isometrics are like the pressure cooker of training.
“Rather than mindlessly performing slow-tempo reps, you’re using the increased time under tension as a means to fine-tune your body mechanics and alignment, which requires more mental engagement and focus,” Seedman adds.
If you want to forge functional muscle mass and strength while simultaneously bulletproofing the joints and connective tissue, give this 10-move, full-body eccentric isometrics workout a go.
Directions
Perform the following moves as 90-degree eccentric isometrics following the above protocol. Use heavy weight, but not at the detriment of proper form. Rest 60 to 90 seconds between sets and 2 minutes between circuits. Perform once every 2 to 4 days for optimal results.
Best Time-Under-Tension Workout for Total-Body Strength
Circuit 1
A. Barbell Back Squat
Set a squat rack up with heavy weight, then grasp bar and step under it. Squeeze shoulder blades together, then stand to unrack bar and step back with feet shoulder-width apart. Inhale, hinge at hips and slowly bend knees to 90 degrees. Pause, keeping natural arch in low back, then extend through hips to powerfully stand. 3 x 4-6 reps
B. Renegade Row
Start in the top position of a pushup with hands shoulder-width apart on moderate-to-heavy dumbbells (shown). Explosively drive right elbow back to row dumbbell toward ribs while balancing on opposite hand and feet. Pause, then slowly lower weight, stopping a few inches above floor. Switch sides after all reps are done. 3 x 5 reps each side
Circuit 2
A. Dumbbell Bentover Row
Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding two moderate-to-heavy dumbbells in front of thighs, palms facing you. Push hips back and hinge torso forward so it’s nearly parallel to floor, soft bend in knees. Dumbbells should be near shins. Drive elbows back to row weights toward ribs. Pause, then slowly lower down for 3 to 5 seconds. 3 x 4-5 reps
B. Incline Dumbbell Chest Press with Legs Raised
Set an adjustable bench to a 30- to 45-degree angle and lie back with dumbbells in either hand. Engage core and lift legs off floor, flexing feet. Press weights overhead, palms in. Slowly lower to 90 degrees, staying tight and compact. Pause, then drive weights up directly over chest. 3 x 4-5 reps
Circuit 3
A. Dumbbell Bulgarian Squat
Stand lunge-length in front of a flat bench, holding heavy dumbbells in each hand by your sides, palms facing in. Rest the ball on top (shoe’s laces) of your right foot behind you on the bench. Slowly lower your body until your front thigh is parallel to the floor. Pause, then drive through your heel to stand. Switch sides after all reps are complete. 2 x 3-4 reps each side
B. Single-leg Romanian Deadlift
Stand with feet hip-width apart holding dumbbells or kettlebells. Drive right leg up, foot flexed, knee aligned with hip, making a 90-degree angle. Hinge at hips as you slowly lever your torso toward floor, lowering weights and driving right leg back for counterbalance. Hold, then squeeze glutes to reverse. 2 x 3-4 reps each side
Circuit 4
A. Pullup
Hang from a pullup bar using an overhand grip with legs extended and feet flexed. Engage lats and draw shoulders down your back, then pull yourself up until chin is higher than hands. Pause at the top, then slowly lower. Pause at bottom, then reset before your next rep. 2-3 x 4-5 reps
B. Kneeling Overhead Barbell Press
Hold a bar with moderate-to-heavy load at shoulder level with forearms perpendicular to floor. Kneel at end of bench with feet flexed to grip edge for support. Inhale, engage your core and glutes, then press the bar overhead, pushing your head forward so it passes your face, exhaling at the top.
Slowly lower until elbows are at 90 degrees, then hold to maintain tension. Begin your next rep from here. 2-3 x 4-5 reps
Circuit 5
A. Dumbbell Pushup
Place hands on dumbbells (this provides greater range of motion) at shoulder width and feet wider than shoulder width with just toes touching the ground. Keep head neutral and hips high to increase tension on core, chest and tris and reduce stress on spine. Slowly lower to the floor. Stop
once elbows hit 90 degrees, pause, then push up to start. 1-2 x 6-8 reps
B. Biceps Curl
Stand with feet hip-width apart with moderate-to-heavy dumbbells in each hand hanging by sides. Engage biceps to curl the weights up, keeping upper arms still. Pause at the top, then lower slowly. Don’t let arms drop all the way down to keep greater time under tension on biceps. 1-2 x 6-8 reps
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